Write a Hit? How hard can it be? Bahahahaha.

Songwriter's Association of Canada's Songwriting Challenge 2015 
Week 2. Song 2.

Our first song submission challenge is very simply 'Write a Hit'......Kinda like saying 'Win The Lottery' isn't it? If it were that straight forward, the whole world would have grammys on their bookshelves and Ferraris in their garage. Never-the-less we persevere. Someone has to, no matter how daunting the task or  how slim the chances are.  

Multitudes of things change in life as we get older and I felt like I needed to check back into my musical self and see what still worked and what was still viable. I accepted the Canadian Songwriter's Challenge to see if I could meet a musical deadline. To see how strong the competitive personality I was born with was. To see if after taking time away from recording and touring with my own original projects I was still musically relevant. To face rejection and criticism with grace and to challenge my composition skills with a variety of tasks that may or may not always be clear and concise. And finally, after working separately for over 5 years, could my husband and musical cohort and I come together once again as a viable writing and production team. That's a lot to put out there and be accountable for, and I'm loving  it.  

It seems that I perhaps have something to prove to myself, or maybe its simply that now I have the time to do what I've always wanted. Knowing what I want I think has been my biggest challenge of all, but 10 months of dancing with cancer has helped to put my desires into perspective and outline my idea of a joyous life. 

And here we are so let's do this thing.

The Song....Too Big?

"write an explosive pop hit" ... hmmm ... "think Selena Gomez" ... ok-I'm a rich teenager - got it ... "interesting title" ... naturally ... "trim the fat" ... did he just call me fat?... "maximum 3:30"... well no epic solo for me then I guess. 

I read the challenge and then tuned out for a few days. The pressure. The doubt. blah blah blah. On Wednesday I had spit out a really interesting verse with an equally interesting topic matter surrounding bullying...(I think..it's not super clear, but I think that's where its heading). BUT try as I might I just couldn't get past the verse. I think I was trying to cram the poor thing into a genre where it didn't want to go. So I sent it to bed and will awake it later. 

By Friday panic was starting to happen. I had written roughly seven different song ideas for homework for the Berklee Songwriting course that I'm currently taking. I was tired and thinking there was no more creative worth left in me....and still ruminating on the verse I had put to bed. I dropped my personal pressure and expectation and relaxed and low and behold it started to come and by Saturday 1:00 AM the song was complete. Whew! (Demo included....thank you GarageBand). 

I took the position of 'ballad 101'. Everyone is battling for that Top 40 uptempo super song position, and although there may only be 1 per album, everyone needs a good ballad. Plus, in the right hands a ballad could be 'club mixed up'. Like a teenager sneaking in the back door late at night, I am as well with my song "Maybe Tomorrow". 

The Recording

Over the past 5 years Brad (the cohort mentioned above) and I have been piecing together and developing our own music studio called Taylor Sound. So pretty convenient for me hey? On Sunday Morning we started rough tracking it. We didn't have much of a game plan other than perhaps just to present the song like a simple organic piano vocal song.  However, I stepped out for a bit and when I came back Brad had doubled up the rhythm and presented a Kelly Clarkson "Since You Been Gone" feel.  It was very intriguing so we kept rolling with it. We ultimately decided that it sounded dated and perhaps that production may have a pigeon hole effect on the song so we pulled back. Threw some keys at it, layered the vocals, harmonies, some drum beats and secret guitar tracks and a day and half later....voila!

I am really pleased with the result that we have shown with this song challenge; meeting our deadline and producing a well sounding finished commercially viable song. I have this S.A.C. Challenge to thank.....and my peeps at Berklee too!

Trish Out. 

Listen here to Maybe Tomorrow.
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Brad Taylor @ Taylor Sound


Lyrics
My friends ask why I'm blue
Why I don't have a 'you'
I just keep saying its complicated
Cuz I don't want them to know
So I keep my feelings close
Inside of me when I see your face and

What have I done
In thinking about what you and I could become

Maybe Tomorrow
You won't see me as your best friend
Who's heart you borrowed
And coloured all in
Could you dream of me at night
Could your heartbeat skip like mine
Maybe Tomorrow
Maybe Tomorrow

you're everywhere that I look
In my mind and my picture books
I feel that you just don't remember
In the field where the daisies grew
You'd pick one for me and one for you
Everyday you were my December

I wanna take back my heart
Before you added her and start all over

Lyrics and Music Written by Patricia Evans
February 20, 2015
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