 |
DoorCountyTravelersJournal.com |
| ... Your Quick & Happy Door County Read |
|
During the second week of June, Sturgeon Bay may well have been the top place on the planet for the creation of new songs that will likely find their way into the archives of myriad genres of music. After all, where else in the world would hundreds of songwriting musicians have come together as an extended family to collaborate on what they do best? Whether it's rock, blues, folk, hip-hop, country, southern, punk, pop or hybrids of these styles, the week-long musician-residents of the city that our beloved Steel Bridge calls home love their work. The songwriters of the annual Steel Bridge Songfest, anchored at the Holiday Music Motel, adjacent to the bridge, affectionately known as "Steely", descend upon this town and undergo seriously intense collaboration. The motel, owned by mostly local investors, many of whom are themselves musicians, becomes what is called a "Construction Zone." But you won't hear the grinding screeches of air hammers in this "hard hat" area, nope. You will hear lots of chord progressions strummed on acoustic guitars, soulfully breathed into harmonicas, tickled into electronic ivories, and tested by silver voices. All the while, someone is frantically jotting down chords, sometimes on scrap paper, capturing ideas for lyrics, and uttering in sheer delight when things come together and a new song is born. Then, in jig time, a song is performed at a Songfest venue, often that same day, and it is recorded and mixed locally. From start to whirlwind finish, these musicians have a unique opportunity to get immediate feedback (usually warm fuzzies) from a loyal fan base of their peers and many adoring locals. The very cool thing is that they go back home with a pretty much finished product, i.e. an mp3 track and/or wave file. We had the distinct privilege of observing a real live collaboration session as it happened, sometimes even putting in our two cents on a lyrical idea or affirming the ear candy provided by a song chunk. It doesn't get much better than that ... but that's one of the wonderful by-products of what this festival is all about ... an open and supportive atmosphere that keeps musicians and fans coming back for more with each passing year. The song that took on a life upon this occasion ended up entitled "Silver Buckle" ... and you'll know why once you crank up your audio on your computer speakers and watch this little "music video" we put together to commemorate the Birth of a Song. Not in Nashville, not in New York City, not in Chicago, not in Madison, but right here in Sturgeon Bay! Please visit the websites of these talented artists to learn more about them, check out sample tunes, and purchase a CD! Music Credits Recording: Vocals: Miss Meaghan Owens Meghan's Website Vocals and Guitar: Brandon Cipher-th Brandon's Website Bass: Steve Smith Steve's Website Drums: Victor De Lorenzo (Violent Femmes) Violent Femmes Website Slide guitar: Will Sexton Will's Website Audio Engineer: Steve Hamilton (Makin' Sausage Music) Read about Steve's work at the Holiday Music Studio Writers (Music & Lyrics): Johnny Lowebow (cigarbox guitar builder/one man band) Johnny's Facebook Page Miss Meaghan Owens (singer/songwriter - Wisconsin) Brandon Seyferth (singer/songwriter - Chicago) Craig Greenberg (singer/songwriter - NYC) Craig's Facebook Page Steve Hamilton (Makin' Sausage Music) Music Video Credits Photography: Steve Allen (songwriting session at Holiday Music Motel) Photography: Matt Kaminski (outside Tatoo Parlor and inside studio) Production: Steve Allen The music track and lyrics for "Silver Buckle" on the YouTube video displayed here are Copyright 2011 Meaghan Owens and Brandon Seyferth.
© Copyright 2011 by DoorCountyTravelersJournal.com
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Email article to a friend
