JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback MP3 Feedback Forum The First Day of Forever

Thanks for taking a look.

Jon:

I enjoy your "laid-back" style lyrics and vocal quality. Would love to hear your work with more orchestration... but I understand the problem. If Songwriter's were rich, they wouldn't need places to expose others to their songs! Martin might introduce you to Mike Zee who is a producing genius... and one helluva singer in his own right. I'm thinking he might do something similar for you like he's doing for Martin now. Not too long ago, I had him demo ten of my songs and liked everything he did for me (my vocal qualities are limited and fading fast) but I would invite you to look at the song near the top of the second page on the MP3 Forum here, called, "I Remember Autumn." (No, it isn't folk or country... but will give you an idea about what he can do orchestration and recording-wise.) As far as I can tell, this particular song has maybe topped the most ever listened-to song at this site. (Bragging intended... as far as Mike is concerned!)

I really enjoyed "The First Day of Forever" and believe you have what it takes to succeed in the "biz" if that is the direction you plan to take.

Regards and best wishes, ----Dave

Thanks for the reply on both of the songs I posted up.

I am not too terribly interested in much more production of my songs than what you hear on these tracks. If anyone else wanted to take a crack at them, that would be great, but I don't pour that sort of time or effort into making demos. I used to explain to other writers that if you are going to spend that sort of time and money on songs, for the purpose of trying to get some "big" money, you are statistically better off to buy scratch off tickets at the c - store. Just like lottery tickets, there are literally a million losers in the demo pile before a "winner" emerges. Horrible odds for even the most talented people who make music. I have a decent catalog, six albums and a seventh in the making, I get a little something in my BMI quarterly statement, I have toured the country and used these songs to earn my living for a number of years. I never got "rich" and I work a different job these days, but I still make good money making and playing music. If that description doesn't fit someones bill for "making it" then my advice is to not get into making music. You're doing it for the wrong reasons with the odds on you never reaching that definition of "success".

My interest in making music comes from an Americana, Roots tradition. My friend David Childers chartered his record "A Good Way to Die" in 2001 on the US and European Americana charts. It was recorded on a Fostex four track. Todd Snider, another favorite of mine, made a record called "Todd Sings Kris", doing a bunch of Kristofferson songs. There are tracks where you can hear the dog barking in the other room. It's an outstanding record.

I know I am in the wrong place to say this out loud, but my opinion for years about most popular music is that it is grossly over produced. We could talk all day about why that is, but suffice to say I don't care for it and never have wanted anything I did to sound anything like what comes out of most commercial recordings. I like East Nashville. Don't care about the other side of the river much. And honestly, East Nashville is transforming into what some of the musicians who moved there 20 years ago were trying to stay away from, but still be close to some money.

Anyway, I appreciate your comment and your advice.

Jon, I like the singer/songwriter/folk style you have and think I would enjoy sitting in an intimate venue listening to your stories. But I have an issue with this song because it feels like you've written 3 songs that are (very) loosely tied together only because of the first person POV. If asked what this song is about, I can give 3 separate answers and still not be right because any answer would be ignoring 2/3 of it. There is no focus that I can see.

Is it about leaving one life to seek another? The title fits that theme perfectly. Is it about too much soul searching and just wanting to find peace of mind? Is it about finally finding true love, in which case the title would also work? Any of these themes is great for a song but none are explored in this song fully enough for me. They barely scratch the surface. I think if you took any pair of verses and dug into them even deeper, you'd have a better, more compelling song. And if you did it for all three sets of verses, you could potentially have 3 better songs.Obviously, this is just my opinion.

I understand you write for yourself and don't really care whether the listener catches your meaning but I gave you my opinion anyway because you did ask.

Ricki

Thanks for the comment Ricki,

Whatever you get out of the song, or don't get, well, that's on you! What I can tell you is that this song is a near direct story line of my life since April 18 of this year. And admittedly, I sort of wander with no clear direction a lot. So if the song reflects that....

Verse #1 - I packed up and closed up the house

Verse #2 - I left the state, with a lot on my mind

Verse #3 - What was on my mind? Too much and I just wanted to find peace and my true love.

Verse #4 - So I drove into the canyon to find some peace of mind

Verse #5 - Who showed up? Perhaps that true love I was looking for

Verse #6 - The ode to that love interest to stay forever

I do find it amusing, and always have, that often when I write from a genuine, first person, authentic narrative, song writers who live in the world of make believe, contrived songs about fictional characters and fictional events, often find these narratives difficult to follow.

I dunno... it all makes perfect sense to me, and I am the person that matters. I wrote this song for me. I rarely write for anyone else. If and when I do decide to write for someone else, I will take your advice into consideration!

Thanks again for the comment.

I notice you took all your songs down, but that's not why I felt the need to write this.

A simple thought experiment can prove that it makes NO DIFFERENCE (in terms of a song's value) how one comes to write a specific song.

Let's say songwriter A writes a really simple song that strictly follows her own life and thoughts and experiences, and lets call that song "My Exciting Life."

Let's say songwriter B lives in isolation in Siberia with no Internet, but has a vivid imagination, and comes to write the exact same song called "My Exciting Life," word for word, even though it has nothing to do with B's life whatsoever. Just go with this--theoretically this is within the realm of possibility, and this is just a thought experiment.

By your "argument" it would seem that songwriter A's song is valid cuz its "genuine, first person, authentic narrative" whereas songwriter B's song is a "make believe, contrived song about fictional characters and fictional events.."

and yet..THEY ARE THE EXACT SAME SONG!

Okay, so you are not making an "argument" per se, but an "observation" but it seems, fallacious and rather mean spirited and biased. Biased how? Let's see. People that write strictly using their own lives, thoughts, emotions, etc. are writing "geniune" and "authentic" stuff, whereas imaginative writers are writing "contrived" songs and live in a land of "make believe." These are your words.

Perhaps consider that even though imaginative writers can seem to make stuff up, that does NOT mean that those imaginings don't have strong connections to their lives. Maybe there is a degree or two (more) of 'separation', but I would argue that imaginative writers are writing from NO LESS an authentic place. (It just might be a place that is harder for a biographer to figure out, involving a bit of detective work, perhaps..)

What is kind of disturbing, though, is how quickly you come to characterize Ricki's writing as being totally made up stuff and having no real bearing on her life. You base this an how large a sampling of her songs? I'm curious. I've known Ricki for some time, and many of her songs are borne of her experience in a very direct way. Here's one for starters, called "Fallen Angel" which is about the death of a relative:

http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1119192.html

If an "authentic" writer and an "imaginative" writer can theoretically come to write the exact same thing, then perhaps one cannot rely on any song's presumed "origins" when looking to understand that song or find value in it, as a reader or listener. Maybe we are forced to simply look at the the song, and not worry so much about how it came to be?

Perhaps an "imaginative" writer can have a hard time following an "authentic" writer for many other reasons, other than an "imaginitive" writer just being "contrived" and living in a "fantasy world." I bet there's a myriad of reasons this can happen, because there are countless reasons why ANY communication between ANY two is fraught with difficulty..

I think that sometimes an "authentic" writer simply hasn't tried hard enough to be understood and their song is just not good writing..plain and simple..that happens too, yanno.

Just because it's somebody's "true authentic experience" does not mean that it's suddenly good writing, LOL..

I never say anything about peoples intentions ..how or why they write songs., we all have different reasons and goals I think
Jon if you consider this finished, you might give people here a heads-up you are..just a header note would do that.
"just for you all to listen to" this is a feedback forum expect Ricki and others to do that..say your sorry and post some more songs all can listen too...Lane

Wow, Jon, my bad. I thought you posted your songs looking for comments. If I'd known that they were sacrosanct I never would have dared a critique.

I find that some writers are so busy being authentic that they forget how to tell an interesting story. And that in their rush to defend their work, they lay out long, unnecessary explanations thinking that throwing even more words at it will solve the problem. Like yelling at a foreigner in English, thinking that if you get the volume right, they'll understand. I'm all for authenticity, I just don't believe in letting it get in the way of a good story and for me, it's all about communicating that story.

This is a feedback forum but people often post finished songs, just to share. If that's what these songs you've posted are, then say so and we can all listen and congratulate you on nice they are. If you actually want feedback, then take it with the same intention with which it was given. We're all on the same journey.

Ricki

Thank you all for your input. I made a mistake to subject my work to this group. I sort of knew that from the start and only contributed here because of old relationships. My mistake. Carry on.

Hey Michael... I wanted to respond to your comment, not at all about my song, but about your postulate here that is dead wrong.

Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of fans.

This could be about any number of successful, working musicians.... Hayes Carll, John Craige, Jonathan Byrd, David Childers, Michael Reno Harrell, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Malcomb Holcombe... on and on and on....

Fans care about YOU and YOUR LIFE if you intend to develop a career in music. If you want to write ONE SONG that some Nashville pretty boy can sing and make you a buck, well good for you. I am not breaking your balls about it. But if you want to develop a career as a singer - songwriter, people will actually follow you. They will know who you are dating, where you are living, when your mama dies, when your dog gets run over.... they will already know your story and they will want to know about it. You folks in this "Nashville" sort of circle look at songs as being completely and utterly detached from the person. You want a song that anyone can sing and relate the story without the listener knowing or caring to know the first thing about the person who delivered that song. The song has to be complete, to anyone, without any prior knowledge of the person telling the story. Fact is, that is not how music that sustains works. That is how easily forgotten, next-man-up, music works.

I mention Todd Snider again, because I like and am familiar with his work. One, of many very personal songs is "Long Year". It is a story about a part of his life that only those who actually follow TODD SNIDER, not just ONE SONG that TS wrote, can understand. And it is written that way. It's not for anyone else. It's not broad or generic, it is specific to people who already know his particular struggle, at that specific time, in his specific life. If you don't know or never followed the guy, the song is not for you. What you guys don't seem to understand, for the most part, is the importance of developing a dedicated fan base who knows your story ALREADY and is following along with YOUR LIFE and waiting to hear what you write next about your journey. You guys want one song, you judge based on ONE SONG, not the big picture of developing a career of singing about your experience to the same group of people. You want broad... generic...detached. That is not the way to all music. It is actually the way to one, very narrow brand of music.

The music I write is very specific to ME. There are those who know my story, who already have the back ground, and like any continuing story, I do not need to cover the circumstance in everything I write. The people who care to know, already know I left NC and trekked out to Oregon. They know why. They now just want to hear it in song. They want to sing along to the journey they can't make themselves.

If anyone else had written "Long Year" it ends up in the trash heap. But Todd Snider wrote it. And that matters to the folks that follow Todd Snider. That is why disingenuous, fake, flashy Nashville stars often fade, after a "flash in the pan". Because their story is inauthentic and contrived. Meanwhile, the people who live their music, the folks who write about their own lives and develop a following based on where they have actually been, often have long and storied careers. Guys like Townes Van Zandt even aspire to outlive their own years and become legends, by not giving two shits if anyone can immediately recognize their narrative.

Nothing wrong with writing for a buck. Good for you. Hope every average Joe looking for immediate gratification gets your hook. I am not after that, thanks. Fact is, based on all available evidence, the actual value of a song does correlate with how the song came to be. "Snowing on Raton" doesn't continue to generate revenue in Townes catalog because it is soem ultimately generic, relatable song. It generates interest, a following and love over the long term precisely because of how it was written.

You ssir, are on the shallow, RIGHT NOW track. I am after something that perhaps may endure, long after any benefit I may receive. Neither track is superior to the other and no need to disparage me or me to disparage you. Agreed?

Jon,

I’m not sure I want to jump into this, but here I go.

First, let’s start with some common ground, upon which I would think songwriters and performers should generally agree:

— There are different ways people approach writing and performing songs.
— No way is necessarily better than any other way.
— Whether a song is good depends on how any particular listener hears it and relates to it, which may differ dramatically from listener to listener, based on their impression of the lyrics and music, or perhaps their understanding of the artist and his or her intent.

— Most people listen to a particular song without the benefit of context—they hear the lyrics and music for the first time and decide whether they like it or not, but . . .
— . . . still other listeners may follow a particular artist, understand and relate to the personal experiences that serve as the basis of that artist’s songs, and enjoy that music because they understand the artist and relate to his or her life experience or form of musical expression.
— Some musicians don’t write strictly from personal experience—it may be based on an aspect of their lives, or may be entirely fiction.
— Finally, the merit of any song is determined on a listener by listener basis. What I think sucks, someone else may thinks is awesome, and vice versa, regardless of whether it is written from personal experience or is totally from the fabric of the artist's imagination.
— Music is subjective; it’s not a science; it’s not math; there’s no magic formula.

So if we can agree on that—and I’m not sure how we can’t—then what the conversation above is reduced to is simply a matter of courtesy.

This is a public forum. When I joined JPF I understood quite plainly that anything I posted would be subject to critique—that seemed to me the very point. In my experience, the people on this site are first rate and considerate with their critiques; they spend a lot of time listening to contributor’s songs, reading their lyrics and providing their thoughts and input, with sincerity, for what they may be worth.

Jon, I get that it’s not always easy to hear what folks say about what we put out there. And, I get you won’t always agree with it—I know I don’t and haven’t always. Quite honestly, I’ve listened to number of your tunes that you posted and like them a ton. Wish I could play guitar and sing as beautifully as you do. That said, I agree with some of the comments you’ve received; and disagree with many others. Bottom line, though, is that you are talented artist. And I’d hate to not have you continue to post here—because I’ve enjoyed your songs and your performances.

But, with due respect, we should be mindful that music, beyond all other things, is a subjective art, and take others opinions with a boulder of salt—and on this board, at least, with the knowledge that we are simply trying to help. I’m truly sorry if you took anyone’s comments, and mine for that matter, for anything other.

One last word—though I’m afraid it may undermine any credibility I may have established with the above. I take exception with artists who say “I write for me,” and so it doesn’t matter if the people who hear it appreciate it for what it is. And so I’ll depart from what I hope has been a diplomatic response to say that’s “B.S.” And if I’m wrong about that, then you leave me wondering why you posted this song on JPF, why you asked for feedback, why it’s on SoundCloud, and why you perform. Just mean to say that as artists, we all want be heard and appreciated. IMHO, there's a lot to appreciate in your songs. Hang around, keep posting your tunes, and helping others out with your insights!

I'm guessing it hasn't been the best start to JPF for you, but your are definitely welcome! I'm hoping you stay a part of our community.

Kindest regards,

Deej

Dear participants in this thread.

Jon can be argumentative, but he can also be kind and gracious. On a motorcycle trip, I had a very enjoyable evening staying with him at his home in South Carolina. It was the two of us and guitars and beer. We even wrote a song out of it.

"How Many Songs Did They Write Today in Nashville?"

https://www.reverbnation.com/skunkofhoustontexas?profile_view_source=header_icon_nav

Understanding Jon...

I cant truly say that I understand Jon, but I can give you one way to view him.

He has a personal reality that his performances express. The songs that he writes and performs and lives are a singularity that is him. They are perfect in that he wrote them the way that he wrote them as an expression of that singularity. Kinda like water going over a falls. Ten different people might like to see the falls reconfigured to their aesthetic tastes, but the falls perfectly adheres to the laws of physics and natural occurrence...and in a sense is a perfect expression of that.

For Jon, to change his songs on the basis of someone else's criteria would be too diminish their natural-ness. To enhance them musically would pervert their natural-ness. In a sense, they are the perfect expression of what they are, as they are.

When Jon rebukes your suggestions, don't look at it as an assault on them. Imo...he is just telling you why they are not right for him.

If this post seems ridiculous to you...it may be. Peace-maker is not my thing so much.

ps...I wish I could'a heard the song.

Martin,

All this must feel a bit awkward for you since it's a safe bet that you are the "old relationship" that asked Jon to check out JPF. I appreciate your insights into Jon and hope you know this stuff doesn't reflect on you.

But it seems like sooner or later Jon would have taken off his songs if somebody making suggestions on how to improve one of them was going to create a reaction such as "people who do it like I do it are the righteous ones" which is really what he's saying when he says "I write from a genuine, first person, authentic narrative, song writers who live in the world of make believe (write) contrived songs about fictional characters and fictional events."

And that was all said in "begging the question" style in that Jon threw that biased attitude in there as a "given" as he was making a point about something else, as in, to paraphrase, "it's funny how it's always the contrived, unauthentic songwriters that are the ones that don't get my songs."

One of my points in my response to him was that everybody writes what they know. Jon simply chooses to remove as many degrees of separation between his life experience and his songwriting, which is fine, but if I write an imaginative song about carpentry, I am betting I write a better song if I actually know about carpentry, with that knowledge woven into the fabric of my life. I don't have to be a carpenter, though. I can use my imagination to meet the subject half way. I don't need to live it, and it certainly doesn't mean that I am a lesser breed of writer.

Jon,

Disparaging others is not in my DNA, but like Deej, I have been known to cry " B.S." from time to time.

It's still kind of disturbing how you characterize folks you've just met, putting us in our little boxes. You say to me, "You ssir, are on the shallow, RIGHT NOW track. I am after something that perhaps may endure" and if you don't think that sounds a little arrogant, I don't know what to say. Jon, you don't know who I am or what I'm about one bit. That takes time spent between people to get to know eachother, but whoops, you don't want to get to know us. But it seems you have a neurotic need to think you already DO know us, though, and to file away folks like me and Ricki into the contived, unauthentic group of songwriters. Maybe you have an unexamined, neurotic need to do this and Ricki's remarks triggered strange feelings in you. That's understandable, especially if you aren't used to people making critical comments about your songs.

In 1937 a white Jewish school teacher wrote a poem so far removed from his day to day existence, we could say this was pretty "unauthentic" on his part. And yet Abel Meeropol's poem and song "Strange Fruit" would become Billie Holiday's signature tune and a key song in the Civil Rights Movement. Score two points for the contrived, unauthentic folks that don't feel a need to live and breathe every written line but trust that the imagination connects back in a direct way. I'm certain a good half of Townes' songs are purely imaginative affairs. His story songs like "Tecumseh Valley" for sure. His love songs like "If I Needed You" are probably honest emotional expressions of something he was living.

But I agree with Deej. When you perform, folks show their appreciation by applauding and cheering, and you've gotta like the applause and cheering--who doesn't like that?. Now, I'm betting that you are no different than every other performer, in that some songs get more response than others, and if you care about your set list, you probably go home at night and wonder about that song that much fewer clapped on. So, you know, you DO care about what people think, and are probably no different than anyone else in that if you are close to a song, adverse reactions (to said song) can create neurotic reactions. So unless you rebuke your audience (by pluggin your ears) when they just smatter their applause, you are getting critiqued and recieving critiques when you play your songs, like it or not. It does seem like you need to keep the critiquing limited to an audiences responses when you perform, and that's fine. But I think you came here cuz you know we have something to offer you. We already get that you have something to offer us, but unless it's a mutual thing, it probably won't work out between us. (I'm smiling..intending a bit of a joke, there..I hope you are smiling too). Be well and have a safe journey..

Mike

Oh dear.

Martin is not the only person here I have corresponded with over the years. There are quite a few people here I have known, at least "electronically" in years past.



Look, this thing that happens in this "Nashville style" of song writing where it takes six people to write a song, in the name of "improving" the song, it often eviscerates the song of any particular writing style. It is pretty unique to "Nashville" country for songs to be written this way. Many writers work is immediately recognizable by their turn of phrase, their grammar, their style. What often happens when a half dozen people tell you how to "improve" your song, is they pretty much act as a sort of song "PC" police. You most often can't distinguish one writers work from another in this particular genre simply because there is no one writers work to even consider. It's all a conglomerate of a think tank style of writing that robs the writer of his own legacy. No way for me to build my writing style like say... John Prine. Had John Prine taken on the advice of a dozen song pundits, I don't suppose we would have such a wonderful writer that is utterly recognizable simply by his writing style. This think-tank method of writing songs robs you and your work of originality. It robs it of personal authenticity. Simply because a group of people told you where YOUR STORY needed to be improved. See... my story is what it is, it unfolded the way I wanted it unfolded because it ultimately is about me. Not six other people who would have said it this way or that way or who would have used this word instead of that word... I used THAT WORD because THAT is the way I SAY IT. And it's my song. And the entire point of my songs is to make them a piece of ME. Not bits and pieces of several different people.

Yes, a song can NOT be authentic to a writer if six people wrote it. If that bothers you, I can only hope you get over it. Because it is evident, on it's face, that it is true. The song is not an authentic reflection of any one person simply because no one person wrote it. I can't listen to a song or read a lyric that was written by a group of people and know anything at all about one writer or that writers style or persona, because HE DIDN'T WRITE IT. The style is a conglomeration of people, using the same "song PC" thought process to debase whatever the original idea for the song was.

You think you are "improving" my song Michael. But that is a pretty arrogant thing to just blurt out, as if somehow anyone can improve the authenticity of my work, the most important thing to me about my work, by making it less authentic to me, the writer. That's not an improvement. That is a diminishing of the style and genuine personal nature of the songs not only I write, but most other writers out side of the "gang style" of writing.

YOU can't improve my work because the things you see as flaws or imperfections are the things that identify the song uniquely to me. And therein lies the difference in concept. I am writing FOR ME. I am writing for my song to sound like, feel like, flow like ME. Not for someone else to to tell me how THEY would have said it. My music is not about how YOU would have said it.

My apologies for the intrusion here folks. I just wanted to share some songs to some folks I ran across here that I had not shared any songs with in a few years. That's all.

I would ask the admin to delete or disable my account, please.

Jon's presence here was a surprise to me. I havent had any contact with him in years. And we had some acidic political arguments years ago, that make anything posted in this thread look like hugs and kisses.

Nonetheless...seeing him again would be great. Hanging out with guitars and beers and Jon would be something ld look forward too. His voice in person is much richer than his recordings convey.

Jon is Jon-centric. His way or no way. I dont make suggestions to him about his music because he doesnt want to hear them and I like what he does anyway.

I suggest everyone relax and drop away from any argument.

Jon,

I apologize if I made you feel defensive and I will leave you alone now. Just know that I agree with you pretty much about "group think" writing, but it can work to make great TV--most serialized shows are written like that, and sometimes it works to make songs better.

I did find it odd that you characterized what me and Ricki and other folks here do is advocate group writing, the Nashville way? Mostly what we do is just say if we like a song or not, and then we offer reasons why we like it or don't like it. Think if it as surrogate applause or lack thereof. Most of us are really careful not to actually give concrete ideas, unless we know a writer is open to them. Letting you know we like a song or not--how is that so different from applause or cheering at a show, which I'm sure you like to get?

I want to believe you don't feel threatened by knowing if we don't like a song for whatever reason, but then I think of songwriters who seem to deal with it differently, like Tampa Stan, who never EVER changed a line in ANY of his songs, and yet was one of the most beloved members we ever had. A truly sweet and classy guy, and definitely NOT threatened by our suggestions.

Mike

Authenticity is important, if you are a singer-songwriter, and one who people expect authentic songs. People expect authentic you from Dylan, Springsteen, Petty, Mellancamp, And a slew of others.

They don't expect it from Bieber or Katy Perry, or many pop entertainers.

I'm not looking for insight when I hear Ricky Martin, if I could dance I might be looking to get my groove on.

I used to believe in critiques, back when forums such as this had serious songwriters, and back when there was an incline of a chance to write a song for so,embody else.

That's what most critiques are about...will this song be understood by publishers, so as to not be rejected before they have a chance.

I dont think anybody here has any hope of placing a song with a major artist, so you might as will be your own artist, and forget trying to write cookie cutter like

Taking authenticity a bit further, a fake song can be made to sound sincere when the singer sings it sincerely, and you believe him or her. Johnny Cash comes to mind, while I'm sure he meant his songs, and I love his music, he could sing a bs story and make it sound like a first hand account.

This is the problem with critiques, they cater to words on paper, and some people don't feel complete unles they say one negative thing

At the end of the day, the question is, do I like this song or don't I?

Just remember most songs on the radio we won't like, and what good would critiquing them be? It doesn't matter, they are on the radio

Goes back to subjective and objective. We all can opine on subjective, but objectively, it should require strong credentials, which most if not all on these forums don't have.

I love singing one of my songs where I wrote both the melody and words as it feels genuine. IF and when I put a melody to somebody else' words it's ok but not as good. A great song makes people cry or laugh or feel it in their gut or heart and the way the singer sings it is important. SO it's so subjective. My wife and I don't like the same songs at all but even if I don't like a hit song I can see why it's a hit. A lot is about the Chorus and how catchy it is and a good first line. I wrote a song MY WALK THROUGH ARLINGTON.....but I felt I didn't need or want a catchy chorus as it told this ongoing story and it works great especially with the pics I got...SO that's my two cents.

Hey Jon:

I hope you know that JPF really needs your participation. Now that we have a better understanding of some of what makes you tick musically, I believe your style will "fit in" here perfectly. Sorry if I got the ball rolling in the wrong direction... if that was how you interpreted my comments. Never believe my comments are intended to be snarky or hurtful. You are as talented as anyone on this site in my opinion. Stick around... you might learn to enjoy it here. If not, vaya con Dios, my friend.

All the best, ----Dave