JD,

If you look down the posts on this, you will see a very close idea of what everything in the music world is. Some people like things, some can hear the exact same thing and hate it. That is what everything is. From writer to artist to publisher to audience and every step in between or with very few steps in between, you have different perspectives and tastes. Goes always to my suggestion that no one ever get just one critique. They are all opinions.

Most of these threads are all about building knowledge and follow through in music, regardless of where it is going. The key to music is finding just the thing that makes more people agree with you than dissagreements.

In everything I talk about, I am not as concerned about what they have already written and in some cases, recorded. That is done. It is very hard to re-write things no matter the intention, so it is always best to move forward and write more songs. Then you can always look back and decide what you want to feature and what might be set back for a different time. It all has value no matter what the opinion is.

What might be interesting for you, Aladar or anybody, to spend a little time to investigate the people who commented, find out their background and influences. I am willing to bet the one's that are a little tougher on the criticisms, are one's that have more direct surroundings in music, performers, writers with publisher contacts, etc. The ones who are generally glowing might not observe that much music outside a close knit mix of their own and friends or here.

But another aspect of this is not as well known. First of all, a thread a few days back were about the types of reviews people get here. some bemoan the fact that everybody seems to be "patting each other on the back" and find out when they go to TAXI or Song U or NSAI (Each one are subjects on their own in other threads.)
Another thread was about how they were only getting critiques on the lyrics and not the music, production or marketability. I try to follow as many of these threads as I can and make mental notes of what people want to know about.

In addition, Aladar, I believe, I could be wrong but I don't think so, was on another thread talking about wanting to come to Nashville to participate in an upcoming music festival, in order to meet publishers, other writers, make new contacts, etc. And, I believe, he had contacted me privately about things I do and suggestions on his trip.

Now again, I might be wrong, Aladar, and I apologize if I am, but when people don't use their real names on these posts, I have a hard time remembering who I am talking to. So there are other considerations involved here.

And at the end JD, as I have said over and over, I am not just concerned with Nashville. I am concerned about people being as effective and the best writers they can be. When you perform in a loud bar or coffee house where no one knows you, your music or even care about you being there, which is about 75% of live music venues now, you need to get the best cross section of opinions you can get. If you are putting it on your My Space, Face book and You Tube site, you have one chance to make a bad first impression.

And getting some information from someone who is in the trenches not just in Nashville, but in LA, New York, Toronto, Washington, and pretty much every other place you can get, makes sense. I don't say I know it all. But I do say I am pretty experienced in having to go into "unfamiliar, unfriendly territory" and making a lot of friends pretty quickly.


That is what I am talking about. But it always going to be the same. When we are doing music, we have to look at every aspect, from every lyric, every melody, every build, every recording, everything from start to finish.

That is what I try to do.

MAB