Wanted to get a post up about a really fruitful songwriting project I've been doing with an old friend, Chuck Hall. We call it DanceHall Productions. Chuck and I have known each other for over 25 years. A talented working musician his entire life and opening for countless famous artists, Chuck was also with Fender Musical Instruments for several years, helping them develop new products, He still does work for Fender, demo-ing new amps at NAMM shows, etc.
And many of you already know my story...
Well we finally got together and started songwriting about a year ago, and everything just clicked. This was in part due to our similar sensibilities about what constitutes good music; part due to our similar sense of humor (important in songwriting!); and in part because we're both workaholics. We cranked out 26 songs in 2011, working about 20 hours a week, with finished recordings of each song. Come to think of it, we never left a song undone. Each started with a musical hook, or maybe just a single lyric, and we pushed each one through to completion. Friends helped us out with vocals, great Phoenix singers like Gary Bruzzese, Diana Lee, Al DeQuina, Katherine Reckling, Stan Deveroux, and even Chuck's daughter Charlie Beth.
The material we write is simple, grooving, clean, uncluttered, and energetic. We include all sorts of American musical styles. People tell us the songs sound fresh and new, yet familiar somehow. Most have a clever, happy, or uplifting message, which is a nice change from the anger and angst themes that have dominated popular music for too long.
We're wondering what the next step is for this project. The three general directions are pitching the songs to younger recording artists who are up-and-coming; pitching to TV and Film; and developing our own band to refine the material through live performing. There are some real jewels in our library (we think each one is!), and these are just pre-production recordings laid down in a small project studio.
You can hear us here:
http://dancehallproductions.bandcamp.com/
...see us here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oCdhUUjjtk
DanceHall music is universal and can be sweetened or re-arranged to crossover to large audiences in a variety of genres. We have already had positive feedback from several world class people including Nashville talent scouts and American Idol finalists. We are now looking for that special producer/promoter/investor to join our team and help take DanceHall to the next level.
Also, you can learn about the larger music publishing company that DanceHall is a part of here:
http://www.thecrawdaddy.bandcamp.com/
Contact Richard Dance at rdance@q.com if you or someone you know would like to have a conversation.
And many of you already know my story...
Well we finally got together and started songwriting about a year ago, and everything just clicked. This was in part due to our similar sensibilities about what constitutes good music; part due to our similar sense of humor (important in songwriting!); and in part because we're both workaholics. We cranked out 26 songs in 2011, working about 20 hours a week, with finished recordings of each song. Come to think of it, we never left a song undone. Each started with a musical hook, or maybe just a single lyric, and we pushed each one through to completion. Friends helped us out with vocals, great Phoenix singers like Gary Bruzzese, Diana Lee, Al DeQuina, Katherine Reckling, Stan Deveroux, and even Chuck's daughter Charlie Beth.
The material we write is simple, grooving, clean, uncluttered, and energetic. We include all sorts of American musical styles. People tell us the songs sound fresh and new, yet familiar somehow. Most have a clever, happy, or uplifting message, which is a nice change from the anger and angst themes that have dominated popular music for too long.
We're wondering what the next step is for this project. The three general directions are pitching the songs to younger recording artists who are up-and-coming; pitching to TV and Film; and developing our own band to refine the material through live performing. There are some real jewels in our library (we think each one is!), and these are just pre-production recordings laid down in a small project studio.
You can hear us here:
http://dancehallproductions.bandcamp.com/
...see us here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oCdhUUjjtk
DanceHall music is universal and can be sweetened or re-arranged to crossover to large audiences in a variety of genres. We have already had positive feedback from several world class people including Nashville talent scouts and American Idol finalists. We are now looking for that special producer/promoter/investor to join our team and help take DanceHall to the next level.
Also, you can learn about the larger music publishing company that DanceHall is a part of here:
http://www.thecrawdaddy.bandcamp.com/
Contact Richard Dance at rdance@q.com if you or someone you know would like to have a conversation.
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