BACKGROUND

Something that I have wanted to do for a very long time now - is to create and produce a song with several open Open-Mic entrants from all across the world!

Ever since I saw my first remote collaboration between two distant artists, I’ve often fantasized about putting together a select group of artists that I think would make for a great fit in covering a particular song or genre.

After partially recovering from a severe finger wound three months ago, it suddenly dawned on me that I have a very good reason to embark upon this project today!

Three months ago, while using an electric trimmer to prune a never-ending array of shrubs on my property, as I was gracefully switching hands in manning the tool to keep a steady pace, at one point in doing so, my index finger got caught in the base of the sill moving blades upon one poorly timed transition. Yes, the freaking shrubs are ready for another trimming, dammit!

Despite forging ahead to complete my #coverasteemian entry one week after the injury, I have not been able to play the guitar until very recently. I still have trouble because my finger still feels sprained, and I still cannot make a proper fist, which makes it difficult to play many chords.

The REVELATION’S

During week #90 of Open-Mic, that round number brought to bear just how close we are to reaching two very important milestones. The first being 100 consecutive weeks of Open-Mic, and the second just 4-weeks later, which will mark 2-Full Years of consecutive administration of this most amazing venue!

With my finger feeling a bit better, my mind began to race a bit in wanting to do something special for these forthcoming milestones. It wasn’t long before I came up with two cover songs I wanted to mash-up in honor of the Open-Mic’s ongoing success and longevity.

Since I am a self-taught amateur - when I cover a song I start with what I refer to as an “In-Development File.” It’s where I begin to do all of my research on a song. The chords, lyrics, BPM’s, and all of the musical parts I will need to learn in order to create all of the tracks i.e. how to play the bass lines, the drums, guitar, and whatever other effects are unique to making the “cover” an effective one. There will be a bit more on this later as it relates to all those who wish to audition and participate…

So in my newfound excitement, I karmically selected two reference tracks and began rewriting some lyrics, combining tempo’s and changing the key of one to match the other, and began my customary “development process.”

Unlike all of you pro’s out there, it can take me a week or more just to record all of the tracks for one song – but its fun, and I love doing it!

So I picked up my acoustic guitar a few days ago and found that it still hurt when playing, but I could grit my teeth and get through it. Yes, I’m still at somewhat of a technical disadvantage basis the still constrained mechanics governing the use of my index finger. But hey, failure is not an option, and I’m not going let a jacked finger get in the way of creating and having fun!

The MASH-UP

Something OLD, NEW, BORROWED, and TRUE

Yes, I know the saying is “Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue,” and the Mash-Up has that, but it also has something to do with truth and honesty too. I selected reference track one first. I immediately chose this track for its feel-good vibes of inclusion, which celebrates and embraces the love and joy of everyday people. Plus – I just LOVE this song – always have!

Since the gift of inclusion and recognition is what the Open-Mic has given me, I thought it was the perfect song to use in tribute and honor of marking such a milestone, and that it would fully capture and express just what the Open-Mic has meant and still means to me. Check it out!

Reference Track-1 of the Mash-Up

I guess the combination of my pent-up creativity in concert with the scale of the milestones the Open-Mic is soon to reach; one song wasn’t going to cut it. I needed another song that I felt strongly about to Mash/Mesh with the first. The song that immediately came to mind was one that I’ve recently been using and referring to a lot. It’s about awareness, honesty, telling the truth, and the possibility of a new dawn – all of which I hold dear and have high hopes for. Check it out!

Reference Track-2 of the Mash-Up

Hopefully, these two songs will resonate strongly with enough fellow musicians to assemble an elite roster of amazing band members for this very special Open-Mic performance!

CAN YOU FEEL IT!

My spur of the moment invitation to collaborate

Needless to say, when I got these two reference tracks uploaded to my DAW for “mashing,” I knew going in - that I’d have to find a common BPM for both, which came in at around 111 BPM. I also had to get them both in the key of E-major, which I’ve done.

What I found interesting and have come to learn - is that many recordings whether they are "live" or studio recordings simply don’t jive with a steady click-track. There is a small sense of “timing free-form” that takes place that goes unnoticed by everything except a mechanical metronome. Well, I did my best to adjust my mash-up reference track to stay like 90% on time with the click track, which helps a lot when laying down individual tracks. Anyway, let’s move on to the fun stuff.

After spending a couple of days doing my research and getting my reference tracks mashed up to my liking, I had another “HUGE” revelation!

Though I’ll still do it all on my own if left without a choice, I suddenly realized that this project was meant to be a community project and an undertaking that I could not reasonably expect to create and pull off all on my own. With this revelation, I knew that I now had an opportunity to realize one of my long-standing dreams, which as I mentioned earlier, is to create and produce a song featuring several of the most talented artists from the Open-Mic venue.

Basic Technical Requirements

Since I’m new to this “remote” form of collaboration, I will very much defer to and take the advice of others more experienced in this realm as to the best and most effective approach. That said, I suspect those wishing to participate should be able to work with and provide the following deliverables:

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• Able to receive and play back MP3 stems, scratch tracks, or reference tracks
• Ability to record and deliver various tracks via email in MP3 format
• Ability to provide a separate accompanying video of your MP3 performance
• Able to record, render and sync MP3 tracks at a sample rate of 48kHz with a 24-bit resolution.
• Willing and able to meet all required deadlines for submission

CREATIVE

As of this post, it is very early on in the process. As such, those so inclined to be involved in the developmental creative aspect of this project should contact me directly ASAP via discord at @passion-ground#5524.

On discord, we can come to a consensus on creative strategy; determine how to structure/tweak the Mash-Up, and how to manage the multiple artist development, mixing, mastering, and video production of the finished product.

I am quite easy to work with, and will always remain open to ALL creative input in addition to harboring an inherent willingness to delegating creative control where it is best suited and confidently delivered.

The time window on becoming part of the “Creative Team” is likely to be no more than a week or so. There is a lot of information to assemble for this project - so the timeframe for becoming involved in the creative process is somewhat limited given the general time constraints involved.

In addition to contacting me on discord at @passion-ground#5524, you may also leave a comment below expressing such interest and we can move forward from there.

DEADLINES

If we collectively decide upon week #100 as the desired tributary milestone, then all qualifying MP3 and video submissions must be received no later than August 23rd, which will allow myself and the creative team a week to mix, master, and edit the video associated with the production in time to enter it into the list of week #100 entries.

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OR

If we collectively decide upon week #104 (2-year anniversary) as the desired tributary milestone, then all qualifying MP3 and video submissions must be received no later than September 20th, which will allow myself and the creative team a week to mix, master, and edit all of the video associated with the production in time to enter it into the list of week #104 entries.

COMPENSATORY REWARDS

Once the project is complete and ready for delivery, I will transfer up to $100 SBD from my personal funds divided equally amongst all those who have contributed to making this project a reality, which means every creative team member as well as every artist contributing to the final musical performance.

Any rewards earned from the post-entry itself will be distributed as follows: 50% of the posts rewards will be distributed equally amongst the creative team. The remaining 50% of rewards will be distributed equally amongst all of the artists who rendered tracks for the production.

DREAM TEAM CANDIDATES

Although EVERYONE is welcome to audition and participate, given the specific genre and flavor of the two reference tracks selected, I have come up with a short list of Steemians that I think would be fitting to fill all of the various musical roles required to make this a #1 Open-Mic Hit for the ages!

As such, if you are not included in this short list, please do not be discouraged. It may be such that I am not aware of your musical range, or I have simply forgotten to reference you - or I have inadvertently overlooked the intense value that you could bring to the table. With that said, I would very much suggest that you contact me directly, leave a message in the comment thread, and last but not least, audition for the project as described below for full consideration.

Who is On Board thus far?

As mentioned, we are very early on in the process; however, I have already received strong interest and commitments to participate from both @nathankaye and @mayneth. Both Nathan and Mayneth are extraordinary musical talents who bring with them a multitude of artistry, artists, performers, entertainment, and production skills.

Who else might I wish to see on board this Love Train?

Again, the following are all “song-specific” selections based upon my experience as an Open-Mic judge - and listening to these various artists over the course of a year or more. If I’ve overlooked or underestimated your range in adding value to these two particular songs, please, do not hesitate to contact me directly or to submit an audition entry in the comment thread below.

The following artists are listed in no particular order, but are instead ordered by instrument:

Drums:
@steemmatt
@lerpdrummerboy
@drumeraonline
@pedrogranado23

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Bass Guitar:
@miguelblanco
@premmlinbass
@gabs.uni.versos
@shakazula

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Horns:
@shookriya
@olivercuico
@elmaster
@ylich

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Lead/Rhythm/Slide Guitar:
@dreamrafa
@tamsguitar
@rodolfoyanez
@adrianjordaz
@passion-ground
@nathankaye

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Lead & Back-Up Vocals:
@nathankaye
@builtinfire
@alcoholisedbsoul
@belenlopr
@moccamonica
@soundlegion
@etemi
@klynic
@lecocoramos
@andreabortone
@mightyjoenolan
@mrprecious
@petrajordan
@dannyhamilton
@dinoromanelli

Keyboards:
@samidbarid
@petrajordan
@coruscate
@drewley

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DEVELOPMENTAL MUSICAL REFERENCES

Okay, so very much along the lines that my "amateur ass" would go about undertaking this task all on my own, I’m going to provide the community of prospective artists with my personal “Developmental Task” files to assist those auditioning or wishing to participate a more clear understanding what I am after in terms of quality and effect both musically and visually.

Make no mistake; I firmly believe in granting 100% creative control to artists in providing their unique interpretations in adding value to the project. As such, the following developmental references are just that – “references” from which to base one’s efforts and artistic expression toward the cause.

Developmental Drum References

Okay, so I found this incredible drum cover – and I just loved it! I was really taken by the skill, audio quality, and camera angle that captured this most amazing reference performance of “Tell the Truth.” Whoever this guy is - he nailed this shit to the freakin' cross, yo! I'm tellin' the truth!

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As for the first reference track, I located this performance, which could be much tighter, but is nonetheless a decent basis upon which to structure the general drum track for “Everyday People.”

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Developmental Bass References

The bass runs here in this rendition of “Tell the Truth” are pretty epic and rather respectable. I’d expect something very much along these lines for our production Mash-Up

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As for the first reference track, the bass line for “Everyday People” is all about “attitude” and “feeling.” It’s straightforward, driving, and funky – and essential to pulling off the vibe.

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Developmental Keyboard References

Though there are numerous opportunities to embellish keyboards in reference track 2, “Tell the Truth,” I have found no such examples to share.

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As for the first reference track, the keyboards for “Everyday People” are represented nicely here, despite the excessive embellishments at times, and the clearly lacking vocals. Note that our key has been changed from G-major to E-Major…

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Developmental Vocal References

Track 2’s, “Tell the Truth,” is straight-forward and in my opinion, needs no musical reference. Backup vocals and harmonies are critical in this track, and I hope that we get a team together that can deliver the goods across the board.

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As for the first reference track, “Everyday People,” I found this vocal reference replete with harmonies that are rather instructive for those so inclined to provide lead and/or backup vocals. Yeah, this rendition is a bit cheesy, but it does show us the entertaining ranges that are attainable.

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I didn’t find any “horn” references with either of the tracks, but the horns are definitely present in Everyday People, and could easily be incorporated into “Tell the Truth.” Both of which would be a welcome addition for those who could provide such tracks according to the protocols described above.

In closing, thank you all for taking the time to read this long post and for your creative consideration in participating in this most exciting event!

I realize this is a lot of information and entertainment to digest in one sitting, but I’m certain that you’ll ultimately agree that for those who choose to do so, it will be a rather rewarding experience on many levels. So dig in folks, the deeper you get, the more fun we have, and richer we become!

If you wish to provide a quick audition for immediate consideration, simply cover one or both of the reference tracks above and submit the associated YouTube video below in the comment section, and I’ll contact you thereafter if we think your contribution will add value to this production.

For those on the dream team list, or those who already know that they are qualified, excited, and committed to being part of this team and adding value to the project in one form or another, please contact me via DM at the discord handle @passion-ground#5524 for further discussion.

At the end of the day, whatever you do - just sing a song that you love... Hold it close, and never let it go!

Peace, Love, and Justice for All

#omcollab100 / #omcollab104

@passion-ground