Kathy #amproducing, 2021, 50/90, Electronic Music, LogicProX, Modern Musician, Music Producer, Music Production

The Truth Is: 50/90 Song #55

I haven’t been able to stop writing songs for 50/90–it’s such an awesome motivator, especially with feedback from fellow musicians/songwriters. The community is awesome.

One of the features is that you can indicate your favorite songs so when somebody stops by, they might want to listen to those. The problem is, my favorite song seems to be the one I’m working on – lol!

So, song #55, my latest song, is my favorite. With this one, I was experimenting with the CLA vocal plugin, recommended to me by a fellow producer. I start with shadowing vocal samples from Audentity Records and then take the lead with my lyrics using the “Moody” preset of the CLA plugin.

Take a listen here:

Kathy Writing

“Girl on the Run,” Song #51 (#50/90) or Musicians Gotta Make Music

Just when I thought I was finished with 50/90, having created 50 songs in 55 days, I just couldn’t stay away from music. I took some time off and wondered why my week sucked. So I had to get back into the studio. And here’s one of the versions of what I created, “Girl On the Run,” song #51, an exercise in Logic Pro Future Bass experimentation and remixing.

Hope you enjoy.

Kathy #amproducing, #EDM, #House, Music Production

It All Started with Earthquake Ethel’s…

Playing around with some different WordPress themes to change it up, I also added “Earthquake Ethel’s Roadhouse” as my header, well, for now. You may be wondering what the heck is Earthquake Ethel’s. That’s really where EDM started for me when I discovered Disco at Earthquake Ethel’s.

The moment I walked through the door and heard that Bass and that Kick Drum, I knew I was home. I’ve written scenes about that time in at least one of my novels, but Raining Men comes to mind.

The truth is, I was late to EDM as most people think of it, the EDM of the 90s and 2000s. I only discovered it when I was taking songwriting and music production classes, searching for a genre I was especially interested in or had a knack for. I tried piano-forward genres, guitar-forward genres, but once I realized it was all about the drums for me (my father said “All my kids play the drums” after I met him), I knew EDM was my genre.

But looking back I see that it all started with Earthquake Ethel’s. And that header reminds me of that, helps keep me on track. Because as much as I’ve enjoyed writing novels, there was a time and place for that. It was therapy for me back then. Now, my therapy is music. Okay, so maybe writing is also therapy. 🙂

Kathy #amediting, #amwriting

Choosing Fun (#cruising #amwriting)

I gotta say, Carnival Cruise Lines has an awesome slogan of “Choose Fun” now being rolled out as “Back to Fun,” which is what we’re all looking for, right? I gotta tell ya, watching Ordinary Adventures “Symphony of the Seas” vlogs, I cried – so missing cocktails by the pool at sea!

I’m trying to get into the cruise mood to edit the third novel in the 3-book cruise series starting with Real Women Wear Red, continuing on to Real Women Sing the Blues to, hopefully, “Real Women Are Good Enough” (aka as “She’s Not That Good”). As much fun as “She’s Not That Good” sounds to me, I’m thinking I should stick with the “Real Women” precedent from the other 2 books.

I tried publishing it episode by episode on the new Kindle Vella, but have noticed my readers aren’t into that so I’m publishing it as a book, like all my others.

But after taking a music break, I don’t know… I may have to put this project back on hold or at least keep it on the slow path. I need my music!

Kathy #amproducing, 2021, 50/90, Songwriting

50 Songs in 55 Days (#50/90)

It’s September 1st – yay! And I completed 50/90 a few days ago, a whole month early, writing 50 songs in only 55 days!

I’m so exhausted and completely dry creatively. But I will cull through some of these songs in the future, curating a DJ playlist or two.

But maybe I should post one of my favorites now. This one is called “Latin Heat.”

Kathy #amproducing, #amwriting, #lyrics, 2021, IndieArtist, IndieAuthor, IndieRock, Lyrics and Music, Music Production, Musings By Morning Light, Poetry, Screamie Birds, Songwriting

Goodbye July or “What I Did While Trying to Make Disneyland Dining Reservations”

This is the story of how I wrote yesterday’s poem and turned it into a song early this morning while trying to make Disneyland dining reservations.

The night before last I was awake during the night looking at the calendar on my iPhone trying to make Disneyland dining reservations (which is such a crapshoot these days), realizing I couldn’t make September ressies for at least one more day, if I was lucky. Staring at the month of July, I was thinking about how July may be my least favorite month – certainly living in the hotter states I’ve lived in like Southern Nevada and Central Florida. Will July ever end?

I then jotted down those lyrics.

Last night I was awake during the night doing the same staring at the calendar thing, trying again to snag Disneyland dining reservations, and I thought, “I must write the music for those lyrics.” I did snag some ressies, so then I got up at around 4 am and recorded this song, trying not to sing too loudly so I wouldn’t awaken my husband and cats – lol!

It was a lot of fun and came out better than I thought it would. Hope you enjoy!

Kathy #lyrics, Poetry, Writing

July (#Lyric #Poem)

And July goes on and on and on
Hot days, long days
Never been a fan
Except for

Birthday parties, frilly pink ribbons
Angel food cake and pink frosting
Ice cream on a fancy plate
Pink candles lit on the cake

And July goes on and on and on
Hot days, long days
Never been a fan
Except for

Playing catch in the street
Disneyland fireworks in the sky
Roy Orbison on the hifi
Ice clinking in the glass
After Shirtless dads mowing the grass

And July goes on and on and on
Hot days, long days
Never been a fan
Except for

Koolaid, popcorn and Beatles 45s
Never heard the F word or “Not gonna lie”
Motown, Photoplay, days at the beach
Coppertone, skates and surfboards,
all within my reach

And July goes on and on and on
Never been a fan
Hot days, long days…

Kathy IndieAuthor, Kindle, Writing

#Free Download of “Real Women Wear Red,” the Prequel to “She’s Not That Good”

When 40-something Kate “Cyn” Francis changes her name, her hair color, and her age in order to snag a younger man on a Caribbean cruise, the last thing she expects is to fall overboard for a Cary Grant look-alike.

Sandy Brown, 20-something and eager to get over a broken heart, is also looking for love.

Millie Evans, having recently sold her publishing empire, is on a succession of one-week cruises, looking to reconnect with a past love.

But this is no ordinary love boat. Three women, three generations, all connected in an unexpected way. And it’s more than sharing the same motto that “real women wear red.”

Free download for the next 5 days.

Read She’s Not That Good on Kindle Vella here.