I’ve uploaded a DJ track of my favorite songs I did for FAWM 2022.
I encourage all producers out there to finish their tracks and get them out there because that makes it real. That’s how you get better.
All-Star Cast of the “60SKULLS Gimme15bertha” #FAWM #music #corpse #skirmish
The coolest thing about FAWM is the community of fascinating and talented musicians of multiple genres from all over the world. They’ve generously invited me into their world and I’m honored to be counted as one of them, striving to be worthy.
The most talented, in my mind, goes by the name of “Wolf” and has put together an awesome track that will blow your mind, and I don’t use that phrase loosely. He was our “cruise director” for this mishmash of talent, creating and coordinating the birthday party of the century, Bertha’s 60th. Happy birthday, Bertha!
You might find me sprinkled throughout, but I’m the most proud of being called the “DJ” under the name of SBS2018.
Catch a sneak peek by Wolf, whose vocals I absolutely love (David Bowie, right?, followed by the full track available on Bandcamp.
Please like, share, download, and tell your friends (and I never say that either). But I would love for these people to be recognized for their talent, individually and as collaborators.
Btw, headphones recommended.
“Best of 50/90 2021” Album Available on Bandcamp
This is available as a 12-track album (plus bonus track) or as individual songs.
DJ Track Highlighting My Favorites from the 50/90 Challenge #2021 (#50/90 #Songwriting #MusicProducer)
As we count down to 2022, I figured it was time to create a DJ track of my favorite songs from the 50/90 challenge (writing 50 songs in 90 days). It is now available on MixCloud (mixed for headphones):
Drummer Dottie Dodgion Leads Me To Ableton Live/Push2
So I’m thinking I need to know more about drumming since the drums seem to be my favorite instrument in electronic music. I searched online for “female drummer,” thinking I’d be able to relate even more since the music industry is so heavily male. And who do I find but Dottie Dodgion who drummed with all the greats in her time until she was 91. We’re talking the 50s/60s when a female drummer was unheard of. I also discovered she died just this last September.
And then I discovered her autobiography The Lady Swings: Memoirs of a Jazz Drummer. So, naturally, I snapped that up, and I am completely enthralled with her story. And completely humbled. Her father was a drummer so she internalized all that he knew and did, besides having inherited those genes, and a lifetime of learning and practicing and loving her instrument.
My father said, after I met him later in life, “All my kids play the drums.” In fact, his grandson, my nephew, earned a degree in Jazz Performance at Fresno State. You guessed it – he played drums.
And then my life started to make a lot of sense. My uncle said “Now that you know you’re a Holmes, you’re going to want to pay attention to music.” I’ve always loved music, sang and played the keys, guitar, violin when I was young, but didn’t really do much with it as an adult beyond turning the radio up loud, windows rolled down, racing my black Pontiac down Cornell Road in Portland, Oregon.
Although most of the music I create usually falls into the “House” category of EDM, I love all genres, including Jazz. Naturally (I keep using that word), I desired to know more about it and downloaded the Peter Magadini Jazz Drums tutorial from Groove3.
I’m totally intimidated, realizing that being a traditional drummer is beyond me (or, at least, my interest), but I can learn a lot by knowing as much as I can about the drums by studying different genres.
I also realized that this is where Ableton Live shines over Logic Pro, at least to me, when it comes to programming drums using the drum rack and Push2. I am finally motivated to spend more time learning Ableton and Push.
What Disco, Metal, Rock, and House Music Have in Common
Major influences on today’s music. House Music Godfather Marshall Jefferson said (in Electronic Musician) his early influences were Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. But he moved on to club music because he thought only big, sweaty men went to Zeppelin and Deep Purple and he wanted to meet some women. Ha! Not entirely true, though – lol!
Those were also my influences and my friends and I went to plenty of concerts. And if you read the comments on YouTube, you’ll see that other women were/are fans, too.
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 Holmes @ Screamie Birds Studios 