Kathy 2023, Electronic Music, FAWM, IndieArtist, Modern Musician, Music Production, Screamie Birds, Social Media, Songwriting, Writing, YouTube

#FAWM, Day 1, Song 1: A Lover’s Lover

Okay, so it’s day 1 of FAWM 23, and I’ve uploaded song #1, A Lover’s Lover.

What else am I doing on day 1 of FAWM 23? Continuing my read of Digital Minimalism. I do like minimalism, don’t I? I’m almost finished reading Essentialism. Similar ideas.

Both validate my whole POV anyway. But it’s always good to be reminded and to realize you’re not alone in thinking these things and in practicing them, too.

What to do about social media is always a struggle, but it’s good to know the best way to deal with technology is to choose the parts you find essential and to toss the rest.

Take FAWM, for example. It is a bit social media-like and can trigger the dopamine rush checking to see how many comments you get and what people are saying about your music, but it’s also the motivation I need to get some music done. So, overall, I find it worth keeping.

Now, on to some more reading and writing and listening. That’s how FAWM works. You listen to others and they listen to you and you often discover some real gems – both people and music – along the way.

Kathy FAWM, Music Production, Social Media, Songwriting, Writing

Emotionally Sober (#FAWM Countdown)

As I count down the days until FAWM (just 1 more day) I’m catching up on my reading. Julia Cameron’s latest book, Write for Life: Creative Tools for Every Writer (a 6-week Artist’s Way Program), hits me with this thought: Emotionally Sober.

Struck sober at age twenty-nine, I was at the mercy of my moods. Without alcohol to buffer them, my moods were savage. I needed a new way to write and to live. I needed to be emotionally sober. – Julia Cameron, Write for Life.

She stays sober by writing her morning pages daily and by writing 2 pages of whatever writing project she is working on.

Another thing that inspired me was reading Becca Syme’s words of wisdom in yesterday’s email, about February Social Media Challenge (no social media for the first 30 minutes of your day):

If I could put my finger on the one piece of advice I give the most often recently, for any number of different problems, it would by far be: just stop with the social media. – Becca Syme

This answer might solve:

  • Empathy problems (where the Empathy Strength is overloaded by too many people having access to your emotions)
  • Input problems (where you’re using low-quality social media input to fill the well, but it’s only making a penny instead of a dollar because it’s also taking things from you)
  • Intellection problems (where you’re “really quick”ing yourself into social media when you’re stuck, only to realize it’s not making you unstuck
  • Strategic problems (where you’re avoiding the pain of being stuck by soothing on social media)
  • Learner problems (where this one time, you learned something on social media, and now your Learner is getting co-opted by your dopamine receptors into doing social media “really quick”)
  • Relationship-Building problems (where you’re isolated and lonely, and you’re hoping social media will fill your bucket, but again, it’s pennies instead of dollars)
  • Influencing problems (where you’re not getting the impact you want, and you’re hoping social media will give you some impact hits, but again, pennies, not dollars)

Yes, we all know this, right, but sometimes, we need to hear it from somebody outside of ourselves, sometimes we need to be reminded of what we already know, and sometimes we learn something new about something we thought we knew.

Kathy 2022, 50/90, Songwriting

Dancing With Travolta=Most Fun Song for 50/90

Fifty-ninety ends in about a week but I’ve already done my 50 songs – I did it – yay! And the one I had the most fun with is a remix of a song I’d written during my first FAWM in 2018. Fifty-ninety is a fun songwriting challenge and community, but it’s high time I get back to my novels in progress.

Dancing With Travolta (Tribute to Earthquake Ethels)

Kathy 2022, 50/90, BandCamp, Chick Lit, Songwriting, Writing

“Candy Apple Red” ( Laurie Anderson #Spoken #Pop #Music #Art)

My goal for 50/90 (write 50 songs in 90 days) was to experiment with different sounds, genres, but mostly my vocals and what they’re capable of, where they find their home, etc. And 45 songs in, it seems the biggest hit (and my favorite) are the 2 spoken word pop art type songs. So much so, I’m thinking this may have planted the seed for creating a concept album of just that for the next FAWM (February Album Writing Month).

So check this one out and let me know what you think… not surprising it’s a song about red – ala my first published novel Real Women Wear Red. 🙂

”Candy Apple Red” (best with headphones)

Kathy 2022, 50/90, BandCamp, IndieArtist, Music Producer, Songwriting

50/90 2022 Is On! #FAWM #50/90 #Songwriting #Challenge

Fifty-ninety is on its second week. In case you don’t know, 50/90 is the summer songwriting challenge of FAWM, where you are challenged to write 50 songs in 90 days starting on July 4. Last year, for the first time, I completed the challenge. In fact, I wrote 60 songs. This year we’re in the midst of moving cross-country so I’ll do what I can do. Speaking of which, here is my first song: “Nasty Lies.”

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 Music Producer, Podcast, Social Media, Songwriting, Writing

My First Podcast: Cruise Ship Night Life

Missing cruise ship night life? Okay, so maybe you’re missing night life of any kind. But cruise ship nightlife is pretty much all the night life I do. Or did. So I created a dance track using a few of the new tracks I created during FAWM, and upload it to YouTube. It was so much fun making – both the DJ track and the YouTube video. Hope you enjoy!

You can find it on YouTube by searching for Screamie Birds Studios or by clicking the link below:

To cruise virtually, check out my two novels set on cruise ships:

Real Women Wear Red and Real Women Sing the Blues.

Thanks for listening to my first podcast from my WordPress blog at kathyholmes.net.