Kathy #amwriting, 2021, Preptober

#Preptober for #NaNoWriMo: The Heroine’s Journey

Anybody gearing up for NaNoWriMo by doing Preptober? Okay, I’ve never been a fan of NaNoWriMo – tried it once and wrote crap – lol!

But after completing 50/90 (50 songs in 90 days) or rather surpassing 50 songs by writing 60 songs, I’m thinking I might want to do NaNo this year. At least, do it my way.

I’d really like to finish “She’s Not That Good” aka “Real Women Are Good Enough” during NaNo. Otherwise, I fear that book may never be published.

So what are my plans for Preptober for this particular book? Before I can finish writing some scenes, I think I might need to establish the beats via “The Heroine’s Journey… “ by Gail Carriger. But on second thought, I’m not i to Greek mythology at all and may be using “Romancing the Beat…” by Gwen Hayes instead. There’s also “Save the Cat Writes a Novel… ” by Jessica Brody.

It would be nice if I could finish it for publication. Music may keep calling me back, but after 50/90, I need a break from music. Don’t I?

Kathy 50/90, Ableton Live, Electronic Music, IndieArtist, LogicProX, Lyrics and Music

Why I Used #LogicPro Instead of #Ableton for #50/90 #Songwriting #Challenge

For those of you who do not know, 50/90 is a songwriting challenge where you attempt to write 50 songs in 90 days, starting around July 4th, ending October 1. It’s an offshoot of FAWM (February Album Writing Month) where you attempt to write 14 songs in the month of February.

2018 was my first FAWM and it nearly killed me – lol! I was new to songwriting and music production and putting my music out there for critique was stressful. But I was hooked. The community is especially supportive, and I loved that interaction with other songwriters/musicians.

The first time I heard of 50/90, well, I thought that was insane and never really took it seriously. Last year, I might have written a couple of songs. But this year, I ended up creating 60 songs – busting past the 50 even. I couldn’t believe it. But I got hooked on creating songs every day.

Right before 50/90 started this year, I’d purchased Push2, and I’d hoped that 50/90 would be a great opportunity to get creative with Push. However, with the daily pressure of getting songs out there, I found I was relying on me knowing Logic Pro and being more comfortable with it.

The other personal music challenge I’d given myself was to do more songwriting/performing rather than the usual EDM tracks and I much prefer Logic Pro for that – the “note” section is perfect for writing lyrics and/or having them while recording.

Logic has an awesome assortment of loops, which I also relied on during this time crunch. My intention for Push2 was to move beyond stock loops and create my own, but I just didn’t have time to acquire those skills in time for 50/90.

It’s 4 months until FAWM 2022. Is that time to get comfortable with Ableton and Push2?

Kathy 2021, 50/90, Disco, LogicProX, Lyrics and Music, Modern Musician, Music, Music Producer, Music Production, Songwriting

“Don’t Touch Me” (#50/90 #music #producer #songwriting #challenge #LogicPro)

Now that 50/90 is over for this year, I’m going through my tracks to pick out my favorites to bring back into the studio for further mixing/remixing, etc. This one I did in Logic Pro.

Don’t Touch Me
(Kathy Holmes @ Screamie Birds Studios)

Chorus

Don’t touch me, don’t touch me
I’m just here for the beat

Don’t touch me, don’t touch me
I’m just here for the beat

Verse

I brush past you in the crowd
Give you a little bump
You bump back, give me a smile
Haven’t seen you in a while

Verse

Since the day you asked me out
And then never showed
Got a better offer I heard
Or that’s what I was told

Chorus

Don’t touch me, don’t touch me
I’m just here for the beat

Don’t touch me, don’t touch me
I’m just here for the beat

Bridge

You ask me for my number
I don’t do that, don’t do that
You know you want it, want it
No I don’t, as a matter of fact
I just came here to dance

Chorus

Don’t touch me, don’t touch me
I’m just here for the beat

Don’t touch me, don’t touch me
I’m just here for the beat

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 this community of fellow musicians/songwriters.

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 at this moment (55 out of 60), 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

End of September #Free #Book #Kindle #Deal

To celebrate the end of September, my parents wedding anniversary (the 25th) and the end of 50/90, Déjà Vu at the Blue Diamond… will be available to download on Kindle for $0.00. This #Free promo runs from Sunday, September 26 through Thursday, September 30.

I’m also hoping this will get me in the mood to finish my romantic suspense novel in progress. 🙂

To find out all the juicy details and to watch a sneak peek video, check it out – Déjà Vu at the Blue Diamond…

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.”