Meyer & McGuire
Songwriter Notes
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Songwriter Notes |
Song
of the Month #20
- “Tricklin’
to the Top”
(Track #9 on the
Caught in the Middle CD)
Lyrics: If you want to listen to this song while you read, go to the following link: http://free.napster.com/view/artist/index.html?id=12355412. Click on “Tricklin’ to the Top.” You can listen to it for free (not available outside the USA).
For
the most part, music influences the lives of people in two basic ways. There are those who dabble with it in their
youth. Some join the chorus, band, or
orchestra when they are in school, while others form little pickup ensembles
and play the local clubs throughout their late teens and early twenties. Eventually, as their youth gives way to
adulthood, other responsibilities take over, and the music is put aside. Conversely, for those rare few, music never
leaves their souls. No matter what they
do with their lives, they need to keep singing and playing in order to be
completely fulfilled. While I am neither
proud nor embarrassed to admit it, I fall into the latter group. It’s just the way it is. I am addicted to music.
Being
addicted to music is truly a curse because only those with such an obsession
would put up with the many unsavory aspects of the business. Devoted musicians fend off many ridiculous
suggestions of how they should present their music, contend with many of the
adverse settings in which they are asked to perform, and tolerate those people
who always need to be part of the show.
They spend many hours looking for new venues, negotiating gigs, and
accepting rejection. They consume large
amounts of time writing, arranging, recording, mixing, producing, and marketing
songs, an extremely frustrating experience at times. They do all this, and even more, merely for
the love of the game. They are purely in
it for the “juice.”
Being
in it for the “juice” means you pursue something for its intrinsic rather than
extrinsic value. Stephen King, in his
book On Writing, tells his reader the writer must first write for the
pure joy of writing. If you are in the
game for any other reason, you’d best get out of it. I agree with King, and I have lived according
to his code throughout the many years I have been in the music trade. Although I have been quite successful, it’s
never been about the money, and it never will be. Here is why I do it. One, it usually makes me feel incredibly good
when I am either creating or playing a song.
Two, I love having the ability to be able to bring a little joy into the
lives of others. Three, I am totally
thrilled when someone tells me they enjoyed or were inspired by one of my
songs. These things do not happen every
day, but when they do, it makes it all worth it!
Over
the years, I have read a lot of material about musicians who have reached
national and international recognition.
Some of the dinosaurs, those who have been in the business for forty,
fifty or sixty years, all adhere to King’s philosophy of pursuing writing for
its pure intrinsic value. My favorites,
people like Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Jimmy Buffett, all write and perform
for the pure love of the game. In his
book, Tales from Margaritaville, a series of
short stories and autobiographical sketches, Jimmy Buffett writes about one of
his music mentors, Freddy Fishstick. Jimmy, through a conversation with Freddy,
conveys some of the rather unpleasant events Freddy has encountered in the
music business. However, despite all of
Freddy’s traumatic experiences, he concludes he will not know what to do with
himself if he does not play, and he speculates he “was just meant to bop until
I drop.” Well, this little phrase would
not leave me alone, and I was off and running with the writing of “Tricklin’ to the Top.”
In
this song, the chorus came to me first.
From Freddy’s phrase, “bop until I drop,” I found the end rhymes “top”
and “stop,” and I wrote the first part of the
chorus. With just a little more
reflection on Freddy’s tales, I quickly finished the second part of the chorus,
and I was ready for the verses.
Like
Freddy, I had also encountered some rather unpleasant experiences in the music
industry, and I decided some of these events would be good topics for the
verses. In the first verse, I recount a
little story about a bar owner who claimed he could take Siobhan and me right
to the top if we just added a little drum machine and synthesized
instrumentation to our show. Well, we
don’t have anything against artificial music; it’s just not us! Naturally, we never returned to that venue
again.
In the second verse, I describe our “gig from
Hell.” We showed up to do an outdoor
community concert. After we set up our
sound in the little gazebo in the park, we discovered we had no power. It was a Friday night, and the park director
was gone for the weekend. So, here we
were playing for hundreds of people without any amplification. When someone finally came along and turned on
the power, a horrific thunder storm blew in and totally put an end to the
show. Unfortunately, the details of this
event still remain vividly welded in my memory.
To conclude the song, I convey a little story about a
guy who wanted to become part of the show.
Unfortunately, if he did have any talent, the alcohol in his system
would not let it surface. He sang way
off key, and he eventually got around to injecting some rather inappropriate
lyrics during his improvisational presentation.
Finally we had to shut down our show until we could get rid of him. Since then, we are very careful about who we
let get near our microphones.
The setting for “Tricklin’
to the Top” focuses on the music business, but the theme transcends the music
business and reflects the ongoing problem that exists for people who pursue
their passions. They must accept the
heartbreak and disappointment that comes along with doing something for the
pure love of the game. The song and its
theme are pure Americana. It is a
country-folk song with a flare of bluegrass appearing in the mix. With a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle,
harmonica, bass, drums, and backup harmony, Joe Dady
and Tim Chaapel help Siobhan and me in creating one
of those songs that describes what music addicts contend with in the music
industry. Joe Dady
does it all in this one! After setting
the tempo with his drums, he deftly enhances the tune by brilliantly weaving
his harmonica, banjo, and fiddle throughout the song. Tim’s mandolin playing
mixes together perfectly with Joe’s instruments, and his harmony blends
flawlessly with my voice. Of
course, Siobhan, as always, adds the perfect touch with her bass. So, if you enjoy songs that add a little
humor to the harshness of reality, this could be one for you! I like it, and I hope you do too!
I dedicated this song to Jimmy Buffett because he inspired
it. Jimmy, an icon who still struggles
with the ugly side of the music business, affirms you must be into music for
the pure love of the game. He has been
in the music business for over forty years, and although he has reached a level
of success where he can easily retire, he shows no signs of stopping. While I admire Jimmy and many other
internationally known dinosaurs, I have an even greater deference for those
musicians who do the smaller circuits.
Many of these players are my friends, and I love to go out to listen to
them. Their hearts and souls come
through the sounds of their instruments and voices, and I know they are in love
with what they are doing. When I am at
their performances, they remind me I am doing what I am suppose to be doing,
and I am grateful to them for that. I
only hope they all, like Siobhan and me, continue to “bop until they drop!”
We
recorded this song in 1998 at The Garage, a little studio in Rochester, New
York. The Garage, as I have told you before,
is owned and operated by John and Joe Dady, two
quintessential musicians. When you
record with them, you can always count on great coffee, good stories, and an
aching stomach from laughing. I highly
recommend John and Joe if you are interested in recording. Also, The Dady
Brothers, John and Joe’s group, have many recordings of their own, and they
tour the United States and Ireland.
Check them out on the web at www.dadybros.com.
Tim
Chaapel owns Mobile Music, a great music store in
Canandaigua, New York. If you think you
might be interested in playing an instrument, stop in. Tim will get you off to a great start! He has guitars that make you look really
sexy! Also, if your instrument has fallen
on hard times, Tim will get it sounding like new in no time. Check him out on the web at http://www.mobilemusic.downtowncanandaigua.com.
Well,
there you have it. I’ll have another
song of the month for you next month. If
you have any comments or suggestions, please pass them on to me. This is a work in progress, and I am always
looking for new ways to improve it.
(E-Mailed 11/18/08)
E-mail us at McRiley@Frontiernet.net