Forum Newbies... a few thoughts + FAQ

[hummingbird]

Quote:hey, nother newbie here....just wanted to say hey, looks like a cool forum....been thinking of joining taxi for a few yeas now, maybe this will help me to decide if i should.Trev, welcome aboard, nice to meet you!!! Jump right in, the water's fine!!cheersHummin'bird

[davewalton]

Quote:been thinking of joining taxi for a few years...A few years??? Well, at least you're not an "impulsive" decision maker. Welcome to the forums Trev. There's a lot of good info, good people here and I almost always suggest to others to hang around the forum for a little bit if joining Taxi is a consideration but is as of yet, undecided.

[chrislabbe]

hey all. i've been cruising around various threads on this thing for a few weeks and wanted to take a second to say hello/introduce myself on this big board. my name is chris, i live in boston and i'm waiting with baited breath for my first taxi critique. i write a lot of stuff that i have a hard time classifying, but its mostly folky rock, with the odd loud rock song here and there. i've found this site to be a pretty nice place to chat about music and recording and lots of other things. the critiques ive received just from people on this site have been very helpful and i have listened to a lot of very cool songs by people posting. i'm looking forward to more conversation. see you all around...

[hummingbird]

Quote:hey all. i've been cruising around various threads on this thing for a few weeks and wanted to take a second to say hello/introduce myself on this big board. my name is chris, i live in boston and i'm waiting with baited breath for my first taxi critique. i write a lot of stuff that i have a hard time classifying, but its mostly folky rock, with the odd loud rock song here and there. i've found this site to be a pretty nice place to chat about music and recording and lots of other things. the critiques ive received just from people on this site have been very helpful and i have listened to a lot of very cool songs by people posting. i'm looking forward to more conversation. see you all around...Welcome Chris, nice to meet you!! Feel free to ask questions, we try to help cheersHummin'bird

[ckbarlow]

Hi, y'all. I joined TAXI in I think March of this year (07) but didn't start checking out the forum until after the Rally a few weeks back. I'm told I'm supposed to introduce myself and tell a little about my goals and so forth, so...I grew up playing classical and then rock, then did an advanced composition degree, which yielded a lot of experimental electronic work and, unexpectedly, great relationships with some local theater companies. I've done a wide range of styles for their soundtracks, and I joined TAXI thinking that much of this work might translate well to Film/TV listings. But around May or so I started working on my wedding vows (yeah, my wedding vows!), and it occurred to me that there couldn't be a much better time to attempt a country song. So I did. I read Pattison's "Writing Better Lyrics," worked my butt off on it, played it for the local NSAI chapter and sent it to TAXI for critique-only (and lo and behold, the NSAI and TAXI comments were quite similar ), modified it accordingly, and... it got forwarded for the first thing I sent it in for. (It's "You Were There," and it's on my TAXI page.) ...after a stack of rejections on the stuff I *thought* I was good at! LOL... Now I'm really going to school and it feels great.So my long-dormant songwriting side has apparently reemerged; it's what I grew up doing and I seem to be focused more on that than anything else musically. I'm still very active in the NM experimental scene (in groups like Out of Context and mJane).I came away from the Rally very energized (as I expected) and excited to check out the Forum. I've already had a bunch of good interactions and really appreciate everybody's time and advice.Best regards to all,CK

[baines]

Greetings Taxi forum members!I'm new to the forums and still contemplating joining Taxi itself. I probably will relent and do so sometime this month. I just recently turned 30 and realized that my life is slipping away like sand through an hourglass and it was time to act for once in my life. Nothing I've done in my life has ever given me greater joy than playing and writing music. Mind you, I'm not a performer and have no interest in performing. I want to write. I want to write the songs that make people famous! I will eventually trade mark that if this songwriting deal-o ever takes off ;-)I remember as a young lad bantering about me grandmums place on the weekends as she would clean the house and do other chores; there was always Motown playing in the background. Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, et. al. Growing up, music was always a part of events. Through the years, I found myself really drawn to classic rock, with Led Zeppelin leading the charge; Pink Floyd close behind. The music of Motown and even part of the 70's, had so much soul to it. People performed it with their hearts and everything they had. It seems much of today's music (albeit commercial, which partially explains it) lacks that soul and energy that music once had. To me, the cookie cutter crap that makes it on the radio just doesn't do it for me. I'm not here to pick on bands or genre's, that's just my opinion. To each their own, I don't hate on nobody! The music bug didn't even really hit me until my teen years in the late 80's where glam rock ruled. I was more into the 70's music, but will admit to owning a Poison record. Okay, a Warrant one too. That music now serves as nastalgia. My favorite band and the one who influenced me the most is Widespread Panic. People either know of them or not. I usually don't get much 'Yeah, I've heard of them.' It's usually "Yeah, they're great," or "Who?" Much like most people, I've been through some tragedy in my life. I guess I've gotten off pretty lucky compared to some, so I'm grateful for all I have. The last one shut me down for the last several years and I've not really even thought much playing. After the hours and hours with my guitar, I put an old friend down. I'm not exactly sure why, but I guess it was not meant to be at that time. I've come out of that and can feel the spark again. I'm really trying to nurture that spark into the raging inferno I hope it can become. I've always felt music was my calling and I'm starting to come to the realization, maybe even as I write this, that I won't really be happy until I know whether I'm right or not about that. I could be the next great songwriter! Or not. You could also hold a winning lottery ticket, but you won't win unless you play. So, here I am. I've been playing, almost daily again. Trying to get myself back into playing shape. Getting those creative juices flowing. I have found it's just like riding a bike. Other than maybe not having the endurance, I find myself able to recall the songs pretty easily. Of course, after playing them probably hundreds (or more times), I guess that should surprise me. My stuff is widely influenced, but I'm all about trying to avoid sounding like someone else. When I have played it for others, they seem to enjoy it, though, it could just be politeness. I like taking the jam band mentality and condensing it down into something more friendly to the casual listener. I like good grooves, good beats, many changes, parts and builds. All in 3 or 4 minutes. I have a mini-studio, PTLE, the digi 02, couple monitors, couple guitars and more cables and mics than I can keep up with. I just bought a house a few months ago and we're finally getting to the studio/office room, so I will be getting some stuff down and available for your listening (dis)pleasure, lol. It will be a scary moment, as my songs are tremendously personal. Its a huge step, but one I know I need to take. Worse case scenerio, I'm wrong and I can go on with my life. I also know this is a business and having good songs simply isn't enough. You have to know people, you have to have people with connections believe in your material. You have to have good market timing and good luck! I play guitar and have a synth, not much of a singer, so I won't be offer up much other than a guitar and maybe some lyrics. We'll see how much reverb and compression I can put on my voice to make it palitable, lol.I look forward to posting and getting to know you guys!

[tedsingingfox]

Hey, CK and Baines. Welcome. Great posts for us to get to know you. these boards are the BOMB.Ted

[ragani]

Dear CK and Baines,Welcome to the forum! It's a great place to get lots of feedback and support, and you'll meet some great musicians herein too! I'll look forward to our paths crossing here...Raags

[brianjonesmusic]

Hey everybody,I am a newbie to Taxi....My name is Brian Jones a 28 year old singer/ songwriter from Tampa, FL. I am really excited to be a part of Taxi and the message boards. One of the reasons I signed up for Taxi, is because I really liked the spirit of the boards and the buzz that was happening. Keep it up and so will I. Check out my music if any of you all get a chance, and i will make sure to stay busy writing music and posting on the board. Song "Run to you" - http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... m=trueSong "Open Up" - http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... tream=true

[paults]

Welcome!