TAXI Whore

[hummingbird]

Wig, I didn't put words in your mouth. You said, "TAXI only connects people who sound like someone else. The a la syndrome."That reads.. anyone who's been forwarded is a copycat & unoriginal. And I do think that that is bullshit.I also said that you have a unique voice and I encouraged you to use your creativity to find a market for your music. And that is not bullshit. regards,Hummingbird

[mazz]

" It's for the effect that my work will have. I'm an old fat 55 year old songwriter who used to be a performer many years ago. I haven't made a dime with my music . . . for myself. I have made money for Aids patients who have a last wish. I have made money for breast cancer research (Sales of my musical - A Feeling of Power) I have made lots of money for a friend whose house burned down and he had no insurance. But I have NEVER taken a dime for myself.""My ultimate success will come when I can devote myself totally to public service and charities. I hate evangelists and TV rip-off artists who take money from people who can't afford to give it.""My ultimate goal is to be a force to counteract the abuses of "organized religion.""I sounds to me like you already have had some success with your music, given what you've said in the statements I quoted above. Those are some very lofty goals and I applaud you for keeping your eye on that prize.Good luck to you,Mazz

[cameron]

Apr 19, 2009, 1:20pm, wignelson wrote:[quote author=hurowitz board=peer thread=13154 post=132674 time=1240106895]Listen to the song by Dylan, All Along The Watchtower. Tell me how long it takes to get to the chorus. In fact, if you can find a chorus, let me know. I've been thinking that it sucks because it has no chorus.In my book, which I'm sure you haven't read (although it's free to anyone who asks for it) I state. As soon as you discover some kind of rule, break it.Wig I mostly agree with you Wig. I think the "rules" should mostly be viewed as a guide for the inexperienced to help them identify points that help make a good song. It also gives a way for people (like Taxi screeners) to quantify their subjective likes or dislikes of a song. Nevertheless, the rules mostly evolved to what they are for real reasons-- songs over 4 minutes long are long-shots for radio play, for example-- so it never hurts to hold your own songs up to the scrutiny of the rules FOR THE MARKET YOU'RE AFTER to see how you're doing. This is a creative business, but if you're doing it commercially, it's still a business. Even if you're doing it simply for arts sake, there are lots of subtle things you can do that might draw in or lose a listener, and knowing some of these things might help make a song more interesting, don't you think? If you're lucky and get a publisher interested enough to listen to your song, you'll probably get no more than a verse and a chorus before the CD gets shut off. You have that long to get their attention. When you're Bob Dylan in the mid-60s and already have your multi-record deal, you can do whatever the hell you want. Wig, I've written several "outside the box" songs for nobody's enjoyment but my own. It's frustrating, because I think some of them are decent songs, but I have nowhere to pitch them. So they sit in the shelf. Maybe someday I'll get a big hit and people will want to hear some of the more obscure things I've written, but if I expect to wait for the market to come to me I could be waiting a long time. I prefer to try to write songs that might have some potential at commercial success in my lifetime, but that's just my choice.Cam

[toddt]

Apr 19, 2009, 1:36pm, wignelson wrote:Some day I will meet someone who will give me a chance. But that's what it takes. Even within TAXI, you have to know someone.Steve Soucy has told me that I should stop recording my demos because they suck. He then went on to say that he enjoys 25 to 30 forwards a year. I have the PM to prove it. Have you ever heard his music. Naturally, you wouldn't be surprised to learn that he knows someone. THE someone. I don't, so this is a dead end.Hi Wig,I'm a relatively new person here, but I think that comment is, to use Hummingbird's turn of phrase, bullshit.You've clearly created and done a lot, and haven't had the success you have desired as yet, and obviously not through Taxi - and my heart goes out to you.But accusing the Taxi model of nepotism without offering any evidence smacks of bitterness, and it demeans you. (Although not having heard it myself, I don't think the quality of Steve Soucy's work is evidence btw) But you don't have to accuse Taxi of nepotism, unless you have good proof - and if you have it, please don't hold back because we'd all love to know!FWIW I've listened to your stuff and probably never commented, but I have found it "stylistic". You definitely have a Wig sound with a clear personality and it's accomplished, with artistic merit IMO - but I don't believe it's "commercial" because it's never given me goosebumps or made me think "F**k. That is just A-MAZING" or had me singing it the next day and the day after.Best of luck with everything though, and I've enjoyed your work.tt--- For context, I'm not a Taxi whore, being in my first year here ---

[wignelson]

Apr 19, 2009, 2:55pm, toddt wrote:Apr 19, 2009, 1:36pm, wignelson wrote:Some day I will meet someone who will give me a chance. But that's what it takes. Even within TAXI, you have to know someone.Steve Soucy has told me that I should stop recording my demos because they suck. He then went on to say that he enjoys 25 to 30 forwards a year. I have the PM to prove it. Have you ever heard his music. Naturally, you wouldn't be surprised to learn that he knows someone. THE someone. I don't, so this is a dead end.Hi Wig,I'm a relatively new person here, but I think that comment is, to use Hummingbird's turn of phrase, bullshit.You've clearly created and done a lot, and haven't had the success you have desired as yet, and obviously not through Taxi - and my heart goes out to you.But accusing the Taxi model of nepotism without offering any evidence smacks of bitterness, and it demeans you. (Although not having heard it myself, I don't think the quality of Steve Soucy's work is evidence btw) But you don't have to accuse Taxi of nepotism, unless you have good proof - and if you have it, please don't hold back because we'd all love to know!FWIW I've listened to your stuff and probably never commented, but I have found it "stylistic". You definitely have a Wig sound with a clear personality and it's accomplished, with artistic merit IMO - but I don't believe it's "commercial" because it's never given me goosebumps or made me think "F**k. That is just A-MAZING" or had me singing it the next day and the day after.Best of luck with everything though, and I've enjoyed your work.tt--- For context, I'm not a Taxi whore, being in my first year here ---Well, if you haven't been wow'd by my music, I might have to cry myself to sleep. Although, I might also wonder how much of my music you have heard. I'd give you a link to five dozen songs on Soundclick, but you will always find a way to say that it falls short of your expectations. Sorry, but I feel like you lose, not me.As far as sticking in your head. That's the comment that I mostly hear from my listeners. The songs I posted here in the last few months are not what I'm talking about. People go through stages or "periods" of their music.If you haven't found anything worth while that I have posted lately, rejoice. Now you don't have to waste any time listening to it anymore.Wig Wig

[toddt]

In some ways I wish I had your self confidence and clarity of purpose. But in other ways, I'd rather have the capacity to accept decent and polite criticism.Still, good luck fella.Edit: sorry, the word bullshit wasn't actually that polite.

[Casey H]

WigWhat you said about Steve having taxi success because of "who he knows" was way out of line. Do you think ABC used his song on a prime-time TV show because he knew Michael? THAT is utter bullshit, to use the word of the day around here. Do you think the fact that it was an excellent piece of music might have been a factor?You also may want to know that I know ML for about 8 years, & chatted with him on the phone, by email, and in person many times. My forward ratio is abysmal. I'll show you my stats any time.Casey

[cameron]

Apr 19, 2009, 3:23pm, wignelson wrote:[quote author=toddt board=peer thread=13154 post=132774 time=1240181754]If you haven't found anything worth while that I have posted lately, rejoice. Now you don't have to waste any time listening to it anymore.Wig Well I may not rejoin Taxi when my membership runs out either, but I hope I'm a bit more gracious about it.

[southpaw]

Take it easy Wig. Best of luck with everything. J

[wignelson]

Sorry if I sound ungracious to you, Cam. I was responding to a guy who says he's listened to my "stuff" and dismissed it as uninteresting.I seriously doubt that he has heard more than a few of my tunes.When someone says that to you, remember to be gracious. All I said was, rejoice, now you don't have to bother with it anymore.Wig [/quote]