Jeff in Chicago seeks your reviews!

[jeffchurchwell]

Howdy!I posted part of this message in the Newbie Forum as a way of saying "hello." But here's the bread and butter part. Thanks for indulging me. I joined TAXI because I wanted to get constructive, objective feedback, and possibly place a few songs along the road. I've been writing forever, I know what I think about my work, and I know what close friends and strangers have said about it when I've played it live. Now I'd like to get responses from those in the trenches. It's not about ego-boosting, and though I hope it won't turn out to be ego-grinding, I can accept that if it's warranted and constructive.So... take a shot. You're welcome to listen to any and all, but I'm particularly interested in responses to "Infrared," "Sound Of I Love You," "Breck Girls" and "Some Of My Best Friends."You can hear them all (hell, BUY them all if you like! at http://www.broadjam.com/jeffchurchwell . Happy listening, and please let me know what you think.It's great to be here. Talk to you all soon.Jeff

[53mph]

Hi Jeff,Just a little tip, don't put a false stop at the end of your broadjam link, otherwise it won't go anywhere.I'm listening to Breck Girls and I'm getting a very 70's flavour to your stuff, perhaps it's the flutes, or the harmonies. The slightly goofy lyrics reminds me of Bobby Conn (do you wear matching pink jumpsuits in your group too?)...very good though.Sound of Love is a very well put together tune but I'm still getting that 70's feel....perhaps it's the 12 string/mandolin thing....I don't know...whatever it is it leaves me with a warm fuzzy feel inside, like rediscovering an old friend....I'm sure my Mum has an album of your stuff somewhere... I think if you had been releasing this stuff about 30 years ago you would now be a famous name in the history of music, which doesn't detract from the music now, just that I'm not sure where you could place it. The lyrics and structures are at time a bit to alternative for mainstream country or pop. This makes these tunes stand out but may make them too kooky to sell to other artists.The quality of the recordings is excellent. Do you have your own studio?Your voice is very confident and has nice tone but also character which is more important to me...in Some of my Best friends I'm almost reminded of Bonny Prince Billy (aka Palace Brother) at times which makes me think perhaps you should be pitching this stuff to more alternative labels like Domino Records, or Matador and move away from the more serious big name artists that you mentioned in your bio. Having said that Some of my Best Friends is probably the most accessable song I've listened to so far.That's just my humble opinion.Others are free to step in and contradict me

[jeffchurchwell]

53,Thanks much for the listen and the critique. You're dead on about the 70s vibe, I grew up then and learned to play and sing. My goal is to simultaneously put a more modern spin on old sounds, and get into new sounds as well. That's the tricky part. So all the songs posted on Broadjam are ones I needed to get out of my system before I could move on to modern music. But I love them all, and yes, if I could find just the right label or setting, I think there's a chance for quite a few of them.No pink jumpsuits... lime green is worth thinking about, tho. I recorded in my bassist's home studio, which is excellent. Oh, and I fixed the link to Broadjam, thanks for the heads-up.Thanks again for the feedback.Jeff

[davewalton]

Hi Jeff,One of the biggest benefits I've gotten from Taxi are the critiques. I can relate to the issue of working on a more modern sound. I played full-time in the late 70's to mid-80's, put music on the back burner for about 20 years and recently returned. One of my biggest challenges was getting up-to-date with stuff. Taxi is a great place to do that. The Crosby, Stills, Etc influence is obvious but your voice is excellent and the music and production is also very good. It's much better to be in a position of only having to "modernize" as opposed to having to "modernize" as well as deal with quality issues. This is a pretty cool group of guys and gals. For some reason, there are a fair number of us who are, um, past 30, but there's still enough of them young whippersnappers to keep us honest. Good stuff and good luck with your Taxi adventure. Dave

[rockmann]

Quote:...I played full-time in the late 70's to mid-80's, put music on the back burner for about 20 years and recently returned. One of my biggest challenges was getting up-to-date with stuff. Boy, that fits my experience and challenge exactly. Played professionally in the 80's for about 7 years then put it away for about 14 years. It's said that my music has that 80's feel and that's true. I'm at the stage now of trying to get modern spin on it. That's going to be the challenge.Btw... Great stuff Jeff. It's apparent you have LOTS of talent. Good luck 'modernizing' and getting placed!

[jeffchurchwell]

Dave and Steve,Thanks for the feedback and empathy. I'm thinking of starting a new sub-genre called "codger rock." Then again, maybe not. I've got two things going on that I hope will keep me young in body and attitude. One is the band I joined last year, with great singer/songwriters who are all younger than I to some degree. We bounce a lot of ideas off of each other, and try to be contemporary. The other is the more important: I have two small boys, and I am the daytime stay-home parent. They are my day job. I can't afford to feel old, or they'll run rings around me (moreso than usual).Anyway, I know there are many directions I could try to take things. I'm considering kid music, but I really want to get stuff going for adult listeners as well. I hope to learn a lot from everyone here.Later,Jeff