jackson1086127 + Musician in Lincoln, NE

SEEKING

ABOUT

The missing ingredient in today's rock music:
SONGWRITING SONGWRITING SONGWRITING!!!!

If what I'm about to write resonates with anyone, please get in touch with me. (Btw, I only wear the cowboy hat around the house, LOL!!).

I'm foremostly a songwriter, then a guitarist. I have been a musician all of my life. I grew up in a church denomination where music classes began at 5 years old (although I'm definitely not a church-goer... I tend to be pretty straight-laced). No drama, no issues. LOL... I feel like I'm writing a personals profile!

I have approximately 20-25 'keepers' at this point. 7 with full lyrics, vocal melodies, and arrangements (open to input definitely), 1 rough cut demo, and 2 and 1/2 songs transcribed to sheet music and converted to mp3, just so I can give potential bandmates a general idea of the melodic and rhythmic make-up of the tracts, but as always, open for interpretation and personal style... plus the tab for anyone interested in joining with me in a project. Most guitarists and bassists of our generation learn music via tab as opposed to by hear, so while it is a time consuming process, it is probably the easiest way to get any potential members familiar with the songs I would be contributing to our band.

I'd like to find other people who are interested in the songwriting process, and are more devoted to the craft of making good music before going out and playing gigs.

I want to be in a band with people who understand that something has gone awry in the songwriting process of modern music. I prefer to work with people who are not in denial over that because it's a fact. Naysayers can dismiss the general preference for pre-grunge rock as nostalgia... but boys and girls... those older bands sell out arenas to this day. Most acts who have come after that time (especially post 90s) cannot do that. There's a reason, and I could talk for hours upon hours about this, what's caused it, the indicators of it. But... naysayers live their lives in permanent denial. They would put pop-punk on par with Stairway to Heaven, or post-whatever-core in the same league as Hotel California. REO Speedwagon tours the ampitheaters every summer and sells out shows, and they haven't had new album out since 1996. Do you know why they can do that? Because "Roll with the changes" is a better song than what's been put out in the past 15 years by modern bands. Of course there are a few exceptions... but not many.

I'd like to work with musicians/songwriters who understand that social media "likes" are not a true reflection of a genuine fan base, and that's a paradigm-smashing reality that modern musicians need to come to grips with.

Every corner of the web is filled with dissatisfied listenership of (particularly) rock music, and they are voicing that dissatisfaction. I'm not really a get-together-and-jam-and-see-what-comes-of-it kind of musician. I have songs in my head all the time, and really, being part of a songwriting team that happens to play live is the way I would like to approach this... a serious commitment to the song, and being very critical of the song should come before a jam session. I seldom hear musicians talk about 'writing sessions' anymore. There's a key delinquency in the process of modern songwriting.

This extreme experimentalism you see out over the past 10-15+ years where they imagine themselves as 'reinventing' the wheel of rock 'n roll (starting with rap-rock) is all a big smokescreen for the sad deficiency of songwriting talent. It is usually derived from a severe lack of musicianship in terms of understanding what makes the human ear tick. Nary a one of them it seems can write a guitar riff that drives an entire song, and the result is they have no conception of what makes a song timeless.

Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Geffen A&M said this a few years ago:

“If you’re in a band, make sure that somebody in the band or a group of the people in the band can write and really be very tough on the songs. If the band can’t write, the likelihood is maybe you don’t have the right combination of guys or girls or whatever. The song thing is very important. And I would also say try to be unique. Everybody today, when you put on alternative radio, the guitars sound exactly the same. A lot of people blame the record companies, but it’s got nothing to do with the record companies. It has to do with the lack of imagination that we’re going through right now in certain areas of music, and kids think they’re supposed to copy things (they see and hear) and they think that’s how they’re going to get successful.”

My interest is basically finding anyone who understands this and is dedicated to trying to prove that rock music has never been dead, nor has it fallen out of favor with the public... it's only been in dormancy due to the fact that nothing noteworthy has emerged in recent years. If you have some deep roots in rock music... contact me, and let's make it happen.

Screen name:

jackson1086127

Member since:

Aug 22 2015

Active over 1 month ago

Level of commitment:

Very Committed

Years playing music:

20

Gigs played:

10 to 50

Tend to practice:

More than 3 times per week

Available to gig:

2-3 nights a week

Most available:

Nights

Influences

The Who, Genesis, Rush, VH (Hagar mainly), many, many others.