2 New songs

I’ve been writing a lot recently. I’m undoubtedly going through a transformation of spirit and with that has come a lot of creativity. I’ve had so many songs for so long that have remained dormant as i’ve never finished them off. Well, since last week i finally finished Falling Down, changed my structure for Light Fantastic and then there are 2 songs that i will finish very soon.

The first has a working title of it’s alright, it’s ok. Not the best and certainly not what i am going to call the track, but again, it is a track i’ve been working on for a long, long time but the time to finish it never felt right.

I can never tell if that is just because i’ve been lazy with it or genuinely it is because the time wasn’t right to finish it in full. All i know right now is that i can get it finished. It’s a rockier song with a melodic edge. Will i play it at my gig on Saturday? Who knows, if i feel confident enough with it then i think so if not, it will remain in the wings until next time.

The other new track is brand new and at the moment is made up of a riff, chord structure and some melody. Again, not the finished article but showing some potential.

Rehearsal and gig news

Rehearsals are going well for the gig on the 7th. I’ll be showcasing new material like Falling Down, along with established tracks such as Move Closer.

I’m playing another gig tomorrow Friday 30th May. It’s a private party where i’ll be playing cover songs for the crowd. Should be a lot of fun and a nice distraction from the hard work i’m doing in rehearsals

Concert Saturday 7th June 2008

My next gig is Saturday 7th June 2008 at the Studio in Manchester UK at 8.45pm. Tickets are on sale now and all the details can be found on my website: www.johnreynoldsmusic.com

It’s the first time i’ve played my original material in a long time and is something i’m looking forward to very much.

New Song

I’ve been writing a track now for quite some time, it’s called Falling Down. This is a song about wanting someone you love to be free from fears and worries be it your partner, family or friends, anyone that you care dear about. It’s about supporting them through anything they go through so they know how much you care and love them. The title may seem weird compared to this but the essence of it is to say i’m here, i’m staying right beside you and i’ll be here to see you through whatever you go through. It’s the realisation and honesty that sometimes you might not be aware that the support isn’t as great as you think it is and the moment of truth arrives for you so you let the person know your feelings. With that comes the frankness of telling someone that you want them to get through things ok and that means you have to tell them things they may not want to hear but you believe it is for their own good and you’re just trying to help as much as possible.

I’m going to be playing this song for the first time at my next gig.

Some of my songs and their meanings

Richard Ashcroft from The Verve once said that he always hated whenever the writer of a song explained what a particular song was about as it took away what he had right in his own head. I can agree with that to some point but some of the best moments in music come when a singer is talking on stage explaining what a song is about. More often than not, i find it to be a pleasant surprise than a hindrance and is one of the things i love most in any live show.

Here are some meanings behind some of my songs:

Move Closer

That love, you know that special feeling when you just can’t get enough of that special someone in your life. When you don’t eat, breathe, sleep or do anything when that person is not with you. I wrote this song the first time i truly experienced this in my life.

Even though i was 27 years old at the time and what some would say a late starter, i felt so alive and felt that the love i had would last forever. It’s been and gone since but that feeling of wanting someone so much inspired this track. I hope that it gives hope to anyone who hears it that no matter what your age or predicament in life or no matter what you have experienced this moment will come into your life at least once and when it does the feeling just cannot be beaten.

They, whoever they are say it’s better to have lost that love than never to have loved at all, well sometimes maybe but all i know is that when you have that deep feeling of love you never want it to end.

Something to Believe in

When you’ve lost hope, self belief, love, the strength to face the day, there has to be something more to all of this we experience. This is the story of a man trying to find out who he is and where he is going. When you so want to be understood and yet you end up fighting reluctantly for what you believe in as you feel you shouldn’t have to fight. That constant battle against those that wish to put you down and keep you locked in a controlled place so they feel better about themselves as they see and feel your inner beauty and fear it.

That fight against those that tell you what to do, think and feel. The utter exhaustion of looking to someone or something to have faith in so that you believe things will get better.

The belief that one day, it all comes together and everything you hope for comes true.

Over You

The heartbreak, that sense of loss and aching that won’t go away. When you feel so empty and alone that you cannot get over a seperation from someone you love. No matter what you do or how hard you try you just can’t raise your soul to carry on.

I wrote this song as i started a new relationship. It was a strange time to write this as i was feeling ecstatic about who i was with yet deep down i hadn’t said what i wanted to about a situation i’d been in previously.

Too many emotions were going on at once and what started out as a song about how happy i was feeling it turned into a darker requiem about lost love. Not something i regretted for sure, as i’d moved on but something that had to come out of me to allow the new to blossom.

 

Who am i

I guess that’s the question i’ve been asking myself for a long time! I’m a singer/songwriter who plays acoustic rock guitar. My songs come from thoughts, feelings and life situations i and those around me live through.

I’m always asked who i sound like or who my influences are and it’s the most difficult question to answer. All my life i’ve been influenced by many different artists across a wide spectrum of musical genres. Whilst i can pick out my favourites such as Bruce Springsteen, there are far too many to list.

One minute i will be writing a romantic love song, the next a heavy rock track. If i had to describe what i sound like i’d say take the honesty of Springsteen, mix it with the darkness of Alice in Chains, sprinkle the anger of Rage Against the Machine on top, throw in some powerful vocals with melody and somewhere within all that i guess that’s where i can be found.

I write from my heart and soul which can mean so much in terms of how a song ends up soundling like. Beyond that i let things flow and where i end up is where i end up. 

What are my songs about?

Love – More than anything else. Whatever i write about this is without doubt the underlying theme. Even when writing a political song, the basis behind the song is love and with it a hope that situations can be changed for the better whatever they may be.

The older i’ve got the more i’ve realised how much confidence i’ve been lacking. I never really felt i had low self esteem until i faced the things in life that previously i ignored or never felt i had to face. Now, at 35 years old i had to and still have to face my worries and fears to make my dreams come true. This is one of my main themes also, the fact that at my age i’m written off as someone who has missed the boat so to speak, too old to achieve anything in music. I always get, “ well if you haven’t done it by now you’re too late”. Well, maybe i wasn’t ready before but i am now.

Creating this blog has probably been one of the smartest things i have ever done. It has it’s own therapy and as an artist it helps me to understand a lot more about myself than i thought possible. If i am going to be all that i truly am then i have to stand up for who i am and what i believe in and whilst i can write about this in my music unless i believe it the listener will hear the lack of emotion in the sound.

I write music to deal with the issues life brings my way. However the listener interprets that for their own benefit then that is for them and not me to decide. The beauty of what i do is that each person hearing it makes it what they will in their own unique way.