Perfect Disaster

So lately my co-writer and I have been working on kind of a nostalgic tune. That song has been remarkably difficult, which makes no sense because it's a simple concept. In order to kick-start the creative juices, I decided to break away and write something completely random and off the wall. So I was sitting there thinking about what I could write about. Obviously, I'm not going to write a love song. I wasn't really in the mood to write a drinking song. I'm tired of the leaving songs. And I'm trying to save all my Bro-Co (Bro-country) ideas for co-writing sessions. Well, the girls at work have been giving me "advice" about various men, and trying to hook me up. My response is usually "bad idea". So I was thinking "what if he's a bad idea but she just doesn't care that it will be a disaster? He's just so perfect that she can't say no". So I wrote "Perfect Disaster" ... and re-wrote it... and re-wrote it... and re-wrote it. This is what I have so far, and there's a good chance it will change when I start polishing the music.

Perfect Disaster

© 2014 Chelsey Sears

You're a regret waiting to happen

The definition of bad news

A lead foot on a dead end road

Stick of dynamite with a short fuse

More than likely, you'll leave me broken

Without a second thought

Like a mustang, saddled and ready

Waitin' to buck me off

I should fly like a bat outta hell

Before my heart is shattered

Over and over I tell myself

I know better, but that don't matter

‘Tween the whiskey and your smile

Keep fallin' faster and faster

Baby tonight, you look like a

Perfect Disaster

Tell me what I wanna hear

Then lead me out on the floor

I'll ignore all the signs and

Brace for the storm

Burn me up in your wild fire

I'll help you fan the flame

Strike me down with a lightnin' bolt

Turn me over like a tidal wave

I should fly like a bat outta hell

Before my heart is shattered

Over and over I tell myself

I know better, but that don't matter

‘Tween the whiskey and your smile

Keep fallin' faster and faster

Baby tonight, you look like a

Perfect Disaster

Let you seal my fate with

A crown flavored kiss

Even though I can taste the danger

You might be worth the risk

I should fly like a bat outta hell

Before my heart is shattered

Over and over I tell myself

I know better, but that don't matter

‘Tween the whiskey and your smile

Keep fallin' faster and faster

Baby tonight, you look like a

Perfect Disaster

My First Songwriter Workshop

So, after 10 years of writing, I finally attended my first songwriting workshop yesterday! Barbara Cloyd came up to the Player's Pub in Bloomington. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to participate. As the day drew near, I became a nervous wreck. When most writers attend a workshop, they expect to hear how amazing their songs are. I am always the opposite. I go into critiques terrified that I will be told to give up on this whole songwriting thing. I'm always shaking in my boots when it's my turn to play because I'm worried everyone will hate it. I guess that's the perfectionist in me. Even when I was in school, I viewed anything less than perfect as a bit of a failure. Some failures were easier to swallow than others, but the need to do better always kept me going. Now, as I focus on my writing, the fear of failure is always one step behind me. And that's what keeps me running.
So as I sat in the workshop, terrified to find out that I've been doing everything wrong all these years...I found myself pleasantly surprised. She went over song structure, and I was like "okay, I've kinda got this down". Then she went over lyrical development. I was creating a mental checklist of "yes, I do that. Yes, I know that I need to improve on that. Yes, I've been working on this over the years."  When she got to the business aspects, I sat there thinking "yes, I know my market. yes, I'm at least attempting to build professional relationships." ... Now before everyone thinks I'm getting all big headed over here, I know that I have a VERY long way to go. A very, very, veeeeeerrrryyyy long way to go. But I feel like I've got a better foundation than I thought I had. It's a very basic foundation, but hopefully I can take what I've picked up over the years, and what I learned at the workshop yesterday and start the framing. And I have a great crew to help me. I have the support of my friends and family. I have the knowledge and experience from my co-writer to guide me. I have an amazing opportunity to co-write for an up and coming artist. I am the luckiest little wannabe writer in the world!! The workshop not only gave me insight into areas which I need to improve upon, it gave me a little boost of confidence. A little "yeah, I almost kinda sorta know what I might be doing and I'm not completely clueless". A tid bit of "I've got the tools. I may not know how to use them in the most effective way, but through trial and error, I'll eventually stop smashing my thumb with a hammer". Thank you to everyone who has helped me out so far, and thank you for your continuing support and wisdom. Come hell or high water, I'm not giving up on this!

Adventures in Co-Writing

When I first began writing God knows how long ago (stop doing the math people, it makes me feel old!), I remember reading one piece of advice that everyone felt the need to give to beginners, such as myself... "Find people to co-write with".

Seems easy enough, right? Wrong! So so so wrong! Because as a beginner, it seems like nobody, who has been doing this for a decent period of time, is ever interested in writing with you. Honestly, can you blame them? I mean, these folks have spent years mastering their craft, and us newbies approach them with our "I can't get enough your love, it's a gift from above." crap. 

Honestly, when nobody wanted to write with me, being the know-it-all teenager that I was at the time, I just shrugged my shoulders and said "I've got this". But, in all honesty, those people who wouldn't give me the time of day turned out to be some of the best "co-writers" I've ever had. Because those people refused to take my hand and show me the ropes, I had to find my own way. That was the most amazing thing anyone could have ever done for me. It taught me to think outside of the box, and it made me challenge myself. Why? Because I had to prove that I was good enough for them to take the time to work with me. So I spent years listening to trends in modern country, and finding my own style of writing.  I posted lyrics for critiques and made it a point to consider every suggestion. Now, did I go along with what everyone told me? No, because I'm stubborn like that. But I tried to understand their thought processes, even if my song was heading in a completely different direction. Over time, I slowly but surely began to improve. Eventually, I got the courage to reach out to other writers again.

When I came across Layton James a few years ago, I figured he'd blow me off, like all the others had. But remarkably, he gave me a shot. Not only did he give me a shot, but he didn't give up on me! Now, to any other beginner writers out there who may be reading this, when they tell us newbies to find a co-writer, it's for our own good! I promise! How so? It's because they challenge us! It's because you play off of one another. It's because you can be rambling on about something completely unrelated and they will say "that sounds like a song." They can throw us off, and make us re-evaluate what we are doing. 

This morning was a prime example! I opened an email from Layton saying that he had finished a song that we had been working on. Not only that, he said he was going to play it during a live radio show. Good news right? I thought so too, until I read what he sent me. It about gave me a heart attack...and not in a good way. It was...a bit of a mess. I tried to calm myself down and write, in a very polite way, that I, basically, didn't like it.  Both verses talked about a sunset (which would work if the song was about sunsets...but it wasn't.) And one verse said "daylight" twice. Due to my OCD, these little details are what drive me nuts. After my initial email, I sent a "let me explain my train of thought" message as well, and outlined where I envisioned the song going. 

My co-writer's response? "I figured I'd get you all bent and flowing with ideas."...he was never going to play it, and he knew it wasn't finished.  He had me freaking out all morning over nothing. I went into work with my head spinning, trying to think of lines that were so catchy, that he wouldn't be able to resist them. Well, he's a freaking genius. He knocked me out of my comfort zone and back on track. During this past week, I had semi-settled for okay. But after I thought through the song, and emailed him my "vision", I felt more motivated to go above and beyond! Why? Because of my kick-ass co-writer and his twisted sense of humor.

So, even though us newbies do not want to hear that we need to seek out co-writers, it is for the best! I promise! 

Runnin' on Fumes

So, here's the scandalous story behind a steamy summer romance song I've been working on for several months
...
One sunny day, we were driving down to French Lick
...
Okay, it's about to heat up in here
...
I was looking out the window
...
...
...
And I saw a broken down Pontiac on the side of the road.
...
That's it. I just saw a rusty old Pontiac on the side of the road. It had seen it's better days, so I thought "hmm...I'm going to write a song about that car". I know that some songs come out of long personal struggles that we face. Some songs come from the emotions we are feeling. Some songs come from alcohol. And some songs just come from a broken down Pontiac on the side of the road.
So the first two lines literally came to me within' a mile of passing that car. I typed them into my phone and decided to work on it at a later time.
I'd been tinkering with this on and off for the past few months, but decided to finish it this past week. I figured this would be a good song to kick off the new year with! But I had a problem...I didn't have a hook. So one day I was just staring at the computer, trying to imagine a young couple in a relationship that was bound to end. I thought about putting a line in thereabout the car running on fumes, then said to myself  "their love is kind of running on fumes too"...oh snap! There's my hook! So in an effort to move on to bigger and better songs, I'm finally getting this one out of my system!! I'm still ironing out the kinks in the music so hopefully I will be able to record it next week. It's kind of tacky, but hey, a song is a song, right?

Runnin' On Fumes

© 2014 Chelsey Sears

There's a broke down Pontiac, in ten diff'rent shades
Of dirt road dust, rust, and black, and primer grey
Sittin' there so lonely, just south of the county line
Can't help but wonder, every time that I pass it by

Do you ever think about that summer
The slow dances in the rain
When I was your backseat lover and
You were my escape
Yeah those three months
Came and went too soon
Ain't it funny how time flies
When love's runnin' on fumes

Hard to believe but I remember, my first ride
In that firebird as we tore up, the country side
Deep down we both knew it'd never last
But that didn't hold us back

Do you ever think about that summer
The slow dances in the rain
When I was your backseat lover and
You were my escape
Yeah those three months
Came and went too soon
Ain't it funny how time flies
When love's runnin' on fumes

And the world will always turn
Longer than the rubber burns
I've moved on, and so have you
But when that car comes into view

I start thinkin' 'bout that summer
The slow dances in the rain
When I was your backseat lover and
You were my escape
Yeah those three months
Came and went too soon
Ain't it funny how time flies
When love's runnin' on fumes
We were runnin' on fumes

2014, Here I come!

When New Year’s Resolutions began popping up on my news feed several days ago, I thought about chiming in. However, after a couple of near posts, I decided to actually wait until the new year to decide on my resolutions. In all reality, I needed a little more time to reflect on 2013.

I was finally able to actually say hello to Jake at the NYE Show at
Brothers Bar in Bloomington. He performs "Longshot At Best", a
song I co-wrote with Aaron Layton.

I’m not going to lie, 2013 was a roller coaster ride. I dealt with the highs of landing a perfect job, spending time with good friends, eating at the Loveless Café (Not a big deal for some. But that’s one of my favorite restaurants), visiting my family in Illinois and standing in the front row at a Montgomery Gentry concert. Man those boys put on a show! 

2013 was also a big year in my songwriting career. I was able to record a demo on music row, which was awesome. Dale Guthery at The Sound Office was so patient and helpful. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a singer, so it was probably one of his least pleasant sessions of the year. But I still had a blast! Earlier this year, for the first time ever, I heard a song that I co-wrote with Layton James on the radio.  Words cannot express how exciting that was for me. I also found out that an up and coming local band, Jake Dodds & Stagecoach Revolver, had decided to perform a song I co-wrote. They won the 97.1 Hank FM Battle of the Bands in 2013, and had a great year, opening for artists such as Luke Bryan, Lee Brice, Chris Cagle and Dustin Lynch. They are an amazing band. I'm not just saying that because they perform a song that I wrote. I'm saying that because they freaking rock. I've been to their last two shows and plan to go to the next one due to the simple fact that they are fun to watch, and they play a great mix of dancing tunes. Everybody knows that I love to dance! And not only do they perform Longshot At Best, they knock it out of the park! It gets me all fired up! I know, none of this is a big deal to other writers, but to me it is! When I started writing in middle school, I never imagined that I would stand in a crowd one day while everyone is dancing at something I co-wrote. I never thought I'd be able turn on the radio and say "Hey, that's my song!!". 

As I stood with some friends at a local bar and joined in on the countdown, I realized that, in the end, the good outweighed the bad, and I closed the book on 2013 with a smile on my face. I’ve built more bridges than I’ve burned, and I am more determined than ever!

In 2014, my goals are simple. The first is to become a better writer. I will work every day to write that line that hasn’t been written yet. I’ll search for that perfect hook. I’ll learn how to mold a mess of a concept into a masterpiece. Well, maybe masterpiece is pushing it…but I think I’m capable of producing something that’s a little more than a pile of mush.  I want to meet with other writers and learn from their experience, and I’d love to take guitar lessons, so my playing isn’t so limited. I want to continue this 100-song challenge, and maybe even complete it. Don't worry, when I pass that 100 song mark, I will find something else to blog about!

My other goal is to just be happy. For the past year and a half, I have focused all my energy on someone else. I set aside my wants and desires, in order to fit my life into someone else’s world. Well this year, I want to find myself again. Who am I?  I am a small town girl who loves country music, horseback riding, going out and cutting loose, playing dorky games, watching stupid movies and driving way too fast. That’s me, take it or leave it!