Well, it’s time to get your songwriting chops lubed and prepare for the 5th Annual 6-Pack Songwriting Competition.
As I mentioned, this is the fifth year of the 6-Pack. Liz Miller won the first two and Margaret McClure won the past two. I’m sure many of the veterans will be returning as I have been receiving steady inquiries about the starting date, challenges, etc. The first four categories are the annual primer (any song you have), a love song, an instrumental and a spiritual song. The last two will be announced later and I’m sure you’re going to love them!
I can’t wait to see what the veteran 6-Packers come up with and personally invite the newcomers to bring their “A” game. There’s not a songwriting competition out their quite like the Broadjam 6-Pack and you will be stretched way beyond your current capacity.
You will see lots of new technical changes coming to the 6-Pack as well. Many of these were a result of direct feedback and we threw in a few of our own. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions regarding the 6-Pack or anything else we do for that matter. You can use this blog or send me a note directly. For some reason, I suspect you will have much to talk about.
As always, our sponsors have provided the contest with great prizes – take a look. They Include Sony, IK Multimedia, Line 6, Casio, Yamaha, ASCAP, and more!
So Get Lubed (Anything), Brew Some Luv (Love Songs), Shut Yer Yap (Instrumental) and get on that Rarified High (Spiritual) as we’re getting started.
The 2009 6-Pack is rockin’ and we’re off and running. Best of luck to everyone.
Sincerely,
Roy Elkins, Broadjam Founder and CEO
Posted by Broadjam on Jun 1, 2009 in The 7th Can
Dave,
I would love to hear a death metal version of You Are My Sunshine and a techno version of Georgia.
My guess is this is going to be one of the most interesting cans we’ve ever had in the 6-Pack, except possibly for Can #6.
BTW: In the previous post, I mentioned some of my favorite re-makes. I’d love to hear your favs.
Good luck to everyone,
Roy
Jul 24, 2009/5:33 pmEveryone,
As always, your thoughts are appreciated.
Regarding the Cover can;
1.) Alternate Versions: The challenge is to create original versions of these songs. We want to hear only original arrangements. Our 6-Packers have been requesting this for years and that’s why it’s here. Just about every idea for a can is generated from this blog or directly from one of our members.
2.) Legal: You can record any song you want, anytime you want. You get into trouble when you start profiting and/or playing the song publicly. Broadjam covers the performance rights fees so the public part is covered. For this contest, simply record your version and post it. If you decide to sell it on Broadjam or anywhere else, you will need to acquire the appropriate rights from the publisher or the Harry Fox Agency, which represents most publishing companies.
3.) Bonus in this category: We will be offering master contracts to some of the top songs. This means that we want original versions, not the type found in a karaoke bar, of the songs. Put your creative stamp on the recording and make it yours. (See Joe Cocker-With A Little Help From My Friends, Chris Cornell-Billie Jean and Radiohead-Rhinestone Cowboy.) I don’t think any of us want to listen to any version that is not as interesting as the originals we hear in the 6-Pack.
One last note: For those of you who have actually entered the 6-Pack, we have addressed some of the transparency issues regarding the status of your songs. At the bottom of the leaderboard you should see the placement and average score of each song. We hope this addresses the valid issues that were suggested last year and makes your 2009 6-Pack ride easier.
Note: We are looking into the issue of identifying the song title after you’ve reviewed the song. There are some issues that could alter the outcome of the 6-Pack by doing so. If we do it, we have to make sure it’s done right.
Thanks again for all your feedback and your support.
Jul 24, 2009/5:26 pmRoy
I KNOW!!! RIGHT?!??!?!??!
ROFL…
“you are my SUNSHINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEARRRERRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”
DA! DA! DA! DAAAAaAaAaAaAaAaA!!!! (Whaling guitar stabs with a heavy kick,)
Righteous…
Jul 24, 2009/3:49 pmYeah, PT… I figure all that in, just wanting to get a ruling from the Big Boys so that someone doesn’t do that and then get their songs yanked from the comp towards the end. Of course I want to do a deathmetal version of You Are My Sunshine and then a techno version of Georgia on My Mind. I think those would definitely be interesting.
Dave
Jul 24, 2009/3:35 pmDave:
I always thought karoake tracks were pre-recorded (as in professionally done by studio musicians or its an instrumental version of the original.) The only thing you can do at that point is sing to it… and if you got the pipes, then heh, go for it… Why not?
But if you do that, it won’t earn you any props for being original about it. Its the equivalent of slopping out a cookie cutter version of the track (in my humbled opinion.) Sure, I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be legal (Its a cover… Its supposed to sound that way,) but thats provided you’re not ripping off another artist’s performance without they’re consent.
Sure. Carol of the bells is public domain… But if I take Trans Siberian’s performance of Carol, that would be bad thing when I try to shop it. They made it their own… Just like we need to do here. So I guess there IS a line there someplace.
MIDI is MIDI… Its the patches you assign and the sequencing variations that’ll make it original from there. MIDI is different than taking a performed guitar piece or piano riff by “someone else” and then singing to it.
MIDI in a lot of cases is the music transcribed to a digital language. Its like playing notes off of music scripture except there isn’t an actual performer… its MIDI… From there it becomes more of a sound design and engineering dealio than aything else (being the music has already been written. Now we’re doing timbres.)
And considering this is a cover… Using MIDI wouldn’t be any different than taking the sheet music and reproducing what was found there.
Its a cover… its supposed to start there.
I think in the end it’ll be hard to get an inappropriate mark for this one provided you do what they want you to…
Remake one of the 5 tracks. Beyond that… The more time you spend on it and making it you’re own, the better.
I’d say be original about it… beyond that… just don’t blatantly do anything silly and you should be fine.
pro
Jul 24, 2009/3:31 pmooo….did I say summ’t wrong….lol
Jul 24, 2009/2:15 pmHey Jesse, Elk and whoever is monitoring from Broadjam. I didn’t see any rules against using karoake tracks out there on that new cover can. Is that the case or is it the case that you HAVE to record your own version of it? Need some clarification on that rule. Karoake would also include backing tracks done with MIDI files found online too.
Just some clarification, cause that will cause all sorts of confusion towards the end of the comp when we are reviewing.
Thanks Pro. I love that clip. Especially the Green Day version of Pachelbell.
Ian K…drink some tea mate!
Dave
Jul 24, 2009/12:10 pmIan:
Hahaha! Never saw myself in that light…
I always considered myself more of a Jim Carey/Christian Bale.
Kind of a slap stick Ace Ventura giving speeches about Hewie Lewis and the news before making a mess on my carpet.
Anyhow… Gotta go feed the industrial troll.
Cheers:)
Jul 24, 2009/11:00 ampro
Great Move Nathaniel !!!….I’m glad you’ve managed to release
yourself from that heavy load….Bravo!!!
Y’know….we all got our different ways…and you remind me of Mohamed Ali (Casius Clay)….He used to tell us what He was gonna do…..all the time….and most of the time He would pull it off,……if you pull it off here Pro….good on ya!
….but Mohamed Ali only had to fight one at a time….here..
you got the whole dang posse to deal with….if somebody dont start submitting a whole bunch more songs in each Can….then you may just crack it on shear weight of numbers…lol
But remember to save some money for living Pro….now that you’ve packed up the bartending….(only messin’)..Good Luck!
Laterererer
Jul 24, 2009/7:12 amIan:
Lol..
No… meaning “hold the phone, that was $%@#ing awesome.”
Hahaha…
Something DOES get lost in these two dimensional symbols we call language doesn’t it?
Anyhow…
Its 4:30 am and I’m up on a BJ blog again… I’m a #$%@ing hypocrite.
At least I’m not blasted as usual. Cut back on drinking incredibly this last half year.
***Disclaimer, personal info to follow, cause I just haven’t talked about it yet***
I actually stepped down from my bar management job this last week. Yep… Handed over my keys and said “I’m done.”
Liz Miller would be proud of me.
Too much stress. Between breaking up fight after fight, taking verbal abuse from people I wouldn’t give the time to, and the classic gun to your head over your bosses money… I’ve had enough. Too much to be honest… I think I’ll be forever shaped by my experiences there… for better or worse.
The job itself was creating more problems than I could deal with though. Every night was a party after hours and this blog got to see the best of it… and worst.
Some poor girl has got a whole new world of hurt coming her way…
I’m glad though… I’m out. Even if not completely… I’m slowly but surely wiping my hands clean of that place. To hell with bartending… its bad Karma.
I’ll be sure to send my replacement some chocolate come christmas. She’ll need them.
In the meantime… I’ve been making some positive changes in my world.
I guess leaving controversial blogs is the least of my worries these days.
Anyhow… I have some baby seals to slaughter (deal with it), a new project I’m gonna head up with a great artist by the name of Jillian Ann (Jillianannmusic.com), and some covers to remake for this years 6 Pack. I’m excited… and driven to win.
SOOOO… Here’s a little heads up to all of you guys and gals out there coping with reality.
You’re not the only one… and yes… it builds character. No… Really.
Cheers:)
Jul 24, 2009/4:51 ampro
Cheers Ian,….Pro….what’do’ya mean…No…?..lol..I liked what my Pal David put up!….or maybe its just like miss-interpreted emails….sometimes we get the wrong idea about something….
Moi:-)
Jul 24, 2009/4:24 amI may be mistaken though…
Jul 24, 2009/3:51 amNothing but the best was redone by Frank Sanatra…
The other one I ran away from like a scared child…
Jul 24, 2009/3:50 amOn the Cover can…
I use spotify.com and iTunes to track down songs I don’t own… I’m struggling to locate:
Nothing But The Best – Johnny Rotella
Besame Mucho – Consuelo Velazquez
I can find loads of versions of these two but nothing linked to those artists.
Can someone (it’ll probably be Protilius!) tell me who else has recorded covers of these songs so I can confirm that I’m listening to the right song?
I just realised that there is lots of potential here for people to steer me to the wrong song(!) so this is a trust thing ok?
: )
Ian
Jul 24, 2009/3:45 amIan:
No…
That clip David was kind enough to provide was awesome. I hope more artist throw clips like that up for us all to enjoy. It was a real treat.
I couldn’t believe how many songs that guy managed to throw into the mix using those simple chords. AND HE WAS SOOOOOOOOO RIGHT!!!
It says a lot about how hard it is to be original in a world that has had plenty of time to explore all of the options.
Music is tough… being the first to do it is even tougher.
pro
Jul 24, 2009/3:44 am