Conversations
Write music that you can truly be proud of. Write from the heart.
Joe: He advised us to make our songs concise, “edited” well. Songs with good melodies and nice hooks, can still be too lengthy at times, and may bore the audience after a while. Brevity and economy is key.
What kind of music/songs did you grow up on (listening)?
Mike:
Aside from Dad’s music, I grew up on The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Bread, Bill Evans, Disney movies, movie musicals, musical theater, Van Halen, Metallica, etc. The list goes on and on.
Joe: We listened to a vast range of styles, from pop/rock ’70s and ’80s songs, to love songs, to movie and Broadway hits. Movie soundtracks, TV show themes, anything that had us curious upon listening to it.
Tell us about the songs on your album and the stories/inspiration behind them?
Mike:
This new album features five of my compositions, and five of Joe’s compositions. Speaking for myself:
1) Higher Degree — I wrote this in the style of the hard rock/progressive rock scene of the 1970s. The lyrics speak of the creativity and potential that exists in all of us, and how we can achieve our goals in life through a combination of belief, effort and determination.
2) Finding It Hard — I wrote this song in the style of The Beatles and 1960s rock music. The lyrics touch on the various difficulties of human relationships, and at the end of the song, a plea for affection.
3) From Now On — This is a straight-ahead, unabashedly romantic love song written in the style of Bread and Seals & Crofts.
4) Fernandina — This is an instrumental that shows my love for Brazilian music.
5) Meant To Be — Again, this is a nod to my affection for jazz-influenced music. It’s a short and, I would say, “realistic” love song.
Joe: The songs on our album are a carryover from our “Generation” band period, plus a few more eclectic styles from our own tastes. Inspirations range from personal events and people in our lives, to “imaginary” scenarios that personally fascinated us. Being with the millennial generation, how do you gauge the kind of songs millennials like?
Mike: Actually, Joe and I are not part of the millennial generation. We were both born in the 1970s, which makes us part of Generation X. So we actually have little clue to what appeals to the millennials. Joking aside, Joe and I enjoy listening to current pop music on the radio. Speaking for myself, I enjoy listening to Bruno Mars, even if his music has nothing to do with mine, soundwise. But I can relate to Bruno Mars’ being nostalgic for music from a previous era, namely the ’80s. Our music in this new album is also kinda nostalgic for music of bygone eras.
Joe: Actually, Mike and I are not part of the millennial generation. That generation’s year starts in 1981, and Mike and I were born in the ’70s. But I think millennials helped continue the idea of well-edited/“abbreviated” songs. Their TV/Internet lifestyle is used to a faster pace. So we learn, and get tips from them as well.
Some singers use music as outlet for innermost feelings (hurt, etc.) that they cannot verbalize. What about you?
Mike:
I would say that my music amplifies the sounds and songs I hear in my head and my imagination. I would like to think that I can verbalize what I’m feeling without having to write songs about them.
Joe: Yes, I agree that music has a profoundness that sometimes cannot be conveyed through words. We sing our “hearts” out at times.
What is your most “personal” song?
Mike: I would say that my most “personal” song on this album is Higher Degree. It expresses my unending love for songwriting which is really where it all began, not only in this album, but my albums that came before. It’s what brought me and Joe to where we are now.
Joe: My most personal songs would have to be the ones I wrote about family and loved ones. If you were to cover/remake any of your dad’s songs, how would you do it (as is or “re-arranged”)? Mike: My favorite of my Dad’s songs is Can We Just Stop And Talk Awhile. If I were to rearrange it, I would do it in the style of Stevie Wonder, complete with a Fender Rhodes electric piano, a funky bass line and a funky drum beat. Joe: I would actually do them just as the original arrangements were done; I am a big fan of old style arrangements.