I have created a new MySpace music page that represents my alter ego, that is, the one of a film composer. I've been writing music to picture for nearly 20 years now. Although I've written *songs* since the 70's it's only been the past few years that I really took songwriting seriously. I thought it might be nice to share with you my other musical side.
Go here: myspace.com/stevebardenmusic
My past work includes writing for cartoon shows, radio, commercials, short films, etc., etc. I have a lot of music that I've written in comparison to my pop/rock songs. I'll probably be rotating in new pieces of music every week.
Please feel free to add me as a friend and let me know what you think about my work.
peace & love,
Steve
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Just for fun...Norwegian Wood
Today I posted a new song on my MySpace page, a cover version of the Beatles' Norwegian Wood. This has always been a favorite Beatles song of mine and has been part of my "living room repertoire" for years. The guitar part is always fun to play.
The rendition is basically the same as the original, except I added some slide guitar and also some strings and percussion performed by Eddie Young.
The rendition is basically the same as the original, except I added some slide guitar and also some strings and percussion performed by Eddie Young.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Tallulah Lake on sale for $8 at CD Baby
My CD, Tallulah Lake is currently on sale at CD Baby for a mere $8.00. What a bargain! Hurry! It won't last long.
Win A Free Copy Of My CD, "Tallulah Lake"
During the month of April I am holding a drawing to win a free copy of my CD, Tallulah Lake. To enter, simply leave a friendly comment on my MySpace page including the words "Tallulah Lake". That’s it! You’re entered. You have until the end of the month. On May 1st I’ll draw a name from the entries.
Good luck!
Steve
Good luck!
Steve
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Singles vs. Albums
The music industry is going through some growing pains right now. And by music industry I'm referring to the record companies. Nobody's buying albums (CDs) anymore. When was the last time you bought a CD? Was your last music purchase a digital download? If your answer is that your last music purchase was a vinyl LP then this post is not for you and you can get back to your nap. ;)
I read an article the other day predicting that CD sales will cease entirely by 2012. That's the next presidential election. What's going on here??? What's the draw to digital downloads vs. having that piece of plastic (or vinyl) in your hands? The convenience? Sure, it's fast and easy to get your music now. I'm into instant gratification as much as the next guy, but let's get real.
Not so long ago when you heard a song on the radio that you liked you could buy just that song! Those were delivered on 45's - small vinyl records. For you kids, they were called 45's because they spun at 45 revolutions-per-minute (count 'em!). Well, technically you were getting two songs. There was an A-side and a B-side, but no one really cared about the B-side.
Later on people got in the habit of buying full-length albums, typically 10-12 songs. An album was an experience. It was a cohesive piece of work. It was the equivalent of watching a movie. You didn't go to the movies just to watch your favorite scene - it was a part of a whole. It was about the entire experience.
As the quality of music declined those one-hit-wonder bands put out albums that contained, for the most part, a lot of filler. Once CDs became the norm, 45s slowly disappeared. They tried CD-singles, which were really 4 or 5 songs, but it was still filler. I think this is where the idea of buying singles again became popular because you could buy only the good songs and not feel like you wasted your hard-earned money on some really bad songs.
With digital download web sites such as iTunes you can easily locate and buy as many songs from an artist's album as you'd like. So... after my long-winded introduction it brings me to my original point: singles or albums? Should artists continue to release albums or just a stream of singles as soon as they are made available? I'd love to hear your opinion.
As an independent artist the only way I can get my songs on iTunes is to have an album, that is, a CD for sale. Through my relationship with CD Baby I can have my entire CD available as down loadable mp3's on iTunes and many other digital download sites. When I went about putting together my CD it was created as the result of where I was emotionally during that period of songwriting. My life was going through many changes and I was falling in love again. So many of my songs are filled with a common theme. A comment I received from one of my peers (a musician) was that it actually sounded like "an album", meaning it sounded like it was meant to go together as opposed to just a bunch of disparate-sounding songs. Another colleague commented that there was so much love and positive affirmations coming from my words. I was pleased that they and other listeners responded so positively. I felt good about the end result and that Tallulah Lake is a whole and not just 14 songs.
I respect the idea of people choosing to buy only individual songs from Tallulah Lake, but I wish they would listen to the album as a whole. To my surprise, my biggest selling song from the album is "Leanne". I guess there must be a lot of gals out there named Leanne and there just aren't many other songs containing that name.
I read an article the other day predicting that CD sales will cease entirely by 2012. That's the next presidential election. What's going on here??? What's the draw to digital downloads vs. having that piece of plastic (or vinyl) in your hands? The convenience? Sure, it's fast and easy to get your music now. I'm into instant gratification as much as the next guy, but let's get real.
Not so long ago when you heard a song on the radio that you liked you could buy just that song! Those were delivered on 45's - small vinyl records. For you kids, they were called 45's because they spun at 45 revolutions-per-minute (count 'em!). Well, technically you were getting two songs. There was an A-side and a B-side, but no one really cared about the B-side.
Later on people got in the habit of buying full-length albums, typically 10-12 songs. An album was an experience. It was a cohesive piece of work. It was the equivalent of watching a movie. You didn't go to the movies just to watch your favorite scene - it was a part of a whole. It was about the entire experience.
As the quality of music declined those one-hit-wonder bands put out albums that contained, for the most part, a lot of filler. Once CDs became the norm, 45s slowly disappeared. They tried CD-singles, which were really 4 or 5 songs, but it was still filler. I think this is where the idea of buying singles again became popular because you could buy only the good songs and not feel like you wasted your hard-earned money on some really bad songs.
With digital download web sites such as iTunes you can easily locate and buy as many songs from an artist's album as you'd like. So... after my long-winded introduction it brings me to my original point: singles or albums? Should artists continue to release albums or just a stream of singles as soon as they are made available? I'd love to hear your opinion.
As an independent artist the only way I can get my songs on iTunes is to have an album, that is, a CD for sale. Through my relationship with CD Baby I can have my entire CD available as down loadable mp3's on iTunes and many other digital download sites. When I went about putting together my CD it was created as the result of where I was emotionally during that period of songwriting. My life was going through many changes and I was falling in love again. So many of my songs are filled with a common theme. A comment I received from one of my peers (a musician) was that it actually sounded like "an album", meaning it sounded like it was meant to go together as opposed to just a bunch of disparate-sounding songs. Another colleague commented that there was so much love and positive affirmations coming from my words. I was pleased that they and other listeners responded so positively. I felt good about the end result and that Tallulah Lake is a whole and not just 14 songs.
I respect the idea of people choosing to buy only individual songs from Tallulah Lake, but I wish they would listen to the album as a whole. To my surprise, my biggest selling song from the album is "Leanne". I guess there must be a lot of gals out there named Leanne and there just aren't many other songs containing that name.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Huckabee – Weapons of Mass Instruction
This is the first politician I can recall who really "gets" the value and importance of music and art in our schools.
Huckabee – Weapons of Mass Instruction
The 21st century will belong to the creative; they will thrive and prosper, both as individuals and as societies. The creative ones will be the competitive ones. We're all familiar with the cliché of thinking outside the box. I want American children to think so far outside the box that they're not even in the cardboard factory. Creativity built this country, and creativity will sustain her as we transition to a global economy. We need to encourage the young people who will have those Eureka moments that give rise to leaps in science and technology, that create jobs, even entire new industries. We need to identify the ones who will take the rough straw of a bright idea and spin it into gold.
How do you nurture something as elusive as creativity? You can't teach it the way you do state capitals and multiplication tables. You and I know how – by offering art and music to all of our students, all the way through school. So the secret weapons for becoming competitive and creative are art and music, our "weapons of mass instruction." Yet when school budgets are cut, too often it's art and music that end up on the chopping block. They say we can't afford to have them. I say we can't afford not to!
The arts are a passion, not just a program, for me. When I was Governor, I made Arkansas the leading state in elementary school arts and music education by requiring the highest level of instruction in the country. When I was chairman of the Education Commission of the States, I used that bully pulpit to promote a major initiative called "The Arts – A Lifetime of Learning" throughout the country. In 2005, Americans for the Arts and the U. S. Conference of Mayors gave me their National Award for State Arts Leadership.
Studies have shown a direct correlation between music education and math scores. Music develops both sides of the brain and improves spatial reasoning and the capacity to think in the abstract. Music teaches students how to learn, and the skill is transferable to learning foreign languages, algebra or history.
Students with solid arts programs in their schools are four times more likely to be honored for academic achievement, four times more likely to win an award for an essay or poem, and three times more likely to be elected to student government. Young artists perform community service four times as often and read for pleasure twice as much as other students. Arts education levels the differences in academic performance among students from different socio-economic backgrounds and reduces delinquent behavior. Arts education results in what all parents and school districts are looking to brag about – higher SAT scores.
It infuriates me when people dismiss the arts as extracurricular, extraneous, and expendable. To me, they're essential to a well-rounded education. If we're not providing courses in music, theater, dance, and the visual arts, we're cheating our children. We have to touch the talents of every child, no matter what those talents are. In too many schools, we're only willing to develop the talents of children who run well, jump high, and throw or shoot a ball. I'm a marathon runner and a sports fan. But for most kids, sports won't propel them to the next level of success in life. Soon they'll be spectators of team sports rather than participants. We must have time and money for academics, the arts, and athletics in all our schools.
Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed whether that child is good at shooting a basketball or playing the trumpet. Every child should have a chance to hear the cheers and applause. What about the child who doesn't have athletic ability? What if someone puts a paintbrush in his hand, and he finds his gift from God? People who never noticed him before suddenly are praising him. Inside every child there are treasures to unlock. We owe it to each one to ensure that whatever his talents are, the doors are open to him.
Some children decide early on that they're not good at school and they hate it. Art and music can be a way to save these children, to keep them in school. For them biology may be broccoli and Spanish may be spinach, but when they get to art class or band practice, that's a hot fudge sundae. If it weren't for these opportunities, where they feel successful and worthwhile, where they're enthusiastic and engaged, many students would drop out of school. There is an established correlation between arts education and drop-out rates.
Art and music can do even more than keep these children in school, it can give them the confidence to believe in themselves and approach their other subjects with a new attitude and more determination. Instead of berating themselves as slow or stupid, they see themselves as talented, as special. They know they can do things many of their classmates can't, so why shouldn't they be able to do things many of their classmates can? They realize that just as learning an instrument takes practice and perseverance, so do their other classes. They come to believe that if they're good at something, they can be good at a lot of things.
I'm committed to feeding children's souls as well as their minds and bodies. I want them to make full use of all their talents and find their true purpose. For some children, the discovery of these talents will lead to a fulfilling career in the arts. Without school arts programs, their gifts might remain "buried treasure," lost to them and all of us. Others will end up in jobs that may not be arts-related or make them feel especially important. But for them the opportunity to play guitar at church on Sunday or lead art therapy for cancer or Alzheimer's patients on Saturday may be the most satisfying part of their week and give meaning and purpose to their lives.
In 1966, an eleven-year-old boy who loved the Beatles and other rock bands begged his parents for an electric guitar for Christmas. The cost of an electric guitar was beyond the budget of a family like his, who struggled to meet the rent every month. But his parents made sacrifices and arranged to make monthly payments to JC Penny for a guitar and small amplifier costing $99. The boy practiced for hours on end, often playing until his fingers were nearly bleeding. He formed a rock bank while in junior high school and played through his student days at school dances and small shows.
This boy never became a professional musician, he pursued other things, but he never got music out of his system. Today, past fifty, he enjoys it more than ever and still plays in a band with others who have day jobs, but play just for fun. Their band has opened for Willie Nelson, the Charlie Daniels Band, Grand Funk Railroad, Dionne Warwick, 38 Special, and Percy Sledge, and even played at presidential inaugural balls. You've probably guessed that I'm that boy, and my band is Capitol Offense. If I'd been a star football player in high school – which I wasn't – I wouldn't still be playing full-contact football at my age, but I can still play my guitar, and I plan to be playing thirty years from now. Art and music are not fleeting pleasures, they are pleasures for a lifetime – we never become too old to appreciate as well as participate in them.
So let's deploy these weapons throughout our country, these peaceful "weapons of mass instruction," let's fund them as conscientiously and consistently as we do our tanks and missiles, because they are every bit as essential to our future success.
Mike Huckabee
Huckabee – Weapons of Mass Instruction
The 21st century will belong to the creative; they will thrive and prosper, both as individuals and as societies. The creative ones will be the competitive ones. We're all familiar with the cliché of thinking outside the box. I want American children to think so far outside the box that they're not even in the cardboard factory. Creativity built this country, and creativity will sustain her as we transition to a global economy. We need to encourage the young people who will have those Eureka moments that give rise to leaps in science and technology, that create jobs, even entire new industries. We need to identify the ones who will take the rough straw of a bright idea and spin it into gold.
How do you nurture something as elusive as creativity? You can't teach it the way you do state capitals and multiplication tables. You and I know how – by offering art and music to all of our students, all the way through school. So the secret weapons for becoming competitive and creative are art and music, our "weapons of mass instruction." Yet when school budgets are cut, too often it's art and music that end up on the chopping block. They say we can't afford to have them. I say we can't afford not to!
The arts are a passion, not just a program, for me. When I was Governor, I made Arkansas the leading state in elementary school arts and music education by requiring the highest level of instruction in the country. When I was chairman of the Education Commission of the States, I used that bully pulpit to promote a major initiative called "The Arts – A Lifetime of Learning" throughout the country. In 2005, Americans for the Arts and the U. S. Conference of Mayors gave me their National Award for State Arts Leadership.
Studies have shown a direct correlation between music education and math scores. Music develops both sides of the brain and improves spatial reasoning and the capacity to think in the abstract. Music teaches students how to learn, and the skill is transferable to learning foreign languages, algebra or history.
Students with solid arts programs in their schools are four times more likely to be honored for academic achievement, four times more likely to win an award for an essay or poem, and three times more likely to be elected to student government. Young artists perform community service four times as often and read for pleasure twice as much as other students. Arts education levels the differences in academic performance among students from different socio-economic backgrounds and reduces delinquent behavior. Arts education results in what all parents and school districts are looking to brag about – higher SAT scores.
It infuriates me when people dismiss the arts as extracurricular, extraneous, and expendable. To me, they're essential to a well-rounded education. If we're not providing courses in music, theater, dance, and the visual arts, we're cheating our children. We have to touch the talents of every child, no matter what those talents are. In too many schools, we're only willing to develop the talents of children who run well, jump high, and throw or shoot a ball. I'm a marathon runner and a sports fan. But for most kids, sports won't propel them to the next level of success in life. Soon they'll be spectators of team sports rather than participants. We must have time and money for academics, the arts, and athletics in all our schools.
Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed whether that child is good at shooting a basketball or playing the trumpet. Every child should have a chance to hear the cheers and applause. What about the child who doesn't have athletic ability? What if someone puts a paintbrush in his hand, and he finds his gift from God? People who never noticed him before suddenly are praising him. Inside every child there are treasures to unlock. We owe it to each one to ensure that whatever his talents are, the doors are open to him.
Some children decide early on that they're not good at school and they hate it. Art and music can be a way to save these children, to keep them in school. For them biology may be broccoli and Spanish may be spinach, but when they get to art class or band practice, that's a hot fudge sundae. If it weren't for these opportunities, where they feel successful and worthwhile, where they're enthusiastic and engaged, many students would drop out of school. There is an established correlation between arts education and drop-out rates.
Art and music can do even more than keep these children in school, it can give them the confidence to believe in themselves and approach their other subjects with a new attitude and more determination. Instead of berating themselves as slow or stupid, they see themselves as talented, as special. They know they can do things many of their classmates can't, so why shouldn't they be able to do things many of their classmates can? They realize that just as learning an instrument takes practice and perseverance, so do their other classes. They come to believe that if they're good at something, they can be good at a lot of things.
I'm committed to feeding children's souls as well as their minds and bodies. I want them to make full use of all their talents and find their true purpose. For some children, the discovery of these talents will lead to a fulfilling career in the arts. Without school arts programs, their gifts might remain "buried treasure," lost to them and all of us. Others will end up in jobs that may not be arts-related or make them feel especially important. But for them the opportunity to play guitar at church on Sunday or lead art therapy for cancer or Alzheimer's patients on Saturday may be the most satisfying part of their week and give meaning and purpose to their lives.
In 1966, an eleven-year-old boy who loved the Beatles and other rock bands begged his parents for an electric guitar for Christmas. The cost of an electric guitar was beyond the budget of a family like his, who struggled to meet the rent every month. But his parents made sacrifices and arranged to make monthly payments to JC Penny for a guitar and small amplifier costing $99. The boy practiced for hours on end, often playing until his fingers were nearly bleeding. He formed a rock bank while in junior high school and played through his student days at school dances and small shows.
This boy never became a professional musician, he pursued other things, but he never got music out of his system. Today, past fifty, he enjoys it more than ever and still plays in a band with others who have day jobs, but play just for fun. Their band has opened for Willie Nelson, the Charlie Daniels Band, Grand Funk Railroad, Dionne Warwick, 38 Special, and Percy Sledge, and even played at presidential inaugural balls. You've probably guessed that I'm that boy, and my band is Capitol Offense. If I'd been a star football player in high school – which I wasn't – I wouldn't still be playing full-contact football at my age, but I can still play my guitar, and I plan to be playing thirty years from now. Art and music are not fleeting pleasures, they are pleasures for a lifetime – we never become too old to appreciate as well as participate in them.
So let's deploy these weapons throughout our country, these peaceful "weapons of mass instruction," let's fund them as conscientiously and consistently as we do our tanks and missiles, because they are every bit as essential to our future success.
Mike Huckabee
Monday, December 31, 2007
A Year In Review
Well, here we are, another year gone by and what do we have to show for it? I think this is the time for a bit of reflection just to see what we have all accomplished.
For me personally I feel that a lot has happened. What did I accomplish? I wrote 14 songs and recorded an album! To me that was my biggest accomplishment. It was a lot of work and I'm proud of the end result. I was able to introduce my music to people all over the world and to my surprise it was received positively.
I've sold a few CDs and MP3s. My song "I Think Of You" has been sitting in the number one spot on Soundclick's Adult Contemporary category for the past several weeks. I've had various songs from the album getting airplay on several radio stations, both Internet and terrestrial. I've included a list at the end of this blog.
I found a foster home for my dog Lola. She has a new companion, Jasmine, and I get to see them every day and take them for walks.
What's in store for 2008? I'm working on putting a band together so I can start performing my music in front of live audiences. I'll continue my songwriting with hopes of having enough material to produce a follow-up album by year's end. In the next couple of months I'll be able to move Lola into my home.
I feel blessed to have so many friends who care about me and have been there for me when I needed support. I have two amazing children that I love dearly, and I have the love and support of my girlfriend and muse, Leanne, who makes life worth living.
We all have struggles and difficulties throughout our lives that can often seem overwhelming. I try to look at the bigger picture and remind myself of all the good things I have in my life and put it all into perspective. It doesn't seem so bad that way!
To all my friends, peace and love always.
Steve
RADIO STATIONS
============================
Keith Community Radio
Scotland, United Kingdom
Emission Pulsions 70 & Radio Aria
France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and in the south of Germany
http://www.radio-aria.net/aria/
http://www.myspace.com/pulsions70
http://www.radiosblues.com/
Beatles-A-Rama
www.beatlesarama.com
Audio RoundTable
www.live365.com/stations/melissaparham
Ear Candle Radio
www.live365.com/stations/jneomarvin
SoundClick.com radio stations
-----------------------------
lovemeloveme's station (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=597282)
LEN AMSTERDAM ALTERNATIVE (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=581433)
Voices In Motion (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=571720)
lynnewood's station (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=566181)
MY SOUNDCLICK TOP ARTIST (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=560384)
edna048's station (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=556225)
TALENT SHOWCASE RADIO (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=401387)
guitargirl2006's station (http://www.soundclick.com/members/default.cfm?member=guitargirl2006&c..station&id=482797)
maxx69's station (http://members.soundclick.com/station/587587)
For me personally I feel that a lot has happened. What did I accomplish? I wrote 14 songs and recorded an album! To me that was my biggest accomplishment. It was a lot of work and I'm proud of the end result. I was able to introduce my music to people all over the world and to my surprise it was received positively.
I've sold a few CDs and MP3s. My song "I Think Of You" has been sitting in the number one spot on Soundclick's Adult Contemporary category for the past several weeks. I've had various songs from the album getting airplay on several radio stations, both Internet and terrestrial. I've included a list at the end of this blog.
I found a foster home for my dog Lola. She has a new companion, Jasmine, and I get to see them every day and take them for walks.
What's in store for 2008? I'm working on putting a band together so I can start performing my music in front of live audiences. I'll continue my songwriting with hopes of having enough material to produce a follow-up album by year's end. In the next couple of months I'll be able to move Lola into my home.
I feel blessed to have so many friends who care about me and have been there for me when I needed support. I have two amazing children that I love dearly, and I have the love and support of my girlfriend and muse, Leanne, who makes life worth living.
We all have struggles and difficulties throughout our lives that can often seem overwhelming. I try to look at the bigger picture and remind myself of all the good things I have in my life and put it all into perspective. It doesn't seem so bad that way!
To all my friends, peace and love always.
Steve
RADIO STATIONS
============================
Keith Community Radio
Scotland, United Kingdom
Emission Pulsions 70 & Radio Aria
France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and in the south of Germany
http://www.radio-aria.net/aria/
http://www.myspace.com/pulsions70
http://www.radiosblues.com/
Beatles-A-Rama
www.beatlesarama.com
Audio RoundTable
www.live365.com/stations/melissaparham
Ear Candle Radio
www.live365.com/stations/jneomarvin
SoundClick.com radio stations
-----------------------------
lovemeloveme's station (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=597282)
LEN AMSTERDAM ALTERNATIVE (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=581433)
Voices In Motion (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=571720)
lynnewood's station (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=566181)
MY SOUNDCLICK TOP ARTIST (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=560384)
edna048's station (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=556225)
TALENT SHOWCASE RADIO (http://www.soundclick.com/stations/stations.cfm?id=401387)
guitargirl2006's station (http://www.soundclick.com/members/default.cfm?member=guitargirl2006&c..station&id=482797)
maxx69's station (http://members.soundclick.com/station/587587)
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