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)

A Song For Christmas

I'm currently playing bass in a musical stage show called "A Song For Christmas" written by my friend, Erik Przytulski. The show is a contemporary original musical. It's a really fun show with beautiful songs and a wonderful holiday message.

The show is being performed at the Ebell Club theater in Santa Ana (French St. and Civic Center). There are four more shows this coming weekend, Friday through Sunday. If you're in the southern California area I urge you to come on down and see the show. I promise it's a show you'll really enjoy!

If you do come to the show please take a moment to stop by and say "Hi"!

peace & love,
Steve

Own Tallulah Lake for $7.79

Yes, it's true! You can own my new CD, Tallulah Lake, for just $7.79. Is there a catch? Of course there is! CD Baby is carrying the CD for $12.99 --- BUT if you purchase more than one copy then you get EACH COPY for 20% OFF. Wow! That's just $10.39 a copy.

But wait...you're probably asking yourself "didn't he say $7.79???". Well yes I did. Here's the catch. If you purchase 3 copies - and they make wonderful Christmas gifts - then I will throw in a fourth copy absolutely FREE!!! In fact, I will even autograph a copy (if that's your idea of a good time). That comes out to just $7.79 a copy. (Do the math. I did and I'm pretty sure it's correct)

Please support independent artists. We work hard and spend thousands of dollars to produce our art. Most of us are a long way off from actually making any money from this. We do it because we love it.

Peace & love throughout the holiday season.
Steve

Go to CD Baby to make someone happy

Lola and Jasmine

Lola is my German Shepherd. She has a slight Rot mix so she is a little small for a shepherd. I've been blessed to be able to keep her as part of my divorce settlement. However, my current living situation does not allow Lola to live with me. During my transition to a dog-friendly home I was in search of a foster home for Lola.

BTW, Lola was named after the Kinks song (L-O-L-A Lola), not the Barry Manilow song ("her name was Lola...").

As luck would have it I found a remarkable situation that allows me to see her every day. After weeks of asking everybody I could think of we found someone who actually lives within walking distance of where I live. "Bob" is an old Hollywood character actor whose career began in the 50's. He's been in so many movies and TV shows it boggles the mind. I recently saw an old "Adventures of Superman" episode that he was in!

Bob has a Lab-Terrier mix named Jasmine who recently lost her companion. The dogs bonded immediately and are now a true "pack". It's a win-win situation because I walk both dogs every day and that is something that Bob is not capable of doing for Jasmine. I feel very blessed how things have worked out.

New Song Posted on MySpace Page From "Tallulah Lake"

I have replaced "A Simpler Life" on my MySpace page with "Let Me In", another track from my CD, Tallulah Lake. Take a listen and let me know what you think!

Check out all 14 songs on CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com/stevebarden). You can hear the first two minutes of every song on the album.

peace & love,
Steve

Have you heard Tallulah Lake yet?

Have you heard the CD yet? Did you know that you can listen to the first two minutes of every track at CDBaby? At most sites that sell CDs (physical and digital) you can only listen to 30 seconds of a song and those 30 seconds are usually randomly selected and don't highlight the best 30 seconds of a song. You really don't get a chance to get the flavor of the song.

Do me a favor and check out Tallulah Lake at CDBaby and listen to the tracks. Feel free to leave your comments by reviewing the CD right there. Read what others have said about the music. And pick up a copy while you're at it! Only $12.99 for a real CD and $9.99 for an MP3 download. If you buy more than one copy then each copy is reduced in price by 20%. That's too much math for me to do but I'm sure it's a good deal.

Peace & love,
Steve

Download MP3’s of Tallulah Lake directly from CD Baby

CD Baby has traditionally been a place to purchase CDs from - but you had to go elsewhere to download and MP3 version of the album. Well now you can get my new CD, Tallulah Lake, as an MP3 album directly from CD Baby!

These are very high-res versions: 200 kbps (VBR) as opposed to other places that are low as 128 kbps. That means the sound is much closer to that of the actual CD. PLUS...you can play these MP3's on any MP3 player you own. Also, there is no DRM - that is, Digital Rights Management - encoded, and that can be very annoying!

In addition, JPG images of the cover artwork and a text file full of the liner notes are included. That's pretty cool! Check out their page of MP3 Download info here: http://cdbaby.com/mp3.

So swing on over to my CD Page and check out Tallulah Lake. The CD is on sale for $12.99 and the complete MP3 album is only $9.99. Download the album immediately for your dining and dancing pleasure!

peace & love,
Steve

Beatles-A-Rama !!!

Beatles-A-Rama (http://www.beatlesarama.com) is an Internet radio show that plays, well, Beatles music. They also play music by other artists that have a "Beatles" sound...like me!

They (Pat Matthews, Beatles-A-Rama owner)) has chosen 3 tracks from my CD, Tallulah Lake to include on his show. The tracks he has selected are: "I Think of You", "You're Not Alone", and "Let Me In".

I'm absolutely thrilled to be a part of his show!

:)

Number One on the Indie Charts

We did it! Thanks to your support, my song "I Think of You" has reached Number One on the Indie charts (as a sub-genre of the Alternative category) at Soundclick.com. That's out of 22,566 songs in that category!

On the Alternative charts the song has moved up to Number 7! So we're still pushing to get that to Number 1 also.

Thanks again for your continued support.

peace & love,
Steve

Creeping up to Number One in the charts!

My song, "I Think of You" is still moving up in the Soundclick.com charts. Slowly. It has reached number 2 in the Indie charts and number 9 (number 9...number 9...) in the Alternative charts.

My goal is for it to reach Number One in both charts! And to help me reach that goal all you have to do is "listen" to the song on the Soundclick pages. Here are the links:

Soundclick Alternative Charts
Soundclick Indie Charts

Peace & love,
Steve

Misunderstood Lyrics

There are books dedicated to the subject of misunderstood lyrics. You think you hear the singer saying one thing when in fact something else entirely was said. As a case in point, in the song "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, the lyric:

"...there's a bad moon on the rise"

has so often been heard as:

"...there's a bathroom on the right"

that singer John Fogerty now sings it that way!


I received an email recently from a friend who said he heard my lyrics incorrectly. In the song "A Simpler Life" the lyrics are:

"I wish I was living a simpler life
I wish I was living like a caveman and his wife"

But what my friend heard was:

"...I wish I was living like a gay man and his wife"

Hmmm. That's pretty funny. Now I can't get that version of the lyrics out of my head. So I'll probably be singing that version in the future without even thinking about it!

"I Think Of You" is climbing in the charts!

Today (Sep 9) my song, "I Think Of You" has reached #3 on Soundclick's Indie charts (out of 22,484 songs) and #21 on Soundclick's Alternative charts (out of 115, 821 songs).

You can help me reach #1 on both charts by simply going to those pages and simply listening to my song.

Thanks for your continued support!

peace & love,
Steve

I Think Of You

"I Think Of You" is the opening track on my CD, Tallulah Lake. This is the song that really started the whole album project. I began writing the song in 2004 during a time when my personal life was taking a major turn. I was discovering love all over again.

This is the song in which I hear over and over again that "it sounds like John Lennon!". It never sounded that way to me. What I heard was George Harrison. That was for two reasons. First, I play slide guitar. I love the sound George gets and have always tried to emulate his sound. So whenever I play a guitar solo I tend to gravitate torwards playing with a slide.

But the other reason the song felt so "George" influenced to me was the inclusion of the diminished chord in the verses. The second chord is a D-diminished which George used quite often (diminished chords in general - not just D-diminished!). What does that all mean? It just means that it sounds like a George Harrison-style song. The diminished chord is not used often in modern pop songs. But go back to the days of Gershwin and Porter and you'd hear them used more often.

To be honest, when I was first writing the song - just me playing acoustic guitar and singing - I wasn't too enthusiastic about it. It just didn't sound like anything I wanted anyone to hear. But as I began to lay down all the other instruments, the guitar solo, the background vocals, it suddenly began to sound like a song.

I put the song aside for a while. I went on to other songs. By the time I had a half dozen songs I decided to create a MySpace page and post a few songs to test the waters. The difference here is that I had decided that these songs were for me - no one else. I liked them. If anyone else liked them - then great! If not, that's okay, too.

But people started responding positively to my music and that really surprised me. I kept getting questions like "where can I get your CD" (I didn't have one), and "when will you be touring in Vermont?" (where's Vermont?). These were tough questions. So while I answered the first question (I released the CD in August on CDBaby), I haven't figured out exactly where Vermont is. But that doesn't mean that I won't be there in the near future!

Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to move forward with my songs. I get a lot of joy out of songwriting and I'm thrilled when I hear that my music affects someone in a positive way.

Peace & love,
Steve

Labor Day Discount on Tallulah Lake

For the Labor Day weekend I've set a DISCOUNT PRICE of 40% OFF if you buy more than one copy of my new CD, Tallulah Lake. That means that each copy is only $8.39! If you only buy one copy it's still $13.99.

Here's something to consider: Buy 10 COPIES for about $84 and sell them to your friends for the regular price - or whatever price you want to charge. I don't care. You get to make a few bucks and I get to share my music with more people. It's a win-win for all!

Thanks again for your continued love and support!
Steve

Here's a handy-dandy order form for your convenience:

album price # STEVE BARDEN: Tallulah Lake $13.99 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Choose how many, and click Orders sent by CD Baby - the fastest, safest, and easiest place to buy CDs online. You can also call 1-800-BUY-MY-CD to order by phone.

Or go to CD Baby and order from there:

A Simpler Life

I have uploaded a new song on my MySpace page. It's a song from my CD, Tallulah Lake, entitled "A Simpler Life". The song is actually quite different than most of the other songs on the CD because it has a Ska feel.

My agent called me a few months ago. "You know those funny Geiko cavemen commercials? Well, they're turning those characters into a sitcom. They're looking for songs that feature either the words Neanderthal or Caveman".

Huh. Sounds easy enough. I don't actually have any songs lying around that contain those words (who does?) but how hard could it be? Since I had over the weekend to come up with something I decided to give it a shot. Usually films and TV shows want something yesterday. I wrote the song in one evening (unusual for me) and spent the weekend arranging and recording it.

I still haven't heard anything from the Cavemen people but they're still having issues with the show! I heard they had to re-shoot the pilot. At any rate, I ended up liking the song quite a bit and thought it would be fun to include it on my CD project. At that time I needed another song or two and decided to include it.

Like everything else I write my feeling is "if you like it, cool. If not, that's okay, too." What I hear now from people is that this song gets stuck in their head. They can't make it go away!

I hope that's a good thing.

Download songs for as low as $0.77 !!!

This is getting ridiculous. Another digital download site now has Tallulah Lake available. It's called PayPlay.fm. You can find my CD here: http://payplay.fm/stevebarden. They have the lowest download prices I've seen so far! Only $0.88 per song in MP3 format and only $0.77 for WMA (Windows Media) format. The entire album can be downloaded (in MP3 format) for just $8.88!

Sounds like a good deal to me.

peace & love,
Steve

Write a Review of my CD

Did you know that you can review my CD, Tallulah Lake? It's true! Right there on my CD Baby page (www.cdbaby.com/stevebarden) you can write your own review of the CD. Be a critic. Let everyone who visits my page know what you think about my songs. Or my guitar playing. Or even (heaven forbid) my singing!

Thanking you in advance for your continued support!

peace & love,
Steve

The Dangers of Being "Almost Famous"

To recap, I was attacked the other day by someone who was not only a music critic but also a personality critic. (see blog)

I actually found the episode silly and a waste of my time, but I am overwhelmed at the response I received by dozens of my friends on MySpace. Everybody was in agreement that "Ed" probably just needs a hug. I mean, who doesn't get that proclaiming to be "almost famous" was meant to be tongue-in-cheek? Sheesh.

But what took me by surprise was the love and encouragement that I received from so many people. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Or maybe it was just the tequila. Either way, it helped.

Imagine the nerve of the guy telling me that I suck just because I haven't made it big (in spite of also saying in the same sentence that I have a lot of talent). Well here's a news flash: Success isn't measured by appearances on the Tonight Show or Grammy nominations. Success is what you make it. I'm writing songs and that makes me very happy. I'm making music and that makes me feel good! I have friends and people who love me. I completed a CD and people actually like it enough to want to own it! Isn't that success???

Well it is to me. I'm very happy where I'm at in my life right now. I've accomplished a lot, especially in the field of music. I've written music scores to films and commercials, I've been interviewed on the radio in Los Angeles (a major rock radio station), I've even sung on a recording session with Roy Rogers! Suck on that Ed.

I guess it feels easy to attack someone behind the anonymity of the Internet. It would have been one thing to simply attack my music, but to attack me personally??? What a dick.

To all of you who have expressed your thoughts on the matter I thank you. What the guy said to me doesn't bother me as much as simply the fact that he did it. But more than anything I'm blown away at the support from all of you.

peace & love,
Steve

I Guess I’m All Washed Up???

I got a really great email today that I just had to share with you. It's from a guy that actually hates me! Rather than simply denying my Friends Request he chose to tell me how horrible I am. People can be so weird! I guess maybe he's having a really bad day. I would love to include his MySpace address, but I won't. Yet. Here is his email and my response to him.


Almost famous, huh?

You have a big head... I dont like your style. Your personality sucks and you are old and washed up. Someone who has the talent that you do, And still has'nt made it big sucks. All those unfortunate breaks in the past were for a reason. You have a big head so I dont like you. Make it big and i will be surprised maybe you can autograph my toilet papper someday-


(My response)
Hi Ed,

Well, I have to admit your email is the funniest I've ever received! I appreciate your candidness. But I think you take *yourself* too seriously! You have no sense of humor and I imagine you probably only like country music.

It's okay that you don't like my music. I'm not trying to be liked by everybody, but I do appeal to a lot of people. I'm not offended - even if that's what you were trying to accomplish. I'm sure that you're still a good person, but I'd bet you don't use your turn signal.

Thanks for the laugh!

Peace & love,
Steve

CDBaby has been re-stocked

The CDBaby store has been re-stocked as of today with my CD, Tallulah Lake. It initially sold out on the first day, but that's not surprising since CDBaby only stocks a handful of CDs initially.

So now you can safely pick up a copy. In addition, I've added a 20% discount if you purchase 2 or more copies! Ah, life is good.

Download my CD from DigStation

You can now download my CD, Tallulah Lake, as an album or as individual songs from DigStation. Just click on the link below. You can even download the album artwork as a PDF file. Individual songs are $0.99 each or just $9.99 for the entire album.




Personally, I think digital downloads just don't sound as good as having the actual CD. But that's just my opinion! That's why we work so hard to get the music on a CD in the first place. So if you'd like to get Tallulah Lake on CD, swing on over to CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com/stevebarden) and pick up a copy.

PS Other digital download sites such as iTunes will have the CD in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Peace & love,
Steve

My CD, Tallulah Lake, is now available!

Woo hoo! It's done and I can finally share it with the world. My first solo CD,Tallulah Lake, is finally available for purchase on CDBaby (www.cdbaby.com/stevebarden).

Tallulah Lake is a 14-track collection of songs that come from a place of deep personal meaning. The songs were written during the last three years (with the exception of one song written ten years ago) during which time I have experienced many changes in my life - some good, some not so good. But I think the overall theme (as I hear from people who've listened to the album) is one of optimism. I'll let you be the judge.

Please let me know what you think of the album. You can even review the CD on CDBaby. So go ahead over to CDBaby, listen to the track samples, and pick yourself up a copy. And enjoy!

Peace & love,
Steve

Win a copy of my new CD

Let's have a contest. I'm looking for a clever and descriptive slogan for my music. Let's say you're trying to explain to somebody what my music is all about. Maybe you're standing behind somebody in a record store (remember those?) and somebody picks up my CD and wonders aloud, "gee, I'm wondering (aloud) what Steve Barden's music sounds like...". This is where you step in and describe to them in just a few words what my music is all about.

Sound interesting? Of course it does. Just come up with a short phrase or sentence that defines my music and intrigues them enough to want to get a copy of my CD.

...and speaking of getting a copy of my CD, Tallulah Lake, the winning entry will win a copy of my CD. For free! All yours! To keep!

You can do it! Be creative. Be clever. Be...honest.

But most of all, have fun!

Thousands of CDs!

The CDs arrived yesterday from the duplicators. This is exciting! That means that in a few days they will be available for purchase on CDBaby. And little by little they will be available on all of the regular digital download sites (iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, DigStation, etc.).

Initially, only a small stock of CDs will be available at CDBaby. As soon as those are sold out I will be asked to send more. I hope you will be able to be one of the first to get my CD! If not, please be patient. And please let me know if you are trying to buy one. CDBaby doesn't want too many CDs in their warehouse unless they know there is a demand for it. The more info I can provide to CDBaby the better!

Is it soup yet?

Today I received the CD from the mastering house. Mastering is the process of finalizing the sound of the audio so everything is consistent volume-wise and the highs shimmer and the bass pounds your inner mojo.

I think they did a fabulous job on it. I can't wait for you to hear it. The next step is the manufacturing process, which will take about two weeks. After that, it will be sent to CD Baby and that's where you'll be able to purchase it. As soon as I have the information from CD Baby I will pass it on to you.

Where Did My 19,000 Friends Go???

It just happened. I went to log in one day recently and my MySpace page had disappeared. Unceremoniously and without warning. All of my 19,000 friends were gone. I had no way to contact them. I would have to start over.

I have a CD coming out in just a few weeks and I really wanted to let everybody know about it. It seems so unfair, so cruel. It happened on 7/7/2007. Wasn't that supposed to be the luckiest day of the year...of the century???

Not for me apparently. Six months of building my site, creating friendships, being part of a community...all gone. I started to do some research and found out that I'm not the only band page to have this happen to. I've contacted MySpace. No response. They don't give a shit.

This is the best I can do. Just start over. What else can I do? It could happen again. I guess I need to plan on that happening. It's been distressing to say the least.

Please bookmark my web site (www.stevebarden.com) and check in periodically. I guarantee you that this web site will not disappear mysteriously!

Steve