HEY CUPCAKE!! Look after yourself out there.

Many of you will have been to a SOAR show at San Padre the beautiful SecondLife venue run by Dom and Tex. We played regularly there on Monday mornings SLT before DOM took the stage. Once San Padre was no more DOM did come out of retirement briefly as the hunked-up MichaelJames Magic and we had him play after SOAR a few times at the Colour Factory so we could relive old times. I had no idea how hunked-up he was until Tex tp'd me rather close to the stage at his farewell concert on the weekend. Personally i prefer his cupcake persona :)
There is a lot that could be said about a DOM or MJ show but i will leave all that to reviewers but for me they were always happy shows with his wholehearted performances and fantastic song selections. When you get the chance to sing in SL again DOM there will always be a place for you at the Colour Factory. Thank you for the opportunities and support you and Tex gave SOAR at San Padre.
Take care of yourself out there DOM, and MichaelJames. Your fans and friends wont forget you CUPCAKE.
Bright :)

COLOUR FACTORY SHOW April 1. Mari's turn :)

The Colour Factory SOAR Show on April 1 will be a selection of SOAR songs that touch Mari's heart, make her think, and make her cry. And that's not all - there are at least two surprises for folks who like surprises :)
Oh yes the photo - well Mari is the pretty one and the one in the pants. I tell ya the world is getting confusing. Erm, perhaps the guy in the bright yellow pants shouldn't be telling stories.
Cant wait to hear what Mari says about these songs. I hope you can make it over for a bit.

All The Times
Brand New Day
Song for a Broken Soul
Beyond the Crowd
Don't You Ever Go
Could be MIne
Mary
For an Unknown Lady
Stormwinds
On Our Knees
The Storm
Old Jamaica
The Sound of Hello
Paradise Blues

COLOUR FACTORY SHOW March 25 March

This list of songs, my selection of songs that i feel helped establish SOAR's sound and bonafides and make our musical way over the last two years :) was originally published on March 3. Now it's time to sing them all in the one show and that is just what SOAR will be doing this coming Friday. Along with the songs my reasons for choosing each one. Love to see you there.

Songs that established our sound and genre.

Peace of Mind

Can't Forget the Day

Early songs that people seemed to like a lot  & that we still play regularly.

Brindabella

Brand New Day

Early serious songwriting phases

Special

Into Magic

Dipping into the SOAR VAULT for some oldies but goodies.

Kansas Skies

Now and Forever

Expanding our style/genres.

Living on the Moon

I Fall

Late 2010 songwriting phase

Willow Tree

Across a Star Filled Sky

Early 2011 songwriting phase - many still to be debuted.

Songbird

Thanks for reading

Bright

2ND ANNIVERSARY SONG LIST

In about an hours time SOAR will be playing their 2nd Anniversary Show in SL. We discussed a few options for setting a song list for the show and finally decided on this one -
The SONGS THAT EXPERIMENT, CHARLES, MARI & BRIGHT like most from the last two years. Eighteen of them!
Yes, basically we voted :) There was no other way to reach any kind of agreement on so subjective and personal a topic. For those of you at the show we sure hope we have come up with a few of your favourites too. So, here they are - in no particular order.


All the Times
The Sound of Hello
An Empty House
Song for a Broken Soul
Mary
Only for  You
Across a Star Filled Sky
It's Over
Brindabella
In to Magic
Willow Tree
Mystery Girl
Special
Now and Forever
That Final Kiss
Could Be Mine
Brand New Day
Kansas Skies


And.
Thank you for the last two years.
Bright :)

I LOVE A LIST 2 - Songs written in 2010

As you may have seen on our website SOAR will have played around 440 shows in SecondLife and expanded our original song catalogue to 131 songs by the time of our 2nd anniversary show on March 18. This is all the more amazing for us because when we started out two years ago to play our first show we weren't entirely sure there would even be a second show.
Even though my songs may be written for very personal reasons at times, they aren't like diary entries, and i write them to share. If as i say on the main page of our website there is "just a thought that resonates and a melody that lingers" for the listener -  then i think the song has done pretty good on lots of levels. 
I know too that many people have a SOAR song, or two or three, that they love, and well, that is an indescribably wonderful thing for me. All of you, and some of you in particular, are the reasons many of the songs we have written in the last two years even exist. Without your support and love and appreciation for our music most of the songs we wrote during 2010 wouldn't have been written, and for this i want to give you all the biggest hugz. Thank you, truly.
Here is the list of songs that we wrote in 2010 that we have so far played in our shows - how grateful i am that there were reasons to write them :)

I FALL
JULIETTE (I'm Pining)
JULIETTE (I'm Waiting)
INTO MAGIC
BLIND ME
STORMWINDS (with Chance)
THE SHOW IS OVER
STRONGER DEEPER
THAT FINAL KISS
ALL AT ONCE
SPARROW IN THE WILLOW
THESE ARE THE WORDS
WHEN ITS IN YOUR PLANS
IN THE REDWOOD FOREST
GOODBYE (Counting the cost)
WITHOUT MY CLAIRE
RAINBOWS
SOMEONE WE KNOW IS CRYING
LIVING ON THE MOON
THE STORM
THROUGH THE CRACKS IN THINGS
WHISPERS AND ANSWERS
THE WINDS OF CHANGE
HARMONY WAS STOLEN
STEPHEN AND EBONYJAY
NO OUTDOORS
WILLOW TREE
BEYOND THE CROWD
ACROSS A STAR FILLED SKY
TOWARDS THE WESTERN SUN
CALLING IN YOUR DREAMS

Thanks for reading, and stuff.

Bright :)

When is a song a good song? Songwriting - the SOAR way. Part 2

The second part of this blog entry is about how SOAR write songs, the mechanics, separate from the inspiration or reasons to write in the first place, and in some way answers the question about whether SOAR writes good songs.
As we explain in our shows we don't usually write songs together. This is primarily because we live too far apart to get together very often. Lyrical collaborations via the internet are easy enough but it is way hard to replicate on the internet the equivalent of sitting around in someone's lounge room jamming away writing songs. Interesting too is that the songs we did write together, like Fishies,  I Called You On The Phone and Mystery Girl, are in the perky singalong category.

Mostly we write individually or in pairs - with Experiment being the common person in them. And well it all seems to work pretty good to me.
When i'm writing songs (Bright) as soon as i think i have something musically interesting happening i send a demo to Experiment, for a couple of reasons. Very quickly in my song writing i begin to lose some perspective of its merits. One of the ways i write the melody/music is by repetition - i just take an initial chord progression and melody fragment and sing it over and over again trying out different chords and melody options until i have a verse and chorus structure i like. Then i will record a rough demo of the song so i can listen to it without playing it at the same time. With some songs by the time all this is done i may already have sung/listened to the song fifty times and my head is numb to its real merits by then. Regardless,  i like to keep working on songs and finish them as quickly as i can - while i am absorbed by each one - this is where Experiment first comes in. I send the demo to EX and he lets me know what he thinks of it. Your basic thumbs up or thumbs down.
At this point regardless of the feedback from EX i may or may not complete songs for any number of reasons and many bits and pieces of songs end up in the SOAR VAULT at this point. Of all the songs that EX gives the thumbs up to that are completed and played in SecondLife, 9 out of 10 of them seem to be well received. Of the songs that got the thumbs down from EX that are nonetheless completed, maybe only 3 out 10 ever see the light of day.
So for me the role Experiment plays in my songwriting is crucial - saves me a lot of time by giving me an idea early on that my initial ideas for a song may not be strong enough or appealing enough to warrant spending any more time on them, and then in a positive way gives me confidence that there is something worth developing and completing in the songs that he gives the thumbs up to.
Whether any of this on its own makes any of the songs a good song, well, probably not, i still say a song is a good song if you like it, but it does help ensure that less songs that should never ever be heard by anyone ever make it into our shows, and for that, you and i should be very grateful because i have listened to some of the songs EX rejected and they are truly bad :)


OK this post is long enough. I hope it explains the role EX has in my songwriting - i play a fairly similar role in EX's songwriting. And perhaps in another entry i will write about why i write songs, the reasons, the inspirations, the different approaches i take, does the music come first or the lyrics, how long does it take etc.


Thanks for reading.
Bright :)

The HUMBLE and the not so HUMBLE TIM TAM

Many of you will know about SOAR's failed attempt to get sponsorship from that dirty rotten scoundrel Schweppes company - and after all Bright's untiring (to be read as tiresome) efforts promoting Schweppes Bitter Lemon during concerts as his choice of drinks to soothe his throat and ensure that he sang superbly. We have moved on to hot tea with honey now - but if the Schweppes people want to call the SOAR people i reckon we can work something out. But SOAR moves on to a new and wonderful sponsorship possibility. ARNOTTS!!! Yes you read correctly - ARNOTTS!!! The maker of the humble, and not so humble TIMTAM!!!

It is apparent even at SOAR concerts that there is a fair bit of class distinction going on with TimTams. Down to earth singers and guitar players seem to favour the original TimTam, whereas yuppie mardi gras attending kansas city state fair home coming queen keyboard players seem to favour any new flash variety that is released. But this is a different story.
This story has only three purposes -
1. To praise the Woolworths Supermarkets in Australia for their current 3 PACKS for $4.89 SPECIAL.
2. To appeal to ARNOTTS for a SOAR sponsorship deal.
3. To tease outrageously anyone who lives outside Australia and cant get their hands on cheap TimTams, or any TimTams at all.


Job done.


My favourite photo is the one of the American tourist hugging the TimTam display - they all do! Hehehe.


Enjoy.
Bright

I LOVE A LIST

Mmmm, any excuse for a list i always say. Well, todays excuse relies upon the 2nd SOAR Anniversary for inspiration. It is fun to play the 'my fave SOAR song' game but it has its pitfalls for me. My faves change just like everyone elses but i'm also too close to many of the songs and my views get affected by a whole range of things. But, i still love a list.
So, my SOAR SONG LIST for today are the songs that to me are the sign posts of SOAR's songwriting journey these last two years. And i am limiting it to 13 songs, the number that we could play in a one hour show. So, NOT my list of SOAR's BEST or my list of MY SOAR FAVES but just the songs i think most helped us make our musical way at times.


Songs that established our sound and genre.
Peace of Mind
Can't Forget the Day
Early songs that people seemed to like a lot  & that we still play regularly.
Brindabella
Brand New Day
Early serious songwriting phases
Special
Into Magic
Dipping into the SOAR VAULT for some oldies but goodies.
Kansas Skies
Now and Forever
Expanding our style/genres.
Living on the Moon
I Fall
Late 2010 songwriting phase
Willow Tree
Across a Star Filled Sky
Early 2011 songwriting phase - many still to be debuted.
Songbird


OK i'm pretty convinced that song lists are pretty silly - but i'm a list junkie and cant help myself.
If anyone would like to add their own lists, to keep my list company, please do :)


Thanks for reading
Bright