Rock and Roll

Fast forward a couple of years and I find myself picking up my oldest daughter Rachel from a piano lesson. Her piano teacher is Mark Hall who runs the music and drama departments of Warringah Performing Arts in Brookvale, NSW, Australia which he owns with his wife Julie who runs the dance school.
Rachel mentions to Mark that I write and record songs. Mark asks if he can listen to some of my material. I took in some old recordings of Roller Coaster, JoyRide and Lemon Tree which I recorded a few years back plus an early version of The New Elvis Presley.
Mark really likes the songs and said he could really improve my vocal performance by having formal lessons. I have never been the lead singer in all the bands I have played with. I have been content to write the songs, play guitar and let others sing so this propsect was very daunting.
I recall at my first lesson, I played Mark my latest song 'Kicking and Screaming' on the piano. Mark was able to transpose the song to the correct key for my voice and also play the song on his Clavinova with various accompaniments which really lifted the song.
I was very self conscious about my voice and so it was re-assuring to have someone who could place it correctly, play the song immediately in the correct key and provide an arrangement that sat perfectly with the integrity of the song.
Around Christmas 2010 we were discussing recording The New Elvis Presley and using a tribute artist to sing it, but we didn't get round to it. That project would have to wait another year. During that time, I had been writing plenty of material and working on a set of other peoples songs Mark has chosen to improve my voice.
One of my songs was called 'Superstar' and Mark felt it was time that I could be unleashed to an unsuspecting public, so after starting my lessons in April 2010, my first live performance was in December of that year and as Robert Plant one sang - It's been a long time, been a long time, been a long, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time.

Radio Play

It is interesting to recall that at the original time of writing which was 16th June 2008, any thoughts of releasing it globally would have been a sign to seek psychiatric help. Basically there was absolutely no chance of a songwriter in their late 30s being given that opportunity. Irrespective of any grand ambition of that nature, I still enjoyed recording my compositions on my Roland VS1680 which I had bought in England in the last millennium. This along with a Dr Rhythm drum machine I was able to record it. Once recorded I sent it to some colleagues for their feedback which was positive. I had joined Triple J Unearthed which was a site where unsigned artists could upload their songs for people to listen to. I originally uploaded three songs I had recorded previously called Rollercoaster, Joy Ride and Lemon Tree. When 'The New Elvis Presley' was recorded I sent it to David Garrood, a colleague in Brisbane who was associated with a community radio station called 99.7FM Your Better Mix. As luck would have it, he was filling in for the usual Friday night DJ who was taking a break. He played the song on Friday 26th March and sent me a clip of him introducing the song. It was played under the title 'Long Live the King' which explains why I still haven' t received any royalties for that auspicious occasion.

Full Lyrics

Folks, as promised please find the full lyrics to 'The New Elvis Presley'. The next blog I will provide details of thow it was first recorded.

_{The New Elvis Presley}

_{Here comes the new Elvis Presley, can’t believe my eyes} 

_{It is Elvis incarnate as I look towards the skies}

_{Here comes the new Elvis Presley, hip swaying too}

_{Iconic jump suit and cape, and wearing blue suede shoes}

_{Some quiet please, a little less conversation, get off your knees, rise up in celebration}

_{Altogether now let’s sing, Long live the king, long live the king}

_{Here comes the new Elvis Presley, gonna kiss and tell}

_{Light up the lights of Las Vegas, book a room at heartbreak hotel}

_{Here comes the new Elvis Presley, and he’s doing fine} 

_{Unlock the gates of Graceland and free your suspicious minds}

_{Some quiet please, a little less conversation, get off your knees, rise up in celebration}

_{Altogether now let’s sing, long live the king, long live the king, long live the king, long live the king}

_{Some quiet please, a little less conversation, some quiet please, a little less conversation}

_{Get off your knees, rise up in celebration, altogether now let’s sing,}

_{Long live the king, long live the king, long live the king, long live the king}

_{Everybody sing, long live the king, everybody sing, long live the king}

Stairway to Heaven

We have now arrived back at the bridge 'some quiet please, a little less conversation, get off your knees, rise up in celebration, altogether now sing......' before the 2nd chorus. This is then followed by a lead guitar break. I am the first to admit my lead guitar skills are passable having spent all my time in bands as a songwriter and rythmn guitarist. My favorite guitarist is Jimmy Page who was so versatile and could mix it up with majestic lead breaks, heavy riffs and intricate acoustic work. I can only dream of playing like that. Ironically enough, I started guitar lessons as an 11 year old at school using a nylon string acoustic, but that only lasted about half a dozen lessons due to the fact I had to miss out on sport to attend. I had to learn three blind mice and listen to Segovia. That in itself is not an issue, but I feel that if they had mixed in contemporary riffs at the time it may have captured my interest. Anyway, the short and long of this is that I lost 5 years in my development as a guitar player which might as well have been a million for the lost ground both technically and theoretically. The reason I draw your attention to this fact is that although I can deliver a spontaneous lead guitar break which sounds great, my ability to replicate it is sadly lacking. On an early version of this song, there is a lead break which I really liked but couldn't get the same effect on later recordings. Jimmy Page was famous for selecting the solo that felt right in the song rather than technically being the best take. I would love to have been able to apply the same principle but I'm no Jimmy Page by any stretch of the imagination. I will post the entire lyrics to the song in my next blog.

Suspicious Minds

I was about to call this post 'Graceland' but that triggered Paul Simon's song in my head, so I went for 'Suspicious Minds' instead, although this triggered off 'Fine Young Cannibals'. Be my guest and check out 'You Tube' for both these songs. For the intellectually astute, you would have realized that both 'Graceland' and 'Suspicious Minds' feature in the last two lines of the 2nd verse. 'Here comes the New Elvis Presley, and he's doing fine, unlock the gates of Graceland and free your suspicious minds'. These lyrics continue the storyline of apparently witnessing the second coming of Elvis which plays nicely into the hands of a 'doubting Thomas' analogy. The lyrics deliberately draw parallels to a religious experience throughout. As I mentioned previously my songs start with the opening line and a melody, so the whole imagery for the song formed at that point, and each line was constructed to support the underlying theme. We have now concluded the 2nd verse. If you have enjoyed this post why don't you write a comment. I'll be happy to hear from you.

Heartbreak Hotel

We are well on our way to completing the song, You are all familiar with the structure of the song, and if this is your first visit to the blog, I recommend you start from the beginning to bring yourselves up to speed. The 2nd verse commences with 'Here comes the New Elvis Presley, gonna kiss and tell, light up the lights of Las Vegas, book a room at Heartbreak Hotel.' I like the inferences of these lines. Famous people are constantly subject to 'kiss and tell' stories in the media. The alliteration in the first part of the 2nd line also pays homage to Elvis's seven years on the strip from 1969 - 1976 and the last reference was Elvis's first number one. Heartbreak Hotel was written by Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton in 1955. Elvis never wrote any songs himself although he appears on the songwriting credits of nine songs that he performed. According to various sources this was down to Colonel Parker angling for more money for Elvis and therefore himself, but who are we to judge. Next time we will finish off the verse. As mentioned last time I am more than happy for comments, so don't be shy. My website is http://www.tunecore.com/music/guysimons

Long live the King

'Altogether now let's sing, long live the King' is the final part of the bridge with the word 'King' landing on the 'A' chord for the chorus. The chorus is set up with the chords 'A', 'C', 'D' and 'E' each one taking a bar. The song is constructed with an intro, verse, bridge and chorus which is then repeated. The first chorus is repeated twice before going back into the intro. You will see that the 2nd chorus is repeated 4 times before the guitar break. Elvis is synonymous with the term 'the King', hence why I used it. Next time we will look at the 2nd verse which uses further Elvis references. For those of you who do not know me, please feel free to contact me or take a look at my Tunecore website at http://www1.tunecore.com/music/guysimons