*The LA sound - The Byrds to The Eagles

Crosby, Stills and Nash; Neil Young; Joni Mitchell; David Geffen. And The Laid back acoustic sound of Laurel Canyon - All about the SONG

In the early 70s LA became the centre of the music business as young artists moved there rather than to New York city. Artists came to play the well renowned LA Troubadour venue.

The artist was the centre of the business, which was driven by the songwriter and by self publishing singer songwriters. Crosby, Stills and Nash were known for their beautiful 3 part harmonies and exquisitely roving melodies. Then we had flower power and hippies.

Carole King and James Taylor moved there from New York and King’s Tapestry album spent15 weeks at no 1. 

Ambition and idealism ‘counter culture' was the name of the game.

However.....eventually the business men moved in and it became more about managers and lawyers - more about business and less about the music. The Corporation of Rock.

Recently I thought... where are the great songs of today? 

And so I begin to wonder about the cheap club nights and that's what ears get used to.... and that it is it simply not about THE SONG anymore?

In my view the cheapening of music has led to some kind of diluted commodity with no thought about quality anymore.

Unbelievable clip  -

John Lennon and Paul Simon present the Best Song Award 1975 at the Grammy's when Olivia Newton John beats icons - Elton John, Joni Mitchell and Roberta Flack!!

The Industry never ceases to amaze me! 

  

 Most amazing CLIP of Judy Blue Eyes ( Joni mitchell) 

Keyboard player Michael Abubakar

PHOTOS OF musician Michael Abubakar playing keys with Katie Sutherland’s band at the Oran Mor Glasgow.

Jo Nesbo's 'Headhunters'

I saw Jo Nesbo's 'Headhunters' movie last night. I thought it was a very good thriller - well written with good pacing. Good cinematography and photography too. I recommend the film.

Kevin Barry wins short story award

I took this photo of Barry at Edinburgh Book Festival 2011. Some of the characters there are so strong and simply wonderful for photographing. It is as if they express their stories through the lens.  Barry was certainly one of them and he fixed you with his Irish eyes.

Barry won the Sunday Times Short Story Award 2012 for his story Beer Trip to Llandudno.

He says that he writes best early in the morning when he is ‘half asleep and half awake. You are less self conscious and your not afraid to embarrass yourself, and that’s the good stuff.‘ He writes the first draft longhand, ‘It’s to slow down the rate at which the sentences are emerging. It is easy to mistake fluency for inspiration.’

‘If you can get how a character speaks, you get their soul.’ ..For me the imperative is to get characters speaking and to listen to what they are not saying as much as what they are.’

His literary heroes include VS Prichard ; ‘He worked form the ear, from the way people speak and I felt an affinity with that.’ 

Barry advocates keeping it real, ‘I’m old school. Never in my life have I attended a creative writing class, I kind of react against it. I think it’s a bit of an industry.’

‘I write 10 or so a year and only one or two that will be any cop at all.’  It’s an art form that takes a lot of work and a lot go practice. ‘