Steve Marcantonio visits CMAS

It is very hard to quantify this week - one that seemed to have, to say the very least, both extreme highs and lows, but I wanted to take a moment to "publicly" mention one of the very high points. In fact, one of the high points of any week: The visit of Steve Marcantonio to CMAS.

The most obvious point is easy enough for sure. To have some one of Steve's expertise willing to spend as much time as he did with me and my students is still unreal to me. He was unbelievably gracious with his time. He was kinder to me than I could ever possibly deserve. The impact he had on me and CMAS is invaluable to say the very least. I need to write more about it all at some point soon, but, for now, I wanted to just share one thought that I think sums up a lot of it....

At one point Steve was talking to the students about his start and how when he was young he got a chance, via a cousin, to meet a very significant music engineer/producer. He said that as soon as his cousin said the producer's name he (Steve) immediately got very excited. (Paraphrasing) "I've seen this guy's names on so many albums that I love! Of course I want to meet him!"

What struck me later, is how Steve is very much the same for me and my students. For many people. Steve has no ego so I cannot imagine he would have ever made the obvious parallel for us by saying it out loud, but the fact is that Steve is a monumentally important and influential MUSICIAN (he claims he is not one, and I will forever disagree - he is an Artist is the truest sense of the word, but I digress...) and getting to meet him is, for the rest of us, just as it was for him to meet one of his idols. He is that good at what he does.

I learned a lot from Steve in the brief time I got spend with him. Not just things to improve my production technique, or my teaching methods with my students; but I got to see, first hand, a true example of how to be a gifted genius while simultaneously building up others, just for the pure joy of doing so. And though I will certainly never be the former, I can certainly say that I am going to redouble my efforts on the latter.

Thank you, Steve. You are, truly, the best

Meant To Be #NewMusic #Studio #Creating #NewSong

Here's another track from my "Scratching The Surface" (think scratch track) project (more on that at: crossfeedthemix.blogspot.com/2016/04/sc…tudio.html.  This one - "Meant To Be" - got me retesting and retooling a lot of my studio, and the results - good ones I think, nd hopefully you'll agree - got me remixing the other two tracks current up as part of "STS." Still not thrilled with the mastering stage of things, but these things take patience.  Regardless, I'm really enjoying this process, and just getting some music out.  Hoping you are too! As always, thanks for sharing and any feedback.  -Max

You can check out some of my music, including Meant To Be, here:
https://soundcloud.com/richard-maxwell
https://richardmaxwell.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.reverbnation.com/rchrdmxwll

Scratching The Surface, My #NewMusic #Studio Project

I suppose I could have called it "My Glorified, Self-Indulgent, Demos Project," but that seems a bit too on point.  Haha! Anyway, the truth is that the root of this whole thing is my desire to finally put some of my own music out into the world after many years of being consumed by other, granted incredibly wonderful, music related projects (see www.ArcadiaCMAS.com as a primary example) if only to keep my own Creative Process evolving.

Trouble is, if I am being honest, I am never fully convinced that what I am creating, much less how I am capturing it, is up to a high enough standard.  Yeah, I know that I am far from alone in that, but, regardless, I've learned that, at least for myself, if I don't find some way to push myself past that concern, I'll never release anything.  No, I'm not saying that I'm looking to just put anything out with no standards, but I, at least for now, want some kind of flexibility in this.

So "Scratching The Surface."  It's the "scratch" part actually that's key.  Scratch as in Scratch-Track.  This way I can continue to refine without the pressure of "perfect." Will this matter to my limited (exclusive?  yeah, that sounds better! LOL) audience?  I have no idea, but, like everything else I do, it would seem this is a work in progress, and the truth is that I kinda like that.  I feel like I am at a point where, while I still, of course, want the best results I can possibly get, but more than that I love the idea of my Creative process moving forward, and even more so, documenting that movement by creating and releasing as much music as I can.

You can check out some of the music here:
https://soundcloud.com/richard-maxwell
https://richardmaxwell.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.reverbnation.com/rchrdmxwll

Close To Home #NewMusic

It's been a while since I've "released" any music to the public, but as I recently got closer to finishing my new home studio (mostly for bringing clients to record their own work) it seemed like I should look at putting some of my own backlog of material out too. This is the first of what I hope will be many more to come.  Thanks for any feedback and sharing!

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/richard-maxwell/close-to-home

Bandcamp: https://richardmaxwell.bandcamp.com/releases

She was walking towards another day

I was just breaking her heart

And she was only trying to find her way

Needing a new start

She says,

“If it’s all the same to you

I dont wanna be alone

If it’s all the same to you

This hits too close

Too close to home.”

She looks back on me and wonders why

I never seem to give a damn

But she knows she shouldn’t cry

I could never be her man

But

“If it’s all the same to you

I dont wanna be alone

If it’s all the same to you

This hits too close

Too close to home.”

Deep in the night you can’t hurt me

Nothing ever stays the same

And though you think you didn’t open up this wound

Doesn’t mean you’re not the one to blame

She says,

“If it’s all the same to you

I dont wanna be alone

If it’s all the same to you

This hits too close

Too close to home.”

“If it’s all the same to you

I dont wanna be alone

If it’s all the same to you

This hits too close

Too close to home.”

She was walking towards another day

I was just breaking her heart

© 2016 by Richard Maxwell
any unauthorized use,  duplication, distribution, or broadcast is a violation of applicable laws