granted, it has only been 25 years since i began writing songs, and meanwhile i never have recorded them!
when i was 18 i sang Billie Holidays ‘Strange Fruit’ at an open mic along with a couple of poems. a dude i cannot recall the name of from the band New Salem Witch Hunters befriended me, and had me in a studio singing ‘Strange Fruit’ and ‘Fast car’ for a compilation of contemporary songs by folks in Cleveland. but this was the last time i was in the studio…1996.
my bands recorded ourselves only for the purpose of working out songs. but this March i entered three of my original songs in Kentucky Arts Councils Songwriting Grant contest, and will hear back July 1- i stand to win $7000!
it was difficult to choose genre- i write blues songs, but i am not a blues songwriter. i write jazz songs, and much of what has inspired my music has been jazz, but it was not a category up for the grant. i decided on Americana, as this encompasses the ‘sittin on the porch without shoes’ feeling i feel when i sing.
here are a the songs i entered.
https://soundcloud.com/user-378668999/dawns-bog
https://soundcloud.com/user-378668999/trombone
https://soundcloud.com/user-378668999/dust-catcher
if i win i will use the money to press a small numbered edition of a dozen of my songs on vinyl, and put them online for free. been recording with Lewis Mathis who has a music studio near me in Shelbyville, KY and a small cast of local geniuses.