DAY 12: YOUR FAVORITE INTRO...

okay, so I admit that I've been doing a lil' bit of cheating here on the last few days of the 3o day song challenge, but tonight's category was "a song by a band you hate", and to me this is kind of redundant to the "least favorite song" category... and I just don't love the "hate" thing, and if I dislike something that strongly I will probably keep it to myself, though there is nothing wrong with an honest opinion. Anywho I decided to change the category to "your favorite intro", because I'm an intro girl, i'm nuts about intros, I could even say that I often find intros to be my favorite part of the song. Some might say that the chorus is the most important part of a song, I would beg to differ, I mean yes, of course the chorus is vital to a songs structure, but if the intro doesn't beckon the listener to stay a while, you'll never even get to that chorus. Intros are all about first impressions, setting the stage, establishing the mood, invoking emotion, creating a vibe, introducing the hook, it absolutely has to grab you... and if it doesn't, then it's game over. They can be short or long, elaborate or simple, they just have to be good. You may not have ever thought that much about intros, but the next time you go to change the station, or skip a track, take note, it's likely that a crappy intro is to blame...

so, ironically, one of my favorite intros, happens to be by a band that I actually don't love... and please don't "hate" me for it, but I'm just not a huge Stones fan. That being said, the intro to "Gimme Shelter" is super intense, groovy for sure , and it is by far my favorite part of the whole song...

Another one that gets me:

I could think of a million intros

You are welcome to adhere to the original category, or you can contribute your favorite intro...

DAY 11: A SONG FROM YOUR FAVORITE BAND...

Again, there is a serious tie going on here in this category... favorite bands would include: Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Beach Boys, E.L.O, America and of course the Beatles. I'm going to break the rules and pick a song from each band. Yes I like new bands, but I love old ones. I know, I was born in the wrong decade...

Fleetwood Mac: Gypsy

Stevie Nicks voice is so distinct here, in full effect. Love it or hate it, you always know it's her... personally, I love it. If I could be in a band today, it would sound like this one...

Eagles: One of these nights

I'm pretty sure I listen to this song every time I drive, I just don't get sick of it, it's them guitars. The eagles invented California Country. My genre of choice.

Beach Boys: Good Vibrations

hooked from .01 seconds in. Summer time magic. This is it... let's go to the beach people

ELO: Telephone Line

maybe the most highly underrated band there ever was. Jeff Lynne is a genius. A kajillion amazing songs. The creativity of these productions just blow my mind big time. you don't even understand... (oh and turn up the volume on this one, quiet intro)

America: Ventura Highway

big song, remember when Janet Jackson sampled this on "someone to call my lover", c'mon now... you just can't beat that guitar hook. I love the b-sides even more, though they are hard to find.

Beatles: Let it Be

duh.

How about you?

PS- so sorry I fell behind on the song challenge, a real real busy weekend. Just crazy... but we're back in business

DAY 10: A SONG THAT MAKES YOU FALL ASLEEP... (in a good way)

good night you moonlight ladies, rock-a-bye my sweet baby james... deep greens and blues are the colors I choose, won't you let me go down in my dreams, and rock-a- bye sweet baby james...

watch this too... you can close your eyes

Runner's up:

Never my love- the association

the promise- Tracy Chapman

How about you?

P.S.- Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

DAY 9: A SONG THAT YOU CAN DANCE TO...

Oh believe me... i love to break it down, boogie, shake it, disco, twist and shout and with out shame like nobodies watching... and yes I know i don't look the super coolest when I dance, (why do you think I sit behind a piano or guitar when I sing), but, Dave Ray CPA does, as a matter of fact he is the better dancer between the two of us. He's got skillz... and actually taught swing dancing while he was in college... he has attempted to teach me a few moves "and right, left, step ball change" He leads, I try to follow... until he gets all fancy and I can't keep up. We like to swing dance in the living room to 'baby you've got what it takes" by Dinah Washington & Brook Benton. Pretty fun...

DAY 8: A SONG THAT YOU KNOW ALL THE WORDS TO...

Contrary to popular belief, I actually know every word to this song... unfortunately amnesia struck at a rather inconvenient time...

I was devastated... embarrassed... certain i was doomed... but I survived. stuff happens.

i'll never live it down. might as well laugh about it...

How about you?

DAY 7: A SONG THAT REMINDS ME OF AN EVENT...

You may or may not have heard this song on youtube, but I wrote it a while back, in my days before idol and performed it at the Key Club in Hollywood for the Star 98.7 Rockstar contest to win a record deal with Ironworks Records... ironically, I made it to the top five, but didn't win. Bummer, plan B... a few days later I was on a plane to Philadelphia to catch the last audition for American Idol season 7... long story short, I got a golden ticket to hollywood. I made it to the top 5 but didn't win... but definitely didn't lose. The rest is history...

Anywho, I'm working on the next album, but it's gonna take a little while, so in the meantime I thought that it would be sort of fun to give away this little acoustic version of "Say Goodbye" to ya... I've actually had a lot of people ask me if I was ever going to release this song, so here ya go! All you have to do is click on the links or picture below, follow the directions and then post the link on your twitter or facebook, and then it magically uploads to your itunes... Yay!

Twitter:

http://trkurl.com/ioReUG

Facebook:

http://trkurl.com/enbNkL

Enjoy!

still wanna hear your songs that remind you of an event!?

DAY 6: A SONG THAT REMINDS YOU OF SOMEWHERE...

The song would be THE WEIGHT, and the somewhere would be a tour bus. It was the west coast tour with my pals Michael Johns and Benton Paul. It was me and nine other dudes. Needless to say I was outnumbered by these lovely and yet smelly lads. I was the lone lady armed with cans of febreeze and christmas candles trying to de-odorize our house on wheels. There is very little personal space on a bus, the quarters become tighter with each passing day, however if you ever need to get away you can always go hide into the 3x6ish ft bunk bed that becomes your sanctuary. But in the heart of the bus is the main cabin, the living room and the fridge, it's where all the excitement happens, where everyone congregates while we'd drive for hours to the next gig. Most of the time you would find us all piled on the couches, while I would lay in the middle of the floor with my blanket, we would watch concert DVD's like Led Zepplin and Joe Cocker, but the one that got the most airtime was "THE LAST WALTZ" by The band. Mornings were my favorite, they were peaceful and quiet in the main cabin, I'd vacuum and febreeze, lay on the couch with my bowl of cereal and watch the scenery like moving pictures out the open window, while you'd find the dudes passed out in their bunks, sleeping in until as late as sometimes 3 in the afternoon. You'll often times hear touring musicians say that they sleep like a baby on the bus, the hum of the engine, the rumble of the wheels rolling over the uneven pavement, the dark as a coffin bunks a 63 freezing degrees. I on the other hand, have the opposite effect, I become an insomniac as the bus becomes a place of the night life, late after the gigs mike and the band loved to stay up until the early hours of the morning and have a few beverages. My friends tell me that I'm somewhat of a wet blanket ( but a semi-fun wet blanket) cause I like to be in my jammies and snuggled under the covers nice and early. Benton was also a mellow fellow , he had his office in the back. The first three nights of the tour I lied in my bunk wide awake, while "Take a load off Anny, take a load for free" was blaring through the bus over and over and over again, I thought I was going to loose my mind. I hopped out of bunk and groggily opened the door to find the party animals, the guys all stopped in their tracks and the ring leader Michael Johns said "sorry brooke white". Ah well, they were having fun, so I went back to bed and heard "the weight" a least 34 more times, It will always remind me of that stinky awesome tour bus. Levon Rules, and the gal that sings back up is my favorite part.