In retrospect, 2019 has been one of the hardest working years of my life. A culmination of 20 years of home recordings, learning as I went, and the buildout of a makeshift home studio. My goals were ambitious, my timelines were unreasonable, and my understanding of just about everything involved was nonexistent. In other words, it was a tremendous learning experience.

I’m in the final stretch before my first independent studio album release, and it feels good AF. It felt like I’ve spent forever paralyzed by the thought of mixing and mastering my recorded demos. Having that obstacle cleared has returned healthy blood flow to the heart of my songwriting. When I began exploring mixing and mastering it was all-consuming, so there was no time for writing if I was going to stick to the schedule and make the deadline.

Music production IS precision-based work, and it takes a tremendous amount of discipline to do this right. The experience has left me with a tremendous appreciation for the value that mixing and mastering engineers bring to the equation because I could not have succeeded alone. Along with appreciation comes a thirst to understand the technical nuances of an ever-expanding universe of audio hardware and software. I feel like I set myself up with a decade of learning ahead.

All of this kind of reminds me of when I began learning how to code to browsers, then later to mobile devices when the iPhone ushered in a new era of technology. The first dot-com boom, the second, and the mobile revolution. Fuck it’s good to be alive in this day and age. It also reminds me of my pops. Buzz ODonnell.

I appreciate my father’s influence and work ethic, his ability to troubleshoot farm machinery to get it running and operational for the start of whatever season we found ourselves in. He was an engineer, he was a student of people and life, a hacker, he spent all of his spare time reading, troubleshooting, and problem-solving. Regardless of my pursuits in higher education, I consider myself self-taught. University only gets you so far. It’s true I have 2 degrees, a Bachelors and Masters in Fine Arts, neither of which address the day in and day out tasks I need to take care of in music, or in maintaining my day gig. They do however speak volumes to who I am as a human being and what path I have chosen to pursue.

Art is about finding your own voice and path in the world. It’s about being told you are wrong by critics and having a mindset hell-bent on proving those in doubt of your abilities wrong. As 2019 was about willing an album to existence, 2020 will be about working to breathe life back into all of the songs already written while clearing the way to any new ideas that come down the pike. It’s going to be a fucking good year people, and I’m glad to be sharing this news with you on such a fine Sunday afternoon which commences the close of the year.

This is going to sound funny, but it took me time to work up the courage to ask my friend to create designs for my upcoming album. The first, most obvious question is why wouldn’t I do it my self? I am after all a trained seasoned visual artist, I’ll start there.

Music is raw emotion, instinct, revelation, & mystery. The musicians I’ve studied are larger than life, titans, heroes straight out of a greek epic. Their music, along with our ancestry lives & breathes in our DNA & speaks to us if we have the balls to listen. When I hear people say that a soul lives in each of us, I’m not sure they truly believe it.  Music is the very definition of a soul.  Instinct and immortality are real, & becoming a hero or legend is a conscious choice down a disciplined path to a longterm vision or goal.  Real men and women, flesh and blood.  Any time a human tries to master something he/she enters the arena. When you enter this arena, you need to be prepared.  Only a fool would take on such an endeavor without a support system.  Alone.

Enter Charles Fetherolf, my secret weapon.  I’ve worked, collaborated, exhibited, shared studios with countless artists over the years.  Entrusting my vision to an artist of his caliber was an obvious choice, he was the first person that came to mind who could bring ideas to the table that were out of my reach.  My goals were ambitious and beyond my own skillset.  Creating a visual language to explore & extend the music, performance, & poetry of the Ram stage name us so open-ended it can go anywhere.  Knowing that is a beautiful thing.  To be productive in the journey, an artist that has a track record of executing above & beyond expectations has to be involved. I mean, what the F is the Ram anyway? I actually don’t know. Just saying I’m a bad-ass singer-songwriter isn’t enough. Sometimes names are just given to us and they stick, and on the lighter side, I know I’ve been called a hell of a lot worse. I knew Charlie could build the foundation of a visual language while I focused on all the other moving parts around me.

This is where my first point comes in. Knowing when to ask for help can be tough. I love being a DIY artist, but running everything; digital design, content, social media, film, & recording is a massive undertaking. Asking for help, and budgeting for professionals to add their magic to the mix is as important as the act of writing songs because at the end of the day it’s about maintaining the creative process, performing, getting the songs out there to the people, and moving on. Everything needs to fall in line to keep the machine going and firing on all cylinders.

Had I taken on the responsibility of making all of my tour posters, album art, and the visual language I would not have been able to push the needle as forward as I have in 2020. Today, I am surrounded by capable musicians that I want to collaborate with. Charlie’s visuals have my imagination reeling and are the beginnings of some concept poems and full albums. I’m swimming in inspiration.

Pushing through objectivity in the mixing and mastering process to maintain your voice & vision.

I’m going to say something, many will disagree.

“Everybody has an opinion, but when it comes to art only the artist’s opinion matters.”  

Cue mass discord and bellowing boos. Bring it on bitches. As if I’ve never faced criticism or had to handle a naysayer. I’ve spent the better part of my life active in visual & performing arts, the other half on various day gigs that involve problem-solving. One thing we can all agree on is everyone has an opinion. Unless someone’s opinion is hidden deep within a good story, I could care less. My interests lie in the inspiration and the story locked within the song itself, the rest is noise.

Understanding what you don’t want is as important as knowing exactly what you want in just about every situation. In this case, I had no idea how important my involvement was during this phase of production. Now I know. Just like in the visual arts, the final steps to completion during the creative process are the most important. I’d venture to say this is true when creating any work of art. The final finishing touches are the defining steps, it’s what separates the men from the boys. Where some are comfortable with handing it off, I am not. For starters, it’s way too personal, and secondly, it’s hands down the best part of creating. 

Mistakes can often be our best instructors.  It’s all right to admit you don’t know something. To find yourself in the wrong. It’s how we learn. Continuous improvement.   I now find myself mixing and mastering with the help of Universal Audio’s Apollo x8p system. The plugins at my disposal are some of the most powerful in the history of recording. I may be naive and stupid for trying, but this same self-awareness and confidence were what helped me pick up the guitar in the first place. It’s the same gut feeling that gave me the balls to step up to a mic and sing my first original. This feeling tells me to go for it, and learn. If the first release doesn’t work, then there will be others. Thousands of more to come.

When you get to the heart of it, this conversation is not about opinions. It’s about maintaining needed control throughout the creative process. Hearing an off mix was the catalyst that helped me embark on a road to demystify the mixing & mastering process. I’m learning and improving output daily. I’m way better off than I was a month ago, many assumptions have been replaced with hard research and action.  

From where I’m sitting in my mix room, the road ahead looks damn good.

Burnout & exhaustion are as much a regular part of the do-it-yourself (DIY) era, as making a strong cup of coffee each morning. Right about the time it feels like it can’t get any worst, it’s important to remember not to give up. Push through. More often than not trying is enough to shed some light on the subject.

Before I get into the problem, let me backtrack a bit to provide context.  

I’ve been writing songs for roughly 30 years in such an unorganized fashion, I have little to show for it. Much of the work, for better or worse, has passed back into the ether it originated from. What remains is only what has been tracked, written down, or recorded as audio or video. Over time, the reservoir of ideas is overflowing but the ability to arrange & record is a challenge.

When I compare my songwriting with my efforts in visual arts (http://art.odsoul.com/) I can see how disciplined I have been with the latter. I’ve archived everything, sketchbooks, notebooks, studies leading up to finished works, and the original works themselves, all cataloged and on record. Having such a record allows me to look back to a specific timeframe to track artistic evolution.

My songwriting workflow looks something like this…

• Inspiration calls, pick up the guitar, hash out BPM, rhythm, chord changes, melody
• Videotape a reference performance to remember neck voicings
• Build arrangement track and chord changes in Logic & iRealPro
• Use virtual drummer to dial in basic beat and feel as close to rhythm guitar as possible
• Laydown rhythm guitar 2 outs: 1 mic guitar/1 midi in
• Skat vocal track focusing on vowels, no need for words yet.
• If needed cut a vocal track and harmony tracks
• Track until completion, do best to get the mix near perfect.

I can get my mixes 99.9% there to my ears, and bounce a strong reference track for a pro mix & mastering handoff. Everything is buttery smooth up until I export to Pro Tools, all around the task of exporting and multi-tracking the drums generated by the virtual drummer. I didn’t know where to start, so I had to stop and figure it out.  At this point, my ability to proceed any further is at a standstill until I solve this problem properly. 

Recognizing that there is a problem is the first step to progress. Logic Pro X’s virtual drummer is hands down one of the most powerful songwriting tools ever created; knowing this gave me confidence. After a bit of research, trial & error, and googling the topic, the workflow was surprisingly easy and was a built-in feature of Logic Pro X’s virtual Drummer.  

All I had to do was to… 

• Change over to the producer version of the kit I was using. Drum Kits > Producer Kits > Current Kit with “+” plus sign
• Copy the track into the Overheads Channel at the top of the stack, which will convert to MIDI
• Bounce Tack in Place
• File > Bounce > Track In Place
• Make sure to select “Include Instrument Multi-Outputs” and “As Aditional Tracks”. Normalize should be off.
• All tracks should be populated with audio when this task cycles.
• Keep or remove unused tracks, up to you
• here is a video

Done, my friend with ProTools is happy and off to work.

In closing, my point is that old dogs steeped in their ways can learn to adapt and thrive with the tools available to us. As creatives, we have supercomputers at our fingertips & an audience that spans across the entire globe. Not embracing tools that make us more efficient, is foolishness. Giving up should never be an option as it places you squarely back at the starting point of your efforts.

That is of course unless its time to reinvent, then placing yourself back at square one is a conscious creative choice. I commend that as long as it’s not a cop-out.

A funny thing happened last night when I played open mic at a friends wine tasting room, I fell back in love with local music.   It’s a place I’ve been absent from for a few years.

While learning to trust my own voice, I’ve met musicians from all sorts of backgrounds; from seasoned older jazz statesmen like Milt Hinton, Barry Harris, Curtis Fuller, Frank Foster, Milt Jackson and so many others that used to teach through NYC’s Jazz Mobile project. That’s just one small pocket of players. Many other country, rock, and folk legends, but I digress. One consistent trait across the broad range of people playing to countless genres in music is a humble approach to the disciplines which surround music. 

It’s a brotherhood & sisterhood where arrogance leaves the room and acceptance and encouragement welcomes all. It’s funny, but being an arrogant prick or a dickhead in music is usually a true sign of amateur hour.

Now that I think of it, that truth is consistent across all industries. Another truth is how music thrives in tight knight communities. Go watch “Echo in the Canyon“.

For a Tuesday night, there was a good crowd that was building at Coomber Family Wines, O-Side. A local hero was ripping it on acoustic, which is always a good sign. I ordered a glass of Pinot at the bar, signed up, waited my turn until I was called up after a few jams.

Next up Ron…. Is there a Ron here?” Silence. A couple of awkward minutes. I raised my hand, “I’m the Ram bro.” “Correction, is there a Ram in the audience? You’re up!” Fuck yeah! Unpack my National steel, tuned it up and lay down a trusted original. 

I started with “Do It Right” an older composition that was a 2 chord jam with a simple chorus & bridge. The guy running the event agreed to sit in and holy shit, what a badass. His name is Marco Savoia, check him out! His double-bass backbeat just about blew me off the stage, a veritable powerhouse of foot-stomping and string slapping. I felt super loose, and extended the song out in a manner that you do when you are enjoying the simple act of playing, I also was listening to the bassman add intricate runs that have never been put to my song in the bast. A bass solo, HOLY FUCK!

Overflowing with confidence now, the second song I chose was fresh off the notebook. I’d recorded a demo and a shitty music video of it but had yet to play it in front of anybody but fellow musicians at the home studio. “Keep Warm” was exactly what I wanted for the next song. The only problem came when I forgot my lyrics and chords. 

Now we’ve all done it and know how badly it sucks, but it’s all how well you recover from the situation. Some people exit stage left never to perform again. I flubbed a couple of chords then said to the audience,

“Hey everyone, you know what, FUCK IT, I’m going to try this one more time with feeling.”

It came like a warm breeze. All the chord changes, the lyrics, the intensity of the first time I penned it to paper. There you have it hero to zero in two songs. I needed a closer. “Motor Kine” was a song that fit that bill. I also just noticed the place was filling in with some of the local music heroes. All the members of Shane Hall’s band were there along with Shane himself. 

On the beach a few days earlier I was talking to a surfing buddy who is starting the trials for the Baja 1000, he was just starting to get back into it and I asked if I could make a music video to his racing footage. So “Motor Kine” was fresh on my mind and I let it rip. That’s when my mind transported me to the outer reaches of the Baja Peninsula all along the Pacific Ocean. The heart & the inspiration for the song.

Race down the Pacific Ocean. 

Run down that Mexico sand. 

Just for nothing babe,

 just cause I want to…

Gonna fly all across this land.

That felt good, we locked into a nice groove feel and jammed that shit out. Got loose enough to put in a guitar solo with the bass was locked in so well. Damn, hand my guitar off for Shane to use and I’m done. Time to listen and take it in.

The real reason I felt compelled to write about the experience was the discussions that took place after everyone played. I’d never met Kaleo Wassman before, he was one of the warmest souls I’ve ever met. When I apologized for forgetting my lyrics, he told me how cool it was and that forgetting lyrics is a true sign of an artist. This was a place where a songwriter could share his new material in the company of friends.

This was heaven.

Ode to My Sisters & Brothers
By The Ram (Key of D)(Harmonica Key of G)
© 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – THE RAM / OD SOUL, INC.

★ SONG LYRICS ★

= verse A
My guiding light
brothers & sisters tonight
I’ll tell you one thang
play some guitar sweet
baby move your feet
lord we’ll get this whole place swinging

= verse B
kiss of love to my sistaaahhhas
a shout out to my brothers right now
tell you right now
if it all went south
happy to be right here with you BABE

= Chorus 1
This road is heavy
but I’ll find my way
Nothing but Dangerous Highway

★ RELATED TUTORIALS ★

Here is a link to the song page on my site…

Ode to My Sisters & Brothers

Here is a link to the iRealPro backing tracks I just made…
http://bit.ly/TheRamiRealPro

★ FOLLOW ME HERE ★

Instagram – http://bit.ly/theRamInstagram
YouTube – http://bit.ly/theRamYouTube
Twitter – http://bit.ly/theRamTwitter
TeeSpring Merchandise – http://bit.ly/theRamTeeShirts

★ LISTEN TO MY MUSIC ★

New Music 2019 on My Site – http://bit.ly/theRamNewMusic
Tutorials Chords & Lyrics on My Site – http://bit.ly/theRamTutorials
Band Camp Site http://bit.ly/theRamBandCamp
Sond Cloud Site – https://soundcloud.com/therammusic

★ ABOUT & SPECIAL THANKS ★

The Ram is a traveling singer-songwriter based out of North County San Diego, California. Part of traveling means we play with musicians from all walks of life and exposure to all sorts of different genres, styles, and instrumentation. It’s the pure freedom a songwriter needs to pivot, working with a collective of musical talent as opposed to managing a working band in a specific genre or class of music.

This song just started with a lick on my es 335 that was infectious. Rolling bass string riff, add bombastic bass and it didn’t take long till I put down a vocal skat track to hone in a melody. After the skat track, I wrote full lyrics, cut a finished track but it DID NOT resonate like the original stream of consciousness track, so I muted the bitch and mixed in the original take.

As far as the video shoot, well it’s a place I surf so I’m not saying shit. I will say that I had given up on the idea of filming because I woke to a fogbank and just started drinking with my buddy, as the sun came out and I got food in my stomach, we took a bunch of beers up the beach and filmed bu a shipwreck that happened the day before. That coast EATs sailboats, and that my friends is all I am at liberty to say. All music is original, composed by the Ram and registered with ASCAP.

© 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – THE RAM / OD SOUL, INC. Registered with ASCAP. Always be ORIGINAL. Treat yourself and go write yourself some bad-ass groves.

Come Easily
By The Ram (Key of A)(Harmonica Key of D)
© 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – THE RAM / OD SOUL, INC.

★ SONG LYRICS ★

= Verse 1
Makes no difference where I’m going
doesn’t really matter where I’ve been
When I feel her eyes upon me
I know, I’m exactly where I need to be

= Chorus 1
Home is where you make it
Sweet home should come easily
Could be on some distant beach where I’m a lying
Could beneath the shade of my baby’s tree

= Verse 2
I spent six years in NYC
like living in a penitentiary
Stole a motorbike rode it to the ocean
My broken heart finally came on back to me

= Chorus 2
Home lord, you’ve got to go out and take it
Sweet home should come easily
Could be on some highway that I’m riding
Could be left behind in those city streets

= Verse 3
I came to reside in California
Spend my days rolling at the beach
All the pretty girls there they let their hair down
they’ve got nothing on my sweet beauty

= Chorus 3
Home feels just like my woman
Does it fell good?! Lord you’d better believe
She comes & joins me anywhere I’m lying
She gives me shade beneath her tree

★ RELATED TUTORIALS ★

Here is a link to the song page on my site…
https://www.theram.io/albums/come-easily/

Here is a link to the iRealPro backing tracks I just made…
http://bit.ly/TheRamiRealPro

★ FOLLOW ME HERE ★

Instagram – http://bit.ly/theRamInstagram
YouTube – http://bit.ly/theRamYouTube
Twitter – http://bit.ly/theRamTwitter
TeeSpring Merchandise – http://bit.ly/theRamTeeShirts

★ LISTEN TO MY MUSIC ★

New Music 2019 on My Site – http://bit.ly/theRamNewMusic
Tutorials Chords & Lyrics on My Site – http://bit.ly/theRamTutorials
Band Camp Site http://bit.ly/theRamBandCamp
Sond Cloud Site – https://soundcloud.com/therammusic

★ ABOUT & SPECIAL THANKS ★

The Ram is a traveling singer-songwriter based out of North County San Diego, California. Part of traveling means we play with musicians from all walks of life and exposure to all sorts of different genres, styles, and instrumentation. It’s the pure freedom a songwriter needs to pivot, working with a collective of musical talent as opposed to managing a working band in a specific genre or class of music.

New Music coming out in 2019, all footage shot on location in California, the Hawaiian Islands, and Indonesia. All music is original, composed by the Ram and registered with ASCAP. Tenor Saxophone id coordination with Duplex Music (https://duplexmusic.com/) and David Ondrick.

© 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – THE RAM / OD SOUL, INC. Registered with ASCAP. Always be ORIGINAL. Treat yourself and go write yourself some bad-ass groves.

Looking at the Moon
By The Ram (Key of C Major Am)(Harmonica Key of Am)
© 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – THE RAM / OD SOUL, INC.

★ SONG LYRICS ★

= Verse 1-4
One solitary man
looking at the moon
looking at the moon

One beaten down dream
had the guts to stand
stand tall through it all

I saw her run
run into the night
run across the dawn

One single rose was thrown
it fell into my hand
it fell into my hand

= Chorus 1
I will ride across the midnight sky
I see you look up with your starlit eyes

= Verse 5-8
One solitary man
looking at the moon
looking at the moon

One look in those eyes
blew my mind
blew my mind

One heart rise above the rest
All the rest will fall
All the rest will fall

One look in those eyes
I decided to stay
I decided to stay

= Chorus 2
I will rideacross the midnight sky
I see you look up with your starlit eyes

= INSTRUMENTAL
= Chorus 3
I will rideacross the midnight sky
I see you look up with your starlit eyes

= Verse 9-12
One look in those eyes
blew my mind
blew my mind

One listen to her song
Filled my heart
it didn’t take long

One listen to her song
blew my mind
blew my mind

One solitary man
looking at the moon
looking at the moon

= Chorus 3
I will ride across the midnight sky
I see you look up with those beautiful starlit eyes

ALT
Sleep paralyzed dream
I couldn’t even move
I could barely move

★ RELATED TUTORIALS ★

Here is a link to the song page on my site…

Looking at the Moon (Am)

Here is a link to the iRealPro backing tracks I just made…
http://bit.ly/TheRamiRealPro

★ FOLLOW ME HERE ★

Instagram – http://bit.ly/theRamInstagram
YouTube – http://bit.ly/theRamYouTube
Twitter – http://bit.ly/theRamTwitter
TeeSpring Merchandise – http://bit.ly/theRamTeeShirts

★ LISTEN TO MY MUSIC ★

New Music 2019 on My Site – http://bit.ly/theRamNewMusic
Tutorials Chords & Lyrics on My Site – http://bit.ly/theRamTutorials
Band Camp Site http://bit.ly/theRamBandCamp
Sond Cloud Site – https://soundcloud.com/therammusic

★ ABOUT & SPECIAL THANKS ★

The Ram is a traveling singer-songwriter based out of North County San Diego, California. Part of traveling means we play with musicians from all walks of life and exposure to all sorts of different genres, styles, and instrumentation. It’s the pure freedom a songwriter needs to pivot, working with a collective of musical talent as opposed to managing a working band in a specific genre or class of music.

Last year, October 22, 2018 to be precise, I bought front row tickets at the Hollywood Bowl to see the Outlaw Music Festival, with Sturgill Simpson, the Nelson Family, Phil Lesh, and Margo Price. Micah Nelson’s set was the opener and it floored me. I’d never heard his music, and two songs stuck with me. Hell the entire set stuck with me. A few days later after surfing, the phrase “One Solitary man…” came to me in the water, actually I thought it started with “One Solitary Tree, looking at the moon” I jotted it down and thought nothing of it. Fast forward a few months, after listening to Particle Kid’s discography on a road trip on the east coast I came home and the song just came out. Amazing how influential the Nelson Musical family still is, and will be for another generation. All music is original, composed by the Ram and registered with ASCAP.

© 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED – THE RAM / OD SOUL, INC. Registered with ASCAP. Always be ORIGINAL. Treat yourself and go write yourself some bad-ass groves.