Quote #6 - Adam Young (Owl City, Sky Sailing, Port Blue, Swimming With Dolphins)

Hello all,

This is the last artist quote for the day, and last post of Draftboard for the night! I love you all, thank you for sticking around, and supporting my blog! Till next time, peace out to all my drafters!

"Writing music is like tasting the sky. It keeps me dreaming in color." ~ Adam Young (Owl City, Sky Sailing, Port Blue, Swimming With Dolphins)

Adam Young (Owl City, Sky Sailing, Port Blue, Swimming With Dolphins)

Sincerely,
Julian.

Song of the Day #3: Viv And The Revival - "Go Live Your Story"

Hello all,

Final song of the day for today! Introducing the song, "Go Live Your Story," by Rock band, 'Viv And The Revival.'

 

Sincerely,
Julian.

Some Fun Facts About Myself, ^^

Hello all,

I just thought I'd say a bit more things about myself. This is a community based website/blog, but I never really did say much about myself, =P. My apologies, but I will make up for that right now. =D. 

Here are a couple facts about me:

01. I used to take passion in breakdancing. Dancing was my first real expression of how I felt about music, before I shifted into singing, rapping, and songwriting. 

02. I take interest in playing video games. A variety of them as well. The genres I like to play include 'Fighting' games (Tekken/Soul Calibur/Naruto/DBZ/Dead or Alive), 'Role Playing' games (Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts), sports games like 'NBA 2K14,' and 'Platform' games (Uncharted/inFamous), to name some of them. 

03. I have been writing music as a passion ever since 2012.

04. I take interest in watching Anime, and Japanese cartoons. To name some, I like Naruto, DBZ, Angel Beats, Clannad, Kuroko no Basket, Durarara, and Steins;Gate, to name a few. 

and for now,

05. My all-time favorite musician/band/artist is 'Linkin Park.'

Thanks for reading! More little fun posts to come very soon! =D

Sincerely,
Julian.

Quote #5 - Tim McIlrath (Rise Against)

Hello all,

Our third musician quote today, is in the following of lead singer and front-man from band "Rise Against," Tim McIlrath.

"Music speaks to people at a level that is much more universal and can kind of trigger things in the listener in ways that other forms of communication can't." ~ Tim McIlrath (Rise Against)

Tim McIlrath (Rise Against)

 
Sincerely,
Julian. 

Song of the Day #2: Incubus - "Echo"

Hello all,

Today's second song of the day is "Echo" by rock band, Incubus. Enjoy the tune! =)

 

Sincerely,
Julian.

Daily Tips #2

Hello all,

This is the second official post, for "Tips For Songwriters!" Here is an important tip to help out all you songwriters and creators out there. =P.

01) Never be afraid to show your 'true' colors. "Keep your strange." 

What do I mean by "keep your strange?"

Brandon Boyd of rock band, Incubus.

In an online video interview with 'Renman Music & Business,' Brandon Boyd tells young aspired musicians, to keep their "strange." By this, Boyd in other words, is telling young musicians and bands out there, to never change how they perform, how they act on stage, how they make music, because there is only one 'you.' Someone out there, and many people will appreciate it. Keep your heads up, and keep your strange! =D

Here is the online video interview: 


Sincerely,
Julian. 

Quote #4 - Lupe Fiasco

Hello all,

This second quote of today is from artist, and rapper, Lupe Fiasco.

"I can't play any instrument for the life of me, but I know what I want to hear." ~ Lupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco

Sincerely,
Julian. 

Song of the Day #1: Tomorrows Bad Seeds - "Reflect"

Hello all,

This is the introduction to a sub-section of the 'Miscellaneous' section. Introducing "Song of the Day." ^^

Today's first song of the day is "Reflect," by 'Tomorrows Bad Seeds.' Enjoy!

 

Sincerely,
Julian.

Quote #3 - Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)

Hello all,

Today's musical quote is from late musician of rock band, 'Nirvana,' Kurt Cobain. 

"Punk is musical freedom. It's saying, doing and playing what you want. In Webster's terms, 'nirvana' means freedom from pain, suffering and the external world, and that's pretty close to my definition of Punk Rock." ~ Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)

Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)

Sincerely,
Julian.

"Don't Run"

Hello all,

This marks a very special post, for Draftboard. In this post, I am going to explain the full story of my original song, "Don't Run," and how it was important in helping me to create this website and blog. Will you read the whole thing? I hope so. ^^

This was the recording room/booth at Noe1Studios.

In 2011, and 2012, a lot of memories were 'produced' in the room, posted above. That room is where I first had my experiences recording in a studio, and where I experienced what it finally felt like to hear your own voice, to the point where you question it, and don't believe that it's actually yours. 

I recorded a couple covers in the studio, like "My Girl" by the group 'The Temptations,' and "Bigger Than Love" by the band 'My Favorite Highway.'

However, even though having those experiences were more than I could ever imagine, I've always wanted a song that I could call my own. Sort of like, "Yeah, I wrote that song." In October of 2011, I had mentioned to my music mentor, Scott McIntosh, that I actually wrote my own lyrics, and sang my own songs. He thought it was pretty cool, but we were just beginning as mentor and student, so he wanted to give me time to grow and really see if I could be up to the challenge of writing and recording my own song.

After I recorded multiple covers with the help of mentor Scott, and crew, including my friend and sound engineer, Rebecca Suss, in March 2012, I finally asked the question to Scott. 

"Scott, just wondering, is there a chance that I can write and record a song before my internship ends?

My music mentor Scott McIntosh (right).

Scott with open arms, agreed to the request, and told me, "Sure, we can try it. Let's see what you got."

I was so excited for the challenge that I began writing the song that same day. In the beginning of the process however, there were a couple problems. One was that I've always wanted to title a song of mine, "Late To Fate," and I had written a rap that was named under that title. Both of us, my mentor and I didn't really want to pursue rap for my first song. I knew that despite how much I loved how it came out, I would have to change it to a rock-oriented format. 

As it goes, I reformatted "Late To Fate" from a rap, into a rock song. I really liked how it came out, and so did Scott. Also, at this point it was vastly different from how "Don't Run" was in the end. 

However, there were still a couple problems with the layout of the song, lyrically. First off, Scott confirmed that it was too long of a song (which it was...like seven minutes long!). Scott expressed to me that he thought I should change the title from "Late To Fate," to "Don't Run."

After hearing that, I really did not know what to do. I loved that title, and for some reason (a reason I still don't know today), I've always (and still) wanted a song of mine, named "Late To Fate." However, I knew Scott knew what he was talking about, so I changed the title to "Don't Run," and after one last rewrite, the song permanently became "Don't Run."

I wasn't bitter towards the decision at all, but even happier than I was before, because I knew that a song of mine was IN THE WORKS. A feeling that I still can't even begin to describe today. We were finally on the road with recording "Don't Run." We needed two female singers as recruits to sing back up, and I asked my friends Tori Dougherty, and Jenna Frisolone, to help me out. When they agreed to be on the song, my heart literally overflowed with joy. I was so happy.

Me singing into the mic one day, at Noe1Studios, =P.

It took us three total days, to record "Don't Run" at Noe1Studios, the studio located in North Bellmore. After we finished recording the song, we put finishing touches on it and mastered it for release. It was copyrighted, and I showed the song for the first time in front of 40+ students and adults in one of my classes, during my senior year of High School, on May 7th, 2012. 

The day after, I released the song to the world of social media on May 8th, 2012, to sites such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. People heard it out, and really liked how it sounded. I didn't think twice about what "Late To Fate" was meant to be, because the only thing that mattered now was what "Don't Run" became. 

To this day, I don't regret anything, because it was the creation of "Don't Run" that led to me writing more songs, singing more, becoming more thankful of my family and friends, and inspiring me to create this website. 

That's the quick story of "Don't Run" (Quick?! Are you kidding me?!). Yeah, I know, =P, but I really appreciate those of you who read this entire post. Thank you so much. That will be all. =)

Who knows? I still might write "Late To Fate" as its own song, but we'll see where the future takes me, aha. However, I have a feeling that I'm not yet done with "Don't Run." Meanwhile, another part of me says I'm not done with "Late To Fate" either. Hah, well what can I really say? Songwriting is funny. =P

Till next post! =D. Thanks for reading!
   
Sincerely,
Julian.

Quote #2 - Brandon Boyd (Incubus, Sons Of The Sea)

Hello all,

Featuring the lead singer and front-man of alternative rock band, 'Incubus,' this quote is from Brandon Boyd.

"Music has always been my back door to life. It is important for people to find something that excites them. I like the concept that if you do what excites you, you will be rewarded generously, whatever form reward takes, which is not necessarily money." ~ Brandon Boyd (Incubus, Sons Of The Sea)

Brandon Boyd (Incubus, Sons Of The Sea)

Sincerely,
Julian.

Random Recording Pictures, =P.

Hello all,

Just thought that I'd share some pictures of me recording in the old studio that I used to live near by. There's nothing much in this post, but I thought it would be cool, =P. The name of the studio was 'Noe1Studios,' but it got its name renewed to 'Center Stage Music,' located in North Bellmore. 

Sincerely,
Julian.