1,001

(12 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Thanks Amy! Yes, I know Big Jim (better known as Bass Viking on one of the fishing websites we both hang out on).  The open mic is every Thursday in Ashville, Ohio and always has a good attendance.  Occasionally one of the guys brings a video camera and posts the performances on Youtube.  If you're bored sometime, search ''englishmanjohn" (no spaces) on Youtube and you can check out some of the pickers/players.  Several are songwriters and try out new stuff on stage.  Everyone is real supportive (like folks here at Chordie).

DE

1,002

(12 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Roger Guppy wrote:
Dirty Ed wrote:

I didn't use 't:' or 'st:' though, could that have been the problem?

Ken

Without these it will not work properly and the whole page appears in a larger font.

Roger

Thanks for the info. I may try to post another song to see if I can get the hang of it.

DE

1,003

(12 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I recorded the song on a CD about 5 years ago.  I've got 30 originals I've recorded on 3 CDs with me just playing solo with an acoustic, kind of a "campfire/riverbank" sound I was trying to do.  A couple months ago I finished a new CD with 15 new songs, but had a couple of my friends add bass, harmonica, guitar, mandolin and backround vocals to make a "fuller" sound.

Thanks for re-formatting for me Roger.  I tried twice with "song" in square brackets and ended with "/song" in square brackets but it didn't seem to work.  I didn't use 't:' or 'st:' though, could that have been the problem?

Ken

1,004

(12 replies, posted in Songwriting)

I've tried twice to use the described format for submitting a song, but this newbie can't seem to make it work. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong? This is a song I wrote it a few years ago and have included a YouTube link of me playing it at an open mic venue a couple of years ago.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vydnrMXj … re=related

Ken "Dirty Ed" Willis


SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGEby Ken Willis


[G]Little Georgie hit it rich as a [C7] fortune-telling midget


His [G]TV show had money coming [D]in [D7]


But [G]Georgie was a little lax [C7]when it came to paying tax


It [G]got him [D]three years in the [G]pen




[G]He was only in six months they said, the [C7]morning shift was checking beds


And [G]Little Georgie wasn't in his [D]cell [D7]


The [G]search did not take very long, [C7]they determined he was gone


The [G]prison sirens [D]all began to [G]wail[G7]




Chorus:


[C]Get on the phone, call the [G]warden if he's home


[G]We've got to find somebody that's in [D] charge[D7]


'Cause that [G] fortune-telling midget's loose, we've [C7]got to spread the word


There is a [G]small [D]medium at [G]large




[G]It was a miracle escape, [C7]balloons tied to a packing crate


[G]To fly that wall a man would need some [D]guts[D7]


Hell, [G]just to climb inside that rig a [C7]man would have to have balls so big


It [G]had to prove that [D]midget was half [G]nuts[G]





Chorus




[G]Sheriff Johnson had him trapped [C7] back in an alley


[G]He got loose but Johnson won't say [D]why[D7]


But [G]Johnson was admitted to the [C7]ER wirh some human bites


And [G]we all know that [D]midgets are just waist [G]high[G7]




Chorus




[G]I heard they finally caught him out in [C7]Phoenix, Arizona


They [G]cuffed him and they hauled him into [D]court[D7]


He would have [G]made it clear to Frisco if he [C7]had the money


But I [G]guess that midget was [D] running a little [G] short[G7]




[C]Get on the phone, call the [G]warden if he's home


[G]We've got to find somebody that's in [D] charge[D7]


'Cause that [G] fortune-telling midget's loose, we've [C7]got to spread the word


There is a [G]small [D]medium at [G]large


Yeah that [G] fortune-telling midget's loose, we've [C7]got to spread the word


There is a [G]small [D]medium at [G]large


1,005

(13 replies, posted in Acoustic)

I sometimes hum a song before playing it to try to find the right key. 

Unfortunately this often results in me trying to play in the key of M ................................................ lol

DE

1,006

(25 replies, posted in Acoustic)

I never seem to have "brain cramps" when I'm sitting around a fire and sipping adult beverages while playing.  Of the 50 or so songs I've written that I feel are good enough to play in public, I usually can remember 35-40 of them.  I used to have a problem remembering my own songs but since I've recorded several of them and occasionally listen to them myself, they've become easier to remember.

When playing with other folks, a word said or an Artist's name will trigger old memories about songs I haven't played for a while. Last weekend Zurf would mention a song or artist and it triggered some old forgotten songs that I hadn't played in 20 years.

Stick a mic in my face however and all bets are off.  Something about having that electronic contraption in front of me shuts down my memory banks.

DE

1,007

(15 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Thanks for the welcome everyone.  Not sure I'll have much to add, but I enjoy reading everyone's posts.

DE

1,008

(15 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Hi everyone, Zurf told me about this site a couple of years ago and I've been lurking/reading y'alls posts since then but this is my first post.

Had a great time doing a little campfire picking with Zurf - he's really improved since the first time he brought along a guitar to one of our fishing "rodeos".  Actually it was too hot to have a fire so we sat in a circle around a lantern and played.

I did learn something new last weekend - I seem to be able to play the songs I've written when I was sober a lot better if play them early in the evening, then after I've had a few adult beverages I can remember all the songs I've written while under the "alfluence of incohol".  There are a lot more of the latter variety so I was still going strong until about 2 AM.

Dirty Ed