Tag Archives: Songwriting

Get Out

12 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by in Music

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

One of the most fun aspects of playing with a working band is getting out and exploring new places. Over the past two years since we formed Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy, Peter and I have been fortunate enough to play at many interesting locations and events in and around Boston including Harvard’s 4th of July Fireworks, the Farmer’s Market and Volksfest (both of Harvard), Fotini’s Restaurant of Bolton, the Middle East Cafe and the Rising of Cambridge, the Battle Road Brewing Company in Maynard, and Markoh’s on Main in Ayer.

Recently, we have added a few more to the roster and it seemed like a good time to tell a little more about the venues and what they have to offer.

Markoh’s on Main – Ayer, MA

http://www.markohsonmain.com/

venue blog photo.JPG

We have been playing at Markoh’s pretty regularly over the past year or so and love the place for a number of reasons. As soon as you walk in, you get the feeling of “old school.” There is no barrage of TVs staring you in the face and the intimate setting allows for down home friendly service and conversation. It is set in a charming old building in downtown Ayer and has a distinct local flair (no big chain feeling here). The owner and head Chef, Mark DiCicco, always delivers a selection of fresh creative cuisine and they offer a well rounded beer selection and great bar.

Next Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy Show:  Friday, June 23

Battle Road Brew House – Maynard, MA

http://www.battleroadbeer.com/

Venue blog photo 2.jpg

If you like sipping on quality local beer while eating plates of beef brisket and BBQ ribs, you’ll love the Battle Road Brew House. Set in Maynard’s Historic Clock Tower Building and exuding a revolutionary vibe, Battle Road’s mission is to produce a variety of quality beers that are among the best available, and that is exactly what they are doing. We played here for the first time on March 25, 2017 and the restaurant/bar was full and alive with a vibrant energy. Maybe it was the beer, maybe the music, probably both :-).

Next Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy Show: Friday, September 15

The Colonial Inn – Concord, MA

http://www.concordscolonialinn.com/

concord-colonial-inn-sign.jpg

Located in the heart of Concord, the Colonial Inn has been around just about as long as the town itself. Certain parts of the building date back as early as 1716. It is a full service Inn with several guest rooms and three restaurants. The Liberty Room, where the bar is located and where the music happens, provides a charming intimate setting where patrons and musicians become one. This will be the first time we’ve played here and we are pumped. We will be sharing the night with Kenny Selcer, another fabulous local musician, who is worth the trip out. Visit his website for more info http://www.kennyselcer.com/.

Next Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy Show (with Kenny Selcer) – Friday, June 16

Rapscallions Table & Tap – Acton, MA

http://drinkrapscallion.com/

Rapscallion-Table-Tap-Acton.jpg

Rapscallions defined is “a mischevious person,” and it is with this rebellious attitude that two brothers decided to open a local brewery in Sturbridge, MA with the intention of staying small, local, and of the highest quality. Once their beer was perfected, they felt it was only natural to create a cool place to serve it up. The result, Rapscallions Table and Tap Restaurant, located on a neighborhood street in Acton. The restaurant is essentially an old house converted into a pub/restaurant with patio seating in the warmer months. The atmosphere is intimate and cavelike (low ceilings) and you get the distinct feeling that something unique and exciting is happening and you have fallen right into the middle of it. I was most impressed with their commitment to using locally sourced ingredients in both the menu items and the beer itself and to their support of local music. And, if you’re not a beer drinker, no worries. They also offer a full bar and signature cocktails as well.

Next Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy Show – Thursday, Sept. 7 (may be rescheduled, so check first)

 

The Heritage Inn and Restaurant – Sherborn, MA

http://www.heritageofsherborn.com/

The Heritage, consisting of an inn, restaurant, gastro pub, and wine store, features live music on Wednesday nights in their Fireside Lounge. With a full selection of wine, beer and cocktails, the restaurant also boasts a “seasonal menu inspired by farm fresh local ingredients.” Do I sense a trend? The August 30 show will be our first time here so we hope that many of you will make it out.

Next Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy Show – Wednesday, August 30

Band Update

01 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by in Music, Video

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Hey all.  A quick update on Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy, the New Year and all that lies ahead.

We just finished the video for the Tiny Desk Contest held by NPR.  It’s our third year of entry and we’re looking forward to the final product, which you’ll see soon.  We hired a company started by a former student of mine called Gimmick Studios and held the shoot in his studio which was a very cool structure—a former church renovated into living/working space.  We had an incredible experience in the making of it as we were treated professionally by four very young, but extremely competent artists who, having heard our song and what we wanted out of the shoot, made it come alive.

Here are some shots of us recording the video.

img_5538

fullsizerender-1

 

This Friday we’re playing at a club in Cambridge called The Rising and, having scoped it out last weekend, we are thrilled at how warm and inviting a place it is to play.  We feel both fortunate to have gotten the job, and also very confident that we are perfect for the vibe of the place.  It is our hope that we can earn a few places there in Cambridge to play regularly and are working hard to make sure it happens.

What’s true is that it IS HAPPENING.  We’re playing in Cambridge at a very great club…can you believe it?

The Rising Bar, Inman Square, Cambridge

Image result for the rising bar cambridge ma

We are entirely grateful to all of you who have shown your support by coming out because it makes us work harder and push our goals forward.   It matters a lot and while we know that you enjoy the music and that The Rising is a great venue, that you’ll have a great time, we also know that it’s late and a significant drive.  We know it and cannot thank you enough.

Do come out.  You’ll like the place.  We go on at The Rising in Inman Square  a little after 10 and are playing until 1:30.  Can you believe that?  It’s like the real deal.

Hope to see you there.

Emerging Artist Series – Night One

28 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by in Music, Video

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

By Peter Banker

Well, it’s on. We have our Emerging Artists and are set for this Saturday, April 30 at 7:00 Upstairs at the Harvard General Store.

And as the days have passed and in the planning Wendy and I have done, our eyes are becoming wide open to the possibilities that this venue, this event and those beyond it have as a potential for artists, like ourselves to have our work heard and appreciated. In our quest to expand our horizons, we have targeted other larger venues and have found it not entirely easy to break in. It’s not impossible if you have a good product, but we have come to know that it’s going to take some time, patience and dedicated work for our vision to become reality, which it will. This event, we hope, will open some eyes to our work and also the work of two additional local artists, both of whom are very accomplished and further ahead of us in their musical journey.

One is Aidan O’Brien, a young man who I met many, many years ago at an outdoor music festival in Trumansburg, NY called Grass Roots. He was…about 7 and was in the camping area playing a guitar that looked enormous in his little hands, but there he was…for three consecutive days, playing that thing and hugging it like it was his best friend. And, damn it, he was good. Even then. Now, of course, he’s really good, has been in several successful bands and has an entire trove of songs he’s written and covered. Just wait. He’s the real deal. That guitar has never left his side and has proven to be faithful friend.

The other is Mike Kelly. Wendy and I met him at Slater’s Pizzeria and he runs an open mic there on Thursdays, one in which we played early when Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy were just getting started and he was encouraging from the start. A couple of weeks ago when we asked him to play at the Emerging Artist Series, he was on board immediately, telling us that it was a great idea, that he’d be glad to be a part of it. What Wendy and I didn’t quite know then was how accomplished he is. Like Aidan, he’s had an instrument in his hand from the beginning and has, over the course of his young life played with James Montgomery, James Cotton, Johnny A., J. Geils, David, Maxwell, GE Smith, Paula Cole, Trombone Shorty, Joan Osborne, Simon Kirk, Barry Goudreau, The Uptown Horns, and others. He is an excellent song writer and musician in his own right and you’ll love him. (website: www.thebrotherstereo.com).

What are these two doing at the Harvard General Store? Just sharing their music. They, like Wendy and I, just want to play. It’s such a blast, you should know, and it will be a pleasure to play alongside these two for all of you.

Do show up on time and bring as many people with you as possible. We’re trying to fill the place and to fit in as much music as we can. More importantly, Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy are on first; you do not want to miss that…. No way. We are emerging, baby, and want to share our love of what we do with all of you on that night and, hopefully many others.(website: bankeP.wix.com/wendydarling).

See you there.

If you want a sneak preview of what you will see Saturday, check out the video links below.

Mike Kelly…..

 

Aidan O’Brien…

 

Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy…

The Writing of “Blue Skies”

09 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Music, Video

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

By Wendy Saydah

writing blue skies blog

Some people have asked me about the evolution of the song, “Blue Skies,” how it came about, what inspired it, when it was written. With the advent of our Tiny Desk music video highlighting the song, it seemed like a good time to reflect on these questions and blog it out.

I wrote the first version of the song (formerly called “Nobody Knows About Me”) in 2008 at a time when I was working on songwriting as part of my guitar training with Greg Passler. The song is essentially about some of the deeper parts of myself that are kept hidden or not given a voice. These are the parts that are different, personal, vulnerable (nobody knows about me). The song also expresses an acceptance and even self love (dancing alone cause it feels so good) of these lesser known pieces and deals with the sadness of isolation by seeking out happy people (replacing the tears with your laughing eyes) and good times. In other words, blue skies.

I have written songs as far back as I can remember (using several tape recorders to lay down different tracks) and one thing I have noticed is this. At least for me, the best inspiration comes at times when I am not expecting it, not looking for it, not even trying. It is at these times that a feeling (and it always starts as a feeling as opposed to an idea or thought) begins to tug from deep inside. Most of the time, the emerging emotion gets ignored or pushed away in an attempt to deal with the day to day.  However, if it is not acknowledged immediately, it disappears, never to return, at least not in the same way. In the case of “Blue Skies,” the inspiration and the time lined up and I was able to sit down with my guitar and pen and let it come forth.

I was mostly happy with the song right away. It became one of my favorites, actually. So, when Peter and I began playing together and I started pulling out some of my old originals, this was one of the first ones I shared. I was a little worried at first that it would be too slow for us or maybe better played by one person. However, once Peter got a hold of it, he helped bring it to another level. He created a much better groove, added tasteful harmonies in just the right places, and threw in a few lines here and there. He really helped bring the song to life.

Once we had come up with a version of the song that we both liked, we recorded it and I had a listen. I immediately realized that the name, “Nobody Knows About Me,” no longer made sense and renamed the song “Blue Skies.” I am extremely optimistic and excited about the future of Wendy Darling and the Lost Boy. The possibilities are endless, the potential unlimited, and the skies…..well, the skies are definitely blue.

“Her Song,” the B Side

19 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

I wrote “Her Song” in June of 2005 when my oldest daughter was 11 and entrenched in the challenges of middle school navigation. “Her Song” is a look into the mind and feelings of a young girl on the brink of adulthood for whom I care deeply but could not always reach or understand.

I recorded “Her Song” this past summer in Dave’s studio. Again, Dave did an amazing job helping to refine the arrangement. He also added a bass line and acoustic guitar solo that are right on the money. I have thought of this song as a good B Side to “Flowers.” I can picture it on a Vinyl 45 Single. Maybe someday.

Enjoy listening and let me know what you think.

A Note About Bob Dylan. “The Tunes They are a Changin”

21 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Bob Dylan

I had the good fortune to see Bob Dylan and “his band” perform at the Orpheum Theatre last Friday night, November 14. As you can imagine, the environment was warm and intimate, the volume and tone masterful, the crowd nostalgic, and Bob, well Bob was and continues to be, “Forever Young.”

The Band played a combination of old favorites like “Tangled up in Blue” and “Simple Twist of Fate” as well as many songs that I did not recognize from his newer albums (the man is still cranking them out). Bob was in classic form, cool and collected and although his vocal cords were showing wear, he still managed to belt out his poetry with the same heartfelt soul that attracted attention in the early 60s.

The magic of the show was not surprising. After all, Bob Dylan is one of the most acclaimed artists of all time and he undoubtedly has access to some of the best supporting musicians and creative staff in the world today. What did surprise me about the performance, however, was how differently he approached some of his old classics.

I have had this conversation many times with my musical friends. Is it more valuable to cover a song detail by detail so that it sounds as close to the original as possible or better to put your own twist on it? I have always been on the side of adding my own spin. After all, I have mostly covered larger band songs with a two part act and substituted the traditional male lead with my female vocals. There is no way I could sound remotely like the original presentations, even if I tried. However, the main reason I strive to “cover” not “copy” a song is that I believe that music is a merging of the art and the artist. I am not Bob Dylan so I will never deliver a song like Bob Dylan. The best renditions, in my opinion, come when the musician is able to connect on a soul level with the essence of the composition. The best songs are those that have such a universal essence that they are easily interpreted in as many varied ways as there are different people interpreting them.

As I sat listening to Bob and His Band play “She Belongs to Me” early in the first set, it took me a minute to recognize the song. The rendition was so completely different than the original version I was use to hearing. Bob was reinventing his own music in a way that was refreshing and new. The crowd loved it, because by changing the tunes and the delivery, Dylan was revealing a new part of himself. A true gift that we all appreciated.

“She Belongs to Me” by Bob Dylan,
Covered by Wendy and Peter
(song)

“She Belongs to Me” was one of the first songs Peter and I attempted to play together and one that came out in our own unique way without much effort. Ours is a very different version than those played by Bob Dylan or anyone else for that matter. But, that is exactly how we want it to be. Enjoy listening!