The Keys, and Beyond…

This is my first blog post in quite some time. And even before my prior blog post, they were very few and far between. Some people seem to have a knack for blogging - they can type out stories every single day, or at least one per week. I am not one of those people! Besides, does anyone really want to hear about my trips to Costco or the cool home improvement show I saw on HGTV? I don’t think so (then again, maybe you do?). So, I’m going to be taking an extra step back here and see where I want to go with this blog. It may stick around, reinvent itself in a slightly different format, or it may disappear altogether. It might also change along with a website reinvention. We’ll see…

I’m also taking a bit of break from the online social scene for a while. As many of you know, I’ve been quite active on Facebook (and a bit on Twitter) as of late, and I’ve given away many free songs to all of those who were interested. Now it’s time for me to create something new. I always have at least some musical ideas moving around in my brain, and it’s time get back to the synth for a while and put together some music.

My first goal is to finish my Christmas CD for this upcoming holiday season (I know, I know - it’s only May! But, you gotta get this stuff done early to have it released at the proper time.). It’s going to have 25 songs on it - my past holiday hits (traditional and original) and a few new tracks. It will be called “25 Greatest Christmas Hits”. I’m really excited about putting this together, as Christmas has always been my favorite holiday.

My next project - only after getting the holiday CD in the hopper - will be to make a CD based on my travels around the world. Later on this year, my wife and I will be visiting Australia (and New Zealand and Fiji to boot). This will be my last continent! I am very psyched about this - and always inspired about any travelling/vacations/road trips/etc. So, I’ll be making a CD based on many of the places I’ve been to in our great world. The tentative title for this CD is “Traveler”, though that may change. It may be somewhat similar to how “Ticket To Antarctica” turned out…or it may be totally different. I’m going to go wherever the music takes me.

I’m not sure about how long my hiatus from the social scene will be…a couple weeks, a few months, longer? We’ll see. In the meantime, my music and travel photos are always at KevOz.com, and you can join my Official Fan List right here.

Until next time…

KevOz :)

The following review is by Kathy Parsons of MainlyPiano.com. I must say, this is one of the better reviews I’ve ever received, and I’ve received a lot of reviews over the course of the 11 albums that I’ve released! After reading, be sure to check out Kathy’s site at MainlyPiano.com for more reviews - lots of wonderful music to find there. And now, without further ado, the review:

Ticket To Antarctica is an exciting album of electronic music inspired by a cruise KevOz and his wife took to Antarctica in January 2008. Something of a soundtrack for the trip, the music ranges from quiet and meditative to very bold, upbeat, and fun. Some of the atmospheric sounds that accompany the music suggest icy cold, but the music is consistently upbeat and overflowing with the joy of discovery. KevOz has been creating electronic music for quite a number of years, but I believe this is the first time I’ve heard any of his albums from start to finish - and it certainly won’t be the last! This is music that is personal yet accessible, complex enough to stay interesting with many listens, and very positive in spirit.

Appropriately, the album begins with the title track. The sound of a cold wind starts our musical journey. The first minute or so of music is mysterious and quietly majestic. Then a rhythm track is added that quickens the pulse and suggests a building excitement as the travelers approach their destination. “Crossing The Drake Passage” has a strong sense of adventure and drama, moving forward with a pulsing beat. “Deception Island” is much more ambient and eerie. When the rhythm kicks in, the mood becomes much lighter. I really like this one! “Blue Ice” is gorgeous, suggesting the majesty and awesome beauty of the surrounding landscape - also a favorite. “Penguin Dance” is pure musical fun. Carefree and energetic yet not quite graceful, it is easy to imagine these large birds moving and grooving to the music. The marimba and other tropical sounds near the end are a bit of a surprise, but add to the party atmosphere. “Antarctic Lullaby” has a simple, beautiful melody on a bell or crystal-like sound with a strong rhythm and strings in the background - a fascinating combination. As the piece evolves, the soothing melody goes into the background as the strings and percussion come to the front, adding energy and excitement. “Iceberg Maker” is darker, more mysterious, and a little bit ominous. Chilly winds and crashing sounds contrast with sparkles and a gentle rhythm - another favorite! “Return Voyage” brings us back home with high spirits and many thrilling memories.

Ticket To Antarctica is a joy to listen to on many levels. It can provide a bright, uplifting musical background, but don’t leave it in the background too much because you’ll miss a lot of the beauty and fun! It is available from www.kevoz.com, Amazon, CD Baby, and iTunes. Recommended!

If you know me at least a little bit, you know that I’m a big fan of sharing my music. But, it’s not always easy to do. Sometimes, you have to click a link to go here, and then there, and then fill in the box to get your song, etc., etc. :) So, I’ve decided on a new approach.

From now through the end of January, you can download the following 3 new songs from Ticket To Antarctica for FREE. Yep, free!! Just go here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kevoz11

You’ll then see that the following 3 songs are priced at $0.00:

~ Blue Ice
~ Penguin Dance
~ Antarctic Lullaby

These 3 tracks are the middle of my new album, and the diverse nature of them kinda gives you an idea of the variety of music on my latest creation. Antarctica is not just a quiet “chilled-out” place; it’s also filled with wonder and excitement. And I tried my best to capture that with Ticket To Antarctica.

Is giving my music away for free the best marketing strategy? Maybe not. :) But, I don’t make my music to market it - I make it to express my feelings and emotions…if by chance it rings true to you, then I’m sure you’ll make up your own mind to listen to more.

Feel free to pass this link on, by the way: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kevoz11 - I’d like to give some free music to your friends, too. ;-)

Thanks for reading and listening!

KevOz

Giving Thanks to Friends:


Fall Contest from KevOz

This fall, I want to give thanks to all of my Facebook friends with a special contest. Here’s how it will work:

1. Become my fan on Facebook. It’s pretty easy. Just go here, or click on “Become a Fan” in the little display box below. (Note - if you’re not already, you need to become my friend on Facebook, too - you can do that here. You’ll see why in a minute.)

KevOz on Facebook

2. Shoot me an email, either on Facebook or to KevOz AT KevOz DOT com to let me know that you’re participating.

3. Once you’re on my fan page at Facebook, scroll down and look under my picture (Yes, there is a rather large penguin there!). You’ll then see a link that says “Suggest to Friends”.

4. Click on “Suggest to Friends”, and the following will appear:

5. Select as many friends of yours as you wish (the more you select, the better chance you have of winning!), and click “Send Invitations” when you’re ready to invite your friends.

Um…that’s it! The rest is my job. :)

I will then total up how many friends of yours become my fans, between now through Thanksgiving, November 26, 2009. (It will be easy to count because you will show up as a mutual friend when I click on that fan to view his/her page. This is why you probably should be my friend on Facebook, too - so that I can count your totals accurately!)

The Top 15 contest entrants with the highest total of referred friends who become my fans will win their own copy of my CD “Into Orbit”.

The contest entrant with the most referred friends who become my fans will also receive 2 more copies of “Into Orbit”, and 1 copy of my latest CD, “Ticket To Antarctica”. If this is you, you’ll have music for yourself, plus a couple stocking stuffers for Christmas!

Again, this contest is ongoing through Thanksgiving, November 26, 2009. I’ll contact you via Facebook shortly after Thanksgving if you’re a winner. If that’s the case, you’ll need to email me your address so that I can mail you a CD! Free Shipping! :)

This contest is open to everyone.

I want to give you my music as a thank you for being my friend! I hope you enjoy participating in the contest. :)

Thanks!

KevOz

What makes a song great for you? What part of the music is the driving force? Is it the bassline that moves you, the drummer’s snare hits that pull you in, the riffs from the guitars, the piano trills, the sounds from the string section, the vocals (and are lyrics important?), or just the overall “sound” - the melody - that make you a fan of the song? These are just a few examples…feel free to respond with your own if they’re different!

Music is such a wonderful, universal thing. And I’m curious to know just what about it resonates within you.

I just put together a music player widget that has all of the tracks from my Ticket To Antarctica album. It’s yours for free to add to your website or blog! Here it is:

You just need to click the “Get Widget” thing right above here, and then copy the code to add to your site or blog. Easy! I made this widget - and many more - at Widgetbox.com.

Hope you enjoy the widget!

Have you ever noticed that when logging into Facebook, that Antarctica isn’t on the map? What’s up with that? It is a continent, after all. And while they’re aren’t necessarily people living there full-time, there are several bases (scientific research and such) and thousands of tourists who visit each year. And I’m sure that someone over there is on the internet…and on Facebook, too.

Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve been to Antarctica…and I’ve got your “ticket”, too. My album “Ticket To Antarctica” was just released. It’s currently at CD Baby and iTunes (Amazon and others soon to follow). I could go on and on about the album, but I’ll let you read about it and listen for yourself.

While listening to my tunes may not exactly bring Antarctica into view on Facebook’s map, at least you can feel like you were there. ;-)

I’ve spent most all of my free time as of late working in a whirling dervish to finish up Ticket To Antarctica and get it out into the world. I even put up a “site within a site” at KevOz.com that ended up being a little bigger - and better - than expected, but it was well worth the time. And I’m now currently finishing up my video for “20 Hours Of Sunshine”, which is one of my personal faves from the new album (more on that at a later time once it’s out here!).

During this weekend, I realized that I needed to get my 4th holiday release together! It’s the first day of autumn, and the Christmas season will be upon us soon. I’ve released 3 other Christmas CDs so far, Christmas Spirit, Holiday Fun, and A Very Merry Christmas. For Christmas CD #4, I may go with a “greatest hits” type of collection, with a few more new songs added in for good measure.

Hmmm…which songs shall I choose? There are many that I like a lot, but my current top pick is the Ukrainian Bell Carol (aka Carol of the Bells). Most any version of that song is just awesome. The chord progressions make for a very invigorating tune. You’ve definitely heard either the Mannheim Steamroller, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, or the David Foster version before…or maybe all three. I’d like to think that I could do a fun version of that song myself. We’ll see what I can come up with.

My question for you is, what is your favorite Christmas song, and why? OK, so maybe that’s two questions. ;-)

While finalizing the proofs for Ticket To Antarctica last week, I started thinking about the equipment I use to make my albums. Some independent artists go to actual recording studios to put together their tracks. Some may even collaborate with other musicians and invite them to play on a song or two. Or some have quite the home studio setup, complete with 3 Macs, 6 keyboards, and the latest versions of Pro Tools and/or Insane Orchestrator Virtual Syntharama (OK, I made that one up). They may then hire outside help when putting together their artwork for the CD package (or even possibly DVD package, these days) they’re creating. Or use the latest version of Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, and the like.

Nothing in the above paragraph describes how I do things.

Of course, I have nothing against those who fall into the first paragraph description! It’s just that my setup is quite sparse and simple. But, I like to think that I make the most of it. Here’s a quick list of what I use pretty much every time I put together a music project:

- One keyboard - a Yamaha SY77 synthesizer. These were built in 1989, and I purchased mine in March of 1990. It was THE flagship synth at the time for Yamaha, and it’s still my flagship. I’m still creating new sounds on it! There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of what I can do, as long as my imagination and creativity keep flowing.

- One PC - a Dell Dimension 2400 desktop, purchased in October of 2003. It was basically the low-end of the Dell line then (Is it still now? I don’t know), though I must admit that I added more RAM to it.

- One recording software program - Cakewalk Home Studio Version 2 XL, which I got somewhere between 2001-2003 (before that, it was Cakewalk Home Studio 9 [but version "1", I guess...confused? I am.]). Cakewalk now has Sonar and all kinds of other stuff that would probably allow me to encode my music to be playable on Mars or something. But, I’m doing just fine with a reliable system that works for me.

- From time to time, I’ll use a couple “extra” items - most of which I’ve owned even before the SY77: Mattel Synsonics Drums (circa 1983 - videos of it in action here); Yamaha SHS-10 keytar (a keyboard used like a guitar, from 1988); and Cakewalk Groovemaker (from around 1999) samples - for a few “dancey” loops for my uptempo tracks.

- For helping out with the final sound files, I use MP3Gain for making web-friendly mp3s, and Volume Balancer for wav files.

- For putting together my artwork, I might use pictures taken by yours truly, or try to create my own art. :) It depends on the project and what fits the theme. I then use a few free utilities to crop, cut, design, paste, etc: Picasa by Google, Irfanview, and paint.net.

- When the music and art are done, and I’m satisfied with the entire project, I use Disc Makers to make my CDs, and CD Baby to sell my discs and distribute my songs digitally, most inspiringly to iTunes. It’s an awesome feeling seeing one’s creation out in the world!

I know there are many ways to skin a cat - and my way surely isn’t the best way. But like I said, this process has worked well for me each time I’ve made an album - from start to finish. I just thought I’d share with you my tools of the trade.

I recently threw out a quick post on my Facebook music page, asking “What inspires you?” I wasn’t sure if I would receive many responses, but alas, I did! :) The responses were wide and varied from love, family members, nature, God, music, colors…basically, pretty much anything you can think of. So, I thought I’d write just a bit about what inspires me - and invite those of you who had not seen my music page post to reply if you like about what inspires you.

There are many things that inspire me. My wife, friends and family, and the perfect song would be at the top of the list for me. Some others would be nature, landscapes, sunsets, and the sound of ocean/lake waves. Enjoying game nights with old friends. Trying something new. Having fun with the usual. In good company, even the usual activities can be inspiring!

Many of the above inspire me to create musical pieces. At times, just one track…and at others, a complete album (such as my upcoming Ticket To Antarctica). Inspiration can lead to many good things. And that inspiration and the resulting good things are contagious - you can inspire others, too! So, when the moment strikes, go for it! One of my favorite quotes (of which I just came across somewhat recently) is by Jack London. “Don’t loaf and invite inspiration. Light out after it with a club.” I like that.

So, what inspires you?