Songwriting Events

Get in Tune!

June 25, 2019 by Jeff Leave a Comment

When you’re building something special, the beginnings rarely look anything like the “end-product.” For example, this old shipping pallet, partially torn apart over a weekend…hammer, saw, pry bar…trial and error…measuring… certainly doesn’t look anything like what it’s parts will evolve into, as I turn them into something that looks a LOT better than the old wallpaper they are starting to cover up in the kitchen in the new house.

Similarly, the glitzy moments such as here where I’m fortunate enough to be hanging out backstage with legendary Music Producer Butch Vig (Nirvana, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Asylum) and Recovery Unplugged Co-Founder Andrew Sossin at a Benefit Concert for Face The Music Foundation, at The famed Riviera Theatre in Chicago…these moments are not really what it’s about. Rather, it’s about moments like this other picture here where I’m with our resident maestro on fiddle, Carl Schmid, and Roosevelt from a local Boys & Girls Club that we recently teamed up with for one of our educational programs…“Get In Tune!” (looking for funding by the way, just saying!) These sessions work towards breaking the cycle of addiction through music. Early on, before the disease can take root… On the streets, where it’s real, just watch the music heal.

Whether your re-purposing old wood shipping pallets, and trying to find just the right size board, the right color tone, the right texture, or trying to assemble a first class Board of Directors, or Creative Team, it’s all about patience, open-mindedness, creativity, vision, heart. That’s how you turn the individual notes, into a beautiful chord of music.

Butch Vig Of Garbage And Filter’s Richard Patrick On Power Of Music At Face The Music Foundation Benefit

May 28, 2019 by Jeff Leave a Comment

Garbage performs on stage in Chicago at the Riviera Theatre during the Face The Music Foundation benefit concert. Monday, May 20, 2019
PHOTO BY BARRY BRECHEISEN

Amidst the opioid crisis in a world where music and the arts continue to disappear from American classrooms, Face The Music Foundation and Recovery Unplugged place a premium on music as a critical part of the recovery process.

Garbage drummer and producer Butch Vig performs during the Face The Music Foundation benefit concert in Chicago. Monday, May 20, 2019 at the Riviera Theatre
PHOTO BY BARRY BRECHEISEN

“These type of events remind us of how much energy and passion can be galvanized by something as unifying as music,” said Face The Music Foundation Executive Director Jeff Jacob Monday night in Chicago backstage at the Riviera Theatre prior to the Face The Music Foundation benefit concert. “Music is one of the only universal languages. So we believe that it not only brings people together but that it has healing properties. There’s proof to show that music can actually put someone on a positive path and help them sort of put a new foundation under them of solid ground.”

Founded in 2014, as the non-profit arm of Recovery Unplugged, the Foundation seeks to generate the resources necessary to help those who might otherwise not be able to afford to enter substance abuse treatment by creating treatment scholarships.

Recovery Unplugged takes things further, directly integrating music into the recovery process, with a stated mission “to provide hope and healing for individuals affected by addiction using the power of music.”

“It’s rare still that type of therapy. But I think it’s one of the best types of therapy that people can go through,” said producer and Garbage drummer Butch Vig. “I’ve been playing music all my life and it’s therapy for me. I think it’s a pretty incredible program where music is part of the recovery process.”

Monday night in Chicago, Vig performed with Garbage as the benefit’s headlining act, working with dkmedia and Charity Bomb alongside openers Slow Mass and Jam Alker Band to raise awareness and funds for both charitable groups.

“I myself am a recovering addict. Five years ago, I was killing myself shooting heroin on the west side of Chicago. Now I’m part of an event that is raising money to get people into treatment that is music based,” said Jam Alker. “I started playing music again when I was in treatment just over four and a half years ago and it changed my life. I began to heal some of the deepest wounds inside of me by using music as a way to express and process the underlying trauma that had led to my addiction. It’s something that’s been a passion of mine and so I got involved with Face the Music Foundation.”

Garbage’s touring bass player, former Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery, is also a recovering addict. Like many musicians, Garbage see the impact the disease can have on a daily basis.

“I hope that the event can bring awareness and bring an acute sense of urgency to absolutely every single one of the attendees. Because we all know that we are less than one degree away from someone with an invisible disease,” said event director, dkmedia principal and owner David Kinsler. “It’s indisputable: Music creates emotion. It evokes. And that’s what it was always meant to do.”

guitar — Richard Patrick of Filter joins the Jam Alker Band during the Face The Music Foundation Benefit in Chicago. Monday, May 20, 2019 at the Riviera Theatre
PHOTO BY BARRY BRECHEISEN

Richard Patrick of industrial alternative rockers Filter made a special opening appearance Monday night as well, singing one of Filter’s biggest hits, “Take a Picture,” with backing from Chicago-based Jam Alker Band.

Back to work with Filter co-founding member Brian Liesegang for the first time in more than twenty years on the forthcoming album Rebus, Patrick spoke candidly before the show about the role music can play in the recovery process.

“When you hear the perfect kind of music for the mood you’re in, it can bring pleasure, happiness, anger and exhilaration that only a few things can. So I think it’s important to have music in recovery,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s also important just to even hear this is an actual possibility that you can get sober and you can be happy.”

Monday night over the course of about ninety minutes, Garbage hit upon virtually every corner of their recorded catalog, placing most focus on their 1998 album Version 2.0 following a tour last year which featured full performances of the album in recognition of it’s 20th anniversary.

The group worked a snippet of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” into “Wicked Ways” early and vocalist Shirley Manson gave the fans a choice later, letting them decide by show of applause whether the band would close the show with “Bleed Like Me” or “When I Grow Up.” “It pleases me to f-ck with my band,” said the vocalist of her process as the crowd roared its approval for the latter.

“Sometimes you hear about bands that say they want to change the world with their music. And there is some truth to that. Because a song can affect someone’s personal life in a way that is way beyond what the artist intended,” said Vig. “When we make music, we record and write and go through the whole process kind of in a bubble. We do it for ourselves as our own form of therapy. And when you put music into the world, how it affects people, you never know really what’s going to happen. But it’s very gratifying to hear that kind of connection with people – that the music has a healing power.”

Manson went onto decry the lack of a union for musicians on stage Monday in Chicago, ultimately praising the work of groups like Recovery Unplugged and Face The Music Foundation. For his part, during turbulent times in America, Vig sees real value in the role of the musician.

“I think the most important thing that an artist can do, whether it’s conscious or unconscious, is get people to think,” he said. “I don’t think any music fan wants to get hit over the head with slogans or be told what to do. But a great song can reach out to you on an emotional level, or even a sociopolitical level, and make you think about the world that we live in.”

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, “In 2016, an estimated twenty-one million people aged 12 or older needed substance use treatment,” translating to nearly 1 in 13 people. As the opioid crisis continues in America, the work of groups like Face The Music Foundationand Recovery Unplugged is more important than ever.

Raising awareness of the fact that recovery is even a real possibility is crucial to Richard Patrick.

“It’s a disease. I never wanted it. I woke up and I was way in – really deep into addiction. And now I’m a healthy, contributing member of society that can help other people. And that’s the best part of it – helping other people,” Patrick said. “I get all these people who say, ‘Is this real? Can I really get sober?’ Well I did it. And I can only speak for myself but if you can believe in yourself just a little bit, you can do it. I’m just spreading the message that you can get sober. Literally you can save people’s lives just by being a good example.”

Jim Ryan is a Chicago based writer/broadcaster who’s interviewed a Ramone and a Rolling Stone. Follow him on Twitter @RadioJimRyan or visit online at radiojimryan.com. radiojimryan@gmail.com.

Find the original article here.

Local Band Review: Rockin’ the Pub with “Celtic Bridge”

February 24, 2019 by Jeff Leave a Comment

Ever been to a good, authentic Irish Pub? You’d know it if you had. Dark wood, soft lighting, dark humor, darker beer, bright smiles. You know the place right? Oh, also a good Irish Pub will almost always have an acoustic duo or trio in a corner playing a combination of foot-stompin, Celtic drinking songs, and cry me a river Irish ballads.

At The Field, on Griffin Road every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night a trio called “Celtic Bridge” takes the stage. And as I experienced last night, the regulars at THIS Irish Pub, love their string-band music. Man, do they!

Celtic Bridge is comprised of John Schreiber – bass, guitar, vocals, Roisin Dillon – fiddle, and Ade Peever -guitar, vocals.

The band plays a mixture of traditional Irish jigs and reels, Irish and Scottish folk songs, original songs, and popular music from various genres. The band borrows liberally from the catalog of The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem, Christy Moore, Van Morrison and The Chieftains, Dick Gaughan, Robert Burns, Lunasa, Crooked Still, Planxty, Andy Irvine, and Paul Brady. They also sprinkle in original songs by Ade Peever, original tune arrangements by John and Roisin, and the occasional mountain, old-time and Appalachian influenced tunes.

Ade and John have a great stage presence, and it’s clear to anyone paying who is attention, that these guys LOVE the collaborative music-making process. For them, making music is not just a collaboration between musicians on the stage….but also a joint exercise in merry, melody making with the audience themselves.

And Roisin on Fiddle simply rocks. She’s played in string bands all around the world, and these days Hollywood is very fortunate to have her as the string shredder of the house band at our own local establishment.

The band takes requests, cues the audience when to clap on certain songs, stomp their feet on others….or chime in with a line of a song such as “I think I’ll have a pint!” All of this interaction leads to a truly unique evening of entertainment. Playing live music requires a live audience if you know what I mean. Certainly, some kinds of music engage in different ways, but in a genre and setting which demand a true give and take with the audience, these guys didn’t let us down.

About halfway through the 2nd set, The fellow on the barstool next to me walked up to the stage and dropped a few bucks in the request jar. “Galloway Girl”, an old Irish ballad was the tune he wanted to hear. As the band plowed through this emotional melody, I looked his way through the corner of my eyes. I could see he was tearing up during the first chorus. Who doesn’t love a good cry?

This song was followed by foot stompers and hand clappers such as “Finnegan’s Way”, and “The 200-Year-Old Alcoholic.” These songs that I was previously unfamiliar with, now are on my list to look into further, and maybe even learn myself to have some fun on the guitar. The songs of the Irish are often poignant, often festive, and often humorous. Sometimes, all in the same title.
I can’t wait to dig deeper into original recordings by Ade and visit again with these guys. They make Hollywood proud. If you want to visit them check out their Facebook page for more information. Another Guinness please barkeep!

Email Jeff Jacob if you have a local band you’d like us to check out!

Find the original article here.

United All Boats Rise

December 11, 2018 by Jeff Leave a Comment

United All Boats Rise

So, I’m sitting on a colorful blanket under a palm tree on Hollywood Beach. Having found a little shade in the heat of the day, I am content. Toes in the sand, I have a notebook and pencil with me.

There is sand, breeze, and salt in the air. Heavenly. About an hour into my “allotted” two-hour window, (how much money I’d put in the meter), I noticed the sand around my blanket was moving. Little red ants were going about their business.

At first, I was startled. I love all things outdoors, but some of the DNA in my family tree does not.

However, I’m not them, and they’re not me, right? Trying to be calm about it, I use hands and feet to push piles of sand around me and move the ants (without harming them..mostly) away from the blanket. Surely, they would get the point if I kept digging these moats and building these…well, ant “defense” hills?

Nope. These industrious critters kept on their merry mission. United and focused on the task at hand. They seemed to be working together towards a purpose of higher calling. One that largely involved moving around my blanket, though not on it. Mostly. Some of them did make it onto the blanket as I held still and tried to focus on my book, the ocean, the breeze… is something crawling on my leg? Nope, nothing there, wait….nope nothing. Oh, there’s one. Crap.

I was fascinated by their determination, their collaborative instincts. The way they worked together reminded me of an article I once read about a forest of trees all of whose roots were connected. They communicated with one another in an organic, almost mystical way.

This red army was on their own little scavenger hunt for who knows what…food? Building materials? A Ms. Pac Man machine with a joystick that works well? Not sure what, but they had a mission, and somehow they were energetically connected. Did they ever quarrel? They must sometimes.

I recently saw “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Queen, like all bands, had their fights. But they also did some amazing work through collaboration.

Did you know that infamous foot stomping, drum-banging part at the start of “We Will Rock You” was not Freddie’s invention? Rather, it stemmed from the genius of guitarist Brian May. At the start of a rehearsal that Freddie hadn’t yet arrived at, May got tired of waiting and pitched his idea to the band of somehow involving the audience in part of this new song. Giving them their “own part.” Can you hear it? Stomp, stomp, clap…stomp, stomp, clap!

If you are inspired to do something collaborative with the entire community, join us in our annual city-wide scavenger hunt. We’ll challenge you, have fun, get to know each other, shine a light on some local non-profits, and celebrate all the good that Hollywood has to offer!

Here and everywhere, we are intrinsically interconnected. Amidst the daily grind, it’s easy to forget how nearly every action we take, or decision we make, has a domino effect on the ones around us. A butterfly effect if you will. Keep that in mind every day, every moment. At work and at home.

Think about it. Stay present. Give, collaborate, lift up your neighbor, breathe, rinse, repeat and do it again. Dare to see through the eyes of the other, dare to truly listen, be a great friend, an inspirational teammate, a leader who makes a difference.

United all boats rise.

All together now, get to it.

Find the original article here.

Teaming Up: The History Of The Modern-Day Scavenger Hunt

November 28, 2018 by Jeff Leave a Comment

Modern-Day Scavenger Hunt

The “modern day” version of a Scavenger Hunt traces it’s origins as part of the modern popular culture back to the 1920s when notorious Jazz Age gossip columnist Elsa Maxwell, held raucous parties, with “scavenger” aspects to the entertainment.

Items being searched for were as wacky, multi-faceted and strange as the hostess herself. The FIRST hunt, was supposedly held at one of Maxwell’s fancy fêtes in 1920s Paris. Even back then in its infancy stages of being a “thing”, the hunt was typically conquered by teams, rather than by individuals. Just the nature of the beast.

Markus Montola, an expert on “old-time” gaming, who wrote the book Pervasive Games: Theory and Design, claims the “hunt games” actually date back to way before Ms. Maxwell roamed the speakeasies, to the highlands and folk culture. However, I haven’t found anything to back this up.

Regardless of when the hunt originated, it holds true that teams of living, breathing inhabitants of this planet use their individual strengths and senses, combined together with those of others…to win.

Often these teams are made up of people who don’t know each other and have never worked together.

These people come from different socio-economic backgrounds, have different politics, sexual orientations, varied ethnicities, and divergent personal stories. But they share a goal. Win the hunt. Teams can change history. True.

Speaking of teams changing the world, last month the lesser-known Co-Founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen passed away. His partner, Bill Gates is quoted as saying “personal computing would not exist without Paul’s contributions.” While Gates is certainly the more well-known of the pair, Allen is generally acknowledged to have been the idea man. Something I didn’t know. They pushed each other to see things through the other’s eyes, and man did they shake things up! Paul often preached what was “possible” to Bill, while Bill would counter with what was “feasible” or “fiscally realistic.” It worked.

Frederick Banting and Charles Best, a pair of scientists from The University of Toronto, are generally credited with creating insulin for diabetics in 1921. Teams have been making history with their findings and creations since….well since the beginning of time!

Closer to home and back here in present day, The Miami Herald this past February, re-launched a long-running, successful hunt called The Herald Hunt.

The Pied Piper for this world-famous hunt is the notorious Dave Barry, and by all accounts, people from all over the country are thrilled this event has returned in all its quirky splendor.

At the end of the day, scavenger hunts are meant to shake up the world a little bit, while fostering teamwork and creative problem-solving. Two of my favorite things!

It’s why I’m so excited about this year’s Hollywood Scavenger Hunt (The Hunt for Good) presented by title sponsor Art and Culture Center/Hollywood. Collaboration baby!

Whether following an online trail of bread-crumbs or gathering wacky fashion items, scavenger hunts can help players appreciate the world around them by forcing them to consider their surroundings in a new light.

When we begin to see the world through the eyes of “the other,” much can come into focus. We begin to look at solutions (more fun than problems) in a multitude of new ways.

And, while we each see things through our own personal lens, scavenger hunts are at their best, when we work together in the “name of the game” to dig up all the wacky and fun items typically assigned as part of “hunt missions.”

Do it with friends from work, from your place of worship, OR by yourself and get paired up with soon to be new friends.

Find the orignal article here.

Emerald Hills Resident Uses Fundamentals of Music to Facilitate Memorable Team-Building Exercises

November 14, 2018 by Jeff Leave a Comment

Jeff Speaker

Attendees of the opening ceremony of the 2018 Hollywood Scavenger Hunt presented by title sponsor Art and Culture Center/Hollywood on December 6 will be treated to an extra special experience facilitated by Emerald Hills resident Jeff Jacob, who has been writing for the Gazette for the last few months about the art of collaboration.

While we cannot share exactly what the experience will be, you might guess that it will be…collaborative. Because that’s what Jacob does.

When he’s not busy at his day job as Assistant Executive Director at B’nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton, Jacob might be found rescuing stray animals, giving his time to various non-profits, or preparing and delivering TEDx talks.

But most likely, he’ll be working with the company he founded in 2012, The Song Team, which offers a unique spin on team building. Using the fundamentals of music to solve problems and foster communication, the Song Team can creatively focus on challenges facing organizations and groups large and small.

“I had been running a large recording studio in Nashville, Dark Horse Recording Studios, a magical place, really,” recalls Jacob, “where lots of famous artists like Faith Hill, Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, and Neil Diamond came to record. The owner of Dark Horse had started talking and writing about his experiences with these big stars –why they came to him when they had lots of other choices. It morphed into a unique story of the studio and he began talking and writing about customer service and leadership.”

While running the studio, Jacob was also helping the studio owner market his new business as a motivational speaker, and he got to learn the world of corporate speaking.

There he noticed that people who knew the world of business but were not great speakers, and great speakers who knew nothing about business, could come together, and create great presentations.

“As a musician, it occurred to me that in the history of songwriting, probably 90% of the biggest songs of all time were collaborative pieces,” he continued. “From Broadway to Motown to Tin Pan Alley to modern day country, most songs were written by two or sometimes more people with mutually complementary skill sets. Later on, it was Leiber and Stoller, Lennon and McCartney (and sometimes the others) Jagger and Richards — they got together to complement each other and create the soundtrack of a generation.”

Realizing “the power of the collective,” and that there is always interconnecting in any great idea in business as well as music, Jacob began thinking about how he could combine professional development and songwriting into an interactive experience that would outshine a simple presentation.

And The Song Team was born.

“For my first gig, I did small a small breakout session of about 20 or 30 people at the Univesity of Indiana,” Jacob said. “I had formed a relationship with the client, got my boss a gig as a keynote speaker, and told the client that I did teambuilding by songwriting. I said I was brand new — she didn’t know how brand new, she was the first! — and bartered a discounted rate for having their A/V department do my first video. They brought me back two times! And it grew from there.”

A session with The Song Team includes collaborative songwriting, beginning with a narrative which revolves around the client’s needs. Clients fill out a pre-session questionnaire which focuses on their current situation, goals, and challenges.

Jacob said that he’s particularly successful with company mergers and new product launches.

“We do lots of brainstorming, and always go in with a pre-written hook, to stay on track,” he pointed out. “I never leave anything to chance so nothing important gets left out. “I always know somewhat where I want to steer it but I never tell the participants what to say. Songwriting is just a tool to help people learn that there are many ways to say the same thing.”

Jacob has now become something of an expert on the science of collaboration. You can see it when you read his column here in the Gazette, and you’ll experience it at the kick off for the Hollywood Scavenger Hunt (the Hunt for Good) at the Hollywood Jaycees Hall on December 6th.

While we can’t tell you exactly what the night will entail, it will, as you might expect, involve music, collaboration, and Hollywood.

And, from now until then, he’s looking for input, seeking words and phrases that express what Hollywood means to you. Please email your thoughts to jeff@thesongteam.com.

“The Hunt for Good is a collaborative event all around,” noted Jacob. “It allows all the participants to see their city through new eyes and also to see new things about themselves, and discover their own new talents. It’s very much about collaboration and team and open-mindedness, and that’s what The Song Team does too.”

As our meeting concludes, Jacob shares with me the chorus of a song he’s in the middle of writing which says, in a nutshell, that when we help each other out, all boats rise, and everyone’s life gets better.

Maybe we can all collaborate, and help him write the rest of the verses.

For information on The Song Team, contact Jeff@TheSongTeam.com.

Find the orignal article here.