Music as Happiness

 

In pop culture and art: colors carry meaning. One color can mean different things in different situations and to different people. It's a matter of individual experiences and taste.

Do I sound obvious? (insert positive answer lol)

I used to have blue as my favorite color as a child. Why? Who knows.

All I know is I liked blue. When my children were little, I let them choose ever which colors they liked to wear. 

Until awareness of worldly norms and standards suggested otherwise. Will that thought bring a feeling of the blues along?  If so, here's a song I wrote just for the reason of wanting to write an upbeat 4/4 shuffle that I could sing at a talent show.

Here's a thought of a different color: blue can also mean something very positive. Like blue skies.  

Honoring Freedom

 

Happy July 4th!!!!

 

Yesterday in church, we unexpectedly got to sing "I'm Proud To Be An American", or, as the actual title of the song is: "God Bless The USA". I say unexpectedly, because it was at a church service, but, it really was very, very fitting and that is why I say 'we got to sing' as in 'had the privilege to sing'. Because it is a privilege to be, to exist, to worship and praise God and your country at the same time along with others that feel the same way.

Have a Safe and Special Celebration today!

Foot note: Speaking of privilege ... I once had the pleasure of hearing Lee Greenwood play "The Star Spangled Banner" at the opening ceremony at Nissan Stadium (then LP Field) in Nashville, TN for the CMA Festival nightly concerts. He played the saxophone at that particular occasion.

Where "Thank You Song" comes from

Inevitable, there are trials in life. It is a common belief that they will grow you and make you stronger.

"Thank You Song" comes from a place like that. It was a day like any other day (way before this thing in 2020 hit us), and why an event triggered me to write it, is a mystery, just like Life itself, but what I do know is that my husband was still hooked on narcotic pain pills at the time, and the unpredictability of each moment was a constant cloud hanging over us and me. He had had one of his out-lashes and it was  after that moment "Thank You Song" came about.  I turned to my consolers God and music and reached for my guitar and simply started strumming and singing. The words and the melody instantly started flowing through from my heart and the Holy Spirit . There is no other explanation when a song simply starts seemingly out of "nothingness". The purpose for me that evening was to find strength in life's weakness to connect with a feeling of gratitude, so that I could turn a resentment into something uplifting.

In this day and time, when we all are more or less in an adaptive stage of living, my hope is that you will find strength and inspiration from hearing this song.

PS. There is a dictionary on my facebook page that explains some of the terminology I use in the song: https://www.facebook.com/krizrogerscountrymusic/photos/p.10157202566266470/10157202566266470/?type=1&theater

and I would like to add that "Bigger Scheme" refers to God's plans for not just you and me, but for human kind as a whole.

How I Work On Music

When I need to learn a new song, write one or musically arrange one, it is very helpful for me to go for a walk. The rhythm of my footsteps gives me a beat to work with. Then I simply repeat the lines of the song in my head (yes, I can "sing" the melody in my head).

Favorite Lines

There are songs and lines in songs that touch and stir, make my heart sing and my eyes cry.  Or simply make me happy. I'll list some of them here, and I will tell you from what songs they are at the bottom of the post. Hey, you can play a game with me and guess from where these lines are taken:

"Hey, I'm not trying to be nobody,
just want a chance to be myself."

"Some are going north and some are going south,
I'm just going to be gone."

"You'll only miss the man that you wanted him to be."

"And I was like a Christmas morning child"

"Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night."

"A hundred years go faster than you think."

"My eyes are not blue, but mine won't leave you."


Interesting how powerful just one line of a song can be ....not to mention a song as a whole along with the melody and the way it's sung ...

No wonder music is such a big part of most of our lives!

I promised  to tell, so if you haven't guessed just yet, here are the songs listed in the same order as I posted the lines: "Streets Of Bakersfield", "I'm Just Me", "Shut Up And Drive", "Memoryville" (yes, a song I recorded and that was the line that pulled me in), "I Saw The Light", "Don't Blink" and "I'm Not Lisa".


Now you also know some of my favorite songs to sing and/or to listen to!

Places I've Played II

As I was searching for a file on my computer today, I came across something entirely different from what I was searching for: a poster from a gig me and my band did in 2008 along with the Sun Records artist Rayburn Anthony. It was extremely fun!  The crowd was cheering, clapping and singing along. Some of the songs we did were "Storms Never Last" and "Jackson"  And in the midst of a song, the strap to my guitar broke! Lol. As I was standing up and playing and singing, I pushed the guitar as best I could against my body with my right arm while strumming.  After we had played the song through, I asked my bass player to entertain the audience while I fixed it good enough to hold together for the rest of the show. Crazy memory ...

Country Festival Poster from 2008.

Music Bucket List

Many of the places I have and still are to visit here in Nashville have been and are on my music bucket list. I have been to concerts at the Ryman (original home of the Grand Ole Opry), walked up and down Broadway hopping in and out of honky tonks listening to music and ordering an occasional Sprite/Sierra Mist (if you thought I'd say beer, you were way off the mark since I don't drink) and have had the pleasure of experiencing The Grand Ole Opry shows. Those were my listening pleasure bucket list things to do, so why not list my own music bucket list performances I would like to do ....

1. The Grand Ole Opry

2. The Ryman

3. On the Music City Roots

4. In Branson

5. In Bakersfield

6. At Dollywood


This list is going to be updated with venues around the world. To be continued.


PS. If you have any suggestions, just comment below! Thanks :)

On The Chart!

Sometimes I feel the need to pinch myself in the arm.  Especially when I find out that my position on the charts is way up there. Recently I reached the #10 spot on the Reverbnation Americana Chart for Nashville! And I know that you who are reading this are part of my success. Thank you!

I Remember Elvis Presley

The first "taste"of Elvis Presley's music was given to me by my dad.  He gave me a Elvis Presley's Golden Records Volume 3 when I was seven. And I remember where I was when mom and dad told me that Elvis Presley had passed away; we were living in Stocka, in an apartment with the address Bergstigen 17C. Picture here below (from Nordanstigs Bostäder's website, thank you):

Our door was the third one. If you want to see the location on Google, here it is 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bergstigen,+820+74+Stocka,+Sweden/@61.89892,17.3449726,3a,75y,356.77h,68.94t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sCH-RHDpwONByjpeNwOColQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DCH-RHDpwONByjpeNwOColQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D349.13657%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x4664056d491441a9:0x641e66a9cc66713d!8m2!3d61.898816!4d17.3438057

Some of my absolute favorite Elvis' songs are (these videos are from random youtube users):

Two Elvis songs that I have sung multiple times at performances are "Teddy Bear" and "Love Me".

I remember Elvis Presley

Picture from http://www.angelfire.com/stars3/elvisonmymind/death/death.html

On Friendship Day

Work Out To Country Music!

I received a newsletter from Pandora where they had listed some stations with music you can work out to - a country station too! I think that is a great idea!

Pandora Country Music Work Out Station


PS. If you would like to check out my station on Pandora, go here:  Kriz Rogers (Kriztina Ahs) on Pandora

All Kinds of Music in Nashville - But Country is My Kind of Music!

Nashville has the nickname Music City. That is because there is not only country music here.  There is an excellent Blues Club, a Symphonic Orchestra, Punk, Southern Rock and Hip Hop and everything in between. So, if you are a country music enthusiast or country artist, it pays off to do your research or ask someone that already has been here for a while BEFORE your visit. Or else you might end up having spent your own (or somebody else's) hard earned money on something like this:

That's Coast 2 Coast Live, a competition held ten times monthly in cities all over the US. It frequently stops by Nashville as well. If you ask me, I'd rather do something else, like singing a Hank Williams, Sr. song on a street corner, because country is my kind of music! :-)


#theimportanceofresearch


PS. If you by chance are a Hip Hop artist or artist in a similar genre, you can sign up for this competition here, but there is an application fee involved as well.

A New Year's Wish ...

I wrote it in my song Gloryville: "Each one's neighbor is each one's friend". So did ABBA in the chorus of their song "Happy New Year": "May we all have a vision now and then, of a world where every neighbour is a friend". That is my wish for 2016.

Happy New Year to Everyone on the one Earth  ... deep down, may we all know that we all share the common desire of loving one another.

You Know You're In Nashville When ....

.... the sidewalks have notes on them ...

Some Swedish Music Culture Need-To-Know

To simplify it:


ABBA

ABBA's first recording with the girls singing lead with the guys before they became ABBA. Here they called themselves "Festfolket".

ABBA's sound engineer Mikael B. Tretow

Mikael B. Tretow on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_B._Tretow

The melancholy and melodious traditional Swedish music

This tune is called "Tune For Father". A little side note: see the building? Constructed with a log house building technique the immigrants implemented when they came to the US.

This tune is composed by my great grandfather. The late and very talented Klint-Olle is playing my great grandfather's tune.

This is cute as can be!

I'm happy for my friends the Williamson Branch - they are a family music band playing bluegrass/country/inspirational. Their video on facebook now has over 90,000 plays and closing in to over 100,000 .... follow link of you're on fb to watch two little girls singing "You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man":

https://www.facebook.com/ginnymar/videos/10155456735290133/?pnref=story


They are on youtube too ... I'm sure they'll reach multi-thousand plays there too in no time at all:

I do watch the TV series Nashville

I have not missed one episode. It's like it pulls me in into their lives ... the characters are chiseled out to perfection and I can't wait to see what happens next ....

One thing about last night's episode (season 3, episode 21): I half covered my face with my hands feeling sorry for Layla. She signed that contract without even reading it first ...

That made me feel like:

To catch up, you can go to
http://abc.go.com/shows/nashville

Music Video Actress

I was invited to participate in this video ...

A Little Hobby of Mine ...

I have just a few hobbies ... one is baking (and eating) cookies, another one is taking pictures of jukeboxes. Why? Well ... maybe because I would like to have one, but don't have room for one at home .... there's just something about a jukebox.

A Kriz Rogers Quote

"About genres: they are the trunk of a tree. About sub-genres: they are the limbs of the tree. Then there are the leaves that live their own life waving with the wind with provisions from the tree. I am a leaf." -Kriz Rogers.