A few months ago, I submitted some of my new songs to a few of my favorite songwriting competitions. I know, I know: I enter every year. What can I say...I'm never going to stop trying to connect with people who might be listening.
Last week, I found out that my songs made it to the semi-finals in the International Songwriting Competition, and to the finals in this year's John Lennon Songwriting Contest, as well as the Song of the Year Contest. I'm proud they made it so far. Fingers crossed the tunes keep going further in the ISC.
I entered three different songs in three different genre categories. My music doesn't fit neatly into a genre. Isn't it funny that a song can be R & B or folk or Americana, just based on how it's performed and produced? I think about that a lot. "Sympathy For The Devil" could be a folk track. "Blackbird" could be a metal track. The genre is a way of categorizing, but it doesn't define the tune. The tune is the tune.
And people are just people.
Reader, I've grown weary of genres and labels, in all walks of my life. I miss getting to the core of humanity and art without trying to make everyone and everything fit neatly into a man-made box. Republican and Democrat? I don't fit those labels, and I've got to imagine there are more like me.
This week, I’m continuing to look deeper than genre and into the essence of things. Owning a restaurant has allowed me to see hundreds of people every day, without knowing their labels. And most of them are real gems, and I don’t give a damn how they categorize themselves. It’s wonderful.
Wishing you a genre-free week of seeing through the labels. I’ll see you next Monday. -Em
