I can’t believe January 2018 is already more than half over! I’d originally intended to write a year-end/New Year blog on either New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, but then various projects I was working on those days took longer than expected. Then January 2nd arrived, and it was back to the day job, … Read more
Can you believe we’re already halfway (plus a few days) through 2017? At the start of the year, my “Looking Backward, Looking Forward” blog, in addition to reflecting a bit on the year gone by, speculated a bit on what might be in store for this year. I’d alluded to some recording projects I had … Read more
Like many people, I set aside some time at the end of one year and the beginning of the next to review the year gone by and consider plans for the new year. Some years are easier to review, or plan for, than others. Of course, plans can change at any point during the year, and … Read more
There’s a classic series of commercials that features, for example, winning Super Bowl athletes. A narrator asks these athletes, after their big game wins, “what are you going to do next?” The athlete then answers that he’ll be going to a certain theme park where it is not unusual to see people wearing rodent ears. Since finishing … Read more
Last August 1st, I announced my intention to record and release a pop album by the end of the first half of 2016. I’ll get to more of the story in a minute, but, without further ado, here it is (playable in its entirety courtesy of CD Baby and YouTube): At the time, I’d begun … Read more
The large majority — I’d guess 75% or more — of my songs are written starting from the lyrics, whether I write those myself or get a lyric from a collaborator. “It Might Be Memphis”, which I’ve come to call my “wishful thinking” song (a more positive spin on it might be to call it … Read more
In early March 2010, Vadim Efanov of the Russian music and technology company Virartech conducted an e-mail interview with songwriter Rick Paul for the “Advice for Musicians” section of Virartech’s web site. While the interview was conducted in English, it was translated into Russian for Virartech’s readers. Here is the original English language interview. VE: … Read more
I began threatening to record and release a full-length album of my songs somewhere around 1998. At that time, I’d been focusing on writing songs with the idea that other singers and bands would record them and take them out into the world. My recordings prior to that point were intended solely as song demos, … Read more
No, there is no connection to Seinfeld and the notion of “a show about nothing” implied by my blog title. It’s just that I’m starting out writing not having the slightest clue what I’m going to write, or even what topics I might address. I just feel a bit guilty for not having written a … Read more
If you blinked, you may not have noticed, but the first half of 2007 has come and gone. Or maybe it’s dragged on for you like it might never be over. Or maybe you’re thinking, “huh? Why is this guy talking about half years? Who cares?” To be honest, I suppose there’s nothing all that … Read more