Warm greetings from western Canada !

Hi everyone . . . guess I should have done this intro when I first joined, but here goes now . . . I've heard some great songs here already, so much talent on this site, it's like tuning into a brand new fancy radio station, with lots of hit songs I never heard before !

I login as "popitup", cuz that's what I do . . . I've written songs since grade school (yeah, long time back), and like to think they're getting better all the time, but of course there are valleys and peaks. I remember hearing "Hey Jude" on our little kitchen radio one day, and WOW ! . . . I just wanted to know about how and where and why this was. Went to music college, played in rock bands, theatre bands, toured the country, hung out in recording studios . . . then one night at 3AM in Northern Saskatchewan (google it), personal discovery, I realized moving speaker cabinets in -20 degrees was not what I really wanted to do in my music life . . . so, I found a steady job in the printing industry, and just kept writing songs . . . and I've always found a way to keep writing my music, no matter what curve balls life threw my way (ya' I have a song about that too)

For me, song ideas come from being a keen observer of my personal feelings, as well as my observations of the world and the latest news. Knowing music theory makes it easy to get an idea started, but those lyrics . . . oh those lyrics . . . well sometimes it seems they have to pass through 1000 inner critics on their journey to reality . . . but I do love to play with words and rhymes, and eventually something acceptable shines through, then it has to survive the "do I still like it in the morning test". I force myself to write about different subjects, rather than just my own struggles, because music should not be all drama, we need to have some fun too !

Anyways, I'm humbled by the talent here in this kitchen, so I'll just pull up a chair to the counter, check out the fridge . . . and listen, learn, and study  more about the craft of songwriting that is our life long passion.

Hey @popitup from Canada! Thank you for introducing yourself and welcome to the kitchen!
Reading your story I'd say you're a perfect fit between all the pots and pans here ;-)
Yes, we have a lot of nice, brilliant and creative kitcheners here! We make fun together, help each other and listen to each other.
Have fun here!!
Cheers,
Mar T.

Hi @popitup !!!

Welcome!

Welcome @popitup you do indeed appear to be a kindred spirit.

Great community here... enjoy!

@popitup Hello. welcome to the forum. It's nice to read about your love for songwriting and that you enjoyed some of the songs here already. Enjoy the forum, see you around -Haim.

I seem to have totally missed your Me post!

Welcome belatedly in the kitchen!
May I say you are a great asset and I really appreciate your detailed song reviews on many of the songs posted and always enjoy reading them.
Glad to have you here!

@popitup
At one point or another, I posted my appreciation of @Mo ’s post. Or tried to post it, because I can’t find it, so I must have done some thing wrong.

Welcome welcome, I too/me too (I’ll  never get the hang of it) am glad you joined.
And please don’t get humbled; I will never be as good as you. Probably because I don’t like the Beatles.
Kind regards, Gus

@popitup
At one point or another, I posted my appreciation of @Mo ’s post. Or tried to post it, because I can’t find it, so I must have done some thing wrong.

Welcome welcome, I too/me too (I’ll  never get the hang of it) am glad you joined.
And please don’t get humbled; I will never be as good as you. Probably because I don’t like the Beatles.
Kind regards, Gus

@LePlongeur
Hey Gus, thanks for responding, so your not a Beatles fan . . . that makes me curious about who or what sparked your young thirsty musical mind . . . who awoke the muse in you ?
Hey, while I got you here . . . maybe you can explain this prompt writing thing, I must confess it baffles me.

That question, @popitup , could easily provoke a story of at least half an hour.
But I’ll try and keep it as short as possible!

My mum and dad made music, so normal, I didn’t register it.
Big bill broonzy sat me on his lap, encircled me with his arm an guitar and played and sung for me when I was three. The sun shone on the coach where we were sitting and I felt a sort of happiness I never had before.
So from age three I started making music. Small percussion etc.

Ben Webster lived in Amsterdam. A crucial factor. He defined my guitar playing. And with my frien Jan I hauled Ben up to the second storey after gigging.

Up came the polite side of US music. The writer of Needles and Pins/When you walk in the room, Rick Nelson, Bobby Vee, Eddie Cochran. And most importantly, the girl groups. And the fabulous music of Carole King.

I thought (and still do) the yardbirds making much more honest music than the Beatles. Early Stones.
Neil Daimond’s UNI years. Garage rock. Still have a huge amount of pre-psychedelic music.
And Rain, the only Beatles track I really love.

I do still have the PinkFloyd’s first three singles plus the mono, as well as the stereo piper at the gates of dawn.
I was involved in recording Tim Buckley for Dutch TV and as far as I know I have all there is out there by Tim as well as Jeff.
Fairport convention, specially the first single and LP.

From 68 I worked in an ‘underground’ record shop, so I was surrounded by music day and night. Stopped that when I got bored.

I put my music on the backburner during the time we had our kids at home. And I seriously started writing again some thirteen years ago, when caring for our children and eventually work played a lesser and lesser role in my life.

According to the instructions of a very famous Dutch painter, I work (write a song) every day.
According to a Dutch photographer, I write series of songs, picking the ones I like out of the series.

Over the past 13 years I relied on sunshine pop for my vocals and dream pop/shoegaze for my backings.

The prompt writing is simple. I think: The ultimate forum idea of looking at some things together, good naturedly comment and kicking some ideas around. And not taking ourselves too seriously. Thanks important too.

Have a look around in the older version. It’s elaborately explained there. And I hope you will be joining us too in the newer version.
Are you looking for something that happened on a Dutch stage and you are unable to find it? Write a pm. And who knows?

Kind regards, Gus