This Is Why I'm Hot Part Deux...These Songs I Write

" the competition is me. not my machines. "- terrytyelee, while irritatingly detouring from the topic of his grandma's cheesecake recipe.

I was asked to share how i write my songs. I know some writers are often uncomfortable with this and I respect their secrecy. For me, I see it a little different.

I used to write a song a week back 8 years ago. I've been writing since I was 16. I am 30.

Today, I sometimes write two a day but at least one a day. it's practice and it's my hobby.

Somehow, it happens to be my work as well. Of course, in the next decade of my life, I have to make a name for myself in other areas like creative marketing and table tennis. yes table tennis.

I don't know how other people write. I write songs about life. I live in these songs, they are not dramatized, they are what they are. The audacity of honesty is a very powerful element of a song.

I don't claim to be the best. I know I am not but I sure hell will be one day. Back in the day, one or two A&R people telling me "my songs are too western" or "your songs are too repetitive"...but after so many years of people telling me CONFLICTING things, I've given up checkin' them..i don't have no choice but to simply believe in myself. I will be here doing this no matter what. I am not an angry musician. In fact, if you asked those that know me, I am a positive spirit to my friends as well as those I work with.

The truth is, and I hope I do not intentionally offend any of you, there are almost next to no A&R or music people in some of these labels. Its embarrassing that when I talk to someone who has A&R director on his/her namecard, he/her often doesn't know anything and quite honestly, hasn't made a hit in awhile or often, never made on at all. They come to me with they're noses up in the air and have always more than is needed to be said. "Well listen by, I'm more qualified than you and you don't see me resting my balls in a 2000 dollar chair and bullshiting the corporation who you are afraid will find out you bullshitted your way into that job and one day will let you go."

Shit, I took two years off and my shit still gets played. I will address this matter of competent A&Ring in an entry next week called "If You Don't Feel You Can Fuckin' Do Your Job, Let Me Do It for Half The Price and Half The TIme". I will make yet another keynote speech on my views of how the non existence of A&R for almost two decades has pushed the Chinese music market into a slump that has only blamed on the decline of CD sales.

BUT - my songs are my songs. this is what i do. I would hope you like them but if you don't. cool. no beef.

So I write repeatedly. I get better with each song and my beats and arrangements just get better. Practice makes perfect. Ever heard of that? See, cats fall off when they don't think practice is needed anymore. The more famous you get, it only means you need to practice harder or you'll slip. People will get sick of you if you don't ever evolve. You don't need to change. You need to grow. Growing breeds life. These songs are songs of life.

I came into this Chinese music industry with some nice credentials on my belt in Chinese songs. I did work prior in Mandarin for the pure fun of doing somethingcChinese. Now, I do it for work. The last year I breathed the air and ate the food my competitions eat. Now I know how they operate.So I have offered to collaborate with many and many have returned the goodwill. But there are some out there..It's a competition and I'll win. I'm Lebron, Micheal Phelps and Yao Ming in this bitch.

Again. I am not an angry musician. I am not arrogant. I am not bragging. Competition is healthy. I have it in my mind to win ans I believe these are disciplines that help people succeed.

Here is how I write my songs.....

1. THE MUSE

I absolutely love Jolin Tsai. I am a huge fan. I have her CDs, posters and I am President of my Neighborhood The Right Tsai Fan Club.

The muse is the most fundamental part of the song. It's who it's for. What emotions are to be delivered and what emotions you hope will be received.

I've had many muses in my life time. A friend of mine told me "6 albums, 25 muses, T...don't ever fall for the muse".

I will admit that I have had many of muses. My whole career and some of my most memorable songs...The best part is..pre and post these songs, there were stories with these muses that I will cherish forever. Listen, it's never sexual. It CANNOT be. Often it ends up as later but it must begin as a pure fascination for someone and that fascination that inspires a song.

Some people use their songwriting to get girls. Seen it too many times. Did it to death in my early 20s too. You don't use songwriting and try to better your social life. It's not some magic trick u pull to impress someone. Songwriting for some part is our own human record of time and relative emotions, personality, language,etc present at that time in history. Don't fuck around with that.

Again, a muse is an integral part of my process but not necessarilly compulsory. The muses have had in my life were great. I believe in women of character. I like Independent Woman but not totally on that Beyonce shit. A lot of these muses and I eventually developed our own relationships often based of mutual respect for each other. Every song has a COLOR and the face/charm/smell of a MUSE.

My most memorable song I ever wrote based on a muse was Ramen Song by Energy back in 2003/2004. I've seen kids from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan all sing along to that in English while it was still The Booty Song for Urban Xchange till it was covered in Mandarain.

I thought to myself. I made a mountain out of a molehill on that way. That song was nothing more than a Sunday activity to shake off the night before and the moment I saw what I thought, and still think to be one of the most beautiful woman I have ever met in the world.

What followed would be a beautiful friendship that would last over the last 4 girlfriends and almost 8 years. Almost all the girls I dated knew who she was but never knew she was my muse. She was always just my friend.

The color to my songs come from my muse.

1. THE ARRANGEMENT

 Listen, I can't read notes, I didn't know how to find a key to a song till I met Skot Suyama this year and started working from him.

I believe for a music arranger... I have to be at least a good arranger. I believe there are two types of arrangers:

1. The Classically Trained - went to music school, been playing piano, bass, drums, guitar, violin, flute, cello, trombone, clavinet, clarinet, did i mention violin?, organ, fiddle since age 2.

2. Trained by Hip Hop- went to the park everyday at 5 to skateboard, been playing New edition, Jodeci, Gerald Levert, James Taylor, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, a bit of piano, drums machines, keyboard synths, Super Mario on Nintendo since age 2.

I am the latter and I arrange all types of shit. I don't know what the fuck I am playing at any instant but I never play the wrong notes and often when Victor, my other music partner is is of type ONE, listens to my music he tells me I am doing some Cyber Sonic Seventh Major Minor Eclispe in G sharp Diminished. See why I don't understand?

I use a host of stuff. My music used to be done on a array of roland keyboards and an MPC 1000 , all laid out in Pro Tools, the arranged through wave files. Because of this, I often incorporated live instrumentation into my recordings.

In recent years, I have shrunk my set up to essentially this:

my macbook pro. my macbook is for everything else. the macbook pro is for music....and some porn.

my Porn vault....

I learnt midi arranging and coming from my other background, i fuse both now. This is my MPK 49 by Akai and its my main controller. When I travel, I use this...

At home, i use this as my sound card.

My days with Digidesign are fast coming to an end but at this moment in the time, I still use my Digi 002. When on the road, I have the To-Go version below:

I also use an array of stuff here and there like my MicroKorg

You can go cop yourself all this stuff too...but remember..it's the hands and the soul that makes the music.

People must put heart into their arrangments. That's the music right there. That shit carries the melody which carries the lyrics which carries the meaning of the song.

Jae Chong is an excellent arranger. Khalil Fong is a sonically unique and excellent arranger. Those are my two favorite people who i look forward to hearing their arrangements.

I cook while arranging. I sometimes try to match what I just did 2 sec ago at the keyboard, while I slice thin slices of bacon sprinkled with Oregano and watching it sizzle in the pan before I put the cream in. I make Cabonara about as good as I arrange.

And to the typical question of which I do first:

I don't have a particular order. Sometimes it's drums. Sometimes it's keys. Sometimes I have a melody first. Sometimes I leave a hi hat loop on then turn on Goodfellas on TV.

People assume that I have a STUDIO. i don't. I hate studios. I have always made music among toys and pillows and a hot chic or two.... then equipment. I hide equipment as good as I can.

Great Moments In Making Music History:

Tune In Next Week When We Look Into Lyrics.