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Rock The Blues at IAC

ROCK THE BLUES

I wrote and performed this instrumental as a tribute to IAC and all it's founders, past and present. It is also dedicated to all the members who have been active in making the site as great as it is and who strive to make it even better.

The song is intended to herald the coming re-launch that will restore the site to it's former glory, as well and continuing what is still presently great here.

I do want to give a special shout out to Dave and Neil for all their positive achievements and especially to Dave who I got to know well because of his longer tenure here. He has been extremely supportive of me and had given me the privilege of volunteering behind the scenes to help the site in various ways. He's a good problem solver and collaborator who has always been very responsive to my questions, comments and suggestions. Neil has also been a great ally and advisor who has made a important impact on me in the short time that we were able to interact. His music is outstanding and inspirational.

This song is my love letter to IAC and all it's members and founders. The concept is: IAC has had it's ups and downs but when the blues come around, just rock 'em. ROCK THE BLUES! I put my heart and soul into every note of this song as a way of thanking everyone connected with IAC. My nine years here has been an experience that helped me and my music in ways I can't even express in words, so I tried to let my instruments do the talking.

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Stoneman

3/14/2015 9:44:15 PM

As always, phenomenal guitar work and exquisite song crafting. Loved the keyboard work also. Lots movements and changes which give this a fun and attention grabbing musical ride. You are the heart and soul of the original concept for IAC. I am thankful that you are still here giving us great musical thrills. You Rock!

Much Respect & Admiration
Stoneman

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Steve April

3/15/2015 8:45:59 PM

Hi Richard,

Lovely work, the interplay between the brass and guitar rocks, kudos...

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Shoe City Sound

3/15/2015 9:02:39 PM ---- Updated 3/15/2015 9:05:42 PM

An inspirational song, Richard. The playing is stellar. The spirit you put into this is the total essence of great independent rock music. It sounds so great and it's so satisfying. You don't hear this quality and honesty just anywhere, and IAC is the perfect climate for it to keep existing and continue to grow freely and be available to all of us who love and need to have it - and that's just about everyone in the world, whether they are musicians or not.

I realize you've thanked others, but you deserve thanks as well.

Oh and I gotta agree with Steve April about the brass - that works!

D

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Neil w Young

3/16/2015 10:03:25 AM

I sincerely appreciate the honourable mention Richard and for your kind words about my music. I am also humbled to know that I had an important impact on you.

I’m not quite sure though what you meant by the “short time we were able to interact”. Following my resignations in February 2011 I have remained a member albeit not as active on my page for various reasons. I have though always remained available to any member by any number of ways several of which you had always found accessible. I would be disappointed had you believed otherwise for any reason.

The important place of the indie spirit in this ever expanding world of music is the overriding role that was my guiding principle from the moment I became involved at IAC. It continues to remain so to this day. I have a vested interest in the web site and in its future which we believe will be strengthened and furthered with the relaunch.

Your music, involvement and commitment Richard to IAC is and has been always greatly appreciated and respected.

Neil

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Richard Scotti

3/16/2015 5:09:54 PM ---- Updated 3/16/2015 5:36:30 PM

I'm sorry I didn't articulate that better, Neil. I haven't been interacting with anybody lately as I've been extremely preoccupied with my ailing mother who is 90 years old.

What I meant to say is: in the short time that 'I' was able to interact, not 'we'. I stopped interacting with all of my contacts when my mother's situation became my first priority. When you resigned and you
didn't post that much, you temporarily left my radar screen but you never left my memory! I didn't mean to imply that you weren't available to all. It was me who was out of the loop. This is actually the first song I've posted in a very long time.

Anyway, my mention of you was more than honorable! It was a "winning" endorsement of a great singer-songwriter and a great person, sentiments I frequently expressed to you in the past. It's good to see you returning to the fold. I just have not been keeping up lately. Your artistic talent and good business sense is always needed.

Much respect,
Richard

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Neil w Young

3/16/2015 6:26:27 PM ---- Updated 3/16/2015 10:25:15 PM

Thank you again Richard for your ever so kind words. No need to apologize though for your opening post, but if you insist it is humbly accepted. My honourable mention remark though was intended precisely for what I believed you had meant – honourable. In all modesty I didn’t think it could get much better than that and for which as I said I was and am truly appreciative.

For the record too, my presence here today on the Pipeline is not an indication of my “returning to the fold”. With apologies to Don Henley’s “For the record” comment on The Eagles “Hell Freezes Over” album, I never left, I was always here – just not that obvious or apparent but here nevertheless while at the same time continuing to deal with a number of grievous personal issues.

I also have not stopped believing IACMusic.com web site to be the best place on the planet to find indie music with thanks and acknowledgment to the original founders or in the prospect of the web site becoming even better than it was.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family Richard regarding your ailing mother – a matter which I had understood for some time that you were dealing with.

Coincidentally and with much sadness and sorrow still in my heart, it is exactly one year ago this evening to the very hour, 9:00 p.m. EST as I sit here writing this post when I was at my mother’s bedside when she took her last breath. It was the most painful moment of my life. Earlier today I received an email from a former minister at her church who if you will spare me this moment to reflect in her memory wrote the following:

“Dear Neil,

I remember a woman who was kind to a young minister. Joyce Young truly had a "joi de vivre" that was a Spiritual energy, touching all whom she met. The "energy" in her greeting, her friendliness, her music, her faith, lifted the hearts and love of everyone.

Joyce's energy remains with me. And when I remember her, I experience Joy - Life in the purest form - a glimpse of the Divine. Just a woman, and a mother, but an Angel to me. I remember.

In the Spirit of the Christ,
(Rev.) Bill Gallagher”

At the wonderful old age of 93 my mother had a long and wonderful life, traveled many roads, left few stones unturned, made countless friends along the way and left me and my family and everyone she touched during her life with precious memories to last a lifetime. She will be remembered by many and forgotten by none. She was a loving, caring and giving person, and a lady in every sense of the word. What a beautiful legacy she has left behind.

I miss her terribly. I know though that she will be as close to me as the next beat of my heart and she will be the guiding hand in mine in every song that I write as well as the quiet voice in every song I sing.

Peace and respect,

Neil

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Richard Scotti

3/17/2015 2:17:37 AM ---- Updated 3/19/2015 2:25:46 AM

I'm so sorry for your loss, Neil. I know that I'll be experiencing what you went through in those final hours. It makes me quite apprehensive.

My music and my family hold me together and make me strong. And IAC is my extended family. When I read the words of the IAC "founding fathers" and your words, I was moved to write a happy song that would herald a new beginning at IAC. These kinds of songs are very therapeutic for me because they are intended to raise people up and raise myself up as well. I didn't mean for my post to be controversial in any way. I just needed to give thanks to people who have been and continue to be important in my life regardless of the number of times I communicate with those people. Sometimes, solitude is something that I need from time to time and no one actually needs to apologize in this situation because no slight was intended in any way.

My post was an attempt to exude positivity in the face of crisis because hope is the best remedy for life's travails. The site has been on the wane of late but that's all going to change very soon and I'm so proud of you, Dave, Scott and everyone connected with IAC for overcoming whatever may have gone wrong in the past and moving on into a better future where we put aside our differences and come together to do what has to be done not only to just perpetuate IAC but to make it better than it ever was. As I continue to manage my personal responsibilities, I intend to take a larger role in lending a hand to further this endeavor of improving the site, but as Mr. Lennon sang: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans".

Also: Thank you, Stoneman, Delores and Steve for your kind words about my song. Yeah, that brass patch has saved my butt many a time. I try not to overuse it but it is quite addictive!! It was a result of months of tweaking but apparently it was worth it. Soon I'll be recording the vocals to the songs titled: "Roads", "Work Of Art", "I Waited For You", and "Forever More". I play all the instruments on these but there be other songs coming where I'll be playing with a band and I'm quite excited about doing that. I spent many hours trying to match these songs to what I was hearing in my head and I hope I succeeded! The vocals will complete the picture I see in my minds eye. (I hope!) I love the excitement of risking failure!

Life would be so boring if we could accurately predict all outcomes in our lives.

Delores ~ You are so sweet and magnanimous with your comments that I must say that it really
warms my heart. You're not afraid to speak your mind and just say what you feel. I admire that so much because you articulate things that perhaps others keep to themselves. You make me feel appreciated when it seems that others are ignoring me but I'm not complaining! It is what is.

Stoneman ~ you have always been so supportive, not only to me but to everyone you interact with.
You are a true gem of person: rare and beautiful. Thank you for all your kind words and expert critiques. You are a true genius!

Steve ~ your intellect and insightful comments are so refreshing. You too have a very generous spirit
and are not reluctant to give praise when you feel it is due. Your posts always have a positivity that shines through every time. It takes a confident secure artist to be supportive of another artist and you embody that concept.

I'm not here to compete! I'm here to rock. Nothing more. Of course I'm proud of what I've achieved and even shocked! But my music is no better than anyone else's. We're all stars when we forget about status and just concentrate on the merits of the music. I'm just a vessel that
allows my music to pass through me into the computer and into the ears of the listeners.

I'm not a great musician, producer or songwriter by any means. There are others who are far better than me but because of that I simply try harder and work harder. My sound is a product of 'synergism' which is the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements. I'm not great at any one thing but I'm good at a few things that when combined seem to create something that is it's own thing and is actually outside myself. I'm often amazed at the results of my slogging through hundreds of takes and mixes. It's as if a higher power is guiding me and leading me through lot's of trial an error until I get it right.I have no ego about what I do but that doesn't mean I'm not proud of my work but I'm not here to promote me as a person or as an artist. I'm just a conduit for the music that is blowin' in the wind and I try to intercept it and work with it. It belongs to the universe and some reason unknown to me, I was born to explore that universe until my dyin' day. I didn't seize the moment. The moment seized me. It hasn't been easy. I sacrificed quite a bit to pursue this endeavor for many years. But when I hear what's coming through my headphones, I feel it's all worth it. I read on another site a while back that some folks felt that I didn't deserve to be inducted into the "Legends Of IAC" and it hurt but that's OK. You have to have a thick skin to be n this business. I respect the opinions of those people and I certainly don't think of myself as a "legend!" but I was thrilled to receive that honor nonetheless and it really inspired me to
do better.

Success in the literal sense is something that I see as futile pursuit. I already have everything I need to be happy. Why should I lament? Bob dylan once said that "success is when you get up in the morning and go to sleep at night and in between you do exactly what you want to do". He also gave us this riddle on the subject: "There's no success like failure and failure's no success at all".

My parents were against my musical aspirations but when I first heard Dylan sing: "Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command" I found myself and and it gave me the courage to follow my dream.

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Shoe City Sound

3/18/2015 7:23:15 PM

Thanks Richard and great thanks for the support you've given Shoe City Sound - it's really encouraging and makes us feel appreciated as well. :)

D

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Stoneman

3/19/2015 10:33:12 PM

Thank you Richard! Your remarks about me always make me feel like my efforts are truly appreciated. I am so blessed to have met you and so many other musicians here at IAC. It is a joy to hear music that is fresh, pure, honest, unique and independent. Keep doing your thing Bro. No one does it better!

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