Leave Your Mind At The Door

[Donna D]

Gentlemen, thank you all so much for your kind comments.    This tune is one of my own favourites. The collaboration itself was heaps of fun, with lots of joking and teasing, as you can imagine.  

Rickocaster, I wish the vocals were mine.    Anne Cozean - who also sang "Simple Velvet & Basic Diamonds" that I posted here a week or two ago - is the enchantress here.  

Henwrench, as to your questions:
1. A couple of years ago, I had the good fortune to be pointed in the direction of musicianscollaboration.com. In fact, I've mentioned SongCrafters to one or two of the guys there, so they may well show up. (Had I known about SongCrafters 2.5 years ago, I'd have hightailed it over here at the same time.   )

2. They're all dedicated amateurs, and have day jobs. They record in their homes/basements/garages. With regard to this particular song, Rob (guitarist/composer) isn't professional but plays a lot of gigs. John (drums) does a lot of gigging too, and is much in demand for collaborations. Marc (bass) was a heating installation engineer, and recorded in his basement. (He'd played in a band when he was in his 20s.) He was an amazing guy, so full of energy. He died of cancer earlier this year at age 48. What a loss. He was a galvanising personality, and extremely funny. Incredible sense of humour.
Anne (vocalist) has just retired from her job at a state health insurance organisation. She records at home. In her kitchen, I think.  
They all live miles apart - even in different countries - Marc was in Canada. It was an internet collaboration, as all of mine are (with the recent exception of a Celtic-based free/folk band here in the Netherlands).
My most frequent collaborator (to date), Billy Playle (in England), works for the post office. He told me that he gets most of his ideas while making his mail-delivery rounds. He has a small room upstairs in his house, where he performs his musical magic.  

3. Is this stuff for sale? Oh, wouldn't that be nice.   I've never posted anything for paid downloads, but about a year ago I sent five songs - including "Leave Your Mind At The Door" - off to a music licensing agency, curious to see whether the songs would be considered acceptable for licensing. To my surprise - and delight - they were. Thus far, no TV, film, or music executive has rushed to license the material, but it still feels good to know the songs are listed in the catalogue of a reputable agency.   Who knows what's around the corner, eh?  The agency asked me to send a few more pieces for consideration, but I'll have to wait until the renovation of their website is complete, probably some time early in the New Year. If I get round to it. The paperwork is horrendous.
No, none of us has a recording contract. The guys just want to do their own thing, which is to make music. And I want to write lyrics (and more recently, create melodies) that people will want to add music to and sing.  
Yes, at this stage it's pretty much just for fun.  

End of monologue.  

Donna

[T.C. Elliott]

Holy cow, Donna. That lyric is awesome... but your musical partners are superb. This is an EXCELLENT demo.

[ODH]

End of monologue. 

You know the thing about monologueing - when you start to monologue it means you are a villain in a comedy sci-fi movie and are about to meet you demise.

Your posts are really in a different class to us mere mortals, Donna.  It's amazing they're done postally.

Specifically, I loved the Oyster - Cloister rhyme, and if I'm not mistaken, some of those lyrics had a touch of double entendre?

[Donna D]

Thanks, T.C.  The whole piece just happened to come together so well. 
It's amazing what can be created via the internet.

Nick, you may be right about the monologue thing. 
Glad you enjoyed the oyster/cloister rhyme. 
And yes, indeed, there's a touch of double - perhaps even triple - entendre. 

Donna

[Redler]

Fantastic lyrics, Donna! The music is superb and Anne's voice sounds...hmmm...how can I say...very beautiful . I could consider go for dinner with her and talk something else than about Camus. (don't know about him much, either). Great post!!

Kari

[Nelson]

Donna
The lyrics are very creative and Anne has one of those sultry voices... what a find.
The musicianship is superb and everything is mixed to perfection.
Bravo to all involved...
Donna I've hear nothing but top notched productions from you.
Keep up the excellent work.

[Kenneth]

great song, great singing, cool collab!

[scottieD]

Smoky, saucy, sexy....grrr baby yeah!

[Donna D]

Kari, Nelson, Ken, and Scottie, thanks for listening.   Anne (the vocalist) has got a kick out of all the comments. 

Donna

[pjd1]

Thats so good DD i am a fan of your,e music ..

Dunny