by Mike Errico | Aug 8, 2023 | Music, Uncategorized
Hand over your heart and I’ll take it from here We’re Live September 12,...
by Mike Errico | Jun 27, 2023 | The Hang, Uncategorized
Come meet the people who are transforming the music industry – it’s FREE, and will include two “sets” of wide-ranging conversations, punctuated by musical performances. There will be a short intermission to, well, hang. The Bitter End 147 Bleecker St., NYC Thursday, June 29th, 6:30p Free, but reserve yourself a spot info: (212) 673-7030 THE HANG: LIVE is sponsored by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, and is part of New York Music Month, the official month-long celebration of New York City’s vibrant and dynamic music ecosystem. www.nymusicmonth.nyc. YOUR HOST: New York-based recording artist, author, and lecturing professor Mike Errico teaches songwriting at universities including Yale, Wesleyan, the New School, and NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. He was nominated for 2019’s David Payne-Carter Award for Excellence in Teaching, and taught the 2022 GRAMMY® Museum’s inaugural Summer Sessions in New York City. His first book, Music, Lyrics, and Life, is a deep dive into the mystery of songwriting and the logistics of life as a songwriter. PREGAME LISTENING — KNOW BEFORE YOU GO OUR GUESTS Matthew Wang is a film and TV composer who has worked on projects including Yellowjackets, New Amsterdam, and the last two Reno 911 films. He is also working on a 150-track meditation album, and just released a film scoring class on Studio.com (a site that also hosts songwriting classes with Charlie Puth and Ryan Tedder, among others). Sofia D’Angelo is an NYC-born vocalist and songwriter in the band MICHELLE on Atlantic Records. They’ve appeared internationally with Mitski, Briston Maroney, and Arlo Parks, and at festivals including Outside Lands, All Things Go, and this year’s Governors Ball in Flushing Meadows. This summer, they’ll be at Lollapalooza...
by Mike Errico | Jun 14, 2023 | Teaching
Presented by Mike Errico and The New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment #nymusicmonth The Bitter End 147 Bleecker St., NYC June 29th, 6:30p Free / info: (212) 673-7030 Let me tell you what’s going on, here. As some of you know, I’ve been teaching songwriting for about ten years now, and early on I felt my students would benefit from a community that extended beyond the classroom. So, I created The Hang, which began as a newsletter, then gravitated online, and has since lived there, with the exception of parties in various cities around the country. The Hang has been one of the brightest spots in my musical career, and was a major inspiration for my book. Now, thanks to a generous grant from the New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, I have the opportunity to introduce this community that is transforming the music industry in all arenas — songwriting, touring, A&R, mastering, AI, composing, events, and much more. The night is free, and will include two “sets” of wide-ranging conversations about music, punctuated by musical performances. There will be a short intermission to meet, talk, and exchange ideas and contact info. FAQ: Because you have questions, I get it. I’ve tried to anticipate what some of them are, and I’ve made some video explainers. If your question isn’t addressed, ask away, and maybe I’ll make a video about it, too. Q: Why did you make The Hang? Tik Tok Instagram Q: What IS The Hang? Tik Tok Q: Who’s in The Hang? Tik Tok Q: Why is The Hang at the Bitter End? Tik Tok Where can...
by Mike Errico | Feb 3, 2023 | Books, Lessons, Music Lyrics and Life, Text Journalism
Excerpted from Music, Lyrics, and Life. The popular expression, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” has a less-celebrated corollary: You don’t get a second chance to make a last impression, either. A major songwriting challenge is how to construct those first and last impressions in order to bookend the musical universe writers have created. Unlike artists who work in other forms (novels, paintings, etc.), songwriters have a tool that takes advantage of the audio medium: the fade out. Part technological, and part metaphorical, the fade out can imply continuity—the song goes on forever—as easily as loss—the song goes on forever without you. One reason a fade is so expressive is because it reintroduces us to the universal language of silence—fade outs remind us that, as in life, silence always gets the last word. There’s just one problem: At the moment of this writing, fades are very out of fashion. I teach songwriting at several universities, and when a student of mine uses one, they get applause from classmates for the audacity. Fades are retro. They’re vintage. They’re even cinematic, which is actually true: the term “fade” is borrowed from film, which originated around the same time as recorded music. The gradual deprivation of sound in a fade out parallels the deprivation of sight when a scene “fades to black.” In order to better understand why writers and producers choose to fade, I spoke with Jim Anderson, producer and sound engineer; former president of the Audio Engineering Society; multi-Grammy Award–winner; and nominee (along with partner Ulrike Schwartz) for this year’s Grammy for Immersive Audio Album, Jane Ira Bloom’s Picturing the Invisible: Focus 1....
