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In our seventh contribution Mike Hardy of Bed on Bricks tells more about how the songs “Humanarium” and “Funny” were born, and answers five quick questions.
The big questionMike HardyHow does one write a song? The answer is simple - there is no one specific formula. No bank of information one can draw a guaranteed winning cheque from that'll elevate your status to the next genius rockstar! There are many guidelines to writing a great song, many words of wisdom and endless advice from self-acclaimed experts with years of experience, but nothing set in stone. This is what makes being a musician a nerve-racking profession - but it is also equally exciting in that there are no boundaries. No big brother breathing down your neck informing you that you are straying from company policy. You, yes you, could just write a hit song today, and it may well happen when you least expect it! OK - so how does one go about it? Well, the first thing that you have to do is START …
My strengths are melody and lyrics, whilst the other guys' are riffs, beats and bass respectively. So for all these years I've conceptualised songs through ideas, melodies and words/lyrics - that's how my brain works - whilst Tim, for example, will obviously concentrate on the steam engine beats. The beauty of this is that an initial idea is (in most cases) taken to heights that I wouldn't have been able to achieve without the input of the rest of the guys. So we all benefit from the song in the end. Like Clinton from Flat Stanley said in his article, it all starts with an idea. Whether you are writing a guitar riff, a drum beat, a lyric or a melody, if you have an idea as to where the song is heading, it makes it a little easier. We often achieve this through jamming together - that's how we write our best songs. But like I stipulated earlier, this works for us. Other bands work differently. At the end of the day you must work with a formula that works for you. Everybody is different! I like to think of ideas as ingredients for songs. Once the right ingredients are applied the song usually works. A bit like baking a cake (not that I bake a lot of cakes - it's not very rock 'n roll if ya know what I mean - but I do like the band Cake). If the right ingredients are mixed then the cake will rise. If not, it'll flop. Don't limit yourself, and think out of the box. Don't be scared to venture into uncharted territory. If it feels good for you then go with it and see where it takes you. Try different approaches and be open to advice and constructive criticism.
There are two songs I'm going to talk about. The one is called "Humanarium" off our first album with the same title and the other is our track "Funny" off our second album, If You See Kay. "Humanarium" is a title that derives from the concept of a "human aquarium". I was driving home from work one day (on Upper Orange St) when I saw this guy holding up a plastic bag with two goldfish in it. Here he was in rush-hour traffic selling goldfish! What a laugh! I thought it was so odd that I immediately thought of what a mind-boggling experience it must have been for these two goldfish in the bag having to witness all of this at once. Through countless generations of goldfish existence, they were probably geared up for bedroom or pet shop views, but in this instance it was a whole new experience. So the song started off from "… a day in the life of …" from the goldfish's perspective to everyday life in Cape Town as we all know it. From everybody selling their wares and trying to make a buck or two, to me trying to convince the bank manager that I need a loan whilst concealing that I'm a musician. It all falls under the caption of "Tell me what the specials are today - I'm feeling special." The song is a hit at shows because not only do people like the lyrics, but they can relate wholeheartedly to the circumstances which come with the package of being South African. They immediately feel a part of the song, hence why it works. The next track, "Funny", has, to date, been our most successful song, as it went to number 1 on many campus and regional stations. A very off the wall video followed which drew much attention. The song is a little harder hitting, as it deals with issues that are more political. Controversy usually follows when lyrics are more direct and people either get it or they don't. We're not a controversial band, in that we don't go out there to try and be controversial but at the same time we are not afraid to say what we feel. As an artist and songwriter one needs to find a balance that you are comfortable with. After all, you are in the public eye and people will always interpret your work differently, so be prepared! This song was initiated by the lyrical content and melody. All the riffs and beats were built around the phonetical presentation of the melody, which is constantly grounded by the lyric "Funny how you should say that …" It's a song about contradiction and irony, saying one thing but doing another. Simple concept. The video that followed was an interpretation of the song by the director and the animation team. So by the time the song was completed there had been many people involved without whom it probably wouldn't have had the success that it accumulated. This underlines the point of playing in a "band" for me. Collaboration. The idea started off with the lyric "Funny how you should say that", and it just went from there ... gaining momentum, so much so that people were using it in their regular everyday slang ... Funny that! Lyrics
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In
my situation I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by three great musicians
and friends, Dave, Tim and Schalk. Bed on Bricks was born out of the fact that
we complement one another musically. Each one of us brings something unique
to the party. We thrive on being a band - a band of brothers, I guess - so what
we put out there is a collaborative effort as opposed to an individual effort.
So once a song is completed, it has been twisted and fine-tuned by all four
of us, so much so that it becomes OUR song, not just that of the guy who brought
the idea in the first place. This is how WE like to write songs. It works differently
for other artists. I personally feed off this setup and this is how I've been
writing songs from day one.
Where
do ideas come from? For me it's a question of just being open and aware of what's
going on around you, ie of LIFE. Whether that be love, hate, war, politics,
relationships, perceptions, opinions, eating disorders, celebrity fanfare, fashion,
who drives the fastest car, who wears the coolest shades or whoever pops your
toast, there is always something to write about. It all comes down to how you
go about expressing that in a song that works with the melody and direction
of the song. Be open to ALL types of music. If you want to be a good writer
it's important to listen to as much different music as possible. If you limit
yourself to one style then there's a good chance that'll you'll end up writing
pretty much the same sort of music. This isn't wrong, but generally by the time
you get it out there it's been heard so many times before that your song won't
stand out. The listening public is always looking for something new and refreshing.
So you can start to achieve this by being open-minded. Who cares if your mates
find that treasured Britney album in your car cd shuttle that you sing along
too in rush hour traffic? Sure, you might not like the music, but listen to
how she (well, The Neptunes) go about writing her songs. Listen to things you
wouldn't usually listen to in your preferred style of music and, if you like
them, try and interpret them in your style of writing. No one has to know ...
Also try and listen to artists and/or poets who write so as to leave you thinking,
"What the ....???". I like to write songs where people can interpret it in their
own way. It leaves an open book, a talking point and doesn't place a life span
on the song. Look at how songs from the 50s and 60s are still being played today
because they are still relevant in today's ever changing world. Timeless songs
are always a winner ...
