You know, I wrote this song for you...

You write a song, then you perform the song.

Every song writer or song writing band has a process (or many processes) in how songs are written and then released into the world.

Many write a song then, immediately after it's done, play that song live and/or release a demo online.

I'm not sure this is a process that works. I feel in many ways it takes away from the work that's put into the song.

Don't get me wrong, there's a place for "how it was done" type material. But, usually it's reserved for after the finished product has been released. You know? Hollywood doesn't run the "DVD: Extras" section of the movie before the movie plays. And, even when they show the extras, they're presented in a polished manner that only shows the "wow" stuff that the general public couldn't do because they don't have the resources.

But what about a song? The general public has the resources to write poetry, write lyrics, and much more.

I mean, how many people do you know that own a guitar, piano, etc? Plus, musical tools are basically mainstream. Most computers (and even phones) come with an easy to use music program.

I'm starting to feel that when releasing a song now, you have to have in mind that the consumer is now having an attitude of "I can do that." Plus, with this mainstream of musical creation availability, a good chunk of people who even watch live music consider themselves (and definitely can/should) a musician in some sense.

Plus, in the small scale of playing in Albuquerque, when you haven't rehearsed your new song a huge number of times or have a professional production team to make your stage sparkle, even the best live performances can make a song less special.

What if the venue smells bad, the guy next to you is throwing up, you just broke up with your girlfriend and the band is too loud? Or (like in a lot of venues) the sound just isn't as good as you would like.

People then hear this song and have a negative association with it.

Why release a song, that you feel so connected to or have such a good feeling about, into such a hostile environment?

Does playing it live give the benefit of crowd reaction? So you can gauge if it's a good song or not? I don't think most rock bars are the best places to invite people to react to new music.

You see, when I play a cover people usually perk up a bit, will rock out with you and sing along. Is it because it's a good song? Do I just play it extremely well? Not necessarily. It's because they've just heard before and in a manner where it was presented in a way the original artist defined for them.

So, that's what I've really been trying to think about lately. How do you present your music in that specific way? How do you release music, even when the venue has all of these issues associated with venues, so that the public can hear your music how you intend them to hear?

It's all kind of blurry.