NEW ALBUM BACKSTORY - PART 2

I already discussed the title track of my new album "RUNWAY" and how it was based on how I sometimes get afraid of what's going to happen next, but have decided to just prepare for the flight I'm about to take and know it's going to be alright.

Another song from my new album is called "SONG FOR LOVE".

This song is cool because the music track came from my long time producer friend, Avery Berman. He produced several of my songs earlier in my career (I WANT THAT, LOVELY DAY, THE CHRISTMAS SONG, WELL DONE) and I have always loved his creativity with music. He shared the music he created for what now is the "SONG FOR LOVE" single from my new album and I immediately loved it. It has a disco / dance vibe to it and I knew it would be awesome to record.

I shared it with my managers in Nashville and they liked it a lot too. So we decided to record it.

I went to Atlanta, Georgia and worked with another producer, Jor'Dan Armstrong and his fellow producer Teddy P and together we finished the lyrics and vocals for the track in a couple days in the studio.

The song is all about LOVE and how life wouldn't be the same without it.

LYRICS:
How could we live without love (repeat)
If you wish upon a star you’ll find
Something better than you thought you’d find.
You will see how much you’ve come to grow.
Cause love will never let you go, go, go.
How could we live without love, it just wouldn’t be right.
That’s the thing about love, you feel it down inside.
What you think about that, it could blow your mind.
So let’s quit wasting time.
And everybody singing like.
Ohh, you got me singing a song for love. (repeat)
Ohh (a song for love) (repeat)
If you ever can’t find peace of mind
Don’t you worry, that will waste your time
Here’s a secret that I’ve come to know
Love will never let you go.
How could we live without love
It just wouldn’t be right.
That’s the thing about love, you feel it down inside.
What you think about that, it could blow your mind.
So let’s quit wasting time.
Ohh, you got me singing a song for love. (repeat)
Ohh (a song for love) (repeat)
How could we live without love
Love will never let you go.

It's very simple lyrics, but they reflect how difficult some people make life when LOVE is the answer. Wishing on a star will never give you as much as love will. People who are loved and choose to love just live a better life. God is Love, so for me, it's also a simple reminder that God loves me and will never let me go.

The vocals on this track were so fun to record because it's really the first song I experimented with my falsetto on the main chorus. It was challenging but cool to hear the mix and harmonies afterward. This track, like 99% of my songs, is all my vocals on every part. I don't really use background singers in my songs. I love doing every harmony part and think it's cool to hear the mix when it's done. I honestly want to do more songs like this where I do a lot of layered harmonies.

We've just posted a live video to this song on my youtube channel.




We have a cool REMIX of the song available for people who pre-order my album, so hopefully if you're interested in hearing the remix, you'll spend the $4.99 to get the album.

More back story coming soon.

BEING AN ARTIST

I get asked a lot about being an artist and how I started and stuff. I know it's of interest to people wanting to get started on their own path of being an artist, but honestly it's not really like there's a formula or something that you follow and you suddenly become an artist.

The first thing is to decide if you want to do music because you're passionate about it or if you want to make money doing it. Some people are passionate about it but don't want to make the commitment to earn a living from it. I mean like they love singing in school or at church and think it's something they want to do as a career. But when I've asked some of them to put their singing on youtube so people can critique it, they get all shy about it or are freaking out that they'll get made fun of. It's then that I tell them they are kidding themselves if they think they'll make a career out of it. So, like the first thing you have to do is be ready to deal with haters and people hating on your music and skill.

Next thing is always remember that there's someone better than you in every way. Someone more skilled, more popular, having more opportunity, more experience, more, more, more. You're never going to be on top. Even the artists who are world famous aren't the best. There's always another artist with more awards, more fans, more albums, more money, etc. Get used to knowing that you're always trying to get better and you haven't arrived. If you can't accept that you're not as good or as bad as others (or yourself) think, you're wasting your time.

As a Christian, though, I get so many fans messaging and emailing me about my being an artist. Honestly, it's annoying to read some of the messages because while I'm a Christian and try to please God in everything I do, I don't consider myself a Christian artist the way they try to label me.

I'm an artist who is a Christian.

I'm a Christian who is an artist.

Just like a lawyer can be a Christian and a teacher can be a Christian, I'm an artist who is a Christian. I don't consider myself SINGING FOR GOD any more than a taxi-driver would tell people they are DRIVING for GOD. I sing because it's how God made me. I don't specifically consider being an artist as some special category of person who is doing it "FOR THE LORD". I no more say that than an auto-mechanic would advertise "I'm a mechanic for the lord". Of course you want to please God in anything you do if you're a Christian, but I think too many people mix up music and being a Christian as though there is some special category of artist that is reserved to only be about worship and praise music or being on a praise and worship team at a church.

Simply, being a Christian is a full time job with everything I do in life, not just a prefix before the word "artist". As an athlete, I always tried to have a Christian attitude and treat others like God wants me to. But it doesn't make me some unique category called a Christian Basketball Player. I'm a Christian. It's like we don't label other artists "Jewish Artist" or "Buddhist Artist". Their belief in God is what they choose to be personally. Their career may not involve work within their synagogue or temple. I don't sing in church and don't make music that is for praise and worship. There are many of my friends that are called to be a praise and worship singer. I'm called to be an artist who makes music that my peers will listen to and hopefully have lyrics that encourage them and give them hope to overcome life's disappointments and challenges.

So, being an artist is what I am trying to be. Being a Christian is what I am. When I'm on a stage performing, I'm performing because it's a gift inside of me given from God. Just the same as an accountant does well with financial stuff because God made them to handle numbers good. When I'm on a stage, the fun I have and enjoyment you see is because I am wired to perform and share the music God inspires me to write. Christians tend to think that just because I'm very comfortable speaking about my faith on social media or sharing my experiences in lyrics that reflect my faith journey, somehow I'm a "Christian Artist". I only have a problem with this label when it comes to the religious Christians who want to judge me or others for "how" I should be as an artist.

My personal call from God is to love Him and love people. No more, no less. If being an artist helps me fulfill that, then great. If being a pizza maker helps me fulfill that, great.

So if you want to be an artist, then be an artist. Just know that being an artist is a lifestyle and requires a lot of hard work. Never let people label you or try to put you in a box that they define. Who you are is who you are, regardless of people's acceptance or approval.

Pleasing God in whatever I do is my goal and so far He has helped me have some impact with music. I hope it stays that way.

NEW ALBUM SONG BACKSTORY - PART 1

Thought I'd share a few blogs about some of the new songs I wrote for my upcoming album release in September.  I like to give the backstory on why I write certain lyrics and how they were inspired, and the whole process of what it took to make the song and the people involved. It's like the most fun part of doing what I do as an artist.

We're still figuring out what songs are going to be on the new album, but the ones I know for sure I'm going to talk a little about here.

The first one for sure is called RUNWAY.

Written by: Spencer Kane, Jor'Dan Armstrong, Teddy P
Music by: Tyshane
Produced by: Jor'Dan Armstrong, Teddy P

So this is probably one of the most exciting new songs I've done in my short career because it involved some amazing people to get it done.

You all probably know Jor'Dan Armstrong already from our song "FAVAH" which I released a little while back. It has done quite well in the Christian R&B/Hip Hop genre. I love working with Jor'Dan because he is such an amazing vocalist and producer. Like when I'm in studio with him, he just inspires me and challenges me vocally to give 110%. He is really creative with vocals and I just feel like he understands how to pull out of me the best possible vocals I can give on a track. He actually vocal produced two new tracks on this upcoming project of which RUNWAY is one of them. I'll talk about the other song in another post.

Teddy P is a wizard at vocal arranging. He hears harmonies and vocal rhythms like nobody I've been around. He's just amazing. Like when I work with him and Jor'Dan, it's like being around royalty. Lol. We all sit in a room and just work through lyrics and possible melodies and hooks for the music until we all agree on something. It's like magical because it just flows. Teddy went to college specifically for vocal production and arranging. He's got a degree in doing what he does with me. He is the music director at his church and you can just tell he is gifted by God to do what he's doing.

Ok, so Lecrae is one of my musical heroes. I've been listening to his music for the past 8 years of my life or so and just love what he's doing. So when I was contacted by one of the Grammy winning producers from his album "Gravity" I was blown away that they wanted to make a track with me. I spent two days working with Tyshane creating the music for Runway. We did it via skype, so it was quite amazing to work piece by piece with him until we both agreed on the vibe the track would have. He is amazing at what he does and I think the final track you guys hear will show that.

So, like when I sit to write lyrics for music, I do a few things to get inspired. The main thing I do at first is to think of situations or issues I've been dealing with or know that people are dealing with around me. As you know, being an independent artist can be great but is also very difficult because you're never sure if you're going to be able to afford to continue making music and traveling and stuff. It's very time consuming and costs a lot of money to keep making quality music and touring. So the hope is that you either sell enough music to pay to keep doing what you're doing or that you find a label partner who will sign you so you can keep doing what you love.

Recently, like the past 6-9 months I've been exploring options to work with some labels and have been given some opportunities that could have really changed my life. One opportunity would have moved me to Los Angeles, which would have been awesome, but it was still a bit scary to know I would have had to move at 17 years old and not even out of high school yet. Again, awesome, but still scary.

So I wrote this song RUNWAY about knowing that my life could change at any moment because it seems that opportunities keep presenting themselves and could require me to do something completely different than I've had to do so far, or move away, or travel more and stuff.

The lyrics talk about going through change, but also always being ready to take off into the next phase of your life. I trust God as my guide to help me be ready for change and in the lyrics I really try to remind myself that I've always got God by my side.  Like the Bible says we aren't supposed to get worried about stuff, but it's hard. The Bible says sometimes we go through tests and other times we get blessed. So either way, I just know that I want to be ready for what God has planned. The idea of RUNWAY was like getting prepared for a new direction in life and being ready to go... on the runway ready to take off.

Here's the lyrics:

RUNWAY

I got my bags packed

And I ain’t looking back, No

Ain’t no more living in the past

I got no time for that

I gotta do what I gotta do

Gotta hit that

Runway, Runway, Ohhh

I gotta do what I gotta do

Gotta hit that

Runway, Runway, Ohhh

As long as I got you

Yeah

Tell me what’s keeping

Keeping me so stressed

I gotta give my all

So I can give my best

Can’t be afraid of

What may be next

Is it gonna be easy

Or is there a test

Cause I’ve

Learned a lot from my past, IQ

I ain’t ever looking back, Rear View

Still looking for a change, Brand New

Hands up to the sky

Gotta hit that

Runway, Runway, Ohhh

I gotta do what I gotta do

Gotta hit that

Runway, Runway, Ohhh

As long as I got you

Yeah

Runway, runway

Gotta do what I gotta do

As long as I got you

I won’t be knocked down

Finish line in sight

I’m on my way

Waiting to take flight

I’ll change my altitude

Take it to new heights

Can’t wait another day

I’m changing my life

Cause I’ve

Learned a lot from my past, IQ

I ain’t ever looking back, Rear View

Still looking for a change, Brand New

Hands up to the sky

Gotta hit that

Runway, Runway, Ohhh

I gotta do what I gotta do

Gotta hit that

Runway, Runway, Ohhh

As long as I got you

Yeah

Runway, runway

Gotta do what I gotta do

As long as I got you

Well you opened my door

I’m really wanting to explore

So show me all the reasons

That I can’t ignore

I lift off with an attitude

Cause I know there’s some things that I gotta do

Gotta

See things that I’ve never saw

Gotta

Reach my goals whether near or far

And I’m

Not gonna leave til I’m done

I’m taking a trip to the sun

Cause I wanna be where the stars at

They’ll look at me like I’m a martian

Gotta hit that

Runway, Runway, Ohhh

I gotta do what I gotta do

Gotta hit that

Runway, Runway, Ohhh

As long as I got you

Yeah

Runway, runway

Gotta do what I gotta do

As long as I got you

Anyway, I thought you guys might like to read some background about why I wrote some of my new tracks :)

I'll post another blog soon with the same thing about a few other songs I know will be on the new album.

2014 STUFF

Wow. It's been a long time since I wrote a blog.

So, for this year so far it's been pretty busy. I know it's already almost April and things have been just flying fast. So this is the stuff that's happened so far this year.

January:

• Got stuck in a winter storm in Chicago when trying to fly to Nashville for the TV taping of Season 5 for iShine Knect. I was there like 36 hours before I could leave. Had to get a hotel room by myself. Annoying but it was a first experience for me.
• Filmed the live concert footage for Season 5 of the show with two of my new songs "SPEAK LOVE" and "HEART LIKE YOU". Those won't be seen until like late this year or 2015. lol

February:

• Drove to Iowa and South Dakota for 6 concerts in one week. It was a lot of fun.
• Flew to Nashville for pre-production rehearsals for the iShine Spring tour.
• Had first weekend concerts in St Louis and Oklahoma

March:

• Finished up the iShine Spring tour on March 10 and finally got to come back home to rest a little.
• Finished recording #FAVAH in the studio and filming the rest of the official music video for it.
• Started writing new music for 2 more songs I'm releasing this year. (SOOO EXCITED ABOUT THESE)

NEW MUSIC:

Ok, so one of my fav things to do is work on new music and in the studio. I have one new song that is going to be KILLER and I absolutely can't wait until it's done. You guys are going to freak when you hear it. It's like probably my fav music track of all songs I've ever done and the song will be FUN. Think of the song HAPPY by Pherel combined with TREASURE by Bruno Mars combined with some awesome EDM.... and you're there. lol

#FAVAH is going to be released in April on iTunes and as an official music video.

I'm SOOO stoked about performing at the concert in Cincinnati on April 4. Mike, my backup dancer, is injured, so that stinks he can't perform with me this time. 

IN MAY:

May 10 I'll be performing live in NEW ORLEANS at the Joy Theater on Canal Street. It's a great opportunity as I will be co-headlining with some other main artists. So excited.

Well that's about the latest update I can give you guys.

Send me some emails and tell me about what's happening. SPENCER@SPENCERKANEMUSIC.COM

Later.

FANS AND CHAT

Ok, so ever since I started putting my music out there on Youtube, I've heard from fans that have said they like it and hope I never change.  When I asked them what that meant, they meant that most artists eventually get stuck up or think they're too good for the fans that helped them get popular.

Well, apparently some feel that's happening with me. So here, let me just help fans understand the reality of an artist who has a career that is progressing as they hope it will when they keep working at it.

First of all, there's only so much time to do everything that has to be done to have a career. I can only do so much in a 24 hour day.

I'm a...

• Full time student in public school even though I do classes online
• which means I have homework and studying and tests just like most kids my age
• Son
• which means I have a family where I spend time with family and try to have a family life
• which also means I do chores just like most kids my age. That includes my own laundry, make meals for myself, grocery shop (yes I do grocery shopping), cleaning house, doing dishes, you get the point.
• Friend
• I do try to have time to hang out with guys and play Xbox or play sports when I'm not busy doing other things
• Artist
• Yea, as an artist I have like a million things I have to do, which all take time
• practice new music
• voice lessons
• guitar lessons
• write new music
• record in a studio
• travel on the road
• package merchandise people buy and mail it out to them
• concerts
• media interviews
• make Vlogs
• make music videos
• chat with fans online (chat, twitter, Younow, facebook)
• skype calls to classrooms around the world
• dance lessons / rehearsals
• Actor
• which means I have to go to Nashville for TV filming a few times a year and learn scripts and stuff

So here's the deal. The more I do for my career to get better and perform more, the more fans I am getting. I do my absolute best to find time to talk to as many NEW fans as I can. When I have time, I talk to fans I've talked to before. But it seems harder and harder to find time to do that when my plate is already full of other things.

I'm not at all complaining about my life and schedule, but I'm hoping fans can understand when I can't reply to their questions or messages on social media. I do my best but I won't apologize if I can't reply right away or at all. Sometimes it's just not possible to keep up with.

I have a marketing manager who sorts through the hundreds of messages, emails and requests I get each week from fans. Some want answers, some want to chat, some want followed. It's just not possible for me to spend the time needed to answer or respond to all of them. I stopped following and unfollowing fans over a year ago. I don't handle that anymore. I just post stuff.

The problem is that because I am trying to be friendly and take time to talk to so many people that call themselves a fan of my music, I am assumed to be their best friend or close friend now. I am just me. I am a friendly guy who likes to laugh and chat when I can. I will always be that guy. But if it isn't with some fans as much as they want, I am becoming that artist they said they don't like anymore. A SELFISH AND RUDE PERSON WHO IS STUCK UP.

Honestly, I'm not apologizing for working hard on my career and the fact that it takes more time now than it did in the past. That's a good sign that things are going better because I have more work. I am not a casual YOUTUBER like a lot of singers. This is my JOB now. It's how I earn a living. It's how I pay to travel and give concerts. It's how I put gas in my car. It's my job. I love my job. I love my fans.

Before you judge an artist for "changing" or not being the same person they were before, think about "their" schedule and what it must be like having to balance it so they have some kind of personal time to enjoy what they are working hard to be.

So, I'm sorry that some don't understand all this and jump to conclusions about my character and personality. I am very concerned that I do my best to be humble and thankful for everyone who supports me. I'm just sad that because I can't connect with fans as much as I used to that I'm considered "changed".

CINDERELLA LYRICS

"CINDERELLA" - written by Spencer Kane and Avery Berman
Produced by Avery Berman
DOWNLOAD ON iTUNES or AMAZON MP3

I didn't know where you came from
I don't know where you went
Somewhere between coincidence oh
And circumstance
You had a smile like whoa
Heart of gold
where are you my heart is cold
I feel you there
Right inside
One day you'll be in my life
Hold you tight as I can
So you can't leave again
And all I want is for you to be
Cinderella

Slipping on these shoes
Looking for you
You're out there
Out there

Don't know what to do
We can't be through
You're out there
Out there

(2x)

You took me by surprise babe
How the time came and went
The universe smiled on us
But only for a moment
I can see it now
Minds eye
We can be the best pair
You and I
Every night
I see the same things in my dreams
Plays out endlessly
I hold your hand
Hold it real tight
Your soul lights up the world so bright
Then I wake up and It's not fair
I'll find you out there somewhere

I'm looking for ya (BKG)

I don't know where you are
Girl you're out there
You're out there
Girl I don't know what to do
I'm gonna find you
You're my Cinderella

Slipping on these shoes
Looking for you
You're out there
Out there

Don't know what to do
We can't be through
You're out there
Out there

(2x)

END

THINGS I LIKED / DISLIKED ABOUT 2013

So this year has gone by fast and I have a lot to be thankful for. So I thought I'd write a blog about a list of things I liked and disliked about 2013. Either way, I'm thankful.

• LIKED
• Touring with iShine Live this past spring
• Meeting a lot of #kaneiacs at my live concerts and public appearances
• My mom's successful surgery and 100% recovery
• Traveling the country
• A great relationship with a girl (not dating anymore... oh well)
• Recording some awesome new music
• My CD being released to retail stores in the USA
• My song "Blue Sky" being on radio
• Getting my driver license
• The sub and stereo on my car (1996 Olds 88)
• Meeting Lecrae and a lot of other awesome artists over the summer
• Still playing basketball even though I can't be on a school team anymore
• God helping my family through some tough things
• DISLIKE
• Industry people canceling things
• Concerts being canceled
• Unable to play team ball at school
• Being away from home so much and losing friends because of it
• Finding out that not all followers on social media are true fans :(
• Having to catch up on so much school because I travel so much
• Not having a regular social life to just hang out and have some fun
• Most of my summer was spent working and not chilling

I'm sure there are dozens more I could list, but this is what comes to mind right now.

How about you? What's been the best about your year?