5 Questions
with...
1. If I knew absolutely nothing about Daryle Ackerman,
how would you describe your music to me?
-- I now approach music from a songwriter’s
perspective, basically writing almost everything on the piano and then
arranging the music with what makes best sense from there. About the time
I commenced “Attention to Detail”, my brother-in-law offered
that “the most important thing to a song is how well it’s written” and
that idea stuck with me off and on throughout the creative process. So
basically my music is works of art that were honest snapshots of how I
felt at a certain period of time and hopefully those pictures resonate
with listeners both now and in many years to come.
2. If I were to buy your new album Attention to
Detail,
what songs should I pay particular attention to and why?
-- That’s a hard question, not only because
certain songs may speak to me more than others and on a personal, subjective
angle, but also because, for me, the songs that speak to me change
from one set of songs to another over time. But I would have to say
that “Sarah” has an engaging chorus and clever verse lyrics.
Also, that song “breaks the key” (as I phrase it, what
band teachers call using “accidentals”) and for me that
is an advanced piece of songwriting trickery which I find to also be
clever.
“Sarah” also changes time signatures at the end
of verses, breaking into 7/8 from 4/4 and going back to 4/4 in a natural
way that may possibly fly over most listeners’ heads – including
mine. I dig the two-part, then three-part, harmonies in “The
Mississippi Flows” and enjoy its soundscape, particularly when
there are four instruments (not counting bass nor voices) going at
once, those being electric piano, electric guitar, organ, and acoustic
guitar.
3. When did you know music was for you?
--
I think the turning point for me was the summer before about grade 9, in
1989, when I was at
camp and one of the adults had a Yamaha DX-7 there. Being pretty young, I
was fascinated by the different sounds that that beast could conjure up.
That experience is what led me to eventually buy my first professional-level
keyboard which I used in a band I was in. By grade 12, the plan for me was
to study computers at a post-secondary level so that I could sustain myself
but behind that the real intention was to eventually break into music professionally
If I could.
4.
What was your worst on stage experience? What was your
best?
-- The worst on-stage experience was with the aforementioned
band, when we stopped performing a song mid-way because our on-stage
monitors (speakers) weren’t working properly and we couldn’t
keep things together. One of my best on-stage experiences was with the
same band when we were performing an eight minute song and I played a
part at the wrong time, but it ended up working, so both the singer and
myself commented on how we like improvisation when we got off stage.
Another positive experience was when I played with a jazz band at a night
club in Vancouver, BC and improvised along with a jazz piece, which went
over well both with the band and with the audience. Finally, every intimate
performance of my “Sonatas from ‘on High’” pianoforte
material has been well-received.
5. Do you think that the Internet (whether it be Internet
radio, legal downloading, MySpace, streaming audio, etc.) is a good tool
for musicians or is it a bad thing because it hinders profits?
-- I think that there’s two sides to that coin
and honestly don’t spend much time pondering the pros nor cons of the
music electronic evolution in which society now finds itself. With the prevalence
of the ipod and other music players, it’s fascinating to me to see
way more music listening in public than there was some years ago. It’s
like the rebirth of the Sony Walkman, only this time I think that it’s
popularity is here to stay! My hope is that, if people enjoy my music but
got it illegally, that eventually they will do the right thing and purchase
it properly, either be it on CD or as a legal download.
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