December 2013

I thought I would get one more post out before the rush of the Holiday Season is upon us and we all get busier than usual. My wish is that we all find hope, peace and love throughout this wonderful season.

Today, here in south central Pennsylvania, we had over 5 inches of snow and more cold weather is predicted. Thus, I am at the computer finishing last minute business and getting song books and CDs ready for mailing. But...that is not all I have been doing. Over the last 2 days I have been recording a new CD. I had the piano tuned yesterday morning, and have been sitting at it since. It is driving my father-in-law crazy as he has to be relatively quiet while the recording is going on, and the dogs can't bark, and no turning wood at the lathe, no sneezing etc. etc. etc. But for now I am taking a break, shoveling snow and working in the office.

The new CD is tentatively titled "Coming Home", and will probably have 14 songs on it. As you can tell, the CD creation process is rather fluid. I have most of the songs recorded now, but still have one day to go so I can polish up a few that I think I can play better (there is always room for improvement). It takes a lot of concentration, and my fingers actually have to work, following the directions my mind gives them. There are those occasions when my heart and mind play music my fingers simply can't keep up with. I try though. My forearms get a little tired from playing hours on end. And even though my brain holds up pretty well, sometimes I have to think, what note comes next? Of course when the song is in progress, and the recorder is running, there is not much time to think what comes next. It's best not to think, to just trust my fingers to go where they need to go. Most of the time that works, but sometimes not so much.......

I also have been working on transcribing some older material and will have the complete CD "Wind Chimes" done and available in a spiral bound book within a month or so. I saved the hardest song for last (what a surprise), so I am working on that now as well. This has always been my most popular CD and the one I have the most requests for, so hopefully it will be done soon.

There has never been a better time or more frustrating time to be an independent musician. The internet has changed everything about the music business. For anyone interested in the inner working of streaming internet radio- here is a breakdown of how they pay.

Pandora pays .0012 cents per play, or .12 cents per 100 plays
iTunes pays .oo13 cents per play (min. 20 second spin) or .13 cents per 100 plays
Spotify pays $0.00966947678815 per play
Sirus FM is insignificant
Amazon takes 55% of all sales
Internet theft is rampant. One of my transcriptions had 10,000 free (stolen) downloads.

I guess the moral to this is if you want to purchase something from a musician, please go directly to their website. Support your local musician.

That's most of the news for now, I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday and I will write more after the first of the year. Watch for the new CD and song book!

Take care!
Greg Maroney

November News 2013

Hello my music friends!

My wife and I have been enjoying the wonderful fall weather here in south central Pennsylvania, USA.  This is one of my favorite seasons, not too cold yet very invigorating.  The trees have been showing all kinds of beautiful colors, yellow, red, brown and gold abound.  The garden growing season is done.  I know those of you in warmer climates are still growing tomatoes, but the cold nights in our area put an end to growing about 2 weeks ago.  I will have a few photos of the trees on our property on my Facebook page within the next few days, take a look if you are interested.  They are very beautiful.

Now on to some music news.....

With the advent of colder weather, I have been spending more time at the computer transcribing sheet music.  There are many individual songs finished and up on the website.  We mark them as "new" so they would be easier to find as the list is getting quite long.  Also, two spiral bound song books, "Hope Resides" and "The Christmas Collection" have been finished and are in the office ready to be shipped.

I am still working on a new CD and hope to start recording it soon.

The biggest news is I will be playing at the Whisperings Solo Piano Awards Concert and Ceremony in Anaheim, California in January.  This is quite an honor and should be a wonderful concert.  A mix of pianists from the Whisperings Solo Piano internet radio broadcast will be performing, so this will be the largest event we have hosted thus far.  It would be great to meet some of you at the performance.

When: Sunday, January 26th, 2014 at 3:00 PM
Where: Avenue of the Arts Hotel (Grand Ballroom), 3350 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. (Just 3 miles from the Orange County Airport)
Here is the link for tickets:
www.solopianoawards.com

I will be traveling with Michael Dulin in the LA area around this concert, so if anyone would like to host a house concert or knows of a good venue to perform, I would like to hear from you.

Three concerts are coming up next weekend in the southern states.  I will be visiting Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.  It should be a lot of fun, I will be traveling with Joseph Akins and Philip Wesley.  Both are excellent pianists.  Details below:

The Spring Hill House Concert Series
Friday, November 15th, 2013
Philip Wesley live in concert with Greg Maroney! - 8pm
Spring Hill Tennessee 37174
Price: $10-$20
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/401259
This is a private house concert, so reservations are required.

Birmingham, Alabama
Saturday, November 16th, 2013 2:30 pm
Featuring: Philip Wesley, Greg Maroney and Joseph Akins
Where: Alabama Steinway Gallery, 1425 Montgomery Hwy #151, Birmingham, AL 35216
Ticket Information: This is a free concert with a suggested donation of $15 (adults) or $10 (students). No reservations necessary. Just show up! General Admission

Atlanta, Georgia
Sunday, November 17th, 2013 2:30 pm
Featuring: Philip Wesley, Greg Maroney and Joseph Akins
Where: PianoWorks 2805 Buford Hwy, Atlanta, GA 30096
Ticket Information: Tickets are $8/$15 in advance and $10/$20 at the door
http://whisperingsatlanta.brownpapertickets.com

Well, that is most of the news so far.  I hope to see you at one of the performances!

With much respect and gratitude for supporting this music,

Greg Maroney