Battle of the Bands Results - When I Write the Book

One of my favourite musical artists is Huey Lewis. I've gone to no less than four or five of his concerts. Which ironically enough, is about the same number of concerts I've gone to for Diana Krall. But, I digress. I'm sure you are more interested to find out the results of this current musical battle (as if you have not guessed already).

The battle started with an immediate leaning towards Huey Lewis. Arlee gave the first vote for Nick Lowe, but the rest of the votes in the first round went for Huey Lewis. John led the voters, followed by Dixie & Chrys.

The second round was shorter but still went in Huey's favour. Robin & Mary for the News and Michele for Nick.

The third round changed things up a bit. No, not because the majority of the votes went for Nick Lowe, but because they were all for Huey Lewis. A complete sweep thanks to Debbie, Pat, Shady and Stephanie.

The fourth round went exactly as the third. One vote for Nick and two for Huey Lewis. In other words, mike vs diedre & Stephen.

One doesn't have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce what this all means.....


Winners - Huey Lewis
With a final score of 11-3
Congratulations to Huey Lewis & the News


This battle, I asked fellow BOTBers about their origins of joining the BOTB. Here are the...
Top Comments

John Holton - My first Battle of the Bands was September 1, 2014. Arlee invited me. The song was "You Really Got A Hold On Me," and the competitors were Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (the original group), The Beatles, and She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward). There was one vote for She & Him, and the rest went to Smokey Robinson.

Arlee Bird - When I saw STMcC and FAE doing BOTB I asked if they minded if I joined in since this is something big in my realm of interests. BOTB is now my favorite thing to do on my blog. Well that and A to Z. My first BOTB was "Down By the River" between Neil Young and McKendree Spring. Neil Young won that round. That post was on August 30 of 2013. Wow, going on 3 years at this now!

Dixie@dcrelief - What was your first music battle? Who won? "I Open My Mouth to the Lord," won by an unknown choir. What inspired you to join? Pressure from "the sexiest man alive" (namely, Stephen T. McCarthy!) Really!!! What date/year did you join? January 01, 2015

Robin - Well, your questions sparked a whole lot of scrolling through old blog posts. I knew my first Battle of the Bands was The Star Spangled Banner, but it didn't come up when I searched it. Don't ask. I don't know why. I did indeed tag it. Turns out that was September 1, 2013. I don't recall how exactly I joined. I think I left comments on FAE's and StMc's blogs about joining in. I really don't remember any longer. Anyway, the contenders were Madison Rising and Jose Feliciano and Madison Rising whooped poor Jose. I could've chosen much better. I like to think I've learned a lot about picking better footage, but I still have contests like that... so I don't know.

Mary Burris - I knew my love for spreadsheets would come in handy one day! …. it was shortly after the A to Z Challenge that I discovered the BOTB. I honestly don't recall exactly who's blog it was that it was, but I fired off a message begging the BossMan (Mr McCarthy) to let me join in all the fun. Not wanting to duplicate someone's battle, I opened up my excel and went back to the very beginning of time - the very first battles that FAE and BossMan held, and started tracking all the songs and contestants, adding in new participants as they came along. I didn't track winners or losers (except for my own personal battles). This spreadsheet has come in handy for me. When I have a thought about using a particular song or artist in a battle I consult my spreadsheet to see if it's been done before. Of course, I'm not able to predict or see who is in upcoming battles and such, but it has proven to be helpful to me when planning my own battles, as I like to have them written in advance. My first battle took place June 1, 2015. The song was "Baker Street". I really wanted the Foo Fighters to be a contestant, but for some bizarre reason I was not able to find a video that was playable in the USA at that time. So my contestants ended up being Game Theory and Waylon Jennings. Waylon received 11 votes, while Game Theory received 8

Michele Truhlik - I had to go back in my blog archives to find my first battle and guess what? I missed my 1 year anniversary! I didn't even realize I'd been doing this for a full year already -- I started on May 15th 2015. My battle was the song Without You pitting Badfinger against Mariah Carey. Interestingly, the votes came in at a tie so my vote was the tie-breaker and I voted for Mariah (though it pained me to vote against Badfinger). Arlee Bird was the one who invited me to participate too!

Debbie D. - You joined exactly one month after I did. Arlee got me hooked as well. First BOTB was "House of the Rising Sun". The White Buffalo beat out Frijid Pink. There's a BOTB compilation page under "Music Muse".

mike spain -My first battle was a day late on 7.16.14. The song was Dead Flowers by the Rolling Stones. They won against Blues singer Samantha Fish and songwriter Townes Van Zandt.

Stephen T. McCarthy - (What was your first music battle? Who won?) - It was BEBEL GILBERTO Vs. BEBEL GILBERTO on the song 'AGANJU'. And Bebel Gilberto won. And lost. She had recorded the song twice with two drastically different arrangements. I wanted to illustrate how important arrangements can be in making or breaking a song. So my very first Battle was designed more as an "object lesson" than it was designed to be competitive (which it wasn't, no surprise to me).
(What inspired you to join?) - HA! Well, I didn't really "join". I "began". But everyone already knows that story.
(What date/year did you join?) - Started on August 1, 2013.

Shady Del Knight - My first battle took place May 1, 2015, and was a three way contest with Petula Clark, Peggy Lipton and Billie Davis performing "Wasn't It You." Pet Clark won the contest by a three vote margin.



Please note: My next battle will be July 1st.

Once again, thanks to everyone who stopped by and placed a vote.
Come back again for a new battle June 1st
Who will you vote for?
What song will I choose?
Which artists will battle it out?
Stay tuned.

Don't forget to visit the other participants in the Battle of the Band to see who won their battles.

FAR AWAY SERIES (We miss your battles!)
STMcC PRESENTS 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS'
TOSSING IT OUT
JANIE JUNEBUG RIGHTING AND EDITING
YOUR DAILY DOSE
MIKE'S RAMBLINGS
CURIOUS AS A CATHY
DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS
THE DOGLADY'S DEN
CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE
ANGELS BARK
QUIET LAUGHTER
BE_REINVINTAGED
THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING
JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE
eViL pOp TaRt
HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS


Are you currently in the BOTB and don't see your name in the list above? Let me know in comments and I'll include it.

Battle of the Bands - When I Write the Book

When I write the book about my music battles, today's date is going to have some importance.

Exactly one year ago I joined the Battle of the Bands community. I've seen members come and go, but one thing has remained constant, the battles have continued to be interesting, inspiring, informative and fun.

Special thanks go out to:
FAE / Far Away Eyes - For starting all this madness. (She has since stepped down from the music battles).
Stephen T. McCarthy - For keeping and maintaining the battles. What would we do without him?
And the Arlee Bird - Who, whether he realizes it or not, was a big encouragement for me to join in on the fun.
But! The biggest thanks goes to YOU. Without so many stopping by to listen and vote, this feature would not have lasted as long as it has.

So on to the battle!
Last year, I began my music battles with the song 'Giving It All Up For Love'. It was the version from Huey Lewis I was most familiar with but it was actually Philip Lynott's song.

This year, I decided to use Huey Lewis covering another song.
Last year, Huey failed to beat the original artist. Can he do better this year?
YOU DECIDE!


For reference only: (MY FIRST BOTB)
Huey Lewis vs Philip Lynott - Giving It All Up For Love

BATTLE OF THE BANDS
The two musical contenders for this Battle of the Bands are below.
Please listen to both and tell me who you like best.

Nick Lowe


Huey Lewis


Those are the two contenders. Ignoring the actual videos, who do you think performs the song best? I collected the two bands to battle it out, now it's your job to vote on your favourite. Please list your preferred song choice in the comments. Additionally, let me know why you feel the way you do. Voting ends on the 22nd when I'll cast my vote (if needed) and announce the winner in a separate posting.


Additional Questions for BOTBers:
What was your first music battle? Who won?
What inspired you to join?
What date/year did you join?

Additional Questions for everyone else:
Besides a wedding or birthday, what anniversary to you pay special attention to?
Have you ever considered joining BOTB? (We would love to have you).
When you hear a well known song being performed by someone else, do you immediately dislike it or do you try and give it it's own merit?


If you enjoyed this Battle of the Bands feature, don't forget to visit the other participants in the Battle of the Band to see what sort of music they are featuring. You will certainly be entertained, so click on their links below.

FAR AWAY SERIES No longer providing, but shall remain at the top of the list in honour of what she has started.
STMcC PRESENTS 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS'
TOSSING IT OUT
JANIE JUNEBUG RIGHTING AND EDITING
YOUR DAILY DOSE
MIKE'S RAMBLINGS
CURIOUS AS A CATHY
DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS
THE DOGLADY'S DEN
CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE
ANGELS BARK
QUIET LAUGHTER
BE_REINVINTAGED
THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING
JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE
eViL pOp TaRt
HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS

Are you currently in the BOTB and don't see your name in the list above? Let me know in comments and I'll include it.

Battle of the Bands Results - I Only Want to be With You

After a half month blogging break, I came back with a battle I thought would be a lot of fun. I chose a flash-back 60's song, and it was well received. Unfortunately, my battle was not much of a battle. Once again, the votes were largely one sided.

The entire first round went completely to Nicolette Larson. Arlee, Debbie, diedre, and Mary all decided the vocals of Larson were better than the sync sound of Samantha Fox.

The second round was also quickly over. Cathy was the sole vote for Fox this round. Cherdo, eViL pOp TaRt and John sided with the first round majority.

Would the third round provide Samantha a chance to catch up? Alas, no. Another complete string of votes for Larson from Janie, Michele, Shady and Stephen.

Yes, the battle was over quickly. Even with a fourth round draw between the two performing artists, the die had been cast. Two unapologetic votes for Samantha Fox from Dixie & Guilie versus two Nicolette Larson votes from Birgit & mike. It was another landslide victory for this battle's winner.


Winners Circle
With a final score of 13-3
Congratulations to Nicolette Larson


Top Comments
Debbie D - That's a real 60's classic. I'm picking Nicolette Larson's version. Samantha Fox's techno-pop style doesn't appeal at all.

Mary Burris - I am a bit surprised at myself as I thought I would be giving my vote to Samantha Fox. but it turns out that I enjoyed Nicolette Larson just a little bit more.

eViL pOp TaRt - Dusty Sproingfield was a real talent - sorely missed! Both Samantha Fox and Nicolette Larson sound good; but I'll give my not to Nicolette. Neither really had to do cheesy covers.

Shady Del Knight -Neither version of the song presented in the contest is what I would call remarkable. Nicolette Larson has a pleasing voice but, at least on this recording, it lacks passion and fire. However, I disliked Brit girl Samantha Fox's version because it was formulaic, run-of-the-mill 80s synthpop, pretty average and ordinary.

Dixie@dcrelief -Both versions are good so this is a tough choice for me. Nicolette Larson is smooth. In fact I like her version better than Dusty's. However ( a formal word for, 'but')... I really liked the speedier version of Samantha. I'm in the minority that likes Disco... (and offer no apology.)

Guilie Castillo - I know I shouldn't, but I'm going with Samantha Fox and her disco sound. Like Dixie, I'm not going to apologize for it—although, as a rule, disco isn't one of my favorite genres, but this one won me over. It may have to do with the fact that the version of this song I know best is a cover by Mexican (well, Puerto-Rican, but he insists he's Mexican) singer Luis Miguel... We just can't get away from the 80's, can we? ;)


Please note: My next battle will be something special. Maybe not the song so much as the..... Well, just stop back on June 15th and you'll find out.

Once again, thanks to everyone who stopped by and placed a vote.
Come back again for a new battle June 1st
Who will you vote for?
What song will I choose?
Which artists will battle it out?
Stay tuned.

Don't forget to visit the other participants in the Battle of the Band to see who won their battles.

FAR AWAY SERIES (We miss your battles!)
STMcC PRESENTS 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS'
TOSSING IT OUT
JANIE JUNEBUG RIGHTING AND EDITING
YOUR DAILY DOSE
MIKE'S RAMBLINGS
CURIOUS AS A CATHY
DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS
THE DOGLADY'S DEN
CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE
ANGELS BARK
QUIET LAUGHTER
BE_REINVINTAGED
THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING
JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE
eViL pOp TaRt
HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS


Are you currently in the BOTB and don't see your name in the list above? Let me know in comments and I'll include it.

I.W.S.G. (10) - Making Time

I took the rest of May off from blogging with one goal in mind. Get more writing done! Can anyone guess how much writing I actually got done? Class, anyone? Anyone? Hardly any at all.

Why is it, I take a month off, and I still can't get any writing done? It's not like I don't want to write, I do. I'm just starting to think blogging is not the problem I have in writing. Neither is having a writer's block. I have the story I'm working on already mapped out. So why is it so hard to find time? Well, I'm not so sure that's the right question. I'm starting to think it's not making the time and sticking to the time I've mapped out. I have a hard time when a friend invites me over, or suggests we do something to tell them I've already got plan. If I tell my friends the reason is because I'm writing, I worry they will not understand I'm ditching them to do something personal. And not just something personal, but something (they think) I can just schedule any time. For the most part, I can't schedule any time. Most week nights are so full of things I need to do, I don't have much time to write. Weekends are better, but that's generally when I'm called upon to go out and do something. I need to get a better handle on this.


Goals and such:

Old Goals:
Find test readers for my story.
So far I have one person expressing interest in my YA story. The next step is now to actually follow through. If anyone else is willing to be a test writer for a YA story, let me know how I can get a hold of you to do so. I will do all I can to return the favour.
Go Blogger-lite:
I failed in this. Well, I didn't fail, but the reason for wanting to go blogger lite (get more writing done) was a failure.


New Goal:
Find a new writing schedule:
I need to find a non-negotiable time, earmarked for writing only.


My Encouragement:
The question isn't "what are we going to do," the question is "what aren't we going to do?"  - Ferris Bueller


Questions to ponder:
Am I doing myself a disservice by not sticking to personal plans?

Have you ever scheduled time to write only to do something else because someone 'requested' you to do something 'fun'?

How do you handle those situations?

I have some family/friends who don't realize how important writing is to me and act as if I'm wasting my time. How can I show them I'm serious?  
Signed, Willing Writer 
(For fun, give your best Dear Abby response)


* * * * * * * * * *

The Insecure Writer's Support Group posts the first Wednesday of every month. Please follow along as my fellow writers and I relate why we feel insecure, or read as we help encourage others suffering from insecurity.

Are you an insecure writer? Why not join the group? Find out more information via the group HERE.

The site is founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh - Thanks for all the support!

Battle of the Bands - I Only Want to be With You

Firstly, I'm back! I would like to say I used the time off to get a LOT of writing done. I would LIKE to say that, but it wouldn't be true. However, I have been able to get a lot of projects done at home and I DID do a little writing. Not as much as I would have liked, however.

Secondly, I apologize for having done so many song battles in the past centred around the 80's. I endeavour to be more diverse and expansive. As such, I'm offering today a Dusty Springfield song. It's a great song from the 60's. I think you will like both versions I have provided. I was shocked to discover how many people have actually covered this song. So many in fact, it was difficult choosing the two I actually wanted to use. There were at least two other versions I was interested in using.

Anyway, I'm back as I said before. I hope you enjoy this battle!


For reference only: Dusty Springfield - I Only Want To Be With You


BATTLE OF THE BANDS
The two musical contenders for this Battle of the Bands are below.
Please listen to both and tell me who you like best.

Nicolette Larson


Samantha Fox


Those are the two contenders. Ignoring the actual videos, who do you think performs the song best? I collected the two bands to battle it out, now it's your job to vote on your favourite. Please list your preferred song choice in the comments. Additionally, let me know why you feel the way you do. Voting ends on the 30th when I'll cast my vote (if needed) and announce the winner in a separate posting.

Additional Questions:
Are you familiar with either of the combatants? Like or dislike?
What is your favourite Dusty Springfield song?
Do you have a 60s band you love the most?

For anyone who missed the results of my last battle - New York State of Mind
You can find the results posted: HERE

If you enjoyed this Battle of the Bands feature, don't forget to visit the other participants in the Battle of the Band to see what sort of music they are featuring. You will certainly be entertained, so click on their links below.

FAR AWAY SERIES
STMcC PRESENTS 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS'
TOSSING IT OUT
JANIE JUNEBUG RIGHTING AND EDITING
YOUR DAILY DOSE
MIKE'S RAMBLINGS
CURIOUS AS A CATHY
DCRELIEF - BATTLE OF THE BANDS
THE DOGLADY'S DEN
CHERDO ON THE FLIPSIDE
ANGELS BARK
QUIET LAUGHTER
BE_REINVINTAGED
THE SOUND OF ONE HAND TYPING
JINGLE JANGLE JUNGLE
eViL pOp TaRt
HOLLI'S HOOTS AND HOLLERS

Are you currently in the BOTB and don't see your name in the list above? Let me know in comments and I'll include it.