First, My music would not have been realized without Reverbnation period. Now the whole story. In first grade, I ran away from school and headed for my grandfather's bait shop on Lake Erie next to a wildlife preserve near the town of Luna Pier, MI where I grew up on the Lagoons. Fishing, boating, hiking, skating in the winters. I learned about my heritage and history, the woods runners of the past, the French Canadian Metis, and Indian Interpreters, mission guides, fur traders and proud peoples of the America's, but most of all for me the love for nature. Of my oldest memories, seeing an Eagles Nest with my brother as my dad pulled us in a wagon on Morter Creek Rd. Monroe and laying in the same wagon under a shade tree on 6th street in front of our house in Monroe.
It would be 50 years till I saw another eagles nest. This time on Patcong Creek across the creek from a boat ramp a mile from our house in Linwood NJ. Where we raised our two children. In the majestic looking pines 1/4 mile away from the ramp I sat in the parking lot and wrote many of my hundreds of songs while one winter I watch as three eagles were raised to fledglings and take their maiden flights.
I wrote songs that came to me watching the nature around me, as the tide raised and fell as the wind blew and the Harrier Hawk hovered over the meadows. This would not be the first or the last of the Open Spaces even just in Linwood that I would draw from as I wrote and singed and even recorded my Naive Music. In fact, it was one of 4 places in Linwood I would frequent to inspire me to write. Linwood is on a peninsula with the creek to the West and the Bay to the East offered a unique place for wildlife. On the same road that I took to the Patcong Creek boat ramp I could go west to the bay, there another boat ramp on Seaview Ave. This one was out in the middle of the meadows with docks a mile from the ocean with a whole new set of creatures to inspire like the Black Skimmer, the Terrapin turtle, and the Blue crab, not to forget the Horse Shoe Crab. To the north in Linwood also on the bay near the Linwood Country Club lay another gravel road also protrudes into the meadows, here away from any activities of the boat ramps more solitude and shyer creatures like the Glossy Ibis and Blue Herron would hang out. But to use a phrase from the Goonies there was one other special place, the place where it "All Began" My "Field of Dreams".
First, let me tell about a Gazebo I built just before my daughter had been born but she had yet to be visited by my Mom and Dad after her birth, You've heard "build it and they will come" so I did. and written on the sides at the top it says " Welcome father field of Dreams" "Build it and They Will Come" and they did. but for me, there was another dream this time about an adjacent property, and in the dream, I was told this would be a park with a split rail fence in front, but as most dreams go it was forgotten until I realized I played a huge part in bringing it into existence and making it my "Field of Dreams" for I was to spend a solid year cleaning up the contaminated and overgrown property and the next ten doing everything from weed whacking and planting grass and Hostas to raking the stone from the old Oil Company Turn around and fueling dock to terring up the old chip creat (Thin Ashfault type Road) as I worked I started writing my songs, I was to bond with a hawk that frequented the area even thogh this was an old industreal site there overthe past 30 yearts sitting idil as a contaminated site many trees grew such like the Walnut that spreed out un impeeded. in fact, the birds had obviously spread their seed among the almost all fruit-bearing trees such as the Mulberry and Wild cherry, of course, the squirrels making there mark with the Hickory and the oak and walnut also. of note, a duckling that I suspect was a resident of an adjacent property when finding herself homeless after her nest was destroyed by landscapers showed up at my house a block away was to bond with me and follow me around as I worked.
Now almost 15 years have passed. I've probably written nearly 400 songs, the park in my dreams was realized, as are the songs and the rest is history.
when I started I had no Accompaniments to the songs, then I found Mixcraft. Mixcraft is a Digital mixing and accompaniments software from Acoustica. I started by adding simple additions then beat matched and multiple instrumentals. I tried even at the start to trick the ear because being without any musical training I could only try and match melodies, that's why I call my music naive not because of the lyrics but the simple way of making it through digital and computing equipment. Although my lyrics did evolve from more simple one to what can be described as stories, fables, rhymes and folk music. and to the end, I come but not finish completely just finish for I am reminded by some of Jesus last words " It Is Finished" because no matter what happens this day forward I have made my mark. It wasn't for the sake of the music I built the park it was for the sake of the park my Music was realized so no matter I will always have my Music and because it was realized as digital medium it can change and evolve digitally so someday not only beat matched but melody matched and as long as Reverbnation wants me it will spread throughout the world and that is the last word on that Kevin C Lajiness 6:24 pm 12/23/2017
