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This may amount to nothing at all but the possibilities could also be beyond imagining. With every opportunity that shines more light on our efforts as performers, entertainers, songwriters, artists we never really know what may come of the exposure. Every step toward our goals moves us ever closer.

Yesterday I received a call from a reporter with the Wall Street Journal about one of my newest songs, "Wall Street Bail Out Blues". He's putting together a story idea about those who have written songs about our economic situation. He found my song via the video posted on YouTube and wants a chance to talk to me about it on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to this. It's not every day that I get someone who works for an international news outlet seeking me out to talk to me about my songwriting. I must be doing something right.

Songwriting is the newest of my pursuits in this musical exploration. Having my own songs to sing has given me an enormous sense of completion and satisfaction. I write from a less than 'educated' perspective, with no specific training in the art. Instead I allow my intuition to guide my efforts. My songs have been touching folks and rewarding me with continued opportunities to bring my music to places I've never imagined.

I posted the lyrics here in one of the song lyric forums but surprisingly received little response from anyone here at JPF about it. I also added a post about it in this success forum when it was caught on video just a few days after I wrote it but again that post seemed to receive little attention. I'm not complaining about my efforts being ignored here, where there are so many talented folks sharing their success stories and songwriting skills. I'm just amazed that my song managed to find its way into the ears of someone clear across the country, who I didn't know. I had no idea that the WSJ would even be interested in such things and perhaps, as I started out this note saying, this might all turn out to be little or nothing at all but I hold firmly on to the hope that my efforts are not in vain and who can say where it will all eventually lead.

Stay true to your dreams.

Reg

cool, I remember watching your video, just didn't comment about it. Wish you luck with it.

Good blues Reggie. I like the WTO rant. Good luck with your interview. Ask 'em what happened to the $.

Louis,

Thanks for your note. The video was an early version of this song. It was only 3 or 4 days old at the time the video was captured. I was still trying to memorize the lines and formulate the guitar part at that time but I was happy just to have any version of the song out there for folks to hear.

I did the interview with the Wall Street Journal writer over the phone yesterday and he mentioned that the article will be finished in about a week and that he'd send me a link to it when he had completed it. I'm looking forward to reading it. I couldn't get a clear idea from him of exactly what direction he was going to take with his presentation but I hope the tone and perspective of it is something that will be worthy of adding to my promo. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

It isn't the cover of the Rolling Stone but this is definitely the biggest official press outlet that has shown attention to my efforts at this musical pursuit. Given that this publication is read by folks across the planet, I'm hopeful about the possible impact.

Reg

Hi John,

Thanks for posting your comments. Sorry I didn't catch your post before the interview. So, I couldn't offer your question. For this interview, I was actually answering his questions more than he was answering mine.

Thanks too for checking out my blues and your kind response. I really enjoy playing used blues. Now I have some of my own new blues songs to share too.

My song about the WTO was difficult to write. I have one fan from western Europe who told me that he thought it was the greatest protest song since the 60s. He got very concerned when I pulled it off my MySpace page to make room for some of my newer songs. He wrote me to ask whether 'the man' might have pressured me to remove it. I tried to explain that I was just making room for some of my newer songs but he seemed certain that I wouldn't get around to reposting it online. I informed him that I would soon be releasing that song on a CD of my social messages, "War Mongerin' Man" but even this could not sway his angst. To placate his desire to listen to the song I posted it to my EZ Folk website and then later added it, once again, to my MySpace page. Rabid fans are nice to have.

I went to that WTO rally where everything got so scary with the authorities, teargas and police brutality. It wasn't a pretty picture of our democratic system in action. I saw how the press was used by the powers in place to give the whole event a black eye and how they offered skewed televised reports and imagery to bolster support for their use of violence against those who were peacefully protesting.

The media even went so far as to manufacture false evidence when their cameras could not easily find acts of vandalism. Yes, that's right, I was witness to the camera crew that actually produced it's own evidence of totally manufactured fantasy vandalism at the event. It was absolute fiction. They then pumped that footage over the local airwaves via their outlets every chance they got, to create a false picture in the minds of the viewing public about what was going on in downtown Seattle that day.

I guess creating fantasy and manipulating the truth is all a part of being involved with the media. Perception can be easily altered when you hold all of the means to produce and air information. Media bias can easily be controlled by those holding the reins of power to meet their ends. It's a sad state of affairs.

Hence, my WTO song, in its first draft, wasn't a very nice statement. I began writing it that same day, as I was running back to where I had parked my car, trying to avoid the ever spreading blanket of riot gas that the authorities were using to punish those involved with the protests. I had a good portion of it done by the time I reached my car. I bumped into a friend of mine who was nearby and offered what I had written. He suggested that the expletives that I used might not be appropriate and offered some alternate expressions.

I was upset at having witnessed what I had that day but so were a lot of other folks, who not only witnessed it from afar but found themselves on the frontlines of the whole mess.

Again, thanks for listening.

Reg

Big Congratulations Reggie...You've been supportive of many here over the years!!...Continue to shine....

best..
Kaley

The YouTube video of my song Wall Street Bail Out Blues caught the interest of Wall Street Journal writer Rob Tomsho. The article starts on the cover of Friday's paper and finishes on page A8 where a photo of me is featured.

Here's a link to the article and an interactive page that feature a brief clip of my song taken from the video.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123387724064054525.html#articleTabs%3Dinteractive

I was surprised that they used an even larger photo of me on this page and even more surprised that he mentioned me right after Neil Young. Mentioning Woody Guthrie's work in this piece was also a nice surprise. Being included in an article with so many other performers of note makes this an extra nice piece of promo.

Sawwwwwwwwwww ya later, Reg vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

http://www.ourstage.com/epk/reggiemiles <- My Electronic Press Kit at OurStage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zhCgPY2Wyo <- These Old Shoes on YouTube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCdWEHqZJuw <- Wall Street Bail Out Blues on YouTube!

I've just learned about some additional international press that I've received and will receive from Wall Street Journal writer Robert Tomsho's recent article, "No Dough in the Do Re Mi". Besides being featured on the cover of the WSJ on February 6th, his article, about contemporary songwriters who have taken on the recession, was also released on February 11th in the European edition of the Wall Street Journal. (I didn't even know that the WSJ had a Euro edition.)

After seeing the article in the Euro WSJ, the French news magazine, Courrier International, decided to include this piece in their next issue. Their weekly publication reprints news stories from all over the world. Their art department contacted me requesting photos to use with their reprint of this story. I offered them the same image that was originally published with the article.

I, of course, am both thrilled and amazed at the coverage that my song, "Wall Street Bail Out Blues", is continuing to receive via Robert Tomsho's article. Who'd a thunk, that after all these years of being ignored by the main stream music media and being denied attention by entire genres of music enthusiasts, labels, agents, agencies, festivals, bars, restaurants and yes, even some coffehouses, that I'd finally get more press than I could shake a stick at via this unusual source? You can knock me over with a feather.

It appears that synchronicity and serendipity are working hand in hand to favor my choices. I've got to be doing something right!

Congratulations. An avenue to success. I wish the best for you.

Tom

Fabulous Reggie, I'm just going to add one more listener to the list...I'll post feedback!

Hi, watched the clip and listened. Right on the nail.

Check out:

http://www.caledonian.ac.uk/politicalsong/global/contactmaps/index.html

and contact John Powles
your song really deserves to be listed there with your story of hitting the wall street journal pages.
Centre for Political Song Project Manager

E: J.Powles@gcal.ac.uk

Glasgow Caledonian University
Cowcaddens Road
Glasgow
G4 0BA

Hey Kaley! Many thanks for that vote of confidence.

Thanks for your comment too Tom!

A Gun Called Maria, I appreciate the link. I ran across that site many years and several computers ago and have since lost track of it. I was surprised when visiting there and checking out some of the songs that there was a song posted there that was very similar to a song that I had recently written. It made me wonder if someone had loosely copied my lyrics to post them to that site.

My song was one that I had written when our country's leaders pushed David Paulison (presently the head of FEMA) into the national spotlight for the first time by asking him to speak to us about the threat of dirty bombs raining destruction upon us. The answer to this horrific threat, that he was instructed to impart to all of America, went down in history as being one of the biggest jokes of the century. You'll recall that he told us to go out and purchase duct tape and plastic sheeting to protect ourselves. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to write a song about it, especially when they went to so much trouble to make it so easy for me to write it. I came up with my song, "Duct And Cover".

I'm not discounting that there were probably plenty of others across the planet that might have been similarly inspired and inclined to write about the incident but it just seemed as though the parallels were quite close to my own ideas. Maybe it was just a case of great minds thinking alike. In this ever-increasingly connected world of ours it's not hard to imagine that folks might get similar viewpoints about what's happening around us.

To everyone following this thread, here's an update. I was invited to play my song for a local cable access show, Marley Walker's "Blues To Do Show on SCAN TV, channel 29/77 in Seattle. I received a copy of the captured video from them on Monday and I immediately posted it to my site at OurStage. Except for some minor audio noises, I like the way it turned out. My string broke, but good fortune was on my side, as it snapped in two on the very last strum of the song. There was a great studio audience on hand that evening too with lots of positive feedback to share. You can view the video via the player at my site. Enjoy!

http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/reggiemiles

And here's one more bit of news. I was invited to perform at a local event, The Moisture Festival at the ACT Theater in Seattle. While I was preparing to get on stage, I was asked by one of the producers to offer my Bail Out Blues song as part my brief set. This performance was also captured on video. I hope to have that video to share with everyone shortly. There was a wonderful audience on hand during that show too.

Thanks for your support!

Reg

I'll check the link. The Moisture festival! Sounds wet!

With political songs I think it is very easy to have a similar take on the same subject. It's a good thing someone else is thinking the same as you...you've got a political alliance gpoing on there. Well it is good if the politics is more important to you than the sonwriting/singing...