Summary
...As you might know by now, I’ve been helping to sponsor a small portion of @pechichemena’s #coverasteemian initiative. I set aside $100 SBD ($10.00 SBD each) to the first ten artists to cover any of my original songs. I can’t tell you what a thrill it’s been for me. It’s the best $100 I’ve ever spent! My #coverasteemian challenge only has two places left, so after next week, it will be a bit sad for me not to open my weekly Top-5 without one of the many honorable covers I’ve been sharing with you here.
I would highly recommend approaching @pechichemena the same way that I did, and offer your own challenge similar to the Passion-Ground Challenge so as to attract people from all across the world to cover and share in your music.
Having @pechicemena host my challenge has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done on Steemit, and it ain’t over yet as I also plan to reciprocate in covering other Steemians in kind. Do check out @pechichemena’s blog for details about participating in the #coverasteemian initiative, and ask him about hosting your own challenge like I did.
This week’s shout-out is rather interesting because three unique and talented artists all decided to cover the same song of mine, “Full Circle.” I love each and every rendition, and each of the artists brought something quite special to the mix. So, before we move on to the regular business at hand, do check out their individual interpretations of my song.
https://steemit.com/coverasteemian/@nathankaye/ggf98hij
Below is the original.
VOTE for These WITNESSES
Before we move on, please don't forget to vote for @Pfunk, @Ausbitbank, & @Teamsteem as witnesses! All of whom are our biggest supporters who play major roles in helping to run, fund, curate, build and expand the Open Mic contest. You can vote for each of them right now by going to this link: https://steemit.com/~witnesses!
The number of extremely talented artists continues to grow here at the Open-Mic Venue! Artists continue to raise the bar in offering up some outstanding original music, interpretive renditions, all with top-notch productions and performances. So with that said, following some further insights as to how I judge, let’s get it on, shall we?
Steemit Open Mic Week 79
My Process
As one of the esteemed Open Mic judges, it is my job to come up with (or “curate” as it were) a short-list of my top 5 entrants each week. With all of the great talent here, that is by no means an easy task. Sure, tossing in another 5 honorable mentions helps, but not when my weekly list starts out with 100 or more of my favorite entries... You guy's rock - I'm tellin ya!
Yes, I am a Libra – so I have an inherent drive deep within me to be fair and balanced – good qualities for a “judge” if you ask me. That being said, I’m still human – filled with emotion and subjective feelings – just like you. So, in order to mitigate my subjective tendencies to the best extent possible, I’ve come up with a method by which to narrow down my selections in a more objective vs. arbitrary manner.
Here’s how I go about my personal judging process: I first start out with a list of 100 or more of my most favorite entries for the week, and score them (yes, subjectively) in six distinct categories via a spreadsheet. The categories I’ve selected for scoring are in general harmony with those explained by @luzcypher in his post titled How We Pick The Top 3 Entries, referencing such.
To get a more in-depth perspective as to how I personally go about selecting my artists, please refer to What I go through as an Open-Mic Judge.
Even though it’s still a “subjective” process – diligently going through each scoring category to come up with a “total” score for each entrant helps to minimize any overzealous subjectivity that I may harbor with respect to any specific entrants.
Quite often, this exercise doesn’t give me the exact results I would personally prefer to see – but that only means that my system of judging is working as intended and designed. With all of that said, here are...
My Top-5 Picks in Order
There is no doubt in my mind that Danny is a pro-musician / singer-songwriter. I just love this impromptu live version of “I’m Going Home” (including strings) from a recent recording session. Given all of the above, there was simply no keeping Danny down anywhere beneath my number one pick for week 79!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@dannyhamilton/steemit-open-mic-week-79-i-m-going-home-danny-hamilton-original
Wow, written in just a day! Time notwithstanding; Darren has assembled a rather impressive composition here. The slow steady build he creates in concert with the gripping and dynamic melodies resident in “Reflected In Your Eyes” was everything it took for me to place this most outstanding entry in my #2 spot for week 79.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@darrenclaxton/steemit-open-mic-week-79-original-music-by-darren-claxton-reflected-in-your-eyes
Here, albeit his first post of sorts, we have a rather familiar face who has been an integral part of the infamous entries of @pedromrmourato. Here, the assumed author of this composition is the bass player, @paulobassman – and if my assumption is correct, man, what a song he wrote! In my view, bass players are some of the most underrated artists within the realm of music. Without them, the bottom falls out; however, we often take their structural interest and integrity for granted. When you click play to listen, keep an ancillary focus on the baselines here, and just imagine how empty and bottomless the song would be without them. Aside from all such nuance, this song rocks!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@paulobassman/steemit-open-mic-week-79-you-ve-been-there-original-song
I really identify with these guys in that most all of my musical development occurred in tandem with – and right beside my biological brother. These guys, however, are in a class of their own! Together, their brilliant lyrics, elegant melodies, blissful harmonies, and their clear familiarity with one another here in “The Drifter” make them true standouts amongst the most talented and skilled artists.
https://steemit.com/openmic/@gonetroppo/steemit-open-mic-week-79-the-drifter-by-the-hinds-brothers
Okay, so we’ve got another “newcomer” here and man is she ever-so welcome! Her bandmates have provided her with a most effective musical backdrop for Norma to express her soulful and passionate lyrical passages with the utmost of effect. I loved this rather intimate expression of soulful rhythms quite a lot, and I’m sure you will too!
https://steemit.com/openmic/@normamanly/steemit-open-mic-week-79-kick-in-original-song
My Top-5 Honorable Mentions in Order:
First: @yenibe – "Yessell Los Compas" - (Cover)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@yenibe/steemit-openmic-semana-79-yessell-y-los-compas-la-muerte-cover
Second: @nathankaye - "Nobody's Slave, Nobody's Master" - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@nathankaye/steemit-open-mic-week-79-nobody-s-slave-nobody-s-master-collab-w-ben-lee-nathan-kaye
Third: @vera.carla – "Just My Luck" - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@vera.carla/steemit-open-mic-week-79-just-my-luck-original-song
Fourth: @wilins – "Universo" - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@wilins/steemit-open-mic-week-79-universo-cancion-original
Fifth: @marysemciver – "The Sun & The Moon" - (Original)
https://steemit.com/openmic/@marysemciver/steemit-open-mic-week-79-first-ever-steemit-post-the-sun-and-the-moon-maryse-mciver
Thank you for reviewing my selections for this week’s Open-Mic contest. If you find this content I’ve curated entertaining and of value to you, then please consider up-voting and/or re-steeming it.
Peace, Love, and Justice for All
A Very Special Shout Out To:
The following 20 artists who were very much on my radar, each within a splitting hair of making it into my overall top-10, and whose performances I loved, cherish, and respect most assuredly. This special list is very much an extension of my most honorable mentions.
They are - in no particular order: @theflorescents, @beeflomein, @trevorpetrie, @hijodelsol, @rodrigocabrera, @uvalunera, @jaredkhamanah, @lostgalaxy, @ilazramusic, @johannesburghart, @mightyjoenolan, @raliczfealk, @lisamalletart, @javierdunn, @danieldyemusic, @lincolnofblood, @chrisgoans, @chaifm, @abelfernandez, and @juliolunar!
Another Special Shout Out To:
The following artists whose performances I very much enjoyed this week. They are - in no particular order: @pechichemena, @lorey-bero, @cezanne, @senzenfrenz, @mrprecious, @dominiqueguitars, @roman.musica, @ikasumanera, @shelbi, @futuremind, @itinerantartist, @trxyvn, @gibber, @honeymoon-1611, @mcmusic, @miguelarl, @operahoser, @tarotbyfergus, @jumpmaster, @aidarojaswriter, @chrisroberts, @beethoven10, @andreamaestre1, @markaustin, @teukurobbybinor, @camuel, @drewley, @movingroovin, @premmlinbass, @wethepatsies, @martinsandersuk, @popsoz, @graceleon, @leomolina, @melbookermusic, and @juliopalomo!
Much love and thanks to each and every one of you who have touched a part of my heart and soul - not only this week but forever!
Thanks for all your hard work and continued support @passion-ground and for making Open Mic such a fun community.
My pleasure, Luz! I love this place!
Thank you so much for the Special Shout Out! i'm really glad that you like the performance that i did on this week's openmic entry, see ya on the next weeks and thank you so much for your work.
You are most welcome, @ilazramusic - thank you!
Great list as always sir!
Thanks so much for the honourable mentions for both myself and also for the awesome @marysemciver too!
3 interpretations of Full Circle? You see, something magical about it resonates, mate. Glad you appreciated my little rendition of it anyway.
Bless ups!
Thanks, mate! Your lady is phenomenal! I suppose we all cross paths with the "magical" every now and then... I most certainly appreciated your one-of-a-kind rendition of my song. Thanks again, Nathan!
Hey mate! Thanks for the top 5 slot this week!
I really enjoy your musical descriptions of the songs!
Cheers for your ongoing support with my music!
Your friend
Darren
Simple as they are, I'm so pleased that you enjoy my quick takes on each of the selections... Thank you, Darren!
Hi @passion-ground, I write this comment regarding what you commented above. I think you're a remarkable person that is helping to grow the musicians community. But I take this oportunity to complain about some changes about the rules of this #coverasteemian initiative. Some people took the challenge to participate in covering one of your songs. It was an opportunity for those people to truly show talent in a way, and the 10SBD you promised to the first 10 users were going to fullfill something in their creative projects. Then, @pechichemena changed the rules, and now the first ten changed to the Top 10.
That's plain wrong. I think when a contest rule is set, is to be honored.
So, I hereby complain about it, because it's not ok to change rules just because.
Thank you @metalmag25 for your kind words and concern. We are all trying to do good things here for the right reasons, and sometimes in that process, lines of communication get a little skewed. I stated clearly to Pechiche in my initial comment thread that the 1st 10 entry's that "he deemed worthy" would get the rewards. I did this because this is Pechiche's initiative, and I trust him 100% to select first 10 covers that we all could be most proud of. As such, aside from the possibility of some slight misunderstanding, you can rest assured that there were no rule changes. Thank you for understanding, my friend. Much love. x
No hard feelings @passion-ground. It's necesary to bring this points into account to prevent any misunderstanding in the future. When talent contests like this come out, the word gets spread very fast as lots of musicians want to be heard in this plataform. They will read the post, and there is a chance that they won't read the comments below. So, the rules have to be very clear from the beginning. When word gets spread with info that is not precise, things like this happen. Hope this helps you guys in the near future.
Peace out.
The 10 entries were always set to be selected , I'm sorry if there was a mistake in language but I clearly talked about the rules with Passion privately and the entries were going to be listened and selected one by one , I can only say I'm sorry for the misunderstanding but there was never any intention of my part to change the rules in my convenience and especially ''behind the back'' of @passion-ground as you are implying here. The whole point of the #coverasteemian initiative is to support and showcase the talent of artists , I've been supporting and sending SBD to many participants of my own money as I fund the regular cover a steemian initiative on my own. Passion approached me and supported me and we made this little contest which we discussed step by step and week by week so I can assure you there was no ''changing of rules just because'' here. Greetings.
In this post, you said the First Ten would be selected:
https://steemit.com/@pechichemena/cover-a-steemian-actualizacion-31-03-2018-nuevos-covers-transferencias-y-song-pool
Then this was the first update, with part of the title RULES UPDATE, and it changed to the 10 selected, as you said:
https://steemit.com/@pechichemena/cover-a-steemian-update-02-4-2018-new-entries-rules-update-song-pool-update
The rules were, in fact, changed. Either it wasn't clear (a misunderstanding due to language) and you updated the rules, or you chose to change it in order to get more people to participate.
It's too much of a coincidence that before this update, about 10 covers were posted, and the first 6 were already awarded, and the last 4 were not. And the day after that the rules were updated and 2 days later you mentioned the high volume of participants.
I recommend you guys to put the rules step-by-step the same way that you guys discuss them then. Misunderstandings like this keep talented people to participate away because they think this is rigged.
Think about this logically. If it were simply the 1st 10 without regard for quality or substance, the challenge would amount to nothing more than a simple race to a very low-quality finish line, and that is an end that no one wishes to be part of. Instead, the intent was always to select the first 10 "highest caliber" entries so as to bring out the very best in everyone participating. It is an artistic challenge - not a race - and nothing is rigged. I'm certain Pechiche will emphasize this logic in future challenges of a similar sort. Thanks again for your concerns @metalmag25.
Thanks for this "welcoming" Shout out! It's great to be back!
Cheers!
Wow thanks so much for the honourable mention! I’m really happy you dug the vibe of the song & feel grateful to have the support. Thank again.
You are quite welcome, Mary! I loved your performance this week and can't wait to hear more from you!
hugs @passion-ground.
a lot of love and health for you.
Likewise, my brother, thank you!
Thank you for the shout out
@passion-ground
Much love!
@futuremind
My pleasure, bro - thanks for the great entry!
Hello, good choice, all the chosen ones are very good, really, yes and I hope some day to be in that list hehehe regards
Thank you, Karen! :-)
Thanks again @passion-ground!!
Thank you, Daniel! I always look forward to your music, brother!
Thank you @passion-ground for the support. I've received the award and i feel so happy about it!!!
Hughes
I'm happy too! Your performance was awesome, thank you! x.
Thanks for the top 5 vote :) All the best!
You're quite welcome - you guys were great this week!