Judges
Beka Gurney - SpinTunes 25 Champion
she/they
Rebecca (Beka) Gurney (she/they) has been a songwriter and performer her whole life, with emphasis on folk, jazz, musical theater, and pop. She first entered Spintunes well over a decade ago (as Rebecca Brickley) when she was in college completing her music composition and audio production degrees. She was fortunate to make it to the finals her first time, but the true fortune was connecting with this incredibly supporting community of songwriters. One connection, Travis Norris (Governing Dynamics) became a frequent collaborator and close friend, and about 5 years ago the two of them formed the project The Alleviators. Though they’ve never met in person, they’ve now produced several dozen songs together and competed in Nur Ein as well as multiple Spintunes. Rebecca also has built a career in the music industry behind the scenes, first in radio and then touring as a concert promoter for many years before settling in Portland, OR. She now supervises box office for several venues and fundraises full time for the region’s annual chamber music festival. In her free time she plays open mics and occasionally composes music on commission. She is thrilled to be a judge and so grateful to the entire Spintunes community. When considering a song, her focus will be on lyrics, song concept and execution, whether it meets the challenge, and re-listenability. She’s a strong believer that simple can be better if it’s what best serves the song! She can’t wait to hear the new submissions.
Ian Blaylock
he/him
I've been doing online songfighting competitions for a long time -- I believe my 20 year anniversary of the first time I entered songfight occurred this summer! Before that, I cut my teeth on the review-for-review format of the old garageband.com, where basically you got guaranteed listens and feedback on your song in exchange for reviewing 15 pairs of other tunes that people had submitted in the genres of your choice. That was before they went bankrupt and the domain got bought for Apple's entry-tier DAW. Point is, for reasons I can't fully explain, I've been offering my opinions and very subjective advice on how to improve songs across a wide range of genres as a hobby basically my entire post-pubescent life.
I won judges' choice in SpinTunes 23, that was a pleasant honor.
I really like kite guitars, I've hand-converted an acoustic one, a 7 string electric one, and a 6 string bass and compose for them all the time. That's 41 notes per octave, a great framework for 13 limit harmony.
I write a lot of music, and am currently am collaborating with my bandmate and wife as BAANOIR, who entered Nur Ein. It's xenharmonic industrial music blending our brains in a yin and yang sort of way! Also my wife is Mo who is also judging and can often be found plucking her banjo in the living room. Our tastes overlap in some very specific places, but diverge in others.
Things I am a sucker for:
- GROOVE.
- Clever lyricism
- Inventive structure
- Exploratory harmony
- Adventurous chord progressions
- Adventurous chords
- Tricky rhythms
- That moment in a song that gives you that stank face
- Songs that sound like everyone at the show would be wearing black
- Songs that sound like everyone in the band is wearing a ten gallon cowboy hat
- Earworms (seriously, if I find myself humming your song in the shower, you will probably score extremely high provided you nail the challenge)
- Things I would desire to turn up loud in my car and share with nearby people in traffic.
- If I wonder 'wow how did they make this?' I'll probably give you points.
Personal disclaimers about my critical style:
- I legitimately appreciate nearly all genres of music. Music is amazing and sonic variety is the spice of life.
- I try to listen to every song at least 3 times before ranking it to give growers time to make their impact.
- I will overlook poor production if the song is amazing.
- I will overlook a sloppy performance if the song is amazing.
- If I don't think the song is amazing I will probably complain about poor production and/or a sloppy performance.
- I like songs that sound well thought out, be CREATIVE.
- Please don't be boring. If you're going to go long, make sure the song earns its length. If I start looking at the clock...sigh.
- If you want to address the world's problems in your lyrics: persuade me, make me feel, be a poet. Blunt ranty diatribe type songs typically miss me.
- Meet the challenge please. I HEAVILY reward songs that I think meet the challenge well, just as I HEAVILY penalize songs that I think meet it poorly.
- I try not to be mean. If I come across as mean, sorry. Text does not always properly convey tone.
Bonus pandering info for the sake of transparency:
- My YouTube Music history suggests that basically all I've been listening to all year is a crapload of Godflesh, Bab L'Bluz, Kidneythieves, Rochelle Jordan, Magdalena Bay, and 311.
- Make of that what you will.
Mo
she/her
Mo [she/her] hails from Central Appalachia with roots in the Pennyrile. She is a poet, published researcher, freelance editor, and SAHM. Mo resides in the Georgia Piedmont with her hydrologist hubby, three boys, and a teenaged feline.
Musically speaking, Mo is a banjo-frailin’ balladeer who hollers the postpartum blues (though occasionally humors a chugga-chugga power chord). She is currently pioneering an Irish tenor frailing technique dubbed “maypopping.” In her quiet time, she unapologetically practices her false fold grit and fry scream.
Mo’s musical bestie, aside from Mr. Mo, is a Gold Tone CC 17-fret Irish tenor banjo, “Pammie Jane,” named after her late aunt.
Fun fact: Bill Monroe once held li’l Mo on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. :)
Background Noise:
Mo was a USMC–honored trumpeter in her high school’s concert and marching band. She is trained on acoustic guitar and banjo (5-string and Irish tenor). Mo also dabbles on piano. Once upon a time, she could wail some Celine Dion on recorder.
Musical Influences:
The Everly Brothers
Darius Rucker (voice)
Timbaland
Trent Reznor / NIN
Sturgill Simpson / Johnny Blue Skies
The Cranberries
Lisa Gerrard
Heart
Rotating on Turntable:
90s alternative rock
folk
bluegrass
“BBQ rock”
old blues
cool jazz
EDM
old-school rap & hip-hop (first love)
Judge Mo’s Tips:
Add some surface tension to your art.
I need conflict in my music.
As an ear-trained poet, all for:
theme; compression; balanced wordplay; well-executed dynamics; integrated form-within-form.
Dare to suck.
“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” —Herman Melville
Don’t ever be ashamed (please) of your first language or accent. Love them all. Use your native embouchure. ;)
I’m a philomath. Teach me something new.
Rarely do I dock someone for having a well-applied and quirky sense of humor. Just know when and where to limelight your wit.
My fave songs tend to make me cry… or breakdance.
Mr. Mo says I riff toward 3/4 and 6/8… so, do with that what you will. 
The challenge is the trellis, not the vine. Show me you climbed it, but I’m judging the fruit.
Good luck, playas! 
Note: Despite being an “editor,” I do do make mistkaes; I’ma human. Pardon any possible typos in your reviews. I want to help you thrive because you’re probably cool. -Mo :)
Travis Norris - SpinTunes 5 and SpinTunes 25 Champion
he/they
Hello all, I'm Travis. I have been part of the Spintunes since the beginning and participated in every numbered contest as either a competitor or judge (I did miss a couple of the spin-offs) as Governing Dynamics (winning Spintunes 5). I am also one half of The Alleviators (winners of Spintunes 25). I have been playing guitar for 30 years and writing songs for just slightly less time.
In terms of musical taste I am ultimately a '90s/'00s alternative/indie rock type at heart (Radiohead, Death Cab for Cutie, MInus The Bear, RIlo Kiley, Neko Case, etc.) but I also enjoy selected classic country/jazz/metal/rap/and the dreaded and feared Adult Album Alternative in the right mood. Looking forward to hearing what you all come up with. :)
TRAVIS' FIVE TIPS (Of Dubious Merit) TO A SUCCESSFUL SPINTUNES
- Don't Let The Challenge Micromanage You.
- Chase The Best Song.
- Regarding Reviews: Take What You Need, Leave What You Don't.
- You Won't Remember Your Score In Three Months.
- Your Only Real Competitor Is You.
Paul R. Potts
he/him
Hello, folks! I am Paul R. Potts. Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now, he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. Wait, hold on… [record scratch]…
I’m a a self-employed, very-senior embedded software engineer who works from home and lives with his wife and seven kids in a library, in a garden, in the woods near Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan. I’ve been playing guitar, as well as a little bit of bass and keyboards, on and off since the 1970s. (That means I’m OLD now!)
In the 2000s, I was an amateur DJ, played guitar and Chapman Stick, and sang with a church group, and began recording and producing podcasts, but didn’t really do much with recording music until I was inspired by Jonathan Coulton’s “Thing a Week” project, and realized that if he could do it all by himself, I ought to be able to do it, too! I began to practice in earnest, and worked on a variety of covers, as well as some original songs for Song Fu and SpinTunes (as Common Lisp). When life became too chaotic to continue as a contestant, I participated as a judge for a time.
It’s been so long since then that one of my near-adult sons is now getting ready to write and perform his own original songs! Life has been challenging since then, what with moving, many more kids, many job changes, long COVID, and other forms of disability in my family. But we press onward as best we can. The things I can do, I continue to do, obsessively!
I’d say my music inspirations are wide-ranging, from yacht rock to progressive rock to psychedelic rock to blues to fold to jazz to rap to electronica to grunge to minimalism. When I was sixteen, I was listening to Combat Rock by The Clash and 2112 by Rush. Over forty years later, I’m watching concert clips of this new act on tour with a hot young drummer, Rush. What?
Direct influences on my own music include Robyn Hitchcock, Flight of the Conchords, Ed Haynes, Joni Mitchell, Indigo Girls, Peter Gabriel, Neil Young, Men at Work, Pink Floyd, and many others. My kids expose me to new artists all the time, like My Chemical Romance, 100 Gecs, 21 Pilots, Motionless in White, The Plot in You, and Wind Walkers. In turn I expose them to old artists like XTC and Nick Drake. There’s nothing truly new out there, but there’s also nothing truly too old to enjoy!
You can find my web site with links to things I’ve put online over the years here:
Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing what you will create for SpinTunes 26!
Support Staff
Matt "Shoobs" Schubbe - Graphic Designer / SpinTunes 3 Champion
Matt is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer based in Minneapolis who for years has created a brand-new album cover for each round of SpinTunes, as well as a talented musician who took the SpinTunes 3 title as half of Matt and Donna.
Tommy G - Listening Party Host
(he/him)
I've been doing listening parties for quite a while - going back over 10 years on YouTube and further for ustream, artificition, and other archaic, now dead streaming platforms.
Some background on me - I did comedy TV and Radio at college in the early 80's, which got me a gig as an Air Personality on several radio stations in the Northeast, landed at WHEB-FM in Portsmouth NH in 1985, producing the morning show, and doing comedy bits and skits as Boffo Yux Dudes for syndicated groups and radio stations around the USA. If you were listening to a morning guy in the mid 80's to early 90's, you probably heard us being the funny interactive voice with your favorite local DJ. BYD ended up doing a cable comedy show, appearing on Dr. Demento, and we were all over the place for a while in New England.
Then I worked in cable TV news for a while - shooting and editing a local news program, master control for regional news channel and working in PEG access. I directed a bunch of talk and interview shows for a college that won some awards.
Around 2008 I started back up with internet comedy and writing music with Allan Morgan and friends. I also would video YouTube musicians and met a bunch of people who didn't mind me covering their live concerts, which are scattered around on my YouTube. We entered a few shorts to film festivals, and once won an award for our video of a SpinTunes song!
I somehow got connected to Masters of Song Fu, and that led to the start of SpinTunes. I think around Contest 2 or 3 I began hosting the Listening Parties, and from there I kept adding more contests to the mix. I think I'm up to 4 regular ones now - SpinTunes, Nur Ein, SongFight and SomeSongs. I've also done a bunch of one off interviews and Record release parties if the artists request it, and helped edit the SongFight Video shows when asked.
I've been pretty lucky to meet so many cool folks over the years, and they tend to let me do projects and fun things with them. One of these days I've been threatening to put it all up on YouTube for people to check out. I have a few thousand clips and shows on there now that I need to go through and clean up. If you just listened to all the Listening Parties I've posted on YT you'd have to take a month nonstop to hear them all!
Micah Sommersmith - Contest Administrator / SpinTunes 14 Champion
they/he
I try to listen broadly and generously, and I love when a song surprises me, rewards close listening, provides a piercing insight, or simply tells a good story. My enduring musical interests include global accordion music of all styles, Sacred Harp singing, alternative and indie rock, choral music, and 60s folk. My personal songwriting heroes include Dar Williams, Stan Rogers, and John Linnell of They Might Be Giants.
When I'm not recording music and participating in online communities like SpinTunes, Song Fight, and Nur Ein, I can be found directing a church choir, playing accordion for young people, creating and solving crossword puzzles, and raising my three children.
No comments:
Post a Comment