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October 4, 2010

One and The Same Update & RadioStar

Sorry it has been so long since I have sent an update on the fate of ‘One & The Same’ & everything else musical.

I am very happy to say that ‘One & The Same‘ made the top 55 in in Canada out over 700 songs for the David Suzuki Playlist for the Planet Contest. Unfortunately, it wasn’t selected to make the final top 11 in Canada. I am so pleased it did as well as it did… and couldn’t have done so with out the help of all my friends voting every day on CBC Radio 3.  Thanks again!!!

This qoute sums up my feelings:

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” ~Michael Angelo

On to my update for today. This afternoon I attended the Canadian RadioStar Songwriting Workshop held at the Park theater in Winnipeg. Not only did I receive a live panel critique of ‘One & The Same’, but as well took away some amazing songwriting tips from Dan Hill. For those of you who don’t know Dan is one of Canada’s true songwriting geniuses, who has penned songs for the likes of Celine Dion, 98 Degrees, Brittney Spears & 100’s more. The advice I received WILL make me a better songwriter and I can’t wait to show YOU some of the stuff I am working on. I also was able to meet Renee, of Keith & Renee, the artist(s) whose song ‘The One‘ ended up being one of the Playlist for the Planet Winners. Congrats again Renee and it was great meeting you.

Lastly, I have selected my next two songs to go into the studio with; The River Runs & Three Guitars. These are two very different songs that will reveal two completely different sides of my writing! I will be trying to get into the studio over the next several months and so look forward to updating you soon.

Thanks a million for your support and make sure to post your thoughts as a comment and or send me an email to stay in touch.

Cheers,
Lee

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September 1, 2010

Round 2 Voting for Playlist for the Planet

(In about 20 minutes) 06:30 am PST Wednesday, September 1st Round two voting for David Suzuki’s & CBC Radio 3’s Playlist for the Planet officially gets under way. Please keep reading as I need YOUR help over the next week (explain more at the end)…

With over 750 songs entered in the contest & after all your voting in round one, ‘One & The Same’ has made the top 5 songs in Manitoba & with your help this week it could be chosen as the number one environmental anthem in Manitoba, and be put on the Universal Music album being released this October! All proceeds from the sale of this album will go to help saving our planet through the David Suzuki foundation. Our children deserve to inherit a healthy planet!

For the next seven days please  vote once per day to help ‘One & The Same’ go down in history as an environmental anthem next to such great artists as Joel Plaskett, Bruce Cockburn, Broken Social Scene, k-os, Gordon Lightfoot, Randy Bachman (with Sarah McLachlan and Nikki Yanofsky), DOA, Tom Jackson, Johnny Reid, Raffi, LIGHTS, Jessie Farrell, Rush, the Trews, Great Big Sea, and Tanya Tagaq.

Here is how you vote:

1. Please go here & vote once per day for  ‘One & The Same’ until  Wednesday,  September 8th: http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/polls/?pollId=73 (Login if you have already registered as a free member or take 2 seconds to signup)

2. If you want me to keep you up to date & hear how this all turns out please enter your name & email on the left side of this site or select the ‘Become a Fan’ button this page: http://radio3.cbc.ca/play/band/Raito/One-and-The-Same

3. Please share this with anyone & everyone you can..

Lastly, I can’t thank you enough as I couldn’t have come this far with out you & all my other friends!!!Now, lets go & win this thing!

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August 24, 2010

One and The Same FAQ

Did you write One and The Same specifically for the Playlist for the Planet contest?

Yep. June 25th, 2010 I started writing the song while my daughter Grace was in the bathtub (It’s our semi-regular Daddy Daughter routine & where I have written many of songs)! I have no doubt that my three daughters, and thoughts of my my future grand children, are the reason this song came together so quickly. Within 5 minutes, I immediately could hear the violins, female duet & everyone singing along in my head.

I made the decision right then and there that I would do whatever it took to get the song completed for the contest. From there it took a little less than 4 weeks of part time studio work & an awesome producer engineer by the name of Len Milne (Bedside Studios, Winnipeg) to bring One and The Same to life.

Who is that amazing female singer that comes in after the first verse/chorus?

That would be the amazingly awesome Samantha Rech. She is my voice coach, who just happened to owe me about an hour & a half of back lessons. So I convinced her to sing on my song instead of rescheduling more lessons. I’m so glad she agreed!!!! You can find out more about her on her MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/samantharech

Who are all the people singing along in the last half of the song?

I love the fact that almost every musician that played on the song also lent their voice for the gang vocals (truly amazing musicians & Winnipegers). The most amazing part is that I was also able to get my Mom, Dad & Mother In-Law to participate in the group sing along (more stories about that for another time:). It’s one of those small things that I can pick out in the recording that makes me smile. If we are going to save the planet, just like this song, we have to all take ownership, regardless of race, generation or gender, and come together and have fun saving ourselves! I truly believe we can do it.

What musicians play on ‘One and The Same’?

Lee Raito– male vocals & two acoustic guitar parts.

Samatha Rech– Lead Female Vocals

Len Milne– Electric Guitar, Egg Shaker, Engineer & Producer Extraordinaire

Blaine Badiuk– Violin

Todd Lesage– Drums

Travis Hauge– Bass

As more questions are asked I will be happy to answer them. I’m just so happy that people have connected with this song and want it to win Playlist for the Planet. Regardless of whether or not it wins, this song makes, and will continue to, me think every day before I make decisions that might impact our environment and planet earth. This song & our earth are part of your an my legacy! You and I really are the world, One and The Same, it is up to you I to sing along and save her.

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August 19, 2010

Voting Now Open for Playlist For The Planet

I’m so bloody excited about this song I wrote & recorded, that I have rewritten this  5 times. Words can’t describe my excitement & I just want as many people as possible to listen to it.

Why?

I entitled the song ‘One & The Same’! I wrote it as an environmental anthem, specifically for a contest called ‘Playlist for the Planet’ and I have never, EVER, wanted to win something so bad in all my life! I’ll admit that wanting to win for the potential fame was & still is a little part of it, but there is zero fortune to be made for me personally. If my song wins and is selected to be on the Playlist for the Planet Album, ALL PROCEEDS for its sale will go to the David Suzuki Foundation. (David & his organization are the ones that are truly helping to save our planet!)

When you listen to the song & the lyrics I think you will understand even better… I think you’ll love it.

Now What?

1.       Please listen to the song here http://radio3.cbc.ca/play/band/Raito/One-and-The-Same

2.       To Vote for ‘One & The Same’ you will need  take 3 seconds to register for the CBC Radio3 site here http://radio3.cbc.ca/membersignup or LOGIN if you have signed up before

3.       Then go here to Vote for ‘One & The Same here: http://radio3.cbc.ca/polls/?pollId=69 (It’s about half way down the page) Everyone is allowed to pick one song they like per province, so if you end up having fun with this go for it as there are a ton of great new artists you will discover.

4.       Go back here: http://radio3.cbc.ca/play/band/Raito/One-and-The-Same & click the Become a Fan Button at the bottom of my page.

That’s it!

If you like the song and the contest it represents please forward this to your friends, family and or contacts.

Thanks again for your vote,

Lee

PS. I’ll be back in the studio again sooner rather than later.

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August 11, 2010

One and The Same Featured on CBC Radio3

I must say I am excited and truly honored. One &  The Same has made the Weekly Featured song list for David Suzuki & CBC Radio3’s Playlist for The Planet contest. Voting for the contest starts in 4 days… so much, much more to follow soon 🙂

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July 23, 2010

One and The Same

Officially released my first (independent) single ‘One & The Same‘:

Again, I wrote this song specifically for the David Suzuki ‘Playlist for the Planet’ in hopes of making a small difference in this world that we can all choose to save. If you connect with the lyrics & music please take the time to sign up on the CBC website as a fan and FAVORITE the song ( for now it is only available on the CBC website)!!!

Click Here To Play Song

(On the CBC Radio 3 website Please sign up as a fan, click the fav button, & share with everyone in the world who might owe you a favour:) Voting starts August 15th….. so I’ll be hitting everyone up again then.

Thanks to the following people for making this song come to life:  Len Milne (Producer, Engineer & Various Instruments), Samantha Rech (Wicked Female Vocalist), Blaine Badiuk (Fiddle Player), Todd Lesage (Drums),   Travis Hauge (Bass), Gang Vocals (Wally, Sam, Blaine Travis, Todd, Mom, Dad, Anke, & all my imaginary friends!

Now, time for a well deserved break and road trip with my girls….

Cheers,

Lee

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July 16, 2010

Studio Work Almost Done

The last musicians are scheduled in for this Monday evening (violin & female vocals). It is going to be utterly wicked hearing ‘One & The Same’ as a completed song including bass, drums, guitar, violin, female vocal harmony & gang vocals!

I have been taking a few pictures in Studio, so will be posting them soon along with crediting all the amazing musicians who have contributed to this project.

We should be mixing & editing by mid-week and sent off for mastering by later this week. If all goes according to plan, I’ll have the song uploaded to the CBC website, competing in ‘Playlist for the Planet!’ well before the deadline.

Next step, getting everyone ready to vote the song up starting August 15th!!!

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