On the Mountain | Synchronicities of a Connemara pony and songwriting

Show notes for the episode about the creation of the song, On the Mountain by Vickie Maris. Album: Another Universe :35 Hear a sample of the instrumental track for On the Mountain. :54 Songwriter Vickie Maris introduces the episode. Her co-hosts are: Michael Kelsey, recording engineer and producer; Scott Greeson, co-producer. 3:40 Music segue, "On the Mountain" 3:48 We're all connected to each other. Vickie talks briefly about synchronicities that happened in the writing and recording of the song. Increased awareness helped her notice these. 4:57 You can hear the studio-recorded version of On the Mountain out in Spotify. 5:05 Music video of a live performance of On the Mountain being played by Vickie Maris, Michael Kelsey, Scott Greeson, Courtney Von Drehle, Lee Anna Atwell and Greg Brassie. 5:47 Music segue to interview. 5:53 Vickie starts the conversation with co-hosts, Scott Greeson and Michael Kelsey. 6:05 Scott Greeson talks about the origin of On the Mountain and asks Vickie to tell the backstory. 6:35 On the Mountain is Vickie's second song she had written. 6:59 Scott, Vickie and Michael Kelsey talk about performing for their various senior banquets and breakfasts back in high school. 7:44 Fast forward 20 years and Vickie starts songwriting again. 8:01 Vickie sells her American-made Guild guitar when she lived in Iowa. 8:30 The backstory of On the Mountain and how it connects to Connemara ponies and a pony farm in the mountains near Charlottesville, Virginia. 13:46 Michael Kelsey talks about Vickie picking the right chords for writing On the Mountain; also his surprise that On the Mountain wasn't a part of the songwriting spurt for the album. 14:35 Michael discusses how the chords, melody and lyrics showed him what Vickie was feeling when she wrote the song. He responded with the guitar parts and other instrumental tracks. 15:25 Scott discusses one of the May rehearsals and his reveal that the song felt brand new. He mentions that this song was a precursor of things to come even though written years ago. "The soul of the songwriter that you are is reflected in that song. It's the birth of you as a songwriter." 16:11 Vickie shares about something her songs have in common. Spending time in silence each day; especially during times of stress. 17:00 Scott talks about Vickie's professional career in the corporate world and in academia. "It took the quiet time to discover who you are as a musician and a songwriter that's really reflective in this album. Then Michael helped you give birth to the songs." 17:39 Vickie reflects on an epiphany she had after a moment of silence about giving herself permission to be a musician first rather than saving music for the leftovers of her day. 18:50 Scott talks about Vickie's reflection videos that she created daily after spending 100 days of adding 30 minutes of silence to her daily routine. 19:30 You can find the playlist of reflection videos when you go to YouTube to the channel, Vickie Maris Team Development: 20:07 Vickie shares another synchronicity moment about the timing of the day Michael was working on the mix for On the Mountain, Vickie without knowing he was working on the mix, she had chosen to wear an old Connemara pony polo shirt. 21:30 Vickie's thank you to the guys for sharing in the conversation. 21:42 Vickie sets up the closing music - the practice session (recorded on a phone in the living room) of On the Mountain with Michael Kelsey, Vickie Maris, Scott Greeson and accordionist, Courtney Von Drehle. 21:56 Practice session of On the Mountain with one voice, three guitars and one accordion. Thank you for listening, and for sharing the podcast! Show co-hosts and album producers: Vickie Maris ... https://vickiemarismusic.com Scott Greeson ... https://scottgreesonmusic.com Michael Kelsey ... https://michaelkelsey.com