In memory of Blue Lang
Blue was a great Songfighter who was active in the community in the '00s. His musical output was prolific and his talent was prodigious. Blue was a community builder. Blue interacted with everyone, n00b or old-timer, equally and with what some found to be brutal honesty. But Blue was never ill-intentioned. He wanted you to be better. He wanted you to help him be better, and the way he knew how to do that was by calling it how he saw it, without ego, without animus. Blue gave countless Songfighters tough love, becoming like a schoolteacher you thought was the coolest and wanted to impress. It happened with all kinds of young Songfighters, many of whom are now grizzled Songfight veterans. That was the power of Blue's reviews, which in later years took on a mythical reputation.
But in truth, he was just a dude who loved music, loved collaborating, loved improving and loved watching others improve.
Gearfight
In the early days of Song Fight!, site updates were erratic and unpredictable, and there could be long gaps between fights. Blue's personal solution was to create a side fight he dubbed "Gearfight" in which he'd offer up a prize, he'd pick a winner from the submissions, and that song would win its artist that fight's prize. Gearfight prizes started out being all kinds of musical equipment or related equipment that Blue had lying around (I wouldn't be surprised to find that he cannibalized my sonofsupercar pedalboard for this haha) but in later fights, would be whatever Blue wanted to give. A six pack of his favorite soda. Whatever, it wasn't about the prizes, it was about the community. Blue would also often give prizes not necessarily based on which song he thought was best, but who could really use the gear he was giving away the most.
sonofgearfight
sonofgearfight is a new side fight that intends to capture not just Blue's spirit of generosity in giving away prizes, but also his generosity in reviewing. sonofgearfight will have guest reviewers who have been asked to review with their own tastes, knowledge, and experience, but in the spirit of Blue Lang: direct, honest, but constructive criticism. (Some people thought Blue could be cruel; YMMV of course, but many thought he called it exactly as he saw it, without ill intentions. He just had really strong opinions, and also a wealth of songwriting, music, band forming, and production knowledge.) These reviews will have no impact on the prize-winning aspect of the fight. They are just this fight's way of trying to contribute to Blue's legacy in a fuller way.
The Rules
Each sonofgearfight, a donor will provide a prize. That donor will also be the sole judge, deciding which of the submitted songs piques their fancy such that it deserves the prize.
Each sonofgearfight will have a title prompt and an inspiration prompt. The inspiration prompt is not a challenge, it is not mandatory, but is there to help provides ideas and creative sparks for those who need/prefer them. Hopefully they will be inspirational for all contributors.
Other rules are subject to change, and the format itself may evolve. The current intention is to run a new sonofgearfight each month. If you would like to be a donor/Prizemaster please PM mo on the bulletin board.
We hope that all of you will contribute, collaborate, and make music together. Take the opportunity to dive into Blue's catalog of music. For those of us who knew him, let's celebrate him by keeping this spirit alive. For those of you who didn't know him, we hope this will be a great way for you to get to know a great friend.
