So you’ve given vent to that incessant string of words that has been rattling around in your brain for some time. You’ve actually sat down and written the words out (when no one was looking). Now that they are before you, they seem alone and naked. You realize there are other thoughts and words coming, so you add them, and before you know it, you’ve written at least a semblance of a poem and quite possibly a song. (If you play an instrument, you might think in terms of a song). If you’re a professional songwriter, this is very good – you’ve got more material for your catalog.
If you’re not a pro, though, what do you do with it? Is this perhaps a heartfelt missive to your current love interest, a testament to your parents or an expression of a spiritual or religious feeling? Have you thought about recording it? Maybe this is a secret dream you’ve had for a long time, and it’s something you’ve really wanted to do, maybe for the family, maybe for posterity, maybe just because.
If you have no truck with the music industry, don’t know anybody in it, and don’t have a clue what to do next, you might consider contacting Lexington native John Heinrich, who has started a demo studio in Nashville to take care of just this situation. Getting the song produced can be a wickedly expensive road to go down, if not confusing and even sometimes overwhelming. If you think you might want to record it, but don’t know a thing about how to get it done or what it would cost, Heinrich is the one to call.
John Heinrich (Photo by Rick Malkir)
Heinrich, with his new business, Songwriter Demo, located on the outskirts of Nashville, is probably one of the most uniquely suited and energetic people you could find to do a project like this. I’ve known him for years as a musical dynamo who rarely stops moving – always busy at something, and with a personality that is so positive and uplifting that you can’t help but feel at the top of the world when you’re around him.
Due to an incredible lifetime of mixing with the biggest and the best musicians and songwriters, along with acquiring all the needed equipment, learning the technical know-how, garnering plenty of studio experience, playing instruments himself and bringing people together, Heinrich has developed a great service specifically for the purpose of producing demos (and videos) for regular people at unbelievable prices, especially compared to industry standards. He is especially interested in Kentucky because of his ties and due to the tremendous musical talent available in the state.
How much money are we talking about? How about a standard package: 5 instruments, i.e., drum, bass, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, piano and a male or female vocal, for $325! Talk about a great present, whether you want to make a demo or give someone else a gift certificate, to get one done!
This has been a dream of Heinrich’s, who said he always felt he had a special sense for music. From the time he was a young fellow, he said he had been aware he had an innate ear for it. Although technically from Poughkeepsie, NY, Heinrich’s father moved the family to Lexington, KY in 1956, when Heinrich was just six years old. Heinrich grew up in Gardenside, where he honed a love of the Beatles into a basement band called the Buffalo Bombers. He graduated from Lafayette Senior High and played with a couple of bands around Lexington, such as the extremely popular Second Hand Rose, with Lexington guitarist Matt Presby, while attending UK.
With a year of music behind him, he was offered a music job in Germany, and wound up staying a while over there to play in the Western Union Band in West Berlin, which was a two time winner of the prestigious Marlboro Competition in West Germany. While in Germany, he toured with Waylon Jennings and the Belamy Brothers for the Marlboro tours. They released 7 singles and 3 albums for Hausa Records and entered Top Ten singles. He also toured in Poland, Holland, Belgium, Tangiers Africa, Switzerland, Austria, Prague and Stockholm Sweden.
Back in the USA, he continued to polish up his considerable skills. Now a player of multiple instruments, Heinrich became a veritable man of all musical seasons, garnering him gigs and sessions with industry icons such as Barry Gibb from Bee Gees; being horn section leader and sax player for Percy Sledge; being session leader and co-producer for Adam Fisher on his project produced by Stella Parton; working on TG Sheppard’s “19 Nashville Friends” and project “Timeless;” playing with Wayne Jackson of the Memphis horns and playing sax with Jackson on sessions for Alabama with producer Rick Hall; playing sax for Nokie Edwards (Ventures guitarist); sax on DJ Fontana’s (Elvis’s drummer) project; steel, dobro, sax and flute on a three-CD project for Tommy Overstreet which was nominated for a Grammy. He also has played sax for legendary producer Jack “Cowboy” Clement that featured Louis Armstrong as the singer – these were tracks that Jack had cut on Armstrong before he died.
John Heinrich (Photo by Randy Gabbard)
He also played steel guitar on projects featuring Merle Haggard, George Jones, Glen Campbell and Crystal Gayle. And he has played sax for Hank Williams, Jr. on the “Lone Wold Tour,” and taped a segment for NFL Monday Night Football.
A featured house vocalist/instrumentalist with the old Stockyard/Bullpen Lounge in Nashville, he performed there with Jerry Lee Lewis, the Beach Boys, Reba McEntire, Martin Mull, the Everly Brothers, Lorrie Morgan, Frankie Avalon, Hank Williams, Jr., John Mellencamp, Rick Astley, Stepponwolf’s John Kay, Travis Tritt, Kentucky Headhunters, Rap Group-The Fat Boys, Sylvia, Toby Keith, Vince Gill, and many more. He is now touring with the great singer-songwriter and performer Ronnie Milsap, who has played a couple of times in Kentucky, most recently at the EKU Center For The Arts, in Richmond, Ky.
Does it ever end for Heinrich?
Not likely.
I remember him from back in the late 60s and early 70s, and he has gone across the world and back since those days.
What can he do for your song?
Well first of all, he can play over nine instruments on it. Second, he can harvest some of Nashville’s best singers and musicians to fill in and fill out your song so that it is the best it can be, using your voice for the lead, or letting someone else do the honors. Third, he can mix the work in progress so every part is just right and has just the right attention paid to it. Fourth, he can mix and master the demo so that it can be reproduced multiple times for you to either market, sell or hand out as, say, Christmas presents to all your friends and family. Fifth, he can write out your music in musical notation so that you have sheet music for it and sixth, probably give you some great advice and guidance if you’re interested in trying to market your jewel!
Heinrich is a busy guy, but he can be contacted via his cell phone at 615-828-1182 or via his website http://www.songwriterdemo.com/.
According to TG Sheppard: “It’s not often that we in this business have the chance to work with the total musician. Every chance I can, I welcome the opportunity to work along side one of industry’s greats. It’s always a pleasure to share the studio and concert stage with such an incredible talent.”
