My first paid jingle and a promo video
Barry Manilow got nothin' on me... except maybe, Copacabana... and feather boas...
Several weeks ago, on a bit of a fluke, my friend Mike asked me to write a jingle for his new Hawaii office. He is a high-producing mortgage lender based in Ventura, California. However, he is expanding his business into Hawaii.
Mike is Tim’s brother from my previous post.
He and his wife (and business partner), Janette, love visiting the islands and determined to make it a second home, so it made sense to make it a second home for their business as well.
He wanted the Hawaiian feel so I grabbed my daughter’s old ukulele and decided to play off the famous Hawaiian standard, Aloha’Oe.
I like how it came out and based on Deb walking around the house singing it, I think it is pretty catchy!
Below are some notes about the production, a video ad demo, and some final thoughts. Let me know what you think.
The production
I recorded everything at home (of course). The jingle is about 26 seconds long and is comprised of two short stanzas. I outline each stanza’s instrumentation below.
First stanza
Ukulele
6 string guitar single chord strums
Bass
Slide guitar on my Telecaster
Vocals: single vocal line
The 2nd stanza
The elements above - except the 6 string is strummed
12 string guitar strummed
Percussion (midi)
Keys/synth (midi)
Vocals: layered backing vocals (6 tracks)
Lyrics
Aloha’Oe, It’s what we say
We help you find your way home in the islands
Aloha’Oe, the Quinn Team way
May you find your way home to the islands
Video
I put the video below together as a demo. We are getting some first person clips with Mike & Janette for the final. Also, Mike and Janette may add to the backing vocals as well.
Credit for the clips used can be found in the video description on YouTube. The bulk of them came from Jess Loiterton, a photographer/videographer based in Hawaii. I thought it worth mentioning her. Her work is good.
Final Thoughts
I’m not really looking to create jingles but I did enjoy this exercise. And, of course, for gobs of money, I’ll jingle and jangle a few times.
Let me know what you thought of this - leave a comment here on Substack or over on YouTube. Or, if you are feeling extra ambitious, both.
I am performing on Saturday - Canoga Park Farmer’s Market - and am talking to a few local venues to set up a regular performance slot. More on that later.
Take care.
It is soothing music, but it is blessedly unlike so much of the soothing music we endure. It is unlike the soothing music that sounds like a psychiatric nurse telling you, "everything is okay, let me just have your wallet, credit card and keys because you're too fucked up to take care of yourself." It doesn't have that Nurse Ratched quality of matronly, castrating dismissiveness. This music, and the accompanying visuals, suggest a trip on the water with the promise of sexual satisfaction at the end of the journey.