New Music Coming Soon!
Hi friends — Soon I'll be releasing a very special new song called "People Live On" inspired by my mom who challenged me to write "a song for the world." Featuring all-star musical talent who collectively have multiple Grammy wins and nominations — plus backgrounds working with legendary artists and bands — it's a hopeful song with a vibe that will draw you right in like an old friend. Masterfully blending sounds from pop, Americana and even a taste of country, the song has an adult contemporary radio feel. Check out the exclusive song preview on this page. Hope you enjoy it!
A special thank you to all of these musical talents who helped to bring this song to life.
Credits
Songwriter(s): Rich Meijer
Composer: Rich Meijer
Lead Vocals: Rachel Galavetz
Gospel Choir: Nicki Gonzalez
Additional Backing Vox: Brian Chapman
Keys: Peter Levin
Gospel Choir: Nicki Gonzalez
Bass: Paul ill
Drums: Matt Abts
Mixing and Recording Engineer: Jimmy Hoyson
Mastering: Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Sound
More About the Musical Talent on the Project
Rachel Galavetz is a professional performer with 20 years of experience in the studio with session work, lead vocals, and vocal production/arranging, Specializing in Jazz, Pop, Rock, R&B, Hip-Hop, Folk, Country, EDM.
Nicki Gonzalez Is a professional vocalist from Los Angeles, Ca, specializing in pop, salsa, rock to R&B, commercial jingles to jazz. Clients include The Baltimore Ravens, Google, The Smithsonian Institution & for the “Just Dance 2015” video game.
Brian Chapman is an accomplished musician from Topanga, CA specializing in vocals, guitar, and music production. For 2o years, BC has been composing music for commercials, film, television, and video games. His work with Beacon Street Studios of Venice, CA., has been honored with Emmy, Clio, Telly, and AICP Awards.
Peter Levin is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in Piano, Hammond B3, Clavinet, and Wurlitzer Electric Piano. Peter has performed with a genre-busting who’s who of music: The Allman Brother’s Band, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Aaron Neville, The Doobie Brothers, Lou Reed, Tom Petty, Robert Plant, and George Clinton, Gregg Allman Band, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. Peter received a Platinum record in 2014 for his collaboration with the band Train on the album “Save Me, San Francisco,” and a Gold record in 2012 for his collaboration with Gym Class Heroes
Matt Abts is a Grammy nominated, and two-time Drummer Award-winning drummer from Los Angeles, CA. Most noted for his work with Gov’t Mule, the Dickey Betts Band (which also included future GM cohort Warren Haynes and X2 keyboardist Johnny Neel), the Vibe Experience, and Cher.
Jimmy Hoyson is an eight-time Grammy award-winning engineer from Philadelphia, PA, who has worked with Warrant, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Iggy Pop, and Green Day to Lou Reed, Eric Clapton, and B.B. King. In addition, he has extensive experience working on film and television scores, 7th Heaven, Ugly Betty, 8 Simple Rules, The Wedding Singer, Ace Ventura, and Walk the Line to name a few.
Gavin Lurssen is a ten-time Grammy award-winning mastering engineer from Los Angeles, Ca. The Berklee College of Music in Boston and is a recipient of their Distinguished Alumni Award for his achievements in mastering. His credits include, Elton John, Jesse J, Chris Cornell, Glen Fry, Toto, Alison Kraus, Steven Tyler, and Iggy Pop to name a few.
"People Live On" Backstory
"People Live On" was an answer to a challenge from my mom to compose "a song for the world”. While house-sitting at my brother's house, the chorus just came to me. With help on the lyrics from my Dad on the second verse, the song seemed to write itself. My approach was to write a classic that sounded like it had always been there, but just finally getting noticed. I wrapped theme after theme upon themes in a kaleidoscope of melodies and timeless evergreen conceptual lyrics for all ages, races, and creeds.
Another way to phrase it is “the most beautiful Diamond ever seen with an equal amount of soul”…something to that effect.
I chose organic instruments for that “classic sound” and set out to create with the best artists I could find to bring this song to life.
The slide guitar was the answer to the question “what if no one played an instrument, how would they interpret the melody line. The answer was slide guitar because it sounded human-like someone whistling. Therefore the intro could be recreated by someone with no musical training if possible and is one of the most universal instruments on earth (whistling).
I chose Matt Abts on the drums first because he is the “keeper of all things drum”, and he was only available for a few days. Matt is a walking breathing history of the greatest drummers that have ever lived, including himself. He is also a long-time and very valued friend. Matt and I have recorded many sessions together for over 30 years.
I got lucky and found Rachel on a site called “Soundbetter.com”, a website recommended by one of the engineers from Capitol Studios, where Matt's Drums were recorded. Rachel laid down a beautiful, classic, timeless, flawless, inspired, and incredible vocal, which then helped me approach the remaining session artists and take it to the next level.
Paul Ill is a one-time friend as well, and a long-time cohort f Matts. He also is the “keeper of all things Bass’” and has played on hundreds upon hundreds of tracks. He locks in with Matt as only an old friend can. His parts are perfect.
After watching Hearts' rendition of “Stairway to Heaven” at the Kennedy Honors backed by the Kennedy Center House Band, I thought to myself, that’s the lineup for this song.
Click here to view the above-mentioned performance.
Once I saw the scope of the sound, I went to work on finding capable talent. Jimmy Hoyson recommended Peter Levin for keys based on working with him on numerous projects including The Blind Boys of Alabama. His parts solidified the song as legit and areas soulful as it gets. Next, I needed a gospel Choir. I found Nicki through Soundbetter as well. She and her talented crew laid down the gospel parts and the song began to hum
I felt I needed to add just a little more pop element to the gospel choir, so I asked my friend Brain Chapman to add a layer to the mix so it would really pop, he nailed it.
Finally, my guitar parts need to sound and feel like they walked off the pages of a classic album. Thankfully, there’s a multi0million dollar recording studio 5 miles from my house, so I went there and played all their vintage guitars (acoustic and electric) through all their vintage gear, and got some pristine crystal clear parts allied down.
The next step was for Jimmy Hoyson to take the chaos and streamline into the beautiful sound you hear, no small feat, and he delivered beyond my wildest dreams.
Side note, the permitting question for this song is “who is the best person for the job” - there were no exceptions, all are at the top of their game in their respective fields.
The final stage was to find the best audio Mastering Engineer possible - again through Jimmy came Gavin Lrsssen who took the raw diamond and polished it into a beautiful gem.
I set to find the best website designer I could find. Bandzoogle recommended Nina Pickell and her team, another contributor of an amazing roster of immense talent. Nina is an industry executive and brand builder who helped me craft the website and tell the story that reads so effortlessly on the site and elsewhere online.
For promotion, I realized I needed help, and again, the best I could find. I happened upon a really cool YouTube show featuring Michael Brandvold and his friends. The show is all about music promotion and the new technology driving it. I really liked Michael's experience and love of the game, so I contacted him to help me with the release campaign.
This song has been a series of questions and cooperative creation. I feel blessed to have been a part of the song's creation and completion, but in no way would have been possible without the help of all involved, a special nod to my parents."