Smooth Talker - New Song

I need a lift, babe. Come on, it's only a couple of miles.
I can tell you I've been busy and say I'm sorry it's been awhile.
Truth is I'm broken down and I just need someone to make me smile.

If you can help me out, I can tell you what you want to hear
And if you've got any doubts, I'll make them disappear

So, let me buy you a drink, babe. It's the least thing I can do.
and I can tell you a nice story about how in love I am with you.
Truth is I'm here alone and I just need someone to talk to.

If you can help me out, I can tell you what you want to hear
And if you've got any doubts, I'll make them disappear

Tell Me, Leann - Second Draft

I posted a basic first draft of this one at the end of March, played on synth organ. Since then I've been working out a more melodic version on electric guitar. This is it.



Jump in the water, it's only up to your knees
so you know I'm not as deep as it seems
I'm just hanging upside down
Caught up with Bobby, he said he understands
I started drinking just to do what I can
cuz I don't wanna drown

So tell me, tell me--what are we all crying for, Leann?
If I can't find the words maybe you can

Been looking at pictures of when we were young
nowhere to go and nowhere to come from
but somehow made it here
Met up with Mandy, she said it's okay
even though the colors have all faded away
the sky is still clear

So tell me, tell me--what are we all crying for, Leann?
If I can't find the words maybe you can

Two New Tunes

Couple new songs I'm working on.





Somehow

I'm getting ahead of myself, and I'm tired
You're getting an earful of mouth running wild
and I think that it's time to slow down

Been thinking about what you said, and it's true
I don't need you to understand my point of view
it's just for me to sort out somehow

I just need to slow down somehow
I just need to slow down somehow


Dime

You asked me if I could stand to get a better view
but when I did you said I was looking down on you
it's tough to help you out when you don't trust how I do

We're stuck on different sides of the same dime

You came to me singing a tune with the tongue of a goat
and I said it might as well have been a song I wrote
it's not the words coming out, it's how they feel in your throat

We're stuck on different sides of the same dime

Well sometimes, y'know, I can't help myself
I see only the black and white
And yeah, I know that it's all mixed up
but some days the gray looks like a line

And it's a whole 'nother scene
when there's no more in-between

We're stuck on different sides of the same dime

The Songwriters (Cover)

Here's a song from Willie Nelson's latest album. It's a lovely tune.

We get to break out of prison, make love to our best friend's wife
have a beer for breakfast in Boston and drink rum in Jamaica that night
We get to tell all our secrets in a code no one understands
and we get to shoot all the bad guys without getting blood on our hands

Cuz we're heros, we're schemers, we're drunks and we're dreamers
we're lovers, and sometimes we're fighters
We're the students, we're the teachers, we're the devil, we're the preachers
we're true love, but mostly one-nighters
we're the songwriters

Half the world thinks we're crazy, the other half wants to be us
and everyone's jealous cuz we're hanging out in the back of some big star's tour bus
We're old boots and t-shirts and blue jeans, we're capos and strings and e-chords
and we only dress up in November when they hand out songwriter's awards

Cuz we're heros, we're schemers, we're drunks and we're dreamers
we're lovers, and sometimes we're fighters
we're the truth, we're the lies, we're the stupid, the wise
we're true love, but mostly one-nighters
we're the songwriters

We write bridges, then cross 'em and burn 'em
we teach lessons but don't bother to learn 'em
And our mamas don't know what we're doing--why we stay out all night long
I told mine I was a drug dealer, she said "thank god you ain't writing songs"

Playlist: Songs of Sin, Sung in the Chapel

New Song - Tell Me, Leann

I've had the tune for this one in my head for a few weeks. Here's the first draft. I'm no good on the keyboard, but it makes for some nice framework. I'll probably add in some guitar as it develops.



Jump in the water, it's only up to your knees
So you know I'm not as deep as it seems
I'm just hanging upside down
I caught up with Bobby, he said he understands
I started drinking just to do what I can
because I don't want to drown

Tell me, tell me, what are we all crying for, Leann?
If I can't find the words maybe you can

Been looking at pictures of when we were young
Nowhere to go and nowhere to come from
But somehow made it here
I met up with Mandy, she said it's okay
Even though the colors have all faded away
the sky is still clear

Tell me, tell me, what are we all crying for, Leann?
If I can't find the words maybe you can

Back to Wondering - New Song

Been working on this for a few days now. It's not finished, but I like where it's going. This recording is just three tracks: vocal+git, keyboard, and backing vocal. The guitar is a Cigano gyspy jazz and the keyboard is a CasioTone synth from the early 80's. Have a listen!



You gave me a purpose to fulfill, but the pressure only led to pain
You're giving pain, I'm going insane
So I found some peace but lost the point, then ended up wasting time
Just killing my time waiting to die
Now here I am, back wondering about my place in your plan
Just tell me the plan--what's the plan?

Because I'm only a man, I'm just a man.
What's the plan?

You gave me a different point of view, now I can see they're all the same
It's all the same, we're all same
So I found a way but lost the will, then ended up stuck in line
Just doing my time staying in line
Now here I am, back wondering how I can be my own man
I don't understand--I think I can.

I'm making some plans, I got some plans.
I think I can.

New Song - Ready to Roll

Put this one together over the last couple days. I've been kind of jones'n to write a country tune lately. It seems I get a twang in me every so often that needs to come out. I feel like this one came out at just the right time.



You know I'd like to sit, but I think I'll stand
And I'm not one to judge, but you're my friend
The mayor and his men are on their way
They've got handcuffs, fancy shoes, and things to say
I'll keep standin' here with you if it's what you want to do
but if you'd rather duck down I know a good place to stay

So let's go, I'm ready to roll
Being friends with the devil don't mean that you sold your soul
So let's go, honey, I'm ready to roll
Got debt to pay, don't mean there's anything you stole

You know I'd like to quit, but I'll take one more
It's only gonna bring me down, but that's what it's for
Cuz they let me out of jail on Saturday
They said, "You better rest up cuz tomorrow you've gotta pray"
So I set my mind to dream--was gonna wake up and come clean
but I couldn't sleep not knowing what I'd say

So let's go, I'm ready to roll
Being friends with the devil don't mean that I sold my soul
So let's go, honey, I'm ready to roll
Got debt to pay, don't mean there's anything I stole

Electric Guitar Experiments

A buddy of mine lent me his electric guitar to practice with for awhile. I'm looking to get one of my own eventually, so I'm feeling things out. Last thing I posted was electric too, but not quite as gritty. I've been having lots of fun with this tune. Let me know what you think!

Somewhere - Rough Take 2

Posted this one just the other day, but I've been having fun with it. So, here's another take that feels more complete. It gets a bit repetitive at the end because it doesn't have a conclusion yet--and I kept messing things up. Anyway, have a listen. Thanks!



Been pulled apart piece by piece,
determined to deconstruct me.
Blood, bones, and electricity;
pretty soon there's nothing left to see.

But I'm still there, somewhere.

I met the match, felt the heat
and saw my shadow surround me;
crawling out from under my feet
harshly distorted--obscene.

But I'm still there, somewhere.

Somewhere - New Rough Draft

Got a few new tunes I'm working on. This is one 'em. It's purposed as an exploration in electric guitar. Thanks for listening!



Been pulled apart piece by piece
determined to deconstruct me
blood, bones, and electricity
pretty soon there's nothing left to see

But I'm still there, somewhere
But I'm still there, somewhere

New Song Rough Draft - See the Sights

After the night, I ran
from home to here
and turn to face
the failure of my fear--
caught up in cutting myself
free from everything
you are not me.

But now that I'm awake
to see the sights
I'm tearing up
because the colors are
too damn bright.

But now that I'm awake
to see the sights
I'm tearing up
because I cannot
close my eyes.

Forget the Words - New Song

Wrote this song over the last couple days. Still haven't decided if it's done or not. Let me know what you think.



I can't speak my peace,
not while I'm using these words.
I know I can't make it real,
but I'm sure as hell it works.

I am talking to you,
I just can't find the words.
You'll say I'm not acting real,
but let me show you how this works...

The devil's talking to me
and I'm trying not to listen.
He says he'll give them up for free--
all of the pieces that I'm missing.

He's singing, "come closer to me."
So I'm singing, "come closer to me and forget the words."

I feel, that it works
Forget the words
I feel and it works
Forget the words

It Takes Time

I've been squirming to post something lately--it's been awhile.

My school schedule is keeping me busy, so I put a hold on updating the blog for the sake of squeezing a little practice time in. I figure if I don't have the time to continue recording, I might as well write a bit here and there. It's always nice to have new stuff coming in. 

While I'm feeling overloaded with schoolwork, I'm pretty excited to graduate this year. It's been a lot of work and kept me from really leaning into music, but at the same time it's given me a chance to warm up to my plans. I've realized getting school out of the way is the most essential step to be taking in this process right now. In that, I'm feeling a lot of momentum built up that I look forward to using after graduation; I'll get back to recording, gigging, and writing--and with more time on my hands I can give more attention to each.
Until then I'll keep building the momentum, practicing between homework assignments.

Here are some of the "sketches" that have come out of the build up most recently. Thanks for listening!
_____



I couldn't let you have my smile
'cause mother kept it for awhile
it was the grin of all my worst mistakes.

It mocked the brave so I could hide;
lips truly red even when I lied.
I guess it wanted love and that's what it takes.
_____



I've been gone alone so long now I don't know my name
so do me a favor;
tell it to me. Does it taste like boiled blood and guilt, or shame?
Or did it lose it's flavor?
--From when I left town and took with me all the dogs you tamed
and told them the truth
that they don't have to listen when you tell them to stay,
and then I let them loose.

Evergreen Wolf Song Preview - Studio Results

I needed a break from recording to give my hands and voice a rest--so I did a rough, incomplete mix of Evergreen Wolf Song for ya'll to preview. It was recorded less than 24 hours ago, so very little has been done to it as far as editing goes (hence the low volume and harsh dynamics). I applied some reverb and adjusted the EQ, but that's the extent of things so far. In the end, it'll (likely) be decorated with percussion, bass, and some backing vocals. There might be a second guitar in there somewhere, as well. We'll see. This is just the base-level shit here.

I want to say, I'm pretty happy with this one so far and I think it serves as a good example of the mood and groove I've been trying to capture with my new recording strategy. It's one take from start to finish, performed live to a click track. And it's not the cleanest recording I've ever done (there are some mistakes here and there) but overall it seems genuine to me. It sounds and feels like my music--the way I hear and feel it in my head.

Anyway, here it is! Thanks for listening!

Tear Me Up - New Song

I've been recording more than I've been writing lately (which feels intensely good to be doing) but I've got one new song to share with you. I've chipped away at it for a little while now and, although I may revise it later, I think it's ready for a listenin' to.  



I've been living with my demons
and the nights can get a little rough
but I trust they won't betray me
I know them well enough

Sold it to me as simplistic
they said I just gotta keep it clean
but I'm dirty--my life is limbic--
I fuck and fight and feed and then I flee

If you can't hear me barkin'
I'm gonna have to use my bite
Feelin fierce 'cause I've fallen
I'm down for a fight--
tear me up, do your best

I can feel the snake inside me
coiled up in my gut
hissing rage and rattling things
just to make me throw him up

I've taken too much
so don't mind if I shake
I'm all out of touch
I've gotta learn when to break
I need to break

If you can't hear me barkin'
I'm gonna have use my bite
Feelin fierce 'cause I've fallen
I'm down for a fight--
tear me up, do your best

Introducing: My Home Studio Setup

In my July 1st post, I related some issues I'd been having with recording and promised a more detailed explanation of my new outlook, process, and setup. So, as promised, here's the rundown on...

Being a performer, my music sounds best when recorded live--so that the interactions between my guitar and vocals are captured. The way the two flow together as they're simultaneously produced during a performance gives the music its heart, genuinely expressed. As an artist, it's the genuine expression of the music that concerns me most when recording.

Yet, in the past I've found myself focusing more on the quality of the recording--the perfect isolation and "mixability" of each sound, etc.--rather than the quality of the music. As a result, I recorded the guitar and vocals separately to a rigid tempo and never accomplished what I'd consider to be a heartfelt recording of self expression. But now my approach is different and things have gotten better.

With the heart of the music in mind, I've set up a home studio in which I can capture my live performance by recording the guitar and vocals simultaneously, but in such a way that they can still be adjusted separately afterwards. To accomplish this, I'm using two microphones; one captures vocals while the other captures guitar. However, to make sure each microphone only captures what it's meant to (no vocal sounds on the guitar track and vice versa), I've had to get a little creative. Check out the studio floor plan:

Basically, I record the guitar inside the closet and the vocals outside the closet. In the closet, a microphone captures the sound of the guitar as it comes through an amp. This effectively produces a guitar track free of vocal sounds.

Outside the closet, another microphone captures the vocals. To avoid capturing guitar noise from the amp in the closet, I placed a chair between the vocal mic and the closet. To avoid capturing acoustic noise from the guitar itself, I placed a sound barrier (a music stand, some foam padding, and a variety of blankets, pillows, and shirts) between the microphone and the sound hole of the guitar. With the addition of a rug-covered spare closet door and some more blankets, most of the acoustic guitar noise is absorbed and deadened. The resulting vocal track features only quiet, distant guitar sounds which can't be heard above the isolated guitar track once mixed.

As for the recording quality, it's good enough. I mean, I'm no audio technician--you can hear the click track from time to time, the vocal track isn't completely isolated from the guitar, and the guitar sounds less acoustic running through an amp. But, I'll work with what I've got and worry about polishing things up later during the mixing and mastering stages. It's been done before. Besides, it's the performance that matters most.

That said, new recordings are coming soon. So get stoked and stay tuned!

Rough Drafts, Revisions, Experiments - Now on the Music Page

I've recorded a lot of crap since I started "keeping track of the process" on this blog. I've posted half-written tunes, songs with incomplete lyrics, and experimental recordings, but only the more "presentable" recordings have been posted on the Music page. However, in keeping with the theme of this blog I decided it would be best to include the rougher recordings on the Music page, as well, where they can be more easily accessed. They're not tidy or polished--nor meant to be--they're simply a record of the process. And the process is never pretty, but the experience is. So, feel free to visit the Music page and peruse the process--all in one convenient location!

That being said, I have a small recording update: My studio is set up and I've begun recording. I'm four songs in and things are moving along at a comfortable and comforting pace (I'm currently only recording guitar and vocals--bass, percussion, lead, etc. will follow shortly). I'll be sharing a cluster of tracks for you to preview soon! 

New Space, Getting Started

Things are getting real! Here's what's been up and what's going down:

First of all, I just finished my online summer school stuff, so I finally have a substantial amount of time to dedicate to recording!
Second, Hailey and I--and our cat, Fizgig--moved into a new apartment this week. So, we've been busy with all the packing-moving-cleaning stuff, but I'll soon have my new recording space in working order and ready to roll. I'll be cleaning it up and doing sound tests between now and Friday, then I'll set up and start recording over the weekend.

We'll see how it goes. I'm planning to put up some blankets and carpet to catch noises coming from outside the apartment (namely the booming hip-hop bass lines and growling diesel engine noise from the neighbors next door), but I have a feeling some background noise is unavoidable. I'm okay with that, though. My new philosophy regarding music is that it's all about the performance--not the sound quality. Some muffled noise from the neighbors shouldn't spoil the performance if it's good. That being said, I feel there are fewer obstacles/deterrents to recording than there's been before. Which is exciting.

I'll be posting pictures and updates regarding my new space and setup within the next few days, so be sure to check back soon. I'm anxious to get recording so I can share some new sounds with you!

Performance and Recording at Home

It's been awhile since I've posted--and it's been a good long while since I've posted about recording. I have reasons. Let me explain.

Honestly, I've avoided the topic of recording (since late January) because things haven't been going exactly as planned. About the time I started this blog, I had the opportunity to use my school's student studio to record, but in the process of doing so I ran into a few problems and discovered some things about myself and my recording style.

While the student studio has lots of nice gear to offer, the workstation proved itself finicky, it was inconvenient to go to because of my work/school schedule, and it's a shared space (messy, disorganized, and the like). On top of that, while recording in the studio I found it really hard to get into the "groove" of things--my guitar work was poor, my vocals were weak, and as a result of that I ended up spending hours at a time just trying to record a single track. Simply: things weren't jiving for me.

So, I spent some time trying to revamp my approach to recording and discovered a simple yet profound truth about myself: I'm not an audio technician--I'm a performer. What I mean to say is that when I sit down to record a guitar track... and then a vocal track... and then a bass track--I'm not performing! At that point I'm just playing guitar or just singing, and the performance is lost--the "groove" or "magic" or "heart" (or whatever you want to call it) just isn't there.

Since coming to this realization, I've done a few test runs with live recording (guitar and vocals simultaneously) and the resulting sound is way more natural and genuine--and it doesn't take me hours to do! However, recording that way is a little tricky. To get the best mix, you want to isolate the sound of the guitar from the vocals and vice versa. They make special microphones that "listen" to only what's right in front of them, but I don't have the money for those. So, I did some research and developed a method using the microphones I've already got--and so far it sounds pretty damn good. Basically, it's a matter of mic positions and sound barriers. (I'll post a more detailed explanation of my process and setup another day.)

To wrap up: I've had a few setbacks, but I've gained a lot from working through them. I'm back to doing everything from home now; it's a basic, no-frills kind of a deal--but I'm digging the sound and I finally feel like I know what I'm doing.

Stay tuned! There's much more to come!