February 2011
4 posts
vocal free tracks for your reading corner
This weekend, I was on six flights total. I played with 3 sets of lyrics: reformatted, organized, hand copied, and wrote a new piece. I got a lot of interview questions answered, meetings arranged, caught up on my rest.. but mainly, I devoured a threehundred and seventysomething page novel.
When I read on planes, there’s always headphone input to help shut out the in-cabin clatter &...
music humor
”..and then I went to grab the frying pan &it was really hot, but not to worry, it was only a *flatted third* wound!” eh? EHHH?
curious as to how many of you found the humor in this little pun.
when our drummer Jayckub said it, there was a silent pause, then my friends & I just exploded in laughter. we’re such music dorks.
Made Of Matches
that bluesy, classic rock-influenced track I’ve been talking about? Chase & I finished the “final mix” tonight. we always quote DiVinci when we near this point in production: “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”
for two hours tonight we were ‘about done’, but I always found one more thing that I had to tweak. there’s always that vocal level...
January 2011
5 posts
in this world, but not of this world.
I went on a late night run with an old friend tonight, and we ended up on a dirtmound exploring the sky. our conversation went like this.
myself: “Look, there’s Oriion’s belt. and that’s his dagger. and that one right there? that’s me.”
him: “That’s you, up there?”
m: “Yep. ‘In this world, but not of this world,’...
influenced
if you ever listen the music I write & record at home, you can definitely feel my inspirations. the tracks I listen to heavily influence what ends up coming out of our home studio.
currently writing a song that vibes equal parts:
“I Hate Myself For Loving You” -Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
“The Other Side Of The Fence” -Jonny Lang
“Witchy Woman”...
cautionary tales of yesterday
a lot of songs just grab me and make me feel. that’s the best, just succumbing to the soul.. however, with my headphones in, I tend to forget about the outside world, and the social boundaries in it.
“Ohio” -The Black Keys
Thanks, for provoking incessant head bobbing/ shaking/ rolling during your tasty guitar situations.
“Heart Song” -Automatic Loveletter
you make...
"Uncle Funk"
by Deodato. so jive.
This Cover Rules →
solid vocals, the production rocks, video is punchy, and honestly, I just dig his steez.
guy’s the real deal; one of my new favorite YouTube artists, for sure.
I want to meet him.
December 2010
5 posts
this is a love story;
Christmas 2010 was really good to my family. with every crumpled piece of wrapping paper, I thought more and more about sharing my treasures with you, blogreaders. as a family gift, we got ourselves surround sound, so we can all finally hear movie scores, sound affects, concert footage, foley, and levels the way they were mixed. it’s dynamic, I tell ya.
the first personal present I got to...
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be...”
– C.S. Lewis
"I've got my things; I'm good to go."
”..you met me at the terminal. just one more plane ride and it’s done.
we stood like statues at the gate; vacation’s come and gone too late.
there’s so much sun where I’m from, I had to give it away.. had to give you away.”
“Bruised” -Jack’s Mannequin
it’s one of my favorite songs of all time, and it’s on repeat on this flight....
we all want to be fought for.
“Make Me Stay” -Gold Motel
quieter vocals that sing loudly;
currently in the air. soaring to the other coast, and listening to a couple tracks that are new to my library. One came after the other on Shuffle, and I noticed a sliver of a similarity. In both of the songs, the vocal levels aren’t insanely prominent. I feel like in a lot of popular music, the singer’s track stands punchily on a bed of synths and instruments. These two defy that, one...
November 2010
5 posts
mashedup/ Feel My Heart EP
My brother just walked in with his guitar, and proceeded to play an acoustic mashup of:
“Pearl” -Katy Perry
“Use Somebody” -Kings of Leon
“Secrets” -OneRepublic
and after using the chorus of Secrets as a bridge, resolved the whole thing by going back to Pearl, after a breakdown. Words can’t describe.
the kid is brilliant. and had the nerve to...
legitimate
real music, a true band, pure love of the art.
http://www.youtube.com/gracepotterofficial#p/u/6/d—Q3CgXXsU
Mind you, the bassist Catherine is playing a glass water bottle with a butter knife. & the percussionist is keeping the time with an ice bucket in one hand, and a bottle of meds in the other. They’re using a hairdryer as a pad behind the three guitars, and everyone’s...
resting in a labyrinth
“Show me what your mind is showing, and I’ll tell you where I’m going
You winding labyrinth, you’re a fireplace; you unabridged art, & you’re fight with a face
I’d like to spend a little time, just resting in your tangled mind
Tuck me in, if you dare, and sing your lullaby to get me there
But is it wrong that when I wake, I want a souvenir to...
"You speak in hooks."
sometimes, you meet a person whose conversation is pretty much a string of sentences or phrases that have an exceptional habit of drawing you in.
In a song, the ‘hook’ is basically the part that reaches out, grabs into your mind, and gets you invested in the song. In a lot of pop, it contains the title, like when Bruno Mars goes “..because you’re amazing, Jusssst The Wayyy...
1 tag
citylights: my song
Now, I love people. I do. In groups or the other half of a pair, most of my life is lived in the company of my friends/ family/ new aquaintances/ complete strangers. And I love it. There’s so much you can learn from how other people feel about life, or events, or ideas, or pop culture. And there’s nothing like your laugh just dancing on top of someone else’s, or sliding into a...
October 2010
1 post
Whip My Hair -Willow Smith →
I was super nervous to see the video for this song. Willow Smith is, no doubt, artsy. It’s rare of a preteen girl to have their own style, and be so confident in it. In a world where girls try way to hard to grow up way too fast, I’m pretty stoked to see a girl representing new territory on staying young, but not sacrificing artistic intensity. She danced and performed, but the moves...
September 2010
4 posts
Cloud Cover
Its been cloudy. And when there are clouds overhead, after a day or two, they tend to make their way in between my ears.
Sometimes, when you can’t beat the gloom, I just lace it through a mellow tempo, sprinkle it faintly with bells, and drape it between ivory keys.
“Yet” -Switchfoot
“Hurricane” -The Hush Sound
“Run” -Snow Patrol
“Light A Roman Candle With Me” -Fun.
