Calista’s Lullaby [2023] (Lullaby)
This song is dedicated to my newborn daughter in the hopes that it will help ease her to sleep. So, far she seems to really like when we sing it to her.
This recording is pretty simple, with an interesting I vii vi V progression and soft, steady rhythm.
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Be As One [2022] (Rock)
This song is about taking the disjointed feelings and impulses and conjoining them onto one positive path. Even though I often feel productive, I don’t always feel relevant or like I’m making a positive impact on others.
This recording is pretty simple, laying out a smooth chord progression to allow the changes in vocal expression to shine through.
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After You’ve Gone [2022] (Jazz) [Written by Turner Layton and Henry Creamer, 1918]
I feel like a little more jazz in my life. A few years ago I went down to New Orleans with friends and had a blast listening to that great New Orleans jazz sound. This song is the first of (hopefully) many to bring some of that joy into my musical life.
This jazz recording was made to feel like a life performance. Mistakes are left in, the solos are real, and the acoustics are made to feel like its in a real room. Hopefully I succeeded in capturing that jazz-club feeling.
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Would I Be a Stranger? [2022] (Rock)
Over the course of the pandemic, and life in general, I feel like there are many people that I’ve lost contact with. I often wonder if we can pick up where we left off or if, given the the passage of time and diverging interests, we are effectively strangers. This song is at the heart of that feeling.
This was a basic rock recording, nothing special going on here. I honestly do not care for the final product here, even questioning if this is even a song worth recording. But it is done now and maybe someone will appreciate it more than I do.
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Watch the World Burn [2022] (Classic Country)
This is a song about natural disasters and the effects of climate change.
Nothing too special in this recording. I just felt like writing a classic country song about climate change. It’s a basic I, IV, V chord progression with a touch of blues. I sang in my lowest register for the main vocals and had fun singing different voices for the backup singers.
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Salvation [2022] (Rock)
This another song about death, particularly the regrets of leaving a life left unfulfilled with perhaps an unwanted reputation.
In this recording, I’m using a basic rock chord progression that repeats. Here I’m playing more with dynamics, playing with the tension and release felt in the power and strength of the notes. I’m also singing in a more ‘normal’, deep register, as opposed to the higher register I’ve been using in many of my previous songs.
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Follow the Light [2021] (Folk Rock)
This song is about death, that final sweet sojourn to whatever lies beyond. We hope to find peace during those final hours and hope our lives had a positive impact and meaning upon those we leave behind.
In this recording I’m combining piano rhythms with another virtual guitar. Although it was so closely programmed, it might have been easier to just play the real thing. I also tried a new vocal technique that I think greatly improved the quality with a lot less annoying ‘mouth noises’.
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Love is Pain [2021] (Piano Ballad)
This song is about breaking up with the one you love, and not being able to move past it, holding onto that pain as the last link to them. Until love is only pain.
In this recording I’m continuing my mostly live setup. I went back and touched up the vocals, as the live ones can sometimes not capture things perfectly. This song is another attempt at playing with the song structure of four-chord loops, featuring bass motion and voice leading. This concept has completely changed how I approach song writing.
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Check out more songs on my MUSIC page.
Blues in My Shoes [2021] (Blues)
This song I wrote years ago. I had been working on a lot of pop and rock songs and wanted to get back to my blues roots. This song is a celebration of those blues that got me into music.
In this recording I’m playing live again, with both vocals and piano tracked at the same time. I tried recording this song with a full backing band, but the timing kept feeling off. At 206 bpm, things move pretty fast.
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Check out more songs on my MUSIC page.
Black Coffee [2021] (Jazz / Blues)
This song was just a spontaneous creation while playing around on the piano. It was nice to play some jazz after all the pop and rock songs I’ve been working on. Its about the monotony of the pandemic, stuck in quiet routines, forgetting yourself, and avoiding the indoors.
In this recording I’m playing live, with both vocals and piano tracked at the same time.
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Check out more songs on my MUSIC page.
