Ticking Away

Ticking Away
Written and Recorded 2010

For one of the last days of 2014, I thought it might be appropriate to share a song I wrote about time. This song was a breakthrough for me in terms of my songwriting. While in Baraboo, my creative direction was all over the place. I had songs like "Romantic Piano," but also a lot of random, short instrumental pieces (that will be posted soon.) "Ticking Away" was the first of a project I called Cranston. The idea was to try and keep the instrumentation almost entirely the same, record the layers in full takes (not broken up into pieces) and to explore instrumental pop. "Ticking Away" was later licensed to a company to be used for a hospital's videos. This is by far one of my favorite pieces I've ever written.

• The first notes you hear are from a pre-made MIDI instrument in Logic called "Delayed Stage Piano." I never bothered to mess with the delay as the tempo that it set and the level of decay was exactly what I was looking for.
• Delayed Stage Piano was the first layer down, throughout the entire song. Though not meticulously planned out or improvised, I would call this method "instinctive composition." I was keenly aware of where I was in the song and sort of made it up as I went along based on the beginning chord progression. If it sounded balanced when I completed the take, I moved on to the next instrument for the next layer. If it didn't sound good, I went back and did it all over again.
• Because each instrument was recorded in full takes, I really challenged myself to write something interesting yet playable. I'm not a very technical player, so I tried to throw some nice melodic material into each part and make them worth listening to.
• This is about the point in my writing where form started to have greater weight in my mind. Though this has the length and feel of a pop song, there are only two parts to it. Dynamic contrast is what really brings this song to life. 
• It would have been easy to try and write more for this track in particular because it is instrumental. But any more material and the listener would be more acutely aware of the lack of vocals. As it stands, I think it is easy to just listen and not really care about what kind of music it is.

I Say, "Go"

I Say, "Go"

Written and Recorded 2002/2003

Recorded on my Tascam 4-Track recorder, this is the one of the earliest original songs of mine that I can find. I remember my younger high school self being incredibly excited about this song. It was to be the title track from my first solo album! I'd been playing guitar for a year or two at the time and had access to a bandmate's drum kit. I have very fond memories of this songwriting and recording process. Enjoy a very young Nathan Honoré rocking as hard as he could.

• My vocals were extremely influenced by the early material of The Strokes.
• Lyrics were a struggle at that time in my life. I had a small notebook with lyrics/poems that I would often try to fit together with musical material that was completely separate.
• I remember writing the chorus first, but definitely struggled to come up with anything of substance on the verses.
• "I shan't wait here my dear" is a favorite lyric of mine. I was reading some Shakespeare plays at the time.
• With four different parts to this song, I was definitely of the mindset that more is better and the more complex, the more it would stand out. Lots of chords, lots of changes (aside from the two-note verses) I didn't really start studying song form till a bit later.
• I really depended on my ear and didn't learn my scales till college. As a result, my soloing and lead work is not good. Learn your scales, kids.

Over

Over
Written and Recorded 2012

For my second post, I want to share a more recent piece of work. This is a song that I originally wrote for a band I had started in 2011 called Of the North. It was performed many times over the two and a half years that band existed and in various setups. The recording that we have here was a demo I created for my bandmates to learn their parts.

• This song spawned from the opening guitar riff. From there I adapted that progression to work for the verse, but more drawn out.
• The verse melody and content was always my favorite. Three verses, each about very different people. Probably some of the better verses I've written.
• The chorus never quite clicked for me. Part of that stems from it being the last thing created for the song. It's like the last puzzle piece that isn't formed quite right, but I jammed it in there anyways for the sake of completion. 
• Near the end of the song's life, I tried creating an arrangement that took out the chorus and used the Outro "Ohs" section as a chorus. Though never performed, it came a lot closer to the desired effect of the song than this one. It sounded more like a sea shanty, which is never a bad thing.
• The songs that were written for Of the North are a great illustration on how recording goes hand in hand with my writing. During this time especially, I would start with a guitar and complete an entire demo in a sitting or two. My vision of what the overall song should have sounded like was so strong that I put it all down, similar to jotting down notes in the margin of a sheet of paper. 
• Obviously that kind of vision and recording can look like an attempt at control, but I assure you that was never the intention. It's hard to describe why I needed to do it. I could just hear all of the parts working together in the moment and wanted it all down before I forgot. It's incredibly exciting when it happens.

Mission Statement / Romantic Piano

Writing and recording songs have always gone hand in hand for me. I feel extremely fortunate to have this luxury to be able to document my songwriting from past to present. These recordings document my life and songs as I've progressed and matured from a early high schooler to the man I am today. Some recordings are simple demos and others are attempts at studio production, but they all illustrate how I have used audio recording as an intricate part of my writing process. I'd by lying if I said I wasn't nervous about posting some of these songs. There are projects that I am proud of and some that I can barely sit through, but I believe it is important to show the progression. Though there are a few gaps and files lost along the way, I have compiled my entire catalog and intend to share it with you.

Romantic Piano

Written and Recorded 2009

This is the first song that I wrote after my wife (then girlfriend) and I had moved to Baraboo, WI a few months after I graduated from college. I was having difficulty adjusting to our new environment, not only in terms of employment, but also creative output. Romantic Piano marks the first of many songs that I wrote using mostly MIDI keyboards and other synths, rather than guitar. Up to this point, my songs had all been guitar driven rock/pop. It's hard to say exactly why I made this rather sudden change. Half of me believes that I was rejecting my old habits, and the other half believes I was simply lost.

• This song was originally going to be instrumental. Romantic Piano was a working title that I never bothered to change, even after lyrics were set to it.
• I have always loved the melody on the chorus. Those intervals combined with the simple chords are very powerful to me.
• A few years earlier, I watched an Audioslave DVD that had a brief interview with Chris Cornell. He mentioned something about being at a point in his career where he didn't edit his lyrics and let them be what they will be. That thought stuck with me, though I never had the courage to do it. This is one of the first songs where I wrote the lyrics in one sitting and never turned back.
• I knew that I wanted the song to start with chorus, but didn't want to overuse that hook and excluded the vocals from the third chorus to give the bridge more weight.
• These vocal takes may have come later than the original recording, while still in Baraboo. Thanks to a great choir director in the area, I was able to gain more confidence in my voice.