Letting It All Out

Letting It All Out
Written and Recorded 2005

I don't know if I've made this clear or not, but I used to want to be a rocker. And by that I mean I really,  really wanted to be a rocker. I tried so hard to write songs that would blow people away with how much it rocked and how original it was. This is a song that is a prime example of that mentality as senior in high school/freshman in college. The original title is lost, but I think it had something to do with "Debtor's somethingorother." This song was actually performed once or twice with a "band," that I nearly always forget about, called Accelematrix. The band itself was just me and the drummer from my other high school bands, occasionally joined by another friend of ours. Being only 17/18 at the time, there wasn't much in the way of shows available to play, so we only played at our friend's house. One might call this band a skidmark on the underpants of my band history.

• The intro and verses aren't that bad in terms of music. I like the rhythm that the guitars keep, giving it a little space which accentuates the rhythm even more.
• The chorus has about a million chords. Having the first part of the progression on D major, then the second part going to D minor right away is a uninformed mistake. I think I knew it was weird at the time, but that's kind of what I was going for. It's also a bit strange to have that D major chord played open when the rest of the song is power chords.
• Lyrically, it is pretty simple: a proud little rebel boy wants to be better than he is (teen angst.) Props for the use of the word "Grumble." 
• The structure of this song is pretty sound. With that opening riff/interlude it breaks things up nicely. I remember the bridge coming much later in the song's composition. It's comprised of two progressions, which are simple in comparison to the rest of the song. In that respect it does a nice job of moving the song forward.
• You can really hear on the chorus how bad I want my voice to rock, but it just doesn't have that edge. I tried to get there by going to the higher parts of my range at the time, but that just made me strain. 
• Not a bad song, but like some of my other earlier attempts it is overly complicated for the sake of complication. (ROCK)
• Side note: this is the first recording I experimented with compression. So it sounds a bit odd at times. Also I put a ton of effects on the keyboard drums to make them sound more real...but it doesn't.

No Angels

No Angels
Written and Recorded 2013

 "No Angels" is one of my most cohesive and memorable songs, definitely in the top 5 best songs that I've written. This was the last original song that we learned in Of the North, and the last song we played together. What a song to end on!

I definitely have to cite our friends in Pay the Devil as an influence for this song. They have so much energy, playing traditional and original music that makes you smile, tap your foot, sing along, drink a beer, etc. As I've said in previous posts, during Of the North's tenure I realized that I needed to write songs that I could walk in to. I needed to be able to step in that mindset and put more of myself in it. Pay the Devil seems to do this so effortlessly. I tried and tried before, but this is a song that really broke through and captured that spirit.

Quite simply, this is a song about a vigilante in the Old West. The narrator has been betrayed and now is dishing out his own good justice. He captures the "victim", sentences him to hell, and makes him dig his own grave. I love it.

• There's more changes in this chord progression than your traditional bluegrass song, but I kept the structure as close as possible. The result is what I consider to be a great mashup of old and new.
• Banjo Ivan from Pay the Devil had another part to play in this songs development. I had originally recorded it a half-step lower (in Db) and sent the demo to Kent. From what I remember, Kent told me he'd played it for Ivan at work and Ivan asked what key it was in. Kent told him Db and Ivan replied with some comment on how no Bluegrass song is EVER in Db and if I brought this to a bluegrass jam, I'd be hanged/hung. SOOO I raised it up to D and everyone was happier for it.
• The lyrics for this song just flowed out of me. I remember starting with "Don't look now" and knew that every verse would start with it. This story unfolded so naturally that I started to wonder if I had stolen it. To my knowledge, this is completely original.
• I've never been a great improviser, so these (not so great) solos were very planned out. Even now when I play this song with Whiskey Doubles I generally use the same solos with a few small changes. 
• I love the stacked "No"s that go on in the chorus. I think it's a really cool effect and always wanted to use it. It adds a little something special to the 3-part harmony.
• Whiskey Doubles recorded this on our first EP, so if you want hear an updated version of the song, check it out on iTunes or Spotify. (Here's a video we did a few weeks ago too)
• Fun fact: At that last performance with Of the North, we played this song with Pay the Devil, Kent's dad on snare, and Ellie on banjolele. It was the final song of our set at Kent's wedding, 12 people celebrating and playing music together, and the guests watching and having a good time. This is a memory I will always hold on to. 

Dancing and Crying

Dancing and Crying
Written and Recorded 2010

How this song has made it through the years, I'll never know. When it was written, I had just assumed that would be the end of it. It isn't a particularly accessible or catchy song. It doesn't tell a particularly stirring story. Not that I don't enjoy the song, I don't mean to say that at all. It's just of all the songs I've written, how has this song made it through 5 years of changes and continues to be rearranged today? I don't have the answer, but the fact of the matter is that I wrote this song back in Baraboo and it has since been performed in Of the North and now again in Whiskey Doubles.

This song is another instance of a clear image in my head, using some real life people and events as the characters and inspiration, and crafting a fictional story around it. In this case, the narrator is at a wedding, observing a good friend dealing with a tough situation. Though her pain is obvious to him, nobody else can see what's going on.

• I love the synths used on this recording. The opening chords are simple, yet powerful. It creates a nice contrast when the more subdued verses start.
• The right and left hands of the main keyboard were recorded separately. I really wanted to be able to do both, but my skills were not where they needed to be. Practicing those sorts of things wasn't really an option at this time. Songs came quickly and I had to employ whatever means necessary to get the ideas out.
• This song has 2.5 verses, which is a bit odd. I think it was another one of those songs where I felt I'd said all I needed to say, any more would have been overkill. Looking back, I think I painted a clear enough picture. Lyrically there is nothing I would add.
• These songs were largely keyboard and synth based, so having a guitar solo was a bit odd for me. I saturate it with a ton of delay so it blends better, but I think this is a nice bridge for the song. It's nice and simple.
• I don't have a nice recording of an Of the North version, but there is a video here. This was a night where Kent arranged a few songs to add string quartet. Our band was at it's largest and we were sharing the bill with the quartet anyways, so Kent extended the bridge and added the them in to this song. It was a great and unique experience. If you want to hear what it sounds like now with only guitar, cello, clarinet and flute, you'll have to see us live this summer :)

Sights on the Sun

Sights on the Sun
Written and Recorded 2003

One of the only songs that I've written in an alternate tuning (dropped D,) this song is another remnant of my high school days. I don't remember a ton about the writing process on this song, but I know that I really wanted to write a "rocking" tune. Armed with my bass effects pedal, I dropped the tuning to make it sound more metal, and palm muted it. I'd go on to perform this song with the more pop/rock band in high school called The Manacles. The guys in the other band didn't think it rocked quite as hard as I did.

• "Standing at the gates of hell"...what a way to start a song. Not my strongest lyrics in the world, but I was really able to get behind them at the time. Overall it's quite melodramatic, but hey, I was in high school.
• Structurally I think this song works really well. The opening chord/riff, which doubles as the verse progression, is a pretty good way to start things off. Then there is a simple break between verses 1 and 2 that doesn't come back at all. I'm not one for prechoruses anymore, but this one does a nice job of setting up the chorus. Predetermined, melodic solos have always been a favorite of mine. At just over 4 minutes, it's a pretty tight and balanced song in that regard.
• Another recording featuring my drumming. It was great having band rehearsals at our house if not only because the drums stayed there, giving me the chance to try and play another instrument. I've always enjoyed drums, but never advanced much past what you hear here.
• There are a few songs, including this one, that I can't recall the real title. I call this one "Sights on Sun" because that's the main lyric and I think the original was something along those lines. This is yet another reason I'd like to get these songs out there. I'm forgetting some of those details and would like to document as much as I can.
• If it weren't for the lyrics, I'd probably enjoy this song a little bit more. Musically, I'm quite proud of my early high school self. 

Steps

Steps
Written and Recorded 2015

"Steps" is the second song I wrote in the new year, but I need to share the songwriting struggle that preceded. I was having particularly difficult time coming up with new material. At that point, I wasn't quite sure if the song I'd written a week earlier was actually good or not. Usually that's a bad sign, but it turned out to be one of my better ones (it's about a fox!)

Prior to this, I hadn't written a new song in over 4 months. This is extremely long time for me to go without ANYTHING. Honestly, I became a little worried that the well dried up. I became acutely aware of my lack of production as the next Whiskey Doubles recording approached. I kept telling myself that I hadn't written anything because I didn't want to cloud the preparation for the recording, I didn't want to distract myself or others. But that wasn't true at all.

After the recording weekend passed, my worry escalated to near panic. "What if I'm done?" That thought continued running through my head. Every time I picked up a guitar I hoped something would happen. I hoped the floodgates would open and 10 new songs would come out so quickly that I'd barely be able to record them all in time. That didn't happen.

Instead, one song was created but quickly scratched. I was so excited by it at the time that I forced out a terrible chorus, couldn't come up with lyrics, and two days later I shelved it. Again, more worry set in. The next weekend, the fox song was born. Like I mentioned, I was unsure about it and still wasn't convinced that my time was not over. Another week went by and after recording some Irish tunes for St. Patty's, I stayed up in the studio with my guitar and noodled around with some chord progressions. Suddenly I had the verse progression of "Steps." I knew that if I could write this song and see it through, that I'd be ok. So I let the inspiration flow and crafted the song in about an hour, showered, and went to a work party feeling pretty damn good.

• The lyrics are about a young man who left his home with high ambitions, but ends up losing himself and wanders aimlessly. During the song, memories are triggered by his surroundings and actions. Instead of ignoring them, he uses them to move forward.
• This is another bare bones demo (complete with some flubs) that I gave to the Doublers to fill in their own parts. I knew the harmonies on the chorus would be important to the song, so I laid those down too.
• The lead guitar that you hear was recorded as a guide for the cello part I hoped would come. I don't usually get in Kent's way, but I had some incredibly clear melodic material that I couldn't shake. I thought he'd really enjoy the triplet build up to the bridge.
• Since starting the blog, I've really become aware of some songwriting techniques that I use. The one that keeps coming back to me is the lack of lyrics over the bridge section. Though I'm not sure that I fully realize it while writing the actual song, I always make sure that a bridge or solo has a purpose. In this case, it breaks the song structure up, advances some melodic material, and builds towards the last verse. Being a particularly strong section, I brought it back to end the song with.
• While messing with key and structure, I was tempted to put that bridge at the start of the song too. But I like how we get right into the song and wait for the reveal till after the 2nd verse and chorus. 

Breathe Easy

Breathe Easy
Written and Recorded 2010

"Breathe Easy" is another one of my Songettes made in Baraboo.  Despite the unhappiness I felt with my work and a bit of self pitty thrown in there, I'm always surprised to hear some of the music I made in those times. This is one of many that is (to me at least) very relaxing and calming. I'd like to think this was an outpouring of my subconscious trying to guide me a long. Even now it brings me a little peace.

• 70-80% of the Songettes were recorded as straight MIDI instruments, which I would do through "Musical Typing" in either Garageband or Logic. Musical Typing is when you are able to use the QWERTY keyboard as a mini piano keyboard. It takes some time to get used to, but I just ended up just playing a lot of single note lines.
• I like this one in particular because of the amount of building that goes on in just over a minute. Having an intro and outro helps frame the main section a bit. Also the higher piano unifies the piece with the single note off beats and then doing some uneven arpeggios (Musical Typing is a beast!)

Moons and Stars

Moons and Stars
Written and recorded 2008

Of all the songs that I wrote and recorded throughout high school and college, this is one of the better ones as a whole. "Moons and Stars" originally came about after hearing the Blue Man Group's record The Complex. If you put aside the hilarious antics of the Blue Man Group, it's just good rock music. There is great production and the instrumental tracks keep the listener engaged. It was very inspiring at the time.

I wish I had the original demo, but it is long gone. So we are left with another nice recording by the King's Gentlemen, my college band. Whatever I had on the original demo, Trevor (the drummer) took this song to a whole new level. This recording has probably reached more people than any other. It was done as part of project my senior year. I put a TON of time into this and was extremely proud of it. Still happy with the result all these years later.

• This song was written long before I started thinking about the key I should actually be singing in. I would pick up a guitar and if I liked how to chord progression sounded, I'd stay in that key. Not many songs in Bb minor...
• Lyrically I tried to create extremely vivid pictures. "Tears fall like snow," was a favorite line. I'm not positive where these come from or what I was trying to say. If I had to guess, I don't think I was trying to say anything in particular. But I think that's what makes this one still work to me. It's 100% open to interpretation and the listener can take as much or as little from them as they want.
• This has to be one of the first songs I wrote without a clear cut chorus. Though there are two different chord progressions in what I would call a verse. It just kind of keeps going, gaining a little more momentum as the melody gets higher. In this prog rock-like setting, it works really well.
• The riff between verses is a nice break. Kristen has told me that the octave jumping part of it reminds her of "Salt Peanuts," by Dizzy Gillespie...which I had never heard.
• I had always wanted to learn how to tap a guitar solo. So what did I do? I wrote one into a song that I had no choice but to sit down and learn how. My old roommate can probably attest to how I worked on this solo for hours.
• This is one of those songs that came pretty naturally. I have to give a lot of credit to my bandmates at the time though, they really helped make this one something special. I've often thought of adapting it for Whiskey Doubles, but I kind of like it is.
• The soaring guitar lines at the end of the song were done as a last minute idea in the studio to give the song some extra power at the end. I wasn't sure if it was too cheesy at the time, but I'm really glad I kept them. They help keep the momentum up after the solo into the final section.