This page shows listings of all my songs on all albums along with explanations and descriptions of each one, where possible.

Since I create music of many different types and styles, I have tried to organize them into music categories to make it easier to find songs you might be interested in. Click on the title of any song to hear it play, or right-click on it and choose "save-as" to download it to your computer and play it there.

Except in a handful of cases where it is noted, the following songs are all written by me, and all parts are played and sung by me except a few songs on the last album where the drum tracks are played by Mike Wynn

Songs on this page: 120

Songs Currently in Development:

Here you find early versions of songs as they are being developed. I tend to make an initial version of a song, and then live with it a while, and then come up with improvements, then re-record it again with those changes - then I usually do that one more time before I feel it's finished. Sometimes - it takes more than 3 retries to get it right! I can be pretty picky. But then some people like the earler versions. So I post them here while they are being re-evaluated.

Finished songs - Recent Additions:

These are songs that are written and recorded in the last couple of months and are included in the latest albums.

"Sacrifice", version 2, 2/17/2008. This one has vocals. The message is about sacrifice. The kind a parent does for their child. The kind a soldier does for his fellow soldier. It's about how this is the path to high character and to true human nobility. The sound of the tune seems to me to be similar to Pink Floyd tunes - especially the guitar lead. It wasn't intentional, but that's just how it turned out. You add what it asks for and you watch and see what it turns into. In this case, the sound I heard in my head required a whole different tuning I have never used before (or even heard of). D#A#D#F#BC#. Sort of a Bmaj9 chord. Anyway. I played drums on the drum set in addition to the base drum track from the drum machine. It has a kind of dark, mysterious sound to it.

"All On Your Own", version 6, 02/17/2008. This one is a radio-friendly jangly pop-like tune with 3-part harmony vocals and 9 voices in the choruses. The message is to a teenager just about to leave home and go off to college. Easy to listen to, easy to sing along with.

"Just Passin' Thru", version 3, 02/17/2008. This is a jazz-rock instrumental, in a high-energy, Johnny A. sort of style. It actually cames from a blues idea. I caught about 5 minutes of an SRV concert on the TV one night and they did a riff run at the beginning of a slow blues tune, where the whole band does the run together. That reminded me that I used to do that years ago but hadn't done it in probably 20 years now. So I wrote an intro using that technique that I thought would have some impact, and then grew the rest of the tune from there. The concept of the title is about how while I was playing on the road full time, I would come across these tiny little towns that time had forgotten. They were fascinating places to me. Those were the days before the internet came so they were relatively cut off from civilization in a sense. they tended to look like stepping into history of 20, 30, or 40 years before that time. Things were different in those days. But each time I would get used to the town and the buildings and the stores, and the people, then our week was up and it's back in the truck and heading on to the next town and the next gig. Almost every place I went, I felt like I wanted to plant roots and start a life there, but I was Just Passin' Thru. It made me feel as if I shouldn't connect with anyone too closely, so there was always a distance between us. We moved along quickly and so does this tune.

"Sunrise", version 1, 10/27/2007. This is a vocals tune. It moves in a slow, sexy way. Clean guitar tone. Soft. Quiet. Early morning or late night fare. This is about a friend of mine who woke up and left the house before dawn every day for 365 days in a row in order to take pictures of the sunrise in the Colorado Rockies. They are beautiful photos and she is a wonderful photographer. and I am amazed at the perserverence that took to do that every day without fail for an entire year.

"Everybody Has a Story That Could Break Your Heart", version 8, 02/17/2008. This is a tune with vocals. The message reminds us that we are not the only person with problems. The title says it all, really. I have completely redone this version from scratch. The first time, I actually spent a fair amount of time getting the vocals right, I even thought I would tweak them withe the autotune to get them perfect, but then they ended up being buried in the mix. Frankly, they also sounded slight OUT of tune after I added in the autotune, so that wasn't doing much good. I had drums, strings, a shaker, even a couple of trumpet parts. I just heard them in the version playing in my head, so I put them in the recorded version. I was thinking of adding in a 12 string to fill out the acoustic body rhythm. Also,I had a 'Heroic lead'. Then I listened to it and decided it just wasn't working that way. It just simply didn't appeal to me as a whole. So I started over. No strings, no trumpets, no bossanova-style beat. Just acoustics, recorded with a mic, non-altered vocals (except a little delay and reverb), and a simple, clean electric guitar lead. The vocals are stronger now, without the autotune tweaking, and the original point of the lyrics is left more intact. So the the theme and point are not lost in the embellishments. This is simpler, and cleaner. Better, I think. I was originally trying to write a song for the band to play, so that was the dynamic I was trying to do, but in this case, it was forcing the song into a form it wasn't suited to. So I relaxed and let it be what it is.

"Stealin' Time" version 3, 02/17/2008. Here we have an up-tempo instrumental tune. This came about because there was an interesting Johnny A tune that I was considering as a cover tune for my band to play. So I sat down to learn it, and when I learned most of it and was just polishing off the last few details, I noticed that it sounded very similar to my style on a number of tunes. In fact, often, when I have put one of his tunes on as a test of the sound system, people mistake it for one of my tunes. So I was starting to think that I could write something with a similar feel and probably close to the same quality, and then we'd have another original tune in the set list, and also I would have another tune for my latest album. Also, it occurred to me that whole purpose of putting in cover tunes in the setlist is to play things that people are familiar with. In the case of Johnny, he's a great guitarist, but most people would not recognize his music, so there was really no point in having the band spend the time in learning his tune, when they could simply spend the time learning a new one. So I wrote this one which is of course completely original, but it does have that guitar-oriented slant to it, and it does have a very up-tempo beat. It feels a bit like a Johnny A tune, so it has the same effect on the energy flow of a set that that one tune of his would have had. It's danceable.

"Such a Busy Girl" version 8, 02/17/2008. Well, this tune has changed significantly since the first version put here a month ago. Much development. Much more energy. More of a rock tune now. This one is a sort of blend between rock styles from new alt-rock styles to old classic rock styles. An experiment of sorts.

"Goodbye" version 1, 04/08,06. This instrumental piece is dedicated to the memory of ev Brown, a friend who passed away in February, 2006 at the young age of 45. She will be remembered fondly and will great respect. Sometimes it's easier to speak with a guitar than with words. This was one of those times. This tune is a soulful, quietly touching introspective piece.

"Second Wind" version 7, 03/25/06. A guitar instrumental with a rock feel. This is meant to be highly melodic. I do tend to enjoy guitar-oriented instrumentals from Jeff Beck and especially David Gilmour because they are very melodic. It's not about playing fast - it's about the music. This song has that feel. Those easy-to-identify-and-remember melodies. This has a very deliberate melodic design. Overall, the theme is feeling that inner source of energy. Sometimes when you are tired and you think you just can't go any longer, a new breath of fresh air comes and you can tap into a depth of power you couldn't even see a moment earlier. The so-called 'second wind'. That secret source of energy that comes when you really need it. The inner well. It's possible that's where our creativity comes from too. This is not a heavy song, but it does have energy. Drums are by Mike Wynn.

"Honeymoon Suite" version 4, 03/19/06. After a solo guitar intro, this suddenly becomes a funky, danceable instrumental tune. I had in mind drums from Peter Gabriel, bass from Stanley Clarke, and guitar from Jeff Beck. With touches of Pink Floyd thrown in for good measure. That sort of mix of textures. This one is sexual in the way it moves. Hence the name. This starts off with innocence and purity with a solo guitar entre, but then it really gets down to it before long. I have always liked those instrumentals that have a strong guitar theme melody, so I did that here. This is a bit of a jam piece, actually. Unusual for me, perhaps, but then I do like a variety. I hope this one doesn't stretch the theme of the Soft Lights album too much. I may decide to put this on the next album instead. Drums and percussion by Mike Wynn. The texture of the song changed with Mike's approach to the drums. Originally it had a more tribal rhythm. Now it has more of a straight-ahead rock feel. The drums now sound more dynamic than before.

"The Sun Through The Trees" version 4, 12/25/05. This is an acoustic tune with two acoustic guitars, with a little bit of flute helping out in the middle. Picture a walk through the woods. You look out and the sun is shining through the trees as it begins to set on the horizon beyond. Spackles of light and shadow cross your face as you walk beneath the trees. Looking up, there are bands of fire as clouds are ignited by the last orange and crimson flames of the sun. The trees stand witness to the art of the moment as this sound gently floats through the trees filtered by sunlight and you try to capture this moment in your memory for later when you know you'll need this to look back on.

"Diamonds In Her Soul", version 6, 11/22/05. The song is of a type that I cannot easily classify. I don't know what kind of music it is. I remember once in the movie, "The Legend of 1900", there was a man who said about music, "If you don't know what it is, then it's Jazz!" So I guess that might work. Though it is more perhaps a soft rock, with a slow-dance beat. I was looking for a sensual, subtle feel. It is gentle, but has a definite beat to move your body to. This is one with my 'liquid lead' sound on the guitar lead. Drums and percussion by Mike Wynn.

"The Plains of Nazca", version 5, 12/18/05. South of Lima, Peru is a small town called Nazca (also spelled "Nasca") on the Pacific coast. Near this place are the Plains of Nazca where there are what appears to be ancient landing strips for aircraft, and also large ancient pictograms carved into the ground that are miles across and can only be viewed from the air. The general implications of this to many people are that this is evidence that thousands of years ago we were once visited by people who could fly. This one is about those aliens coming here to help us get started in our civilization, nurtured and encouraged us to progress, and then watch us with pride as we grow into the beings and the civilizations they were hoping for. They want us to get to the point where we are ready to meet with them again. This portrays this alien race as benevolent, harmless, custodial, helpful, almost parent-like in their feelings toward us. Drums and Percussion by Jason Christenson.

"Seems Like Only Yesterday", version 6, 10/08/05. I have always been a sucker for the "sad-but-beautiful" type of song. I wanted to make this song sound 'achingly beautiful' if you know what I mean. I touched on a 60ish sound a little in parts because that gives a bit of nostalgia to the emotional mix. I gave the lead guitar a story to tell, that starts simple and beautiful, and then gets intricate and dances for you, then moves down and gets a little nostalgic, then moves into a stronger, faster passage, then suddenly pulls out and slips quickly up into the clouds to delicately touch a rainbow, then smoothly glides down through the air again, but this time with a mate. Together they dance and swirl through the air, and they fly together off into the sunset. I think about that while I'm playing it. The song speaks emotions better than my words do. There is an expression of thoughtful, quiet sadness. But also unspeakable, ineffable beauty. It is my vocabulary of beauty. I see a vision of beauty and out comes this sound. The beauty is beyond my ability to describe it - like trying to describe the taste of chocolate. In this case, it is visual, though. It is lights, and curves, and delicate turns. It is similar to the cover picture on the album 'Soft Lights' that this song appears on. It is the beauty of creation. Of exploration. Of insight. Of understanding. There is detail. There is texture. There is pure energy. There is past, present, and future all at once. Words fail. And so I must use my guitar to describe this level of experience. Drums and percussion on this piece are by Mike Wynn.

Pop Songs

These songs are in a style suitable for top-40 radio play. Lots of catchy melody "hooks" and easy to sing along with in the car.

"That Professional Touch", version 2, 10/14/05. This one is a smooth, jazzy piece about a guy who is just starting to put the facts together and is realizing that his girlfriend is actually a hooker because she is home during the day, but works at night, and in the bedroom she has... that Professional Touch. Drums and percussion by Mike Wynn.

"You Just Can't Get There From Here", version 8, 10/08/05, The story in this song is about a trucker who gets lost. The original concept came from a TV commercial I saw when I was a kid, where a guy is driving out in a rural area somewhere, and stops at a remote gas station to get directions. The attendent tries two or three times to think of how he could get where he wanted to go, then finally concludes, "Nope, sorry! You just can't get there from here!". This is the first of a group of songs in a 'trucker theme', written intended for a specific record company and their main star artist. I'm not exactly sure what kind of baby this is, but it seems to like to dance! Mike Wynn plays drums on this one.

"We Will Be Alright", Version 8, 10/01/05, This is a easy-going feel-good piece of a man assuring his girl that everything will be okay despite the scary times they are going through. I think there are a lot of people going through those times. Parts of this song remind me a bit of the Eagles. I have decided to beef up the vocals on this one. Since it reminded me of the Eagles somewhat already anyway, I decided to put 5-part harmonies in there. Drums and percussion are by Mike Wynn.

"I Can't Make You Love Me", version 9, 10/01/05. This is my version of Bonnie Raitt's tune of the same name. It represents a different approach. Hopefully a unique interpretation. More guitar-oriented, perhaps. I don't often do covers, but this particular song is one I have always loved since the first time I heard it. I've always had a liking for sad, beautiful songs, and this is certainly that. I enjoy this song. I enjoy hearing it, singing it, and playing it. It just plain feels good. Drums and percussion on this one are performed by Mike Wynn.

"Under a Texas Sky", Version 13, 10/15/05, This song is one that has been haunting me for at least 2 years. Every time I look at a sunset, I think about how beautiful the Texas skies are, and I hear in my mind snatches of sound for a song. I have wanted to capture that into a song, but it just wasn't ready to be born yet. Now it is. After spending years rolling around in my head, It has finally arrived. Mike Wynn created the drums and percussion tracks on this piece and he did a great job. He used his e-kit for drums, and a shaker and a tambourine for percussion. I have mixed in some tiny bells as well, but if you can hear them, then you've got really good headphones! When he asked what sound I was going for with this song, I told him, "I want it to sound "achingly beautiful"". That's the goal here. The song is about a man who left Texas many years ago to work abroad. He ended up spending his whole life going from place to place around the world, and now he is coming to the end of his life, and before he dies, he wants to come back so that he can end his days Under a Texas Sky.

Walking on the Edge - Sample only. This a tune about daring the fates. At the time, I felt like I was walking along an edge every single day and everything could come crashing down at any second. Catchy rhythm and tons of vocals. Has an a' capella section with vocal counterpoint melodies.

Waiting For Perfect - Acoustic-based, open tuning, different, catchy rhythm. This is about the decisions people make while they are waiting for the perfect person to come into their lives. In this one, there is a boy and girl who discover each other online, but cannot come together until a few years later. They each have to live their lives in the meantime.

The Arrangement - Sample only. This is a commercial pop-rock piece I originally wrote back in the 1980's but is all new for 2004. I have re-recorded it with new equipment and processes to get a better sound and feel including 6 guitar parts and 9 voices. It has a very fast, up-tempo beat, tons of vocal harmonies and wailing dual-harmony guitar leads mixed in there. This is a story-based song that appeals to many people. A man finds a woman that he can't speak to, but they communicate directly without ever resorting to words. They meet, they go for coffee, they go to his place, she spends the night - all without ever speaking a word. She leaves behind a note in the morning saying ......

"Heart of an Angel" Sample only. This is a 'power ballad' style. It builds from a single acoustic and voice into a much larger sound. Don't set the volume too loud at the beginning because it's going to get louder. For the bridge and chorus, I discovered a technique of hitting the guitar strings with a drumstick in order to get the sudden impact type of power guitar sound I was looking for. Lots of emotion here.

The Road Not Taken - This was about those times when we all wonder what would have happened if..... The theme is that everyone has made decisions in their lives, but occasionally wonder what might have been if they had gone the other way. Married someone else, taken a different path in college, taken a different job, moved to another city, etc. We are the sum total of all our decisions in life. Who and where might we be if we had decided differently somewhere along the way? In my case, there was a time when I was taking a certain woman back from a New Years Eve party. She had had too much to drink and fell asleep in my car. I came to a juncture in the road where I had to decide whether to take her back to her parents house, or take her to my house to let her sleep it off. I decided to take her to her parents house. I can't help but think that things in our lives would have been very much changed f I had brought her to my place. The 'road not taken' was literal in my case. But then, there were many such roads, and many such decisions all along the way in order for me to be in the place I am now.

Who's That Knocking On Our Door? - This was written Sept 11, 2002. On the 1 year annniversary of the attack on the US. I could really see how xenophobia was heightened in the US from this, and that people generally wanted to close off the borders and not allow anyone in from other countries at all if possible. Immigration laws and policies became much tougher. Everything became tougher.

Rock Songs

These songs are a slightly heavier style (but not excessively heavy). Really, these songs have a high energy level. Some are instrumentals and some have vocals, but all are suitable for a rock radio station.

"Light 'Em Up!" Version 3, 01/26/2005. Sample only. This is a rock n roll style song written specifically as encouragement and support for the 101st Airborne going to fight in Iraq. This is the title song for the new album. For this one, I wanted to create a rhythm and beat that makes people want to dance. I wanted to make it almost impossible to listen to it without moving some part of your body. Specifically, I was looking for a sort of ZZ-Top kind of vibe here with this one. Listen for yourself and see if you think you can hear that in there.

"Best Day Of Your Life" Sample only. To make this one, I took a rock sound, layered it onto a funk beat, using jazz chords and blues riffs, then I thought about sex.... It's an instrumental with a funky, but rockish, high energy feel.

Yavanna Smiled - Sample only. Yavanna is the goddess of living things and the bringer of light to Middle Earth (The world of J. R. R. Tolkien). This tune is a fusion-rock piece with an up-tempo high energy beat and a latin flair in the second half.

"Heart of an Angel" Sample only. This is a 'power ballad' style of rock song. It builds from a single acoustic and voice into a much larger sound. Don't set the volume too loud at the beginning because it's going to get louder. For the bridge and chorus, I discovered a technique of hitting the guitar strings with a drumstick in order to get the sudden impact type of power guitar sound I was looking for. Lots of emotion here. This is about a boy who loves his girl deeply. He is praising her sweet soul and 'heart of an angel'.

I'm Not Driving Too Fast, I'm Just Flying Too Low - This is about my convertible Jaguar. I was telling my neighbor, who is a pilot, about a time when I drove down from Oklahoma City to Dallas, and on a clear, sunny day with very sparse traffic, I let the car run to where it was almost flying (I won't say how fast in a public place like this.....) And my neighbor mentioned that he starts to take off at lower speeds than that. He said that speed wasn't so fast for a flying speed but was very fast for a ground speed in a car. So I said I wasn't driving too fast - I was just flying too low. And thence came the song. I had plans to use this song in a special way. And I'd still like to.

You Make Me Feel Good - Sample only. This is an instrumental that is about that good, warm feeling that you can get from someone. That 'happy inside' feeling. There is no story that this song tells - just a feeling it describes.

The Best I Can Do - Sample only. At a time when I was having to lay off people every three months for 3 years, I felt very sorry for them and felt bad about what I had to do. I wanted to help them as much as possible, and I did. Still it was a dark time. This is a driving rock song.

"Touring Baghdad" - Version 3, 01/26/2005. Sample only. I originally wrote this in April of 2003, just as the US troops were entering Baghdad the first time and were going through the streets and chasing away the remnants of Saddam Hussein's militia. I heard on the radio that some civilian was going to be given temporary control of Iraq and he was planning to go "touring Baghdad". I thought that sounded funny - almost like being on vacation. So I wrote this song. It is a funny song about going into Baghdad because Hussein's actions invited us in - and we couldn't refuse the invitation. Now, things have changed a bit since those first days. The US forces have captured Saddam Hussein, but now are entrenched in a ground war with insurgent terrorists. So I had to update the words to match the times. There are war sound effects at the beginning including an air raid siren. I looked all over the world to find a decent recording of an air raid siren, and finally ended up finding one right in my backyard of Allen, Texas.

"In My Sights" Version 4, 01/26/05. Sample only. This is one especially for the troops on the line fighting in Iraq. This is an agressive heavy metal rock sound. There were some of the 101st Airborne at a Christmas party in Dover TN, that seemed to like "Touring Baghdad" so I've decided to write a few more for them. This is one. For this imagine a scene similar to the scene in Apocalypse Now, where the helos are coming in blaring Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries". Imagine a fleet of Air Assault Apache helicopters coming with speakers mounted playing this song. Now THAT will wake you up in the morning...

Anthem - Live - Sample only. This was performed live at Madison Square Gardens in front of 50,000 excited screaming fans. Well, ok - maybe not 50,000. How about 10,000? How about 200? ....Ten?.... ok - the truth is I did the whole thing in my home studio at 5am on a Sunday morning in total outward silence. I used various sounds from a synthesizer to get the crowd sounds. Ahhhh the fun things you can do with technology. I had SO much fun doing this song. I couldn't believe how real the crowd sounds here. High energy rock with harmony leads, etc. Used a Les Paul - White Magic.

Still Smokin' - This is also live at Madison Square Garden gardens in front of 50,000 screaming fans. er...um... yeah. Same 'concert'. lol. This tune is a 'comeback song' for anyone who once was pretty good at what they did, and now are coming back to do it again. A song of defiance and encouragement. I played guitar for 25 years, and then when my daughter was born, I put them away and didn't touch music - or even listen to it much even - for 10 years. For the entire decade of the nineties I played nothing. Then in 2000, I came back to it and began it again. After 10 years of nothing, I was pretty rusty, but I eventually got most of my chops back. This tune was an example. On the Eric Johnson list, we were talking about playing fast. I was trying to make the point that speed is not the point of music - but hey we're talking to guitar players here so...... I decided to make at least one song where I had at least some fast guitar playing, just to prove I can do it if I want to.

Just Like James Bond - This was from when I was managing a group of consultants for a large software company. This was at a time when the economy was still hot and it was difficult holding on to good talented people. I kept losing them to small start-up companies that offered more money and stock options, etc. I was trying to think of a way to keep them, even though I could pay as much as some other companies. So I thought of people who did their jobs for low pay despite dangers and other hardships. I thought of firefighters, and policemen, ....and secert agents. It occurred to me that the reason these people kept their jobs is that there was a romantic image associated with their job that made them feel important and special. They didn't just feel they were doing a job for money, but rather that they held an important position and were making a difference. They make movies about people who do those kinds of jobs - they don't make movies about people who are systems consultants.... So I decided to make a song that created an image of a super consultant. He was like a secret agent - in fact, other than the shooting and killing part, many aspects of the travelling consultant are similar to a secret agent, so I used that and drew comparisons. This super consultant was 'just like James Bond'

Billy Goes For A Drive - Sample only. This is an instrumental rock song with a 'southern roll' to it. Good Driving music... Billy was a friend of mine who later became my boss. He bought a beautiful new Mercedes S500, and yet because of his constant travel to San Francisco every week, he rarely ever got a chance to drive it. Sometimes when he was home on a weekend, he would take it out - just to DRIVE it for the pure enjoyment of driving a fine car.

Ballads/ Softer Songs

As implied by the title, these songs tend to be softer songs in either soft rock, or jazz, or folk styles.

The Boy With The Thousand Year Eyes - This song is about reincarnation. It tells of a little boy, who when you look into his eyes, you see the mark of history. A thousand years of living - deep in his eyes. This is one more lifetime. Yet another chance to learn lessons and get it right. I believe most of us have lived before. I am certain that I have. I had specific memories of living in ancient Delphi, Greece when I visited there in 1989. ahhh - but that's a long story. This is a jazzy piece, somewhat like Johnny A-style chords, with Pink-Floyd-style vocals.

Shiokaze (Sea Breeze) - Shiokaze is the Japanese word for Sea Breeze. I stand on the top of a cliff overlooking the sea and the updraft is so strong, I can literally lean out onto the breeze and it holds me up. I can picture it flying me high into the clouds. The same breeaze that blows around me now is the one that once blew through the world centuries ago. It has seen much of the world and much history, and in those intimate moments, it can tell me its secrets of what it has seen.

The Visions of Nostradamus - I was thinking about Nostradamus one day. I have read books about him. This songs tells of his calling to see the visions of the future and yet the problems he dealt with of the ignorance and power of the church at that time. They could kill him for giving prophesy, yet he feels it is his duty to tell what he knows - you he hides his message in hundreds of quatrains. Poetic constructs that can deliver the messages to those who will have them, but yet allow him a plausible deniability and alternate explanations if the church authorities decide to clamp down on him. Cascading harmonies, and countermelody in this.

A Long Cold Summer - Here is the pain of a love that has been split asunder. A boy and a girl who love each other and, it seems, across the lifetimes. This is a match that feels like destiny. They plan to marry. But inexplicably, she walks away one day. He is in great pain at the loss. This song tells the story of that pain. It colors the wold around him. He knows that the upcoming summer will be a long, cold one, regardless of the temperature. And it will look like rain everyday.

The Long Afternoon of Mrs. Brown - This is a compassionate portrait of a woman, Mrs. Brown, who is lonely and unloved by her husband. She does not work outside the home and so sits alone in a quiet house. The hours pass. Her life bleeds away. Her future dissolves before her very eyes, hour by hour. I understand this pain in excruciating detail and express it to give it form. Once it has form it can be dealt with.

"Yavanna Dreamed" Version 3, 01/05/05 - This song was previously titled "Pillow Full of Dreams", but since this is an instrumental, that meant that I had to give up the words I had written for PFoD, and so I decided to make that into a separate piece with vocals - yet to come. This piece is now re-titled to "Yavana Dreamed". In the universe of J.R.R. Tolkien, Yavanna was the goddess of living things and brought light to the early world by creating two trees. Laurelin (the golden light of day) and Telperion (The silver light of night) similar to the sun and moon which were created later to replace the original trees of light that were destroyed by Melkor and Ungoliant. These trees were the only source of light in the world and brought a time of happiness and the counting of the days. This tune represents the peaceful dream of Yavanna, the goddess that made it possible.

The Prisoner Dreams - This is about a man who’s body is in prison, but his mind is free to walk the world when he sleeps and dreams. He can climb to mountain tops, walk deserts, play in the surf. Stand at the edge of an ocean and look up and watch the seagulls swoop and dive. He is trying to taste life to it’s fullest freedoms – but it has to be all in his mind because his body is locked away in prison. This song is the adventure his mind goes on, and underneath it, the semi-hidden realization that he can’t REALLY do those things…

Blues Songs

Beyond Words - Some things are beyond what words can express. This song is about sex. Specifically, it is a story of a man and woman who meet, do that little dance around each other as they each try to position themselves, and then they fall in love. Then it builds to a sexual crescendo orgasmic climax, and then suddenly they are in the afterglow after the climax. This then leads into another session of sensual passion which then builds to yet another climax. Then it begins again. Originally, that third section I had a slide guitar in, but I was told it was TOO strong and TOO sexual and made it difficult to listen to the song many times in a row. (One woman I know has a particularly strong sex drive and she listened to this song 20 times in a row the first day she heard it)
Done in a blues style - hopefully the message comes through in the music.... Some say it comes through loud and clear...... Blushing faces....smaller version

This Old Guitar - This is my tribute to Roy Buchanan, one of the most expressive guitar players that ever lived. Quite probably THE most expressive. Jeff Beck dedicated his most famous song to Roy Buchanan. ('Cause We've Ended As Lovers") David Gilmour of Pink Floyd was a big fan of his and got much of his style and sound from Roy.
Roy was the only musician to ever play Carnegie Hall without having a record produced first. And there was no advertising for the show. Yet, by word of mouth only, he sold out Carnegie Hall 3 times over. They had to extend to two extra nights to accommodate everybody. They did a TV special on him in the early 70's called "The World's Greatest Unknown Guitar Player" Other musicians said that when he stepped onto the stage and began to play they felt like "God was in the room". He was gifted the way few people ever are. Yet, he never really pursued the recordings that would have made him more famous. He ended up working as a barber in Washington D.C. during the times he couldn't play.
But he suffered from alcoholism and depression. He was supposed to play on The Beatles Abbey Road album, but he passed out on the recording console. He missed opportunities because of his drinking, and eventually one night they picked him up in his neighborhood for being drunk and took him to the local jail. When they came to get him in the morning, he had hung himself in the night. It was a great loss to the world.

In 1972, he recorded a song called "The Messiah Will Come Again". That song burned a place in the depths of my soul and has been buried there now for over 30 years. It made me want to play guitar. It made me want to play guitar in a way that will touch someone so deep, it will make them cry. This song is dedicated to him. I tried to capture his life in the words, and his style of playing in the guitar work. I wanted to write a song that would be a fitting tribute to him, so I wrote this. It was the least I could do.

The Memories Come Rushing Back - This tells a blues story in a film noir style with a narrator telling a story about himself as he walks into a busy restaurant and sees his old love across the room. The memories come rushing back as he thinks about what happened. How they met and fell in love. And then how they drifted apart. He never ggoes to talk to her. They both just sit there awash in their memories and thoughts. Finally gets up and walks out, taking his pain with him as he moves out into the streets.

The Memories Come Rushing Back - instrumental version - This is the same as the one just above - but without vocals. The song has a different feel this way.

Jazz and Latin-Style Songs

Just Before The Storm - I love that moment just before a storm comes. You can see it in the sky, and you can smell it on the air. The world is quiet with anticipation. This is a jazzt tune which I did with both lyrics and as an instrumental. The man and woman are trying to get home in that unnatural quiet. They are racing against time to get inside before the rains come....

To The Rescue - Picture a hero riding his horse to save the damsel in distress. Cape flying out behind him, he races to her side to stop the villain from carrying out his evil plans with her. This is one of those pieces that people tell me they get the melody in their head, and then hear it at other times. Very catchy melody.

Moonlight - Usually, I create songs that express some internal idea or concept or emotional panorama that I want to depict. This time I wanted to create a song that filled a need for other people. While writing it, I pictured a couple stepping out on to a patio on a warm clear night and dancing to soft music while looking up at the moon and the stars. Part of the backdrop for a romantic evening. Originally, this was called "On The Patio" but a friend who really likes this one suggested I make this the title song of the CD. He also wanted me to make it longer, but to do that I'd need to re-record it from scratch, and there is actually a lot of work in this one. You have to listen closely to tell, but there are many guitar tracks layered together and they are all playing jazz runs in synchronized and harmonic structures. Kind of complex. I'd not like to have to play this live.

Brazil - Picture an evening in Rio De Janeiro. People walking in the streets. Hot latin music for a hot latin night. You are driving with friends in an open car. You find a club and go in. It's all about atmosphere. It's about the moment. The memories of hot times with cool friends.

Driving With The Top Down - A pleasant latin-flavored drive through a gorgeous afternoon in an open convertible. Stopping for lunch in a garden café. Soaking in the ambiance of a relaxed afternoon, with not a care in the world. The work is done, all bills are paid, the house is clean, phone calls all returned, all debts are paid off, nothing is left half-finished. You've had plenty of sleep, you're healthy and comfortable, you're in a good mood, and there's nothing left but to drive through the world and speculate philosophically about your place in it. Enjoy the fantasy - the real world will return soon enough.

The Dance of the Shakti - Shakti is the Goddess spouse of Shiva. She is a sex goddess. This song is a slow, sensual strip tease/dance by a woman who is imbued with the spirit of a sex goddess. From time to time, all women have been in this spirit. All women have it within them to be this sex goddess. To touch this immortal power, and to weild it.

Acoustic Songs

"A Moment of Clarity" Version 2, 02/23/05. A solo acoustic instrumental. This piece is the musical representation of that moment in every person's life where they look in the mirror and suddenly see themselves as others see them. That epiphany of realization is what this song is about. A moment of reckoning. That moment when you look into the mirror and look deep into your own soul and see yourself for who you are. You see all your flaws. You see where you have failed. A dream not pursued. A problem not solved. A good deed left undone. An opportunity passed by. You see what you had planned for the future, and for a moment, you see that that future has drifted away. But then, on the other hand, you also see what you HAVE done. You look back and see how far you have come. You see the good, too. The wonderful surprises, and the help unlooked-for. And when you put the whole picture together, you realize that it was supposed to happen this way. You did the things you did because you were meant to. And the people in your life are there for a reason. In the midst of all the noise and confusion and smoke and distractions of the rush of our days, every once in a while, there is a moment. A moment of silence. A moment of truth. A moment of clarity.

"You Can See So Far From Up Here" Version 3, 02/21/05. A solo acoustic instrumental. Two friends climb a mountain. Each helping the other get to the top. There are chasms to leap, overhangs to navigate, log bridges to walk.. It takes considerable time. They camp out for the night half way up. In the morning they continue climbing up, but somewhat lighter because they are leaving their camping gear in place for the trip down. Their conversation evolves as they climb. In the lower levels, it's all about sports, and their daily activities. As they get to the mid-mountain levels, they do more thinking and less talking. Now when they speak, they speak of larger issues. Politics, the economy. On the second day, as they finally near the peak, and now they begin discussing the largest issues. The world, history, people, human nature, destiny, God, the universe. As they rise up, their vision expands. Finally they reach the very peak. From here, they can see forever.

"Thinking of Home" Version 1, 01/08/05. Sample only. This is a solo acoustic piece. It may sound like two guitars, but it's only one. Played once. No overdubs. I have simultaneously miked it, and connected it directly, so there are two feeds into two separate tracks. Then I pan them apart to create distance and space, and then add a touch of delay to create depth of field. This is the first piece recorded with this new guitar. This piece is a moment of reflection for a soldier far from home. Thinking about what his family and friends are doing right at that moment. He remembers some fun times and close moments. He remembers swimming one day last summer, and what it felt like to be immersed in clean, clear water. Cool and refreshing. He picks up his head, looks out at the dangerous night, feels the heat and feels a little homesick.

"Torch Dance" Version 2 02/14/05. A solo acoustic instrumental just in time for Valentine's day. I'm writing several of these acoustic pieces lately because I have an acoustic concert coming up and I need the material. Also, I want to complete an acoustic album. The mental picture behind this one is a rural community. Far from the bustle of modern cities. Remote and intimate. A world apart from the world. There are the young lovers as there are in every place and time. These two have been eyeing each other for the last several months and thinking about dancing with each other at the next village feast. Well the day has arrived. The people of the village are gathered in an old barn, there is food and drink and music and dancing. Finally, at midnight, it's time for The Torch Dance. Each teenage girl goes to the rack of torches and each takes a torch and lights it and brings it to the boy of her choice. She offers the torch to him, and he accepts it with a wink and a smile. He will now literally "carry a torch for her". He leads her out to the center, and all the couples form a circle with the girls forming an inner circle, and the boys the outer. The circles begin to spin and the boys weave through the girls' circle swinging their torches in dramatic sweeps up and over and through. The girls laugh as they are narrowly missed by the flames, They link arms and swing around each other and the torches draw arcs in the air as they swirl. The older folks sit and stand around the edges clapping their hands, and stomping their feet in time and cheering the dancers on, and privately thinking back to earlier years when they were young lovers and dancing the torch dance. But each has their time. Tonight, is the time for these young, bright, hopeful faces as they fly by, lit in torchlight. The circle spins on.

"Redd Coffee" Version 1 02/04/05. A solo acoustic instrumental, this one is called “Redd Coffee”. Yes, of course, there is a story behind that. Well, the song that came out has a kind of a bluegrass feel to it. I’m using an odd tuning that has a kind of a drone sound to it. This has a very different, interesting texture and tone. It sounds similar to something you might expect to hear up in the Appalachian mountains.

It reminds me of a time when I was 12 yrs old and my father took us on a driving vacation from Toronto to Orlando, Florida. It was fun! On the way back, we were going through Tennessee, we got off the highway a bit and got lost. We went up into the mountains - way up high in the backwoods of the Appalachians trying to find our way back to the highway and civilization. We were driving past some old beat-up shacks that looked like something out of "Deliverance"... or possibly Calcutta. Most of them were leaning over, and hadn’t seen paint… ever. They looked as if they had been built in the previous century sometime. As redneck as it is possible to be. You got the impression that these people didn’t connect too much with the outside world and lived an isolated little existence. A pocket of the past left behind by an oblivious world down the mountain in the lowlands.

At one point, we stopped at a little restaurant at the side of the road. We went in and it was a quaint little place. Not fancy, but very homey, and the lady was friendly. She asked where we were from. We said “Toronto” She looked puzzled. “Toronto? Huh. Toronto. Never heard of it. Where’s it at?” My father was amazed. His whole world has always revolved around Toronto. That was the BIG CITY. THE big city. Good ol’ T.O. In those days it was a little over 2 million people (today it’s around 6 million) He thought of it very much like many people think of New York City. When they say ‘The City” they, of course always mean New York. They know there are some people outside the city, but they don't think about them much. The city is their whole world. He was the same way but with Toronto. He spent his whole life there and to him it was the center of the universe. When he asked someone where they were from, he meant which part of Toronto. He measured the worth of all other places based on their distance from Toronto. His assumption was that the further you got from Toronto, the less intelligent and sophisticated people were. He just literally couldn’t imagine that someone had never heard of Toronto. How could it NOT be the most important place in the world to EVERYBODY!??

So he said, “You’ve never heard of Toronto? Toronto! Toronto, Canada!” And she looked puzzled again. She squinted into the upper corner of the room. “Canada. Canada. I might have heard of Canada before. Maybe. Let me think now. ….. Is that a long, thin state up by Ohio somewhere?”

We all stared and then laughed (but politely). “No Ma’am. It’s not a state at all. It’s a separate country. And it’s a big country – larger than the United States. And yes it’s north of Ohio.” We were all amazed that she knew so little about other places outside of that area. But she was friendly, and polite, and would say, “Y’all want some more hotbread?” And the hot bread was delicious. And to my parents she asked, “Y’all want some coffee? Do y’all want it red or white?” We looked at each other with puzzled faces. Red or White? She said “With milk or without?” Ohhhhhhhh! “Without, please” “Okay – red coffee it is…”

We tried to figure out why they called it “red coffee” instead of black coffee. We thought maybe because this was the deep south, they were highly sensitive about calling anything ‘black’ because of the whole racism/slavery issue. We thought maybe it wasn’t politically correct to call anything ‘black’ As if that was a bad word now. Then we thought, maybe they hate blacks so much that calling coffee “black” sounded bad to them. Then we thought, well, coffee *IS* kind of a red color with no milk or sugar. Maybe they had just never heard of "black coffee” way up here. Maybe they just thought it was reddish, so they called it red. We never did find out for sure. Later she would come back and keep asking, “Y’all want some more red coffee?” Just as sweet as could be.

We talked about that experience often over the years. It was an education for us to realize how unaware some people were about our very existence. How all the hundreds of years of history in a city like Toronto mean nothing to some people in some places. But it was also strangely comforting to know that there are always little pockets of the past in this modern word. A haven of calm from the onward rush of modern civilization. To go there is to step 50 years into the past. And now we had a phrase that summarized that whole experience, lessons and all, anytime in the following years after that, when we wanted to call to mind that mindset. We’d just say “red coffee” in a southern drawl, (like ‘rayed cawfee’) and everyone would know.

Fire In The Field - There are two stories to this one. The story of what it is about, and the story of how it came to be. First the story that it tells. Imagine a meadow at the edge of a forest. It is a quiet, peaceful afternoon, with butterfliesfloating on a soft breeze. There is a scurrying of small animals as they come running by. Then larger animals. Then very large animals come tearing out of the forest running from a blaze. It is a quicking running flame that devours the trees and quickly spreads out into the grasses an shoots across the field. all is bedlam as every living thing races to escape being consuming by thjis spreading and unthinking beast. Finally, the flame washes over this land and all it blackened and dead. Then, slowly, after a while, life begins to emerge again and the cycle of life begin anew. The other story about this piece is how it was written and performed. I was on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea. We were on a long leg of the 2 week jurney and they arranged on-board activities for the passengers. One nit we had an amateur talent night. They looked for volunteers. I put my hand up. The guitar player from the band loaned me his Ovation, and I spent a couple hours in a janotor's closet behind the stage, creating this piece in an open tuning - which I had never used before but wanted to try. That night, when it came to be my turn, I walked up to the stage, and pulled out the stool. The place was full of hundreds of people all making noise and laughing and drinking as they had through all the other performances. This actually made me feel better. I thought maybe I could get through doing this, finish up and then go sit down without anyone noticing at all. I began to play lightly, softly, just harmonics. People stopped talking to take notice. They wanted to hear and so they had to be quiet to hear it. Then, as I moved into the piece, they became completely silent and listened intently.The room was hushed as the story progressed. It worked slowly from the slow, wuiet afternoon sound to the rushed, frantic running as the animals ran for their lives, and then when it ended and the last harmonics rangout into the rom. There was complete silence. You could hear a pin drop. I looked out at them. They all looked back at me. After a moment of this total silence, suddenly there was an explosion of applause. The place went crazy! I said thank you and went back to my table with my friends. They said they were mesmerized and couldn't believe it. They said they'd never seen anything like it before. After my bit, the show continued as before with everyone making noise through all the other performances. That was a special night for me. and this piece brings that special moment back to me.

Little Angel - This is a classical-sounding piece I wrote for my daughter. It was originally meant as a piece for her to play flute on, but she never got that chance. She's STILL too busy. Oh well - it works as it is. It is a single guitar working alone. Songbird (a Chet Atkins) strung with nylon strings.

The Dance of the Shakti - Shakti is the Goddess spouse of Shiva. She is a sex goddess. This song is a slow, sensual strip tease/dance by a woman who is imbued with the spirit of a sex goddess. From time to time, all women have been in this spirit. All women have it within them to be this sex goddess. To touch this immortal power, and to weild it.

"Yavanna Dreamed" Version 3, 01/05/05 - This song was previously titled "Pillow Full of Dreams", but since this is an instrumental, that meant that I had to give up the words I had written for PFoD, and so I decided to make that into a separate piece with vocals - yet to come. This piece is now re-titled to "Yavana Dreamed". In the universe of J.R.R. Tolkien, Yavanna was the goddess of living things and brought light to the early world by creating two trees. Laurelin (the golden light of day) and Telperion (The silver light of night) similar to the sun and moon which were created later to replace the original trees of light that were destroyed by Melkor and Ungoliant. These trees were the only source of light in the world and brought a time of happiness and the counting of the days. This tune represents the peaceful dream of Yavanna, the goddess that made it possible.

Greensleeves - A traditional classic Christmas song. It is unknown where it originated exactly, but the lyrics for it were written by King Henry VIII. I actually wrote this arrangement for it when I was about 15 years old. I kept it in my small repertoire ever since then - even through my 10 year hiatus from music. after that 10 years away, this was one of the very few pieces I could remember how to play.

Instrumental Songs

In writing instrumentals, you have to think about what it is you want to say to people. Tell them a story. Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. Usually there is a quiet comfortable start to get people hooked regardless of what mood they might be in at that moment. Make it emotionally accessible to everyone. Then you start to build it. You explore some different thoughts, move around and convey some ideas. Then start building the powerful part. Sadness, Happiness, Anger, Fear, Loss, thrills, Joy, Love, Sex, whatever the emotion is you want to express – then think of expressing that musically. What would that emotion sound like? The whole real point of music (or any art form) is to communicate what is in the soul of the artist to the audience. Any soul is just as valid as anyone else’s – whether famous or not. BB King doesn’t have a bigger soul than you. Nor does Buddy Guy. Nor Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck. Your soul is equal to anyone’s. If you learn to express it well, then your art will be equal to anyone’s. If you are not communicating some emotion or message to someone, then all it is - is just noodling. And that is only suitable for background music to dinner conversation. Important and worthwhile music has a message. It touches people. Hopefully, some of these instrumental pieces touch you.

Beyond Words - Some things are beyond what words can express. This song is a blues piece that musically expresses a story about sex. Specifically, it is a story of a man and woman who meet, do that little dance around each other as they each try to position themselves, and then they fall in love. Then it builds to a sexual crescendo orgasmic climax, and then suddenly they are in the afterglow after the climax. This then leads into another session of sensual passion which then builds to yet another climax. Then it begins again. Done in a blues style - hopefully the message comes through in the music.... Some say it comes through loud and clear. The original version had slide guitar in the third section, but I was told that that was bordering on pornographic, so I had to get rid of that......... Blushing faces....smaller version

"The Touch" version 5, Feb/05. This one is a little intense once you know what it’s about. This is an instrumental that tells the story of two people who meet online. They come to know each other and understand each other, then care for each other and eventually fall in love – all from talking with each other online. Then one day they finally make plans to meet. She is in a hotel room waiting as he arrives and phones her from the lobby. She tells him the room number and he makes his way up the elevator to his floor. He walks down the hall looking for her number. Finally, he is there. He knocks. The door opens and she is there. They do not speak. They simply stand there drinking each other in, in silence. He steps in and they close the door. The room is quiet. They want to kiss and hold each other but the moment is too powerful for that. They know each other so deeply now that every movement, every motion is pregnant with depth and meaning. He lifts up his hand and reaches out toward her. She lifts her own hand to meet his, and their fingertips touch. They extend their sensitivity to their fingertips and feel the reality of the other person through this slight contact. It is enough to satisfy that the other is not just an image on the screen, but is a real person. A person live and in front of them now. He extends his consciousness, his energy into her fingers, and moves up into her hand. Feeling her hand from the inside, his energy moves deeper into her wrist. Deeper up the core of her forearm. Then swiftly along her upper arm, and into her shoulder. He feels the heat of her body. The movement of her internals as his consciousness moves deeper into her chest to find her heart. Now he feels her heart beating, and she, sensing his presence in her body, quickens her heartbeats and she now extends into his fingers and his hand, and up the strength of his arm, through his shoulder, and she pushes her energy deeply inside him and enters his heart. His soul. They stand there locked. Staring into each other’s eyes, with their feelings and senses extended deep into the other and feeling the other’s sensing back into their own body. In this continuous loop, their love is welded into a oneness. They weep for the time wasted apart in this world and for the beauty of the time yet to come – together. That is the story of this song.

"Seems Like Only Yesterday", version 6, 10/08/05. I have always been a sucker for the "sad-but-beautiful" type of song. I wanted to make this song sound 'achingly beautiful' if you know what I mean. I touched on a 60ish sound a little in parts because that gives a bit of nostalgia to the emotional mix. I gave the lead guitar a story to tell, that starts simple and beautiful, and then gets intricate and dances for you, then moves down and gets a little nostalgic, then moves into a stronger, faster passage, then suddenly pulls out and slips quickly up into the clouds to delicately touch a rainbow, then smoothly glides down through the air again, but this time with a mate. Together they dance and swirl through the air, and they fly together off into the sunset. I think about that while I'm playing it. The song speaks emotions better than my words do. There is an expression of thoughtful, quiet sadness. But also unspeakable, ineffable beauty. It is my vocabulary of beauty. I see a vision of beauty and out comes this sound. The beauty is beyond my ability to describe it - like trying to describe the taste of chocolate. In this case, it is visual, though. It is lights, and curves, and delicate turns. It is similar to the cover picture on the album 'Soft Lights' that this song appears on. It is the beauty of creation. Of exploration. Of insight. Of understanding. There is detail. There is texture. There is pure energy. There is past, present, and future all at once. Words fail. And so I must use my guitar to describe this level of experience. Drums and percussion on this piece are by Mike Wynn.

The Hero Tells His Tale - This is an epic adventure told by music only. Picture a village in the times of the world well before Christ. There is a hero of the village who, with his best friend and the other men of the village decided to go off and forestall a pending attack the next morning by an army of raiders, by attacking them the night before in the dark. They sneak up on them and encroach their campsite. They come rushing down out of the hills to kill the invaders, and then, at one point, the hero’s best friend is killed by the invaders. This makes the hero go crazy! He becomes a spinning instrument of death and launches himself into the midst of the enemy who are falling left and right from him. He is unstoppable in his screaming fit of frenzied remorse over the loss of his friend. He single-handedly kills half the enemy and the other half run away leaving their horses and tents and things behind. After he calms down, and they watch the enemies run away over the hills, his friends bring him back to the village, where he must recount this tale for the village elders to explain what happened. But he is not a man of bragging words, he is a man of action. So, back at the village campfire, he only reluctantly tells of his brave deeds, while some of the other men recount the parts he is too modest to tell fully. This song is of that telling.

"Best Day Of Your Life" -Sample only. To make this one, I took a rock sound, layered it onto a funk beat, using jazz chords and blues riffs, then I thought about sex.... It's an instrumental with a funky, but rockish, high energy feel.

You Make Me Feel Good - Sample only. This is an instrumental that is about that good, warm feeling that you can get from someone. That 'happy inside' feeling. There is no story that this song tells - just a feeling it describes.

Yavanna Smiled - Sample only. Yavanna is the goddess of living things and the bringer of light to Middle Earth (The world of J. R. R. Tolkien). This tune is a fusion-rock piece with an up-tempo high energy beat and a latin flair in the second half.

The Dance of the Shakti - Shakti is the Goddess spouse of Shiva. She is a sex goddess. This song is a slow, sensual strip tease/dance by a woman who is imbued with the spirit of a sex goddess. From time to time, all women have been in this spirit. All women have it within them to be this sex goddess. To touch this immortal power, and to weild it.

"Yavanna Dreamed" Version 3, 01/05/05 - This song was previously titled "Pillow Full of Dreams", but since this is an instrumental, that meant that I had to give up the words I had written for PFoD, and so I decided to make that into a separate piece with vocals - yet to come. This piece is now re-titled to "Yavana Dreamed". In the universe of J.R.R. Tolkien, Yavanna was the goddess of living things and brought light to the early world by creating two trees. Laurelin (the golden light of day) and Telperion (The silver light of night) similar to the sun and moon which were created later to replace the original trees of light that were destroyed by Melkor and Ungoliant. These trees were the only source of light in the world and brought a time of happiness and the counting of the days. This tune represents the peaceful dream of Yavanna, the goddess that made it possible.

Moonlight - Usually, I create songs that express some internal idea or concept or emotional panorama that I want to depict. This time I wanted to create a song that filled a need for other people. While writing it, I pictured a couple stepping out on to a patio on a warm clear night and dancing to soft music while looking up at the moon and the stars. Part of the backdrop for a romantic evening. Originally, this was called "On The Patio" but a friend who really likes this one suggested I make this the title song of the CD. He also wanted me to make it longer, but to do that I'd need to re-record it from scratch, and there is actually a lot of work in this one. You have to listen closely to tell, but there are many guitar tracks layered together and they are all playing jazz runs in synchronized and harmonic structures. Kind of complex. I'd not like to have to play this live.

Billy Goes For A Drive - Sample only. This is an instrumental rock song with a 'southern roll' to it. Good Driving music... Billy was a friend of mine who later became my boss. He bought a beautiful new Mercedes S500, and yet because of his constant travel to San Francisco every week, he rarely ever got a chance to drive it. Sometimes when he was home on a weekend, he would take it out - just to DRIVE it for the pure enjoyment of driving a fine car.

Anthem - Live - Sample only. This was performed live at Madison Square Gardens in front of 50,000 excited screaming fans. Well, ok - maybe not 50,000. How about 10,000? How about 200? ....Ten?.... ok - the truth is I did the whole thing in my home studio at 5am on a Sunday morning in total outward silence while my daughter slept in the next room. I used various sounds from a synthesizer to get the crowd sounds. Ahhhh the fun things you can do with technology. I had SO much fun doing this song. I couldn't believe how real the crowd sounds here. High energy rock with harmony leads, etc. Used a Les Paul - White Magic.

Gas It Up - Sample only. Funk it up baby!!! This was meant to be a showcase for funky bass playing. It is a layered piece that really shows how I layer on one tracj after another to create these songs. Ths one moves!!! I could think how to end this one and it just sort of trailed of at the end, so I created a unique ending by putting a cymbal build to a huge gong. Worked perfectly.

Brasil - Picture an evening in Rio De Janeiro. People walking in the streets. Hot latin music for a hot latin night. You are driving with friends in an open car. You find a club and go in. It's all about atmosphere. It's about the moment. The memories of hot times with cool friends.

Fire In The Field - There are two stories to this one. The story of what it is about, and the story of how it came to be. First the story that it tells. Imagine a meadow at the edge of a forest. It is a quiet, peaceful afternoon, with butterfliesfloating on a soft breeze. There is a scurrying of small animals as they come running by. Then larger animals. Then very large animals come tearing out of the forest running from a blaze. It is a quicking running flame that devours the trees and quickly spreads out into the grasses an shoots across the field. all is bedlam as every living thing races to escape being consuming by thjis spreading and unthinking beast. Finally, the flame washes over this land and all it blackened and dead. Then, slowly, after a while, life begins to emerge again and the cycle of life begin anew. The other story about this piece is how it was written and performed. I was on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea. We were on a long leg of the 2 week jurney and they arranged on-board activities for the passengers. One nit we had an amateur talent night. They looked for volunteers. I put my hand up. The guitar player from the band loaned me his Ovation, and I spent a couple hours in a janotor's closet behind the stage, creating this piece in an open tuning - which I had never used before but wanted to try. That night, when it came to be my turn, I walked up to the stage, and pulled out the stool. The place was full of hundreds of people all making noise and laughing and drinking as they had through all the other performances. This actually made me feel better. I thought maybe I could get through doing this, finish up and then go sit down without anyone noticing at all. I began to play lightly, softly, just harmonics. People stopped talking to take notice. They wanted to hear and so they had to be quiet to hear it. Then, as I moved into the piece, they became completely silent and listened intently.The room was hushed as the story progressed. It worked slowly from the slow, wuiet afternoon sound to the rushed, frantic running as the animals ran for their lives, and then when it ended and the last harmonics rangout into the rom. There was complete silence. You could hear a pin drop. I looked out at them. They all looked back at me. After a moment of this total silence, suddenly there was an explosion of applause. The place went crazy! I said thank you and went back to my table with my friends. They said they were mesmerized and couldn't believe it. They said they'd never seen anything like it before. After my bit, the show continued as before with everyone making noise through all the other performances. That was a special night for me. and this piece brings that special moment back to me.

"The Elegance of Trees" version 1, 03/10/2007. This is a solo electric guitar piece. I waould say rather changing and whimsical. It is brief, only just over 2 minutes. It is fairly saturated in effect. This shows some of the ringing tones I like to incorporate where possible. Usually, there is a whole band of instruments playing and so much of it is lost, but in this case, the guitar stands alone and so many of the nuances of these tones are retained. One take, no overdubs/multiple tracks. This is just me playing one guitar for 2 minutes. On the subject matter, I do love the look of trees. I always have. They seem so elegant. Quietly observing the world around them. The seasons and years come and go and still they stand there, deeply rooted in the world and their place in it. They belong to the place they are. They help form the place they are. And there are such elegant shapes.

Little Angel - This is a classical-sounding piece I wrote for my daughter. It was originally meant as a piece for her to play flute on, but she never got that chance. She's STILL too busy. Oh well - it works as it is. It is a single guitar working alone. Songbird (a Chet Atkins) strung with nylon strings.

The Prisoner Dreams - This is about a man who’s body is in prison, but his mind is free to walk the world when he sleeps and dreams. He can climb to mountain tops, walk deserts, play in the surf. Stand at the edge of an ocean and look up and watch the seagulls swoop and dive. He is trying to taste life to it’s fullest freedoms – but it has to be all in his mind because his body is locked away in prison. This song is the adventure his mind goes on, and underneath it, the semi-hidden realization that he can’t REALLY do those things…

Waking From a Dream - How do we really know if we are awake or if we are still dreaming this?....The concept I am trying to convey here is of awakening from a deep dream, and then discovering that the reality you awoke to is really just another dream, then waking from that into another, and then another. The dramatic shifts from one type of sound to another in the song are intended to portray that transition from one dream to the next. In the end, we are never sure if we have awakened all the way out to 'reality', or if we have simply passed into another dream. For those who dream intensely and realistically, this is sometimes the situation. In the larger view, we never really know if we are experiencing 'reality' for sure do we? Or in fact, if such an objective level even exists at all. It keeps us sane to think that it does exist and that we do live in that world each day. Consistent with this concept of indistinct thresholds to dreams and reality, I have deliberately placed "The Road Not Taken" immediately following this one on the Moonlight album, and made the intro to that similar to the acoustic passage of this one, in order to somewhat blur the distinction between the songs and thereby continue the effect. Other than a slightly longer gap between songs, it is difficult to know if you are out of the dream yet.

Dance Like No One Is Watching - I didn’t really know what I was doing here. I just came up with a funky kind of rhythm and went from there. I don’t really play keyboards, so I just kept practicing the piece I worked out till I could play it. I wanted a funky, tight piece with horns. This is my second attempt at a piece like this. I will probably do more. Until I get it right. The real interesting experiment for me is to construct an overall rhythmic pattern from several different other rhythms layered on top of each other. It's a real mental exercise to envision the overall composite effect while you only play a single part of it. All part of the challenge of making music by yourself. Few people realize this when they are listening to my songs. It seems like a band is playing.

Driving With The Top Down - A pleasant latin-flavored drive through a gorgeous afternoon in an open convertible. Stopping for lunch in a garden café. Soaking in the ambiance of a relaxed afternoon, with not a care in the world. The work is done, all bills are paid, the house is clean, phone calls all returned, all debts are paid off, nothing is left half-finished. You've had plenty of sleep, you're healthy and comfortable, you're in a good mood, and there's nothing left but to drive through the world and speculate philosophically about your place in it. Enjoy the fantasy - the real world will return soon enough.

Just Before The Storm - instrumental version - I love that moment just before a storm comes. You can see it in the sky, and you can smell it on the air. The world is quiet with anticipation. This is a jazzt tune which I did with both lyrics and as an instrumental. The man and woman are trying to get home in that unnatural quiet. They are racing against time to get inside before the rains come....

The Memories Come Rushing Back - instrumental version - - This tells a blues story in a film noir style. It's a story about himself as he walks into a busy restaurant and sees his old love across the room. The memories come rushing back as he thinks about what happened. How they met and fell in love. And then how they drifted apart. He never ggoes to talk to her. They both just sit there awash in their memories and thoughts. Finally gets up and walks out, taking his pain with him as he moves out into the streets.

Greensleeves - A traditional classic for Christmas time.

"Star Spangled Banner" Version 1, 01/24/2005. Sample only. This is the quiet little finale for the album "Light Em Up!" for the 101st Airborne going to Iraq. I originally intended to do this as a 3 or 4 part harmony of lead guitars playing together. But as I was working out the harmony lines with the melody lines, this sound came out of one single guitar playing. I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say this sound is all in the hands. I wasn't intending to do this style, but I ended up liking this better. I am slightly embarrassed to admit it, but I got emotional while I was playing this. I couldn't see the fingerboard of the guitar anymore, so I had to play the second half just by feel with my eyes closed and a lump in my throat. In my mind, I was remembering Jimi Hendrix playing this same song at Woodstock in the vietnam era. His was a wild version, full of the noise of battle. He imitated bombs and planes, etc. This version is different, however. It is not his approach, nor is it the traditional approach. It is just what came out when I stepped up to play it.. Remembering Jimi's performance though gave me an image in my mind as I played this. It was an image of me playing a concert for the troops stationed in Iraq. It was a hot night with no breeze. There was a crowded huge field full of soldiers, men and women. It was the end of a great show, everyone had a great time, and this was the last thing they would hear before they leave. As I played it, there was not a sound. I have stood in the New Mexico desert and heard a thunderstorm from a hundred miles away. It just echoes across the desert. The sound of this guitar was doing that. The sound left the stage speakers and moved out over a sea of silent faces. All listened to this song. Some of them for the first time. There was total silence in the desert that night as just this one single guitar washed out in waves across the crowd of hearts and minds bound them all together. It was just one of those moments. You had to be there to understand.

"Thinking of Home" Version 1, 01/08/05. Sample only. This is a solo acoustic piece. It may sound like two guitars, but it's only one. Played once. No overdubs. I have simultaneously miked it, and connected it directly, so there are two feeds into two separate tracks. Then I pan them apart to create distance and space, and then add a touch of delay to create depth of field. This is the first piece recorded with this new guitar. This piece is a moment of reflection for a soldier far from home. Thinking about what his family and friends are doing right at that moment. He remembers some fun times and close moments. He remembers swimming one day last summer, and what it felt like to be immersed in clean, clear water. Cool and refreshing. He picks up his head, looks out at the dangerous night, feels the heat and feels a little homesick.

"A Moment of Clarity" Version 2, 02/23/05. A solo acoustic instrumental. This piece is the musical representation of that moment in every person's life where they look in the mirror and suddenly see themselves as others see them. That epiphany of realization is what this song is about. A moment of reckoning. That moment when you look into the mirror and look deep into your own soul and see yourself for who you are. You see all your flaws. You see where you have failed. A dream not pursued. A problem not solved. A good deed left undone. An opportunity passed by. You see what you had planned for the future, and for a moment, you see that that future has drifted away. But then, on the other hand, you also see what you HAVE done. You look back and see how far you have come. You see the good, too. The wonderful surprises, and the help unlooked-for. And when you put the whole picture together, you realize that it was supposed to happen this way. You did the things you did because you were meant to. And the people in your life are there for a reason. In the midst of all the noise and confusion and smoke and distractions of the rush of our days, every once in a while, there is a moment. A moment of silence. A moment of truth. A moment of clarity.

"You Can See So Far From Up Here" Version 3, 02/21/05. A solo acoustic instrumental. Two friends climb a mountain. Each helping the other get to the top. There are chasms to leap, overhangs to navigate, log bridges to walk.. It takes considerable time. They camp out for the night half way up. In the morning they continue climbing up, but somewhat lighter because they are leaving their camping gear in place for the trip down. Their conversation evolves as they climb. In the lower levels, it's all about sports, and their daily activities. As they get to the mid-mountain levels, they do more thinking and less talking. Now when they speak, they speak of larger issues. Politics, the economy. On the second day, as they finally near the peak, and now they begin discussing the largest issues. The world, history, people, human nature, destiny, God, the universe. As they rise up, their vision expands. Finally they reach the very peak. From here, they can see forever.

Christmas Music:

Christmas is my favorite time of year. I like Christmas movies and I like Christmas songs, so I have written some. I hope to create more. Once I have enough material, I plan to release an album or original Christmas songs called - you guessed it - "Christmas Lights". Can't fool you, can I?

The Best Time of the Year - I originally wrote this in 1980, but it's an old favorite, so I re-recorded it with my more modern digital equipment to bring the sound quality up to date. It's a simple, warm, friendly sentimental little song about Christmas.

One More Christmas Before You Go - OK, I admit it!! This one was specifically designed to make people cry. I wanted to touch on as much emotion as I possibly could. This tells the story of a couple who have a baby girl and watch her grow from being a tiny toddler at her first Christmas through all the Christmases as she grows older. Now she is in her young adult years and ready to leave home, but they are not quite ready to let her go. They are asking her to stay for just one more Christmas before she goes. When I first let my wife - and daughter - hear this, they bawled their eyes out and couldn't even finish listening to the whole song. They just grabbed the kleenex then hit me with the box for making them cry. Success!!! <rubbing my hands in evil glee like the traditional mad scientist> There are three voice-overs here. The first is from my little baby grand-neice (I can't believe I'm old enough to have such a thing yet!) Lexie (Alexandra). The next is my own daughter, Megan. And the Third is my Neice Stasha (Anastasia). They each portray the daughter in different stages of her growth and life from infant to 8 year old, to young woman of 18.

"The Christmas Secret" version 2 12/24/04. This is a story AND a song. The song is the classic "Silent Night" done in a choral form with me doing up to 18 voices (including all the part doubles and ooo's etc.). It starts a'capela with just two voices and then adds in others as it builds. The song is listed separately so you can listen to just that if you like. The story is an adaptation of part of a true story written by Cheryl Veenstra about a special Christmas Eve when she was a young girl. I don't want to spoil the surprise by telling the secret here, so listen to the story for yourself. I hope it is a touching story.

"Silent Night" version 2 12/24/04. This is the song part of The Christmas Secret. The song is the classic "Silent Night" done in a choral form with me doing up to 18 voices (including all the part doubles and ooo's etc.). It starts a'capela with just two voices and then adds in others as it builds. Then, it adds organ, then adds guitar and angelic voice/orchestration, then it calms again. This is meant to be added to the Christmas album, "Christmas Lights".

Greensleeves - A traditional classic for Christmas time.

"Carol of the Bells" version 3 01/01/05. I have always loved this traditional Christmas carol. It is actually a Ukranian tune intended to signify the winter time as the beginning of a new year and filled with good fortune. In my arrangement, I have used only three instruments. My classical guitar (Brasil), an occasional church bell and my voice. However, I have recorded 12 tracks of guitar and 16 tracks of voice. There are three sections. The first is all guitar. The second is all voices. The third is both together. It's really fun doing a chorus of voices all by myself. No arguments between different singers that way. *smile* This also is included on my Christmas album, "Christmas Lights".

Covers:

As a rule, I believe that it is important for an artist to say what is in his heart, and therefore it is important to write his own music. Playing other people's songs is merely expressing someone else's thoughts and ideas. It's not terrible or wrong, it's simple not the way I want to be remembered. I want to be remembered for my own ideas, my own thoughts, my own expressions - good or bad, worthwhile or not. On the other hand, playing other people's music is an excellent way to learn a vocabulary of musical ideas to use on your own material later. I do have just a very small number of tunes written by others that I have recorded and they are shown below.

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" version 1, 08/16/06. This is my version of George Harrison's timeless classic from the Beatles days. I've always liked the sound of this song, even though I have never understood the lyrics. I STILL don't know what they mean. I felt like doing a little tribute to him, and Eric Clapton, who did the lead work - although, I decided not to play the same lead. I used my own, which I felt was more appropriate to the crying guitar theme. This version does not yet have a drum track.

All You Need is Love version 1 05/19/07. This is a cover version of the old Beatles classis tune. In this case, this is done as the soundtrack for for a special video project. Vocals are performed by myself, Scott Abramson and Becky Tatum. Greensleeves - A traditional classic for Christmas time.

The Wind Cries Mary - A Jimi Hendrix classic. You can learn a vocabulary by learning to play other people’s work. Learn their tricks and licks and get them so you can play them effortlessly and smoothly, and can call them up whenever you need them. This is one of those songs that helps build a vocabulary.

Longer Than - A Dan Fogelberg tune. This was the only song I performed with someone else. This is a duet sung with Susan Smith, a friend from Canada from long ago. This was recorded in 1977 I think.

"Silent Night" version 2 12/24/04. This is the song part of The Christmas Secret. The song is the classic "Silent Night" done in a choral form with me doing up to 18 voices (including all the part doubles and ooo's etc.). It starts a'capela with just two voices and then adds in others as it builds. Then, it adds organ, then adds guitar and angelic voice/orchestration, then it calms again. This is meant to be added to the Christmas album, "Christmas Lights".

"Carol of the Bells" version 3 01/01/04. I have always love this traditional Christmas carol. It is actually a Ukranian tune intended to signify the winter time as the beginning of a new year and filled with good fortune. In my arrangement, I have used only three instruments. My classical guitar (Brasil), an occasional church bell and my voice. However, I have recorded 12 tracks of guitar and 14 tracks of voice. There are three sections. The first is all guitar. The second is all voices. The third is both together. It's really fun doing a chorus of voices all by myself. No arguments between different singers that way. *smile* This also is included on my Christmas album, "Christmas Lights".

"Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire (The Christmas Song)" version 1, 02/17/07. This is my version of the old Nat King Cole classic Christmas tune. It's just a single nylon string guitar and a single voice. Very straightforward, with a slightly Jazz feel. Simple, but complete.

Vintage Songs

Here is a menu of earlier songs written and recorded from 1990 back through the late 1970's. These are the tunes on the first three CD's which are not sold commercially. They were recorded with analog equipment and so lack the production quality of the newer pieces, but some do have some reasonable song ideas here and there.

Click here: Time Machine