Songs on this page: 18

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.

"Throw It Away" v2 11/11/2008. This is a different sound for me. Acoustics with vocals, a fretless bass, and a funky sort of rhythm with acoustic slide guitar. Also, a different approach on vocals. Lyrically, this is about a deeply personal issue.

"Rain" v4 11/01/08 This is an emotional instrumental. Someone very close to me broke my heart. The next day it rained. Looking at the rain, it seemed to rain all around me, and inside me as well. I actually played piano, organ and drums on this one. Blues style, but not 12-bar blues.

"Walkin' It Off" version 3 09/28/2008. This is a sparkling clean jazz instrumental piece. Up-tempo and up-beat. A big open, natural feel on drums. The meaning of the title is that when you fail in something, don't just lie there and feel sorry for yourself. The pain and regrets will only get bigger. Instead, you need to get up and walk it off. You'll be onto the next thing in no time, and forget all about your little fall. Stay positive. Stay on target.

"Don't Push Me" version 7 06/14/08. This one is a blues tune with vocals. It's meant to have a good beat that will make people want to dance to it. A kind of sexy sound. I decided to use some slide guitar for one of the lead guitar voices. I added the organ part after all....

"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 came 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.

"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 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 A, he's a great guitarist, but most non-guitar-playing people might 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 original one. So I wrote this one which is of course completely original, but it does have that similar, jazz-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 particular 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. I decided to record this in two entirely different forms. It started as an acoustic tune with an emphasis on harmony vocals. But then I also wanted a version I could have the band play live, so I rearranged it as a rock tune. with much more energy. This one is a sort of blend between rock styles from new alt-rock styles to old classic rock styles. An experiment of sorts.

"Busy Girl - unplugged" version 2, 5/25/08. This is the acoustic version of the tune "Such a Busy Girl". This was recorded second, but it is more faithful to the original idea of an unplugged acoustic tune with harmony vocals. So this version takes it back to its roots. Just two acoustic guitars, and 8 voices.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"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.