Chris has been hosting the podcast for Songwriters in Seattle since mid-2010. Also featured on www.songwritersinseattle.com February, 2011 Chris interviews prolific songwriter and YouTube musician Andy Glover. They discuss how YouTube has driven, influenced and connected him with people and opportunities. All unique live performances! Click the play icon above […]
Chris has been hosting the podcast for Songwriters in Seattle since mid-2010. Also featured on www.songwritersinseattle.com January, 2011 Chris interviews rock guitarist and singer Matthew Meadows. They discuss his new EP Etherati, using online services for promotion, and the influence of ballet on his music. An unplugged live version of […]
Chris has been hosting the podcast for Songwriters in Seattle since mid-2010. Also featured on www.songwritersinseattle.com December, 2010 Chris interviews NW songwriter Jillian Graham. Jillian shares details about her musical trips to South Korea and discusses genre pigeon-holing. She performs her song “The Fence” live as a finale. Click the […]
Chris has been hosting the podcast for Songwriters in Seattle since mid-2010. Also featured on www.songwritersinseattle.com November, 2010 Chris Klimecky interviews songwriter and former SiS Organizer Jeff Hatch. They discuss his album “Rosa Mystica” under the name Ponyno, his longtime Seattle music ambitions and where he goes from here. Click […]
Chris has been hosting the podcast for Songwriters in Seattle since mid-2010. Also featured on www.songwritersinseattle.com October, 2010 Chris Klimecky interviews melodic folk musician Todd Christoffel. They discuss his history and band Don’t Ask, among other topics, and he plays a beautiful live version of his song “The World Don’t […]
Chris has been hosting the podcast for Songwriters in Seattle since mid-2010. Also featured on www.songwritersinseattle.com September, 2010 In the first Songwriters in Seattle podcast, Chris interviews solo Americana musician David Rix. They discuss David’s long and colorful musical history as well as current recording work. David plays a live […]
It’s the end of July already and time to get to know another member of Songwriters in Seattle! This month my guest is Andy “Roo” Forrest – a creative entreprenuer outside of music, who brings both a clever lyrical and harmonic sense to his songs. He has a great blend of pop, folk, jazz, and country that feels familiar yet is wholly original at the same time. To me, it is really indicative of how creativity crosses boundaries, and influences from other parts of our lives can gel in a songwriter’s music to produce something unique to the individual songwriter.
For the podcast, we dive into Roo’s new, self-titled CD out now (“Roo”) and we play a couple cuts from the disc as well as discuss the many great guest musicians he has on the recording. As an independent businessman, we tackle a little bit of music business discussion as well for a different perspective than one might usually get from a musician. As a grand finale, Roo plays a new song live in the studio – a sweet solo acoustic and vocal piece perfect for the summer(!) called “I Like the Snow.” A little Christmas in July for ya!
I haven’t been performing that much recently due to my current focus on finishing recording of the new album and producing multiple side projects, so it’s a rare coincidence of timing that I would be playing back to back shows on weekend evenings. Both this Saturday and Sunday (July 18th & 19th) I’ll be doing unplugged shows at Soulfood Books in Redmond. I love this place and I love the people there, not to mention these will be two very different shows. First, on Saturday the monthly Songwriters in Seattle showcase will kickoff at 8pm. There will be four performers for the evening and while I host the evening from the beginning and make sure everything is running smoothly, I will be the closer for the night actually performing around 9:30. My setlist for this one is looking like this:
I Can’t Say
Bankrupt Generation
*What Brings People Together
Certainly
*Colored Life
Angels Don’t Hide
*Cider & Roses
The monthly Songwriters in Seattle podcast continues to fascinate and inspire me with the variety of talent and level of musicianship we have in the group. This month symphonic rock pianist Thom Schroeder gives us insight into his classical approach to composition which combines epic forms, extreme dynamics, and modern textures to create a unique sound. Emotional performance and technical virtuosity make for an intense listening experience – you’ve got to hear this!
During our discussion, Thom talks about how he came to this genre, his search for a vocalist, and thinking big! It was a pleasure to have Thom in the studio and thank him for coming by for our 10th podcast to share his music and personal story.
The incredible talent in Songwriters in Seattle continues to inspire! This month we get to know Grammy nominated artist Henta Ellis in the monthly podcast. What a fascinating story she has of being drawn to Seattle from Engliand due to music collaboration and then flourishing with the music community here. The details of her Grammy experience are also not to be missed!
We are very fortunate to have her be our first keyboard player to do a live performance for the podcast – and what an emotional performance it was. Her song “Rain” from her upcoming album takes on a very different character live than on the studio recording. I always love that we get a unique version of a song for the podcast when someone plays live!
Yes, I realize it’s not Grammy season – that passed us a few months ago. However, I’ve recently taken in a couple of great Recording Academy events with the Pacific NW chapter that have gotten Grammy on my mind! The Recording Academy is the group that runs the Grammies if you weren’t aware. Last weekend was a fantastic day long Producer/Engineer Studio Summit which had great panels with insight into the ever changing music business. It’s definitely a rough road, but passion (and in some cases obsession) seems to still lead to success.
Then on Monday at the beautiful Gibson Guitar showroom in the Belltown area of downtown Seattle was the informational Grammy Awards 101 with VP of the Recording Academy Awards group, Bill Freimuth. Long story short, I now understand the whole process that goes into giving out those little statues, though my chances for getting one is only slight better now that I may submit rather than not at all. I’m really driving to finish up my new album, This Journey, in time to get it into consideration for this year – that’s a deadline of August 31st…I’ve got a lot of work to do!
It’s been a busy month for Jean Mann: preparing the release of a new album (Dream of Goats), a new tour, promotions and an interview schedule, she is gathering momentum on this 4th release that will surely propel her to new heights and popularity both locally and far beyond. I feel extremely lucky and honored to have gotten a slice of her time to discuss her background, her songwriting, and this bit of a whirlwind she’s creating! Not only did we have a great conversation, she brought her ukelele as well as her regular 6-string and played a few songs for us live. Awesome!
So you’ll hear “Memory’s Dusty Road” from the new disc, a solo uke and vocal live version of “Sweet Peas on the Vine” (also fully arranged on the new disc), and a live version of the beautiful “Blue Sky” from her 3rd album Daisies and Fire. Jean has a warmth and sweetness that I know you’ll enjoy, as well as an honest, artistic, and organic songwriting style that has a lot of heart. As she puts it, “…part poetry set to music…storytelling, and a little bit of journal…”
It was a beautiful sunny Spring Saturday in the Pacific Northwest (one of the few)…with McChord AF Base on my right and a windshield full of Mt. Rainier in front of me, I soon entered an unassuming Tacoma studio to start my swim in The Aquarium!!! As part of NWCZ Radio (Independent Northwest Music), The Aquarium is a talk show hosted by Ray “King Fish” Hayden and “Big Mike” Renville that highlights singers and songwriters from the Pacific Northwest. “We will focus on getting to know the artists and what drives them to pursue the life of being a songwriter.” In a nutshell, these guys are huge music lovers and supporters of the NW music scene – and they and their crew were not only total professionals, but a great group to hang out with! I had a fantastic time!
Airing Tuesday, April 26th from 7-8pm (then posted later on iTunes), you’ll hear some details of my songwriting and recording history, my current works and promotional endeavors, and my own efforts to support the Northwest music scene through Songwriters in Seattle. Musically, I did a solo acoustic live performance of “Come Back To You” which will be fun to hear back. We also got to goof around a little bit with some Bohemian Rhapsody shenanigans so we’ll see what Ryan the sound engineer comes up with putting that together! So please tune in and check it out.
This is an exciting week for spreading the music – for the next few days I’ll be a featured artist on ReverbNation! They get 15 million+ visitors per month and 75 million+ page views per month so this is an opportunity I’m very thankful for. I also want to thank anyone visiting for the first time – I hope you take a few minutes to listen to some of the variety of songs and videos I have on ReverbNation, then drop me a note or a comment. I love meeting new artists and fans through RN – there is a great musicial connection we all have there which I have not found anywhere else on the web. BTW – they rotate 10 featured artists into 4 slots every few minutes, so if you don’t see me up there, it’s just a matter of timing.
For the indie artists reading this, what has been your biggest single promotional push and how did it come about? I’ve got my fingers crossed that this will be a biggie for me and help get that snowball rolling downhill! I’ll report back on that next week. 🙂
It’s been a few weeks since my first live event on uStream and a few recordings from that performance are now up on my YouTube channel. It was a fun show that was very different for me in a lot of ways and overall I’m really happy with how it turned out. I’m also SUPER appreciative of the folks who showed up to watch/listen (and chat so there was some audience interaction!). Was the uStream event a success from your point of view? Would you come to another one? If you didn’t attend the first time, is it something you would be interested in logging on to view a different time?
I’ve been thinking a lot since then about what my fans/friends want to hear and see from me. Obviously, I want to put my time into projects people will enjoy the most. I realize new songs are at the heart of it, but I’ve also got a huge back catalog that is as good as new to most people. Would you like to hear more of those songs in current form? More live performances? More studio recordings? Do you prefer video or just audio? Or is it the variety that is compelling and you just pick and choose based on whatever the specific content is?
The website went through some changes this morning as I re-organized for easier navigation, quicker access to new content, and one big new addition: photos! I found a nice Flash photo gallery plug-in that had some nice features like viewing as a slideshow (the SL button), and easy full screen viewing (the FS button). There are only 10 recent photos in there at the moment, but the foundation is now available to add much more.
Speaking of more, I definitely plan down the line to post some photos from my Jester’s Crown archives as well as keeping up to date with brand new photos. The only downside to these being Flash based is that you can’t download them yourself if you wanted/needed to for some reason (press or marketing, especially). So please contact me directly if you would like to have an individual file.
It’s time for the March Songwriters in Seattle Podcast! This month I spoke with local songwriter Bill Derry, who performs regularly throughout the Pacific Northwest. As he says in the podcast, he just “likes to perform” and has many variations with his band, solo, duo, trio, etc. playing a mix of classic rock, folk, and jazz. To me, he just has a a very laid back and easy to listen to style – no doubt in part due to his smooth, mellow voice.
He has a cd out with his band, entitled “This Old Dog” – which you can get at a live show or on iTunes here:
Bill Derry Band – “This Old Dog” on iTunes
In addition to the song Friday Afternoon that we spin during the podcast, Bill performed 2 new previously unrecorded songs live in the studio. What a treat to be able to broadcast new songs like this!
I just got back from the monthly Songwriters in Seattle networking meetup, and I must say “Wow”! The amount of talent in the room was insane – try to imagine a small room with 20 or so musicians packed in, each playing an original song that showed off their personal style. Every one put a smile on my face. It was super-inspiring to look around and think about what a supportive musical community we have.
There were no “hacks” there tonight. Sure people are at different points in their musical journeys – some played their best song, some played a recent song, some played a song to ask the group for feedback, so it’s not necessarily always a “best foot forward” kind of situation. But the variety and energy that came through whether it was live or recorded was phenomenal. If you’re a musician and you can possibly get to one of these events, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
Originally video killed the radio star – yes, they’ve been popular since the 80’s but the category of “music video” has changed greatly since then. Especially with the advent of YouTube and the proliferation of high speed internet connections, the idea of making and distributing videos of a variety of musical endeavors is as wide and personal as one’s imagination. In fact, I have yet to make a “traditional” music video, but I find myself spending more and more time sitting in front of Adobe Premiere making videos of one sort or another. More time than I’m spending songwriting and recording, even. Call me crazy, but I find video editing to be fun and addicting!
I realize I’m a bit behind the curve here – just as I have only recently gotten on the blogging and Twitter bandwagons, I’ve only begun to post videos to my YouTube channel. But I do have a vision for what I want that channel to look like and I’m beginning to populate it with some content I’m proud of. I would like it to end up as a tasty mix of live show recordings, in-studio performances, vlogs, uStream performance recordings, and at some point hopefully a good old fashioned music video or two. Any other ideas that you’d like to see? Or something you’ve seen someone else do that you liked?
An artist’s original vision for his/her own works can be an interesting thing. Especially when collaboration is involved, the vision can evolve, shift, even become something almost entirely different, but in the artist’s mind, there is always the memory of that original intent. When I first heard David Rix play “Carry On” I knew it was a great song that had lots of arrangement potential. Over time I formed my own vision for the song and put that into production. David was very happy with that end product, but something was bugging him. His original vision…
He had always thought of the song as a male/female duet where the couple is “discussing” their hard times but pushing through knowing they were meant for each other. Though our Traveling Wilburys-style first arrangement was buttery smooth, it didn’t capture some of the emotional resonance that the presentation of a couple in a longterm relationship would have. So with the help of our local Spiritual Cowgirl Jessica Lynne, I proudly present a re-mix of “Carry On” that more closely resembles David’s original vision. I hope you enjoy it and I welcome your thoughts on how the two arrangements affect you differently. Also make sure you check out my video blog for a quick behind-the-scenes comparison of the two.
February’s podcast features a fun conversation and live performances from Songwriters in Seattle member Andy Glover. Andy is a great guy and talented musician whose positive attitude shines out brightly in his songwriting. One of the most interesting things about Andy’s songwriting development (that we talk about in quite a bit of detail) is that he has documented it on YouTube at a steady pace over the last few years. Being able to share this growth and artistic evolution in almost realtime video is a great example of how modern technology can build strong connections with fans around the world.
Andy also talks about his new studio recordings that he’s working on, and as an exciting first for this podcast, performs all his podcast songs live! So these are unique recordings that are a great reflection of his personality. I’m thankful to Andy for doing this and for being a part of this podcast. Please connect with Andy at the following links:
Oh boy, it’s that time again – I’ve finished up with my main group of songs in production and it’s time to start new songs from scratch. There’s a longstanding debate whether creativity can be forced or can only be allowed to flow naturally when it’s ready. I guess I subscribe to a creative philosophy somewhere in the middle, in that I can definitely shut it down – turn it off, or maybe distract it, if you will. But when I “allow” myself to be creative and am open to receiving creative inspiration I generally don’t have a problem finding it. I don’t generally find myself with the proverbial “writer’s block” for any substantial period of time. I can get stuck, but can work myself out of it over time without too much struggle.
I should qualify this as applying only to music, however, as lyrics are always a struggle for me. Always have been and likely always will be. I absolutely can’t force lyrics or process my way to poetic ideas. So I generally seek out lyric writing partners to do the heavy lifting. That being said, I think I’m pretty good at editing lyrics and adding the right touches to finalize them – it’s the starting from scratch part that’s really tough for me. On the rare occasion though – maybe once or twice per year – a set of lyrics will come to me, almost all at once. I don’t know how or why, but they fly through my head and I have to write them down before I forget. Of course, I’m usually in the car at the time, so rushing home to get lyrics down on paper can be a challenge. It happened again this morning!
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I hope you are feeling loved ’cause I’m sharing the love today with the release of a new song, “Water Colors”. This is the fourth preview from my upcoming album due in the Fall of 2011, This Journey, and the last you’ll hear from that for a while. Sure, I’ve got other songs in production for other folks that I’ll be releasing in between, but as far as the rock tunes for my own album, there will be a few months break.
So, what’s with “Water Colors”? It’s a slight change of pace, a little longer form, and a little more complex arrangement that I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. A guest vocal on the bridge from the lovely and talented Adena Atkins puts this one in a category of its own: the first rock song I’ve ever recorded with a female voice as part of the arrangement! I’m thrilled she agreed to do it as I believe the tone and quality of her voice fits perfectly as a sort of ethereal distant “siren song”. It serves the lyric/traditional phrase well as a reminder that the seductive beauty of life holds both joy and peril.
I’ve been doing a lot of mixing recently, and that tends to get my head in a very detailed listening mode. So when I hear other home recordings, lots of things stick out to me and I thought I’d list a few items here that might help you improve your home recordings.
Before we dive in, though, remember that of the 4 stages of recording (pre-production, source recording, mixing, mastering), what I’m touching on is only the tip of the iceberg on the 3rd stage. So by the time you get this far you’re already in the deep end. These tips aren’t going to make a bad song good or save a poor instrument tone (“you can’t polish a turd”). But if you’ve got your parts recorded well already, these should at least remind you not to make the most common mistakes when actively listening to your mixes.
I wanted to give you a heads up on two songs coming down the pipeline. They’re both very close and should be finished and released over the next few weeks. Although it can be an arduous process, mixing and mastering is ultimately so rewarding that it’s worth the pain and fine details work that goes into it. There is nothing better than pushing play on the final test CD that sounds fantastic blasted out of the home stereo system!
Anyway, the two songs are: 1. Water Colors, the latest from my upcoming album, and 2. A re-mix of David Rix’s Carry On with Jessica Lynne sharing vocal duties. Here’s a little more detail on each of these…
Just a quick note about the new posting of my alt-country/Americana duet “Colored Life” now featuring Jessica Lynne on vocals. Jessica and I have been working together a lot lately and I thought it a fitting opportunity to go back and try to improve on this song. I’m thankful to Jessica for doing it (and even coming back for a second shot at the middle break to put it over the top!) and I think it turned out great.
A little note about Jessica, she’s only been in the US and Seattle for a few months now, but is already tearing up the country/Americana scene out here. Don’t ask me how someone from Denmark ends up singing with a southern twang, but here’s the evidence it can happen! She’s working on an EP now and I’m helping her develop some songs and backing her up live. Always nice to work with great up and coming talent from any genre and Jessica’s about as friendly and straightforward as you can get – just my style! She also knows the amount of work it takes to make it in music and I love supporting that kind of effort. So please wish her good luck and if you’re into that style of music, please keep an ear out for her new recordings – I’m sure they’re going to be fantastic!
Have you ever noticed the number of new music genres that have popped up over the last, say 10 years or so? Now, prior to the last couple years, I had my head down in the rock genre pretty solidly, so when I started opening my eyes to the wider popular music world the genre selection was all very confusing and fascinating. As a musician and a fan, I questioned not only what genre I was in personally, but what would you call the music that I liked to listen to? So many of these “smart” playlist systems try to push specific genres on you and I’d choose one and then say, “oops, that’s not it” when I heard the artists they thought fit there.
One exciting genre I had never heard of before recently is Americana. Now, I’m not much of a country fan, but I grew up listening to a bit of John Denver, the occasional Kenny Rogers, and even watched Hee Haw here and there. Not necessarily big into folk either, but folk/rock a la Crosby, Stills, and Nash or Simon and Garfunkel are okay with me. But as country itself has gone more toward rock, and folk has people going every which way, I hear more and more about “alt-country” and “Americana” as a description for a style of music that’s not quite country, not really folk, not rock, but perhaps a bit of all three. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong on that description or has a better one.
Down to the last few days in January, already? Wow, it’s been a productive start to 2011 and I hope you’ve enjoyed some of the fruits of that labor. There have been two major song releases, a podcast, a start at Twitter and YouTube, my regular blog, and then lots of behind the scenes effort to get all of my web presence pages looking consistent, easy to use, and packed with as much content as the various sites will allow!
There’s still lots more to do and tons of content in the pipeline for February. Here’s a glance at my upcoming “to do” list:
– The third major song release for this early group of new recordings, “Water Colors”: It’s another with lyrics passed to me by Cait Rosellini. It’s got a different feel that I am really digging – those who have heard it think it has a David Bowie sound. I’m a bad judge of these things, but perhaps because of the metaphor-style storytelling? Anyway, I’m excited to have you listen and tell me what you think of it yourself.
– Two new recordings with Americana singer Jessica Lynne: I’ve got two recordings coming with her that are cool variations on already released songs. One is a version of “Colored Life” – you can hear a preview of that from the (horrible visual quality!) live video that was taken of us performing the song together. Jessica has a great voice that fits the song perfectly and I’m very happy to have a fully produced version of the song with her. We also got her recorded on a version of David Rix’s “Carry On” which takes the song in an interesting duet direction.
What does “polish” mean to you in a recording? And is it even something you want more of, especially in a rock setting? Can you have a polished recording of an unpolished sound? In my mind, everyone should want a polished recording – this would represent their sound in the best, most appealing way possible. To me it’s about clear translation of the artistic vision, no matter how sloppy or gritty that vision is.
So there are certainly ways that you can spend lots of money to get better recordings (equipment, studio time, engineering & mastering help, etc.) and lots of sound engineer techie ways to improve your sound. Those tips are for another blog post! Let’s start with what you can do using what you have already.
1. Pre-Production – Start with disciplined practice, lots of practice. Practice with a metronome so you can be consistent in tempo. Record rough versions of the song so you can hear it back and start to think more about arrangements. Make your song better – really evaluate it and refine it. A great recording of a so-so song is a lost cause. Does it need an extra chorus? Can you cut an interlude or long intro? Cutting is usually better than adding, and this is your time to be brutal. For example, I’ll often cut a verse during pre-production if I have any sense that it’s getting too long. Make your decisions now, before you start recording in earnest, because the farther down the road you are, the harder it is to make significant shifts. You’ll still have plenty of opportunity to be creative – in fact, you’ll be more free to be creative since the basic decisions are confidently locked in.
The January podcast with my special guest Matthew Meadows is up and ready for your listening enjoyment! Matthew is a rock guitarist and singer with a new EP, Etherati, and a great approach for getting his music heard. He talks about some of his songwriting process as well as his recent run up the Reverbnation charts (reverbnation.com/matthewmeadows).
In addition to two guitar instrumental tracks from Etherati that are discussed and played, Matthew also was kind enough to perform his song “The Mistress” live in a solo acoustic setting. If you’re already familiar with the song, you don’t want to miss this very different arrangement! It’s always great when a guest performs live at the podcast and this is no exception.
With the posting of “The Age Old Story,” I thought it was interesting to take a second and celebrate a cool milestone – 50 songs in my store! Two Jester’s Crown discs, two solo discs, a handful of old unreleased singles and a handful of previews from my upcoming disc “This Journey.” These are exciting times! 🙂
I’d like to think that there’s something for everyone in there, from the dynamic modern rock of my newest work, to the old school heaviness of songs like “The Chimes.” From the delicate pop sounds of “Cider & Roses” to epic prog like “A Voice of One.” Songs that border on country or folk like “Colored Life” or “Don’t Tell Me Why” to Billy Joel/Elton John inspired songs like “What Brings People Together” and “All It Takes.”
Have you ever wished upon a star? I’m proud to present to you the first song I wrote with lyrics from Cait Rosellini, “The Age Old Story.” I was inspired by the different thematic material and sense of wonder in the words. This was a fun one as it just came out so smoothly and naturally – I’m very excited about this song. I hope you enjoy it and share the link with friends. Thank you for your support! Here are the full lyrics:
Heads up, All! Incoming mid-week I’ll be posting my second new song of 2011, “The Age Old Story.” It’s the first song I wrote with lyrics by Cait Rosellini and I think it’s one of my best EVER. I know, it’s always easy to think the last thing ya did was the best, but I gotta tell you, I think this is a special one. I hope you agree!
It’s also the kind of song that I think really represents my creative identity at this point – strong melody, dynamic flow, buttery harmony vocals, and a kickin’ guitar solo all wrapped up in a tight pop/rock structure.
I was recently pointed to a great little writeup from CDBaby asking the unfortunately neverending question, “Should Artists Have to Work a 2nd Job?” This really hit home with me as I’ve struggled with this for a long time. In fact, for the first time now, I am 100% focused on my musical career in 2011. This is strange and exciting territory for me – when I was in school, I of course had school to focus on in addition to music. Then I went directly into the videogame development industry, where I focused in addition to music. This continued for over 16 years.
I always considered the day job as the only way to fund the musical endeavors. So above and beyond normal living expenses and month to month bills, there was constant gear purchases/upgrades, recording studio time, promotional expenses, cd manufacturing, etc. It can be an expensive passion pursuit, even as I consider myself extremely frugal with my musical investments! On the plus side, I never had to play the part of “starving artist” – which I’m thankful for. BTW – I totally respect anyone who’s willing to sacrifice for dedication to their art. I haven’t been willing to take the risk until now and know it takes guts no matter what level of success you’re having.
Just a quick announcement about a show I’m playing with my friend, Jessica Lynne. She’s a great singer in sort of an alt-country/americana style. We’ve got a nice little band going with a few other Songwriters in Seattle members David Rix, Adena Atkins, and Derek Medina. We do all original songs, some of which I’ve had a hand in, such as Colored Life. See the video of Jessica and I doing that one on my video tab here.
Anyway, the show is at Skylark Cafe in West Seattle, Friday, January 14, starts at 9pm with a $5 cover (the flyer is wrong that it says “free”), and includes Lucky Suns and Guns of Nevada. It should be a fun time for all and from my perspective, I really enjoy stretching out creatively from the big rock guitars once in a while. Collaborating with good people and excellent musicians is always a plus as well.
Who is Jester’s Crown, you may ask? Well, they’re my old band from the 90’s! Known for epic rock songs, deep arrangements, and excellent musicianship, we put ourselves in the genre of “melodic prog.” Progressive rock is a niche with a lot of variations and we were by no means hardcore, but there was enough of a tilt towards the complexity that fans of the genre liked that we held appeal to that group. If you listen to enough of the songs, you’ll understand what I mean.
While the songwriting had moments of collaboration between all members, the majority of the songs were written by me with my brother Pete’s lyrics. I still play many of the “classics” today when I do solo acoustic sets: After the Rain, It All Comes Together, The Chimes, A Voice of One, Certainly, Not a Moment Too Soon, Setting Sun, and more still pop up now and then. Many of these songs still hold a special place in my heart and I enjoy performing them, often evolved slightly toward my current tastes.
Starting off 2011 with a bang! New rocker “This Journey” is now available for streaming from any of my music players and you can download it at my store for just 99 cents. Many thanks to Cait Rosellini for the lyric inspiration – you can look forward to a few more coming from Cait and me over the next few months…I hope you agree it’s a winning combo! Full lyrics below:
All right, folks, it’s time to start showing off the new songs!!! I’m very excited to have the first of this group to be posted be “This Journey” which is in fact my newest song at this point. It was only written last month and went through full production exceptionally fast. It shows off a different side of me, not only from a songwriting point of view, but vocally as well. Split into two unique sections, no guitar solos or thick harmonies are employed in this arrangement. I hope you find it to be as refreshing a track from some of my usual productions as I have. It has been a lot of fun to put it together!
A little bit more background on this song. It is my fourth collaboration with lyricist Cait Rosellini, whose name you’ll be hearing a lot more of as these songs get released.
Time to go check out the latest on the podcast page – the last for 2010! Finished the year on a high note with singer/songwriter Jillian Graham. See my previous blog post for more info on this great conversation and Jillian’s new music. Also make sure you check out www.jilliangrahammusic.com […]
Coming off the Christmas weekend I’ve got lots to post and more to tell you about! First things first, I am anxious to post the December podcast with fantastic up and coming Seattle musician Jillian Graham. We had a great conversation and heard some music off her new album Movin’ On, including an in-studio live performance. Jillian is a Korean born American adoptee who has some fascinating stories about taking her American folk music back to Korea recently and having some incredible performance opportunities there. Many thanks to Jillian for coming by and sharing her music! I will make a short blog announcement when I post it, but for now here are some pictures of the evening to tease it:
I’m excited to announce that I’m putting the finishing touches on the production of three new songs of mine, to be released early in 2011. These songs were all co-written with a new lyric writing partner Caitlyn Rosellini, so they all have a fresh sound and a different perspective. Being recorded in with my new home studio setup also gives them an upgraded quality in the production I am thrilled about. So far only Energy and Carry On have been released using this studio configuration, so producing more at that level is something I want to get out as soon as I can.
The three songs, in the order I will likely release them, are called This Journey (just need a final mix & master), Age Old Story (a guitar solo away), and Water Colors. Each has unique qualities and each rocks in its own way – no acoustic numbers in this group. I’ll give more detail as each song is released, so for now have a very Merry Christmas – musical presents from me are coming soon!
I’m very happy to unveil the new look and better functionality for my website. It is the center of my musical world and now much better reflects everything that I am currently involved with. My work as a Producer, collaborating with many other talented musicians is now forefront. I’ve also added podcasting to my repertoire! And I have an accessible store where you can purchase full downloads of the songs you like most.
These are exciting times, creatively speaking – there is so much in the works I can’t wait to show you, both music of my own and those who I’m working closely with! This new website is much better equipped to contain it all as it comes in. Not to mention I can keep you updated better through this blog on a more regular basis. So please check back and I’ll do my best to keep you in the loop, and keep the music coming.
