Fraziertunes

As promised (a bit late)… the backing track for Hebrews 16:9 (500 Miles). Hebrew 16:9 (500 Miles) Chord Sheet Track with Vocals Backing Track

It just hit me that I never posted the last two songs I did for FAWM back in February, so I’m posting them now.  This second one is incomplete – it needs lyrics.  It’s really just an 8 bar jam … Continue reading →

It just hit me that I never posted the last two songs I did for FAWM back in February, so I’m posting them now.  The first one is Baby Bug, for my little girl.  I’m channeling the spirit of the … Continue reading →

Song number seven for February Album Writing Month (FAWM) is yet another electronic piece focusing on production and technique more than melody.  This time I’m heading in more of a Tribute direction with French-House meeting Prog-Rock.  We’ve got sidechain compression … Continue reading →

Just to keep things fresh and interesting, I decided to push out a bit and write some french-house inspired trance for my fifth February Album Writing Month (FAWM) track.  This uses the Westminster Quarters tune (permutations 4 and 5) in … Continue reading →

Number four for FAWM 2012, this one is for Amy.  Originally written on guitar (in that incarnation, it’s a country tune), this ended up more like a song from the second act of a musical.  I can sort of hear … Continue reading →

I was having problems with my Les Paul style Hamer electric, so I hopped on to YouTube to hunt down some videos on how to adjust a fixed bridge guitar so that it didn’t suck.  While playing around with the … Continue reading →

Wasted, my second song for FAWM, follows along with my theme I’m working on and is an attempt to nail down both the lyrical style and the studio structure so that writing the next 12 songs will just flow. I … Continue reading →

The first song of February Album Writing Month (FAWM) is written and a demo recorded.  It’s called “Hello, Boy” and is my first run at fleshing out this theme I have going on in my head.  It’s a little sad … Continue reading →

Notes My father was a Quaker pacifist who worked in the defense industry and once went to jail for beating up a guy.  I was taught from an early age that true power meant never having to fight, but I … Continue reading →

Notes I’ve always thought it odd that so many 60s soul groups did latin and western style songs.  I guess you play what your audience wants to hear.  This is an attempt to capture some of the lounge and western … Continue reading →

Notes I love when Rebecca sings this song.  It’s a pretty simple little break-up song with lyrics I know I’ve stolen from other places, but the way Rebecca sings it makes the song very fresh and very real to me. … Continue reading →

Notes The lyrics are taken directly from a walk I took one day near my work.  As I walked, I hummed tunes into my phone and came up with stanzas based on what I saw and heard.  It’s interesting to … Continue reading →

Notes Midway through February Album Writing Month (FAWM) we ended up with a deluge of rain.  It was Friday night, just before the rain really broke loose, and Amy and I had been enjoying a wonderful evening of dinner and … Continue reading →

Notes The first song written and the first song on the album, Little Bird is an homage to our dog, Sarah, who has this funny little bird call she does when she wants to go out for a walk.  One … Continue reading →

Here's one last track from our practice sessions: Los Caballeros. It's a song about the horsemen who run their horses down in the dry bed of the San Gabriel River, east of Los Angeles. It's also about a changing Los Angeles that often has little connection to its past. Continue reading →

Rebecca and I have been practicing for weeks, now, getting ready to play Honolulu Harry's on Saturday night (June 5), and during practice I keep turning on the recorder on my phone to give us an idea of how we're sounding. This is one of those recordings - "Walk on By" - and it shines a light on the creative process as Rebecca and I play with different vocal lines and harmonies. Continue reading →

For Memorial Day, here's a practice recording Rebecca and I did of "Shine Out Bright for You," a song about the very personal wars going on in the hearts and homes of the families of servicemen and women throughout the country. Continue reading →

Last weekend I holed myself up for two days (about 20 hours) and recorded 11 of 13 tracks for the new album, finishing out the instrumental work. Continue reading →

This song is sort of a departure from the genre and feel I've been going for, but it's fun enough that I'm not worrying about being 100% period accurate. It's the story of a musician who, upon looking out in the crowd, sees a girl that catches his eye. He ends up playing his heart out just so that the girl will notice him, but in the end... well... you'll just have to listen to find out what happens. Continue reading →