2015 - The Year in Review

The year 2015 will go down as another year of underachievement for Exit World. Not to make excuses but the first half of the year was stricken with some stressful issues and stress can really have a negative effect on creativity. The second half of the year was only slightly better.

Unfortunately, I did not make any new songs during 2015. I started making a new recording which I wrote about previously. I know where this song is going but the trouble is I haven't been able to finish writing the lyrics. This will be my longest recording ever at around 10 minutes. And, as I wrote before, my plan is to split this recording into two and use them as bookends for my next album. At the moment though a next album seems like the farthest thing from reality. Unless of course my next album happens to be a Christmas album. I have been considering just working on Christmas songs come 2016, while I happen to still be in a Christmas mood. I was really pleased with the way "We Three Kings" came out and I want to do more of that. It's really freeing to come up with unique arrangements of classic holiday songs and not have to worry about rights. The possibilities are endless. Plus, instrumental Christmas albums have historically been very successful. Just consider the holiday offerings from Booker T & the MG's, The Ventures, Vince Guaraldi & Ramsey Lewis. I seriously want to get something out there for Christmas of 2016.

I did complete one recording this year which was the aforementioned "We Three Kings." I did work on some other recordings and either did not finish them or put them aside for later release. I don't want to make any plans that are too ambitious because I do not know what will happen this year, Perhaps my time and opportunity will be more restricted and thus less will materialize.

I once read about someone who embarked on a task of recording a new song for every week of the year. Thus, 52 songs in a year. That would make enough tracks for 4 to 5 albums. I don't believe I could possibly do that. One song a month would probably be the best for me. That is, with my current situation and all the distractions which invade my focus. I don't know if this person worked completely alone as I do. It's really mind-blowing if he did. But if he had a recording engineer or a producer or some other kind of help it is more feasible. However, a song a week is pretty much an impossibility for me in my current environment. These are the kinds of ambitions I want to avoid because I am more interested in quality than in quantity. And I have seen the quality of my recordings improve significantly with each one I have done.

So what are my goals for 2016? Definitely to work on Christmas music and have an album ready for release in November/December. It's just too late to wait till November to start recording. And I will try to finish writing the 10 minute song. That is all I'm planning for. I might really not have the time for anything more. Also I have to leave open the possibility of detours in the plans. What I am hoping for is some good news to come regarding my music endeavors.

On a final note, looking back a bit, I want to share a photo of the first keyboard I ever used in my recordings. I myself no longer have this instrument and this photo was not taken by me. But gladly I found it on the web:

A very small, simple electronic keyboard that I experimented a whole deal with. Glad I still have most of the recordings I made with it. It was given to me as a gift and I kept it until I was able to upgrade to a full size, polyphonic keyboard with many more and realistic sounding voices. That one I still have. 

Happy new year!

EDIT; After writing this post I went back a year to see what I wrote then. Surprisingly, I mentioned that 52-song-a-year project back then, too. I also said that it would be too unrealistic for me and one song per month would be a better possibility. Interesting to see that I've remained consistent on that.

Christmas Music & A Holly Jolly Christmas Guitar Solo Tab

Merry Christmas! The day has officially arrived and although it is great I wish it were still a few days away. The anticipation always seems to be higher than the day itself and now as usual I will going through 'Christmas withdrawal' symptoms. Would be nice if the Christmas celebration would go on during the weekend since it did fall on a Friday this year. But the radio stations already start pulling the plug on the holiday music and the TV stations end their Christmas programming early on in the day. All that just adds to the feeling of withdrawal.

I probably will not be making any additional Christmas/seasonal songs for now. At least not for release during what remains of this year. I may still toy around with some ideas I have. But at the moment I am still fully absorbing the 'sounds of the season' as they say. I'll tell you the truth--it's really hard for me to just completely cut off the music once Christmas Day becomes yesterday. This may sound peculiar but I continue to play Christmas/seasonal music well into February and even March at times. It helps me accept the fact that the holiday season is over and deal with the sometimes brutal moods of winter.

I do have this seasonal tune I wrote some years back called "Wintertime Blues." I wrote it as a bit of a jazzy piece and envisioned a very simple arrangement of only guitar, bass, drums, piano & vocal. I may tinker a bit with it in the coming days and weeks.Would make a great addition to my future Christmas album of all original songs. And as I wrote before, I really want to release an album of Christmas classics as well. If all plays out well in the coming year I will make a serious effort to record another 8 to 10 instrumental covers of public domain holiday songs. Picking out the songs will be something I should start doing right now. It's a shame that I can only use public domain songs, though due to licensing rights. There are plenty of other songs I would love to record, such as "Let it Snow," "Christmastime is Here," "Little Drummer Boy," "Silver Bells" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" to name a few. Don't get me wrong--I totally understand that I can record cover versions of these songs. I just cannot sell them. And I want to put together an album that I can sell without worrying about paying royalties to others.

But speaking of "A Holly Jolly Christmas," I've always appreciated that 12 string acoustic guitar doing fills and solos throughout Burl Ives' recording. I especially like that solo after the key change and I tabbed it out for anyone who is interested. I don't have a video for this but I may make one soon since it would be a very short one. Heck, it may even already be out there on YouTube. But I've learned that everyone hears things differently so it's not a bad idea to present your interpretation to the world.

E  :----------------|--------------------|--------------------|
B  :------6---------|--------------------|--------------------|
G  :-5678--8-56-86--|5h6p5--------6------|--------------------|
D  :---------------8|-----8-4---68-86----|--------------------|
A  :----------------|-----------------6h8|-4-----46/7-8--8----|
E  :----------------|--------------------|----46--------------|

This tab will work for a regularly tuned 6 string guitar and also for a 12 string that is tuned down a whole step with a capo on the 2nd fret.

EDIT: I've decided to tab the cool little intro solo to the song as well. It's just as great as the middle solo and fun to play:

E  :----------------|----------------|-----------
B  :1-----0---------|----------------|-----------
G  :------------2-42|--------0-20-2--|-0---------
D  :----------------|-2---234--------|-----------
A  :----------------|----------------|----2------

E  :----------------|----------------|-----------

E  :------|----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
B  :------|----3-----0-----|----------1------|-----------------|
G  :----0-|234--4-02--2--0-|20----0-22--2----|-----------------|
D  :------|-------------3--|-------------0h20|h2-0-------------|
A  :------|----------------|---2-------------|----0--3---------|
E  :------|----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

Just to clarify--what appear to be '20' and '22' in the tab are actually 2,0 and 2,2.

EDIT 2: Made the video....

We Three Kings - A Christmas Offering

I have thus far released two versions of my new recording, "We Three Kings", out on social media. First I put one out there on Soundcloud which is this one:





This is also the version I have sent to ChristmasSongsRadio.com and is currently on their playlist. After listening many times to this version I went back and touched up a few things and remixed it. This 2nd mix I uploaded to YouTube a couple of days ago, although it is a fold-down mono version. Here it is:




To the average ear both mixes will sound nearly identical. Perhaps even to most listeners. But there are some subtle differences.

So why did I make a fold-down mono version for YouTube? Because it was quick and easy and gives it more of a vintage vibe. The way I arranged the song already gives it a 60's/70's feel. Putting a mono version out there adds to it. But it's not a true mono mix. Will I create a dedicated mono mix? Probably not. Making a stereo mix is hard enough and, as is usually the case, I'm still not completely satisfied with either one of the two I have already released. Still have a few tweaks to make. When I do decide to officially release a Christmas album I want only the best mixes & masters on it.

But that's what I have for now. I'd still like to get a new Christmas song written and recorded within the next two weeks. I guess it's possible but I don't know if it's probable. Fortunately, the last two original Christmas songs I wrote did not take very much time to spill out onto paper.

Or should I record another cover of a classic? That would probably take less time. I'm not sure what I'll do at the moment. I was actually planning to do a version of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" for this year. Problem is I was intending to mimic Kenny Burrell's 1966 version too closely. Not so much the arrangement and instrumentation used on his but the slower note phrasing and 3/8 time feel. I also considered making a medley out of this song and "We Three Kings." Finally, I decided on "We Three Kings" with a 4/4 time signature instead of its original 3/8 time.

Stay tuned for news of the next endeavor!

Recording Done, Now Onto Mixing & Mastering

The weekend is officially over and the bad news is that my recording of "We Three Kings" is not ready. The good news is that I got a very good overall snare drum sound--probably the best I've ever recorded. Took me three sessions to get the final drum track I was pleased with.

There is still plenty of work that lies ahead. As I wrote in the last post, I used four separate tracks for the drums. I now need to combine those four into one. Not because I want to have it all on one track only but because I have used more tracks than I technically have available. My recorder is marketed as a 16 track but in practical reality it only offers 12 tracks; 8 mono tracks and 4 stereo tracks which are counted as 2 each. And one of the stereo tracks cannot be used for recording on because its purpose is to act as the track onto which the mixdown is bounced onto. At the moment I have 15 parts of which I will have to bounce some. Putting the 4 drum parts onto one track and the four horn/brass tracks onto only two should probably do the trick. Plus I also have to clean up any noise on some of the guitar tracks. After that I will make EQ adjustments and create a mix of all the tracks. Finally, after I have the perfect mix I will have it mastered. But to all of you who do your own home recordings you know how the process goes.

I'll be spending hours doing all this tomorrow with the intention of having the song ready on the following day. After that is all complete I will try to figure out what I will do next. Anyway here are a few photos of my drum recording setup:

Christmas Recording Progress

If you're a regular reader of this blog you already know that I've been working on a cover of a Christmas song. I'm pleased to say that it has been coming along well and I've been experimenting with some new things. But I have now arrived at the dreaded 'recording the drums' portion of the song. After initially being convinced that I would go with my trusty Yamaha synth's drum sounds, I have now decided that I need to play a real drum set for this song. The hard part will be, as always, getting a good snare drum sound.

I was experimenting a bit with the snare drum this evening and doing some test recordings with it. I achieved a very nice sound--still not perfect but it might just be the best sound I have ever recorded. What did it for me was three key things:

1. Tightening the top and bottom heads of the drum
2. Placing a mic near & just above the drum (and away from the hi hat)
3. Turning down the input recording level.

Tightening the heads gave me a higher pitched sound and one that cut through the mix with all the other instruments. The mic near the snare gives it extra volume and lets you hear its nuances from up close. Additionally, with the mic that close I don't have to hit the drum all that hard. Also, the mic is away from the hi hat which means it does not pick up all that hi hat noise and ended up giving me a very balanced sound. Finally, turning down the record input level got rid of the distorted drum sound that unfortunately has plagued many of my other recordings. It pays to try different things out! If it weren't so late in the evening when I was doing all this I would have recorded the whole drum set track tonight.

But as I mentioned it wasn't completely perfect. On the recording I was hearing a lot of the snare drum's overtones. I will try recording again with a drum ring on the head. But the problem with rings is that they tend to completely deaden the drum sound. I may try some other things if the desired sound is not achieved.

So when I do record the drum set part my plan is to use that one mic on the snare; an overhead to capture the toms & cymbals; and 2 for the kick drum, one on each end. I used to in the past mic the toms individually but I have found that the single overhead picks them up very well and I have even received  professional praise on their recorded sound using that technique. That's good enough for me. Ideally, if I had the space and additional mic stands I would go with mic'ing each tom and running each one through a separate channel of a mixer. But you make do with what you have because it beats getting into unnecessary debt.

The song I'm working on is "We Three Kings." This is a great, minor-key, public domain Christmas song. It's in 3/8 time and originally I was going to record it that way. But I had some other ideas for this song and I changed it to 4/4. Obviously I have not heard every version of this song ever recorded, but I believe I have come up with a unique arrangement and interpretation. I was going for a late 60's/early 70's sound on this, and in particular a vintage R&B feel. It is an instrumental with a minimoog voice taking the lead melody. This is the very first recording of mine to feature a cello. And I added a 4 piece horn section because, hey, it won't sound like some vintage, funky R&B without horns! I recorded trumpet, trombone, tenor sax & baritone sax. This is not the first time I have experimented with horns on a recording of mine. You might remember some horn action on my song "The Rain." Now, mind you, I do not have a cello or all those different horns nor would I be able to play them well enough at this time. But my Yamaha synth opens up worlds of sound for me. And these sounds are realistic-enough that I can use them and pass them off as the real deal on recordings. I will surely be using horn sounds a lot more in my future songs.

I'm really excited about finishing the recording process for this song. There are still some things to tweak and plenty of tracks to bounce in order to free up space. I anticipate completing this song in its entirety and releasing it during the coming weekend. At that time I will submit it to ChristmasSongsRadio.com where it will be in rotation with my three other holiday recordings. I will also send it to "The Basement Tapes with Nick & Bootsy."

Before I close out this post I want to give you an idea of the snare drum sound I'm looking to get for this recording. Such a great sound and cuts clearly through the mix. And there appears to be only an overhead mic. I'm pretty confident there are no other mics on those drums as that was back in the day when drum sets were not given mic'ing priority. By the way, this is also a great song by a great performer:

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving Day and I have been busily at work on a cover of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" as an offering for this season's holidays. But as it is Thanksgiving, I am certainly thankful for all the same basic, essential things everyone else is. And since this is a music blog, I am particularly thankful for all music gear I have and have had and the abilities I have been blessed with to make music. Music has always been an escape for me from the cold, hard realities of this world into another dimension where I am completely absorbed and untroubled.

I remember growing up and wanting to have real instruments to play. Instead, I had to make do with homemade devices that were so much better than having nothing at all. I have yet to locate some of those pieces. I know I still have them because I would not throw away such things. I'm much too sentimental to dispose of things like that.

There was a church I went to as a child that lent us an acoustic guitar for a week. A nice big dreadnought. I don't know what brand it was. I have a couple of photos of myself with that guitar in hand. At that time though, I had no idea how to play it. A few years later I would have my first electronic keyboard--a tiny, monophonic, cream-colored Casio keyboard which I used on many of my earliest recordings.

As a sophomore in high school. I had a music/piano class that allowed us to take a full-size keyboard home with us to practice on over the weekend. I think it was a 61-key model. I know they came in 76 keys and 88 keys but there's no way it was an 88. I walked that thing home under my arm for about 1.5 miles. It was heavy as heck and I couldn't feel my arm for a while after that. But my intention with that keyboard was to use it for a weekend of recordings. Never before had I access to a keyboard with such authentic piano, organ, bass, drums & vibes sounds! I would happily publish my recordings here were they not so error-laden and simple-sounding. Back in those days I was recording with very cheap microphones--the kind used for tape recorders--and very cheap cassette tapes. Any mistakes made during recording would mean having to start all over from the beginning; none of this wonderful punching in/out editing of the modern digital recording age. And during those days I didn't have all the opportunities and abilities I would have liked in order to keep re-recording to perfection.

A few years after that is when I got my first acoustic guitar and a Casio keyboard similar to the one from high school although it was much lighter in weight! That was the genesis of what has become my music gear. I am really thankful for all that stuff and the ability to make music at home. This would have been impossible to do 25-30 years ago without having to spend a small fortune. Eventually I would still love to have my own studio with state of the art equipment. But for now I'll count my blessings and be grateful for what I am able to do with what I have.

Getting In the Christmas Mood

Today I was at a Lowe's hardware store. They already have their Christmas trees and decorations display up and running and immediately I got the urge to make Christmas music. That's all it took for me. I'm definitely not ready for Christmas but this is surely the time to start working on some Christmas songs. The music industry usually gets their new holiday albums recorded in the summer and begin releasing them now or shortly. Me, well, I guess I do things my own way which is not always the most efficient. But it's still a great time to record perhaps a couple of new tunes and maybe even a few covers.

Seeing all those decorated trees and lights and everything just brought the Christmas mood onto me. Christmas music is so timeless and all those classic recordings from the 50's, 60's & 70's started coming into my head. I became very excited at the thought of creating some new Christmas songs. And it's not only because I really love Christmas music but also because I still believe that holiday music is a great way to get into the music business. Yes, that is still ultimately my goal because I cannot see any fulfillment in doing anything else. Of course, I will continue to make music regardless as long as I am able.

So from this point forward I'm going to buckle down and start trying to reach some year-end goals. These include at least one new holiday tune, a holiday cover tune and another song I started working on months ago but have not finished. This song in particular is my longest song yet at ten minutes. My plan for this tune was to make it a 2-part song. The first part would feature lyrics and the second would be instrumental. I envisioned it as bookends for my next album, with the first part opening the album and the second half closing it out. I'm not terribly concerned about the instrument tracks. I already have the main guitar track laid down. My main concern is that I have had some writer's block on the lyrics and I need to get it written soon. This will be a mainly acoustic guitar song with a good amount of minimoog sounds.

2015 Coming to a Fast Close

Gosh, it's already October! And yeah, I haven't worked on any music this past summer. I think now is a better time for me. Did I mention that where I do most of my musical work is extremely hot during the summer? It is and this past summer was no exception. It is much more conducive to creating now and I will get back to it.

I had toyed with the idea of recording an entire Christmas album this year. Obviously, that did not happen and it's safe to say it will not. I may yet make another new song and perhaps a few covers of public domain ones.

Can I still put out another album of non-Christmas material in 2015? I would love to! A goal of mine would be to release a new album each year. So is it realistic for me within the next 3 months to put together another record of original music? Most likely not. But I do have to crank up the gears in terms of creating music for the remainder of the year. I had plenty of song ideas this year thanks to a particular band I spent a lot of time listening to.

Anyway, I don't think I'll be releasing albums at the end of the year anymore. A Christmas album, sure. But otherwise, no. See, the thing with releasing an album in December is that the next year comes up in 30 days or less and then your album starts feeling old. So it's January of the new year and you start thinking, "I released my album last year," or "My album is from last year." And it was just a month ago but it still feels older than it should. Thus, henceforth I will be releasing albums in the spring or early summer. That will be the goal but I will not hold myself to that rigidly. I will allow myself the period from January to October of any given year to release a new record but will try to target specifically the March-June period.

There is nothing more thrilling to me than recording music. To be able to play back something--a moment in time--and listen to it endlessly is absolutely amazing. Playing live music is great too but most of the time live music is not recorded, whatever the setting happens to be. A recording can be played over and over again and it is what really sticks in people's minds. As someone who has played live many times I have felt those moments of musical ecstasy where everything is just so perfect and complimentary. But I have experienced that even more often through the magic of recording and manipulating sound. Maybe I should do experimental music! Well, I'm open to doing all kinds of music except the kinds I'm not open to.

Anyway, I am intent on spending the rest of this year doing some serious recording.

Barney Miller Them Guitar Solo Tab (And Horn Part)

Today I finally tabbed out the guitar solo to the Barney Miller theme. It's was a lot less complicated than the bass tab and a lot shorter.

The tab I made is a little different from my YouTube video where I'm playing the song. On the video I pretty much kept the entire passage around the 12th fret and higher. On the tab I brought the first few measures down to a lower position on the fretboard.

Here is the video:





As I mentioned in the video description the guitar was out of tune.

Now here is the tab:

E  :--------------------|-------------------------|
B  :--------------------|-------------------------|
G  :--------------------|10----12^-12-10--13-10-10|
D  :--------------7-8-10|-------------------------|
A  :------------8-------|-------------------------|
E  :--------------------|-------------------------|

E  :-----------------------------|-----------------------13-15^-|
B  :9----11----9-9---------------|-----------------13-15--------|
G  :--10----10-----10-----15^-15^|--13----13-15-15--------------|
D  :-----------------------------|-----15-----------------------|
A  :-----------------------------|------------------------------|
E  :-----------------------------|------------------------------|

E  :13-13----13-16-18^-16-16----16------|---------------------|
B  :------15-----------------18----18-16|18----18-------------|
G  :------------------------------------|---17----------------|
D  :------------------------------------|---------------------|
A  :------------------------------------|---------------------|
E  :------------------------------------|---------------------|


In the video I also play the trumpet part after the guitar solo. I don't start playing it at the very beginning because the guitar is just about ending when the trumpet(s) comes in. So I skipped about a measure and-a-half before I start to play along with it. I tabbed out the entire horn part for guitar and here it is:

E  :-------------------------|-------------13-----------|

B  :-----------13-15-13------|-----------------16-13----|

G  :--------14----------14-12|---12---------------------|

D  :-------------------------|15----12-15---------------|

A  :-------------------------|--------------------------|

E  :-------------------------|--------------------------|

E  :---------------13-----------|------------------------------13-------|

B  :-------------------16-13----|------------------------13-15----13-15-|

G  :15-13-----------------------|15-13----------12-13-14----------------|

D  :------15-13-15--------------|------15-13-15-------------------------|

A  :----------------------------|---------------------------------------|

E  :----------------------------|---------------------------------------|

E  :------13-14------13-------|-------13-14-13----13-------|

B  :13-15---------16----16----|-13-16----------16----16----|

G  :--------------------------|----------------------------|

D  :--------------------------|----------------------------|

A  :--------------------------|----------------------------|

E  :--------------------------|----------------------------|

E  :------14----13-14----13-|--------14----13-------|

B  :---------16-------16----|16-13------16----16----|

G  :------------------------|-----------------------|

D  :------------------------|-----------------------|

A  :------------------------|-----------------------|

E  :------------------------|-----------------------|

E  :----11-12-13-----------|

B  :-13--------------------|

G  :-----------------------|

D  :-----------------------|

A  :-----------------------|

E  :-----------------------|

There it is! The horn part is actually longer than the guitar solo. The very last measure of the horn tab is different from what I played in the video but it's still all the same notes. 

There are several versions of the Barney Miller theme but I have always preferred this one which is the one that was used exclusively through to the final season. There is another version that was used in a few episodes in the late 70's that sounds a little funkier. 

As a musician I believe having a song of yours as a theme song for a television show is an excellent way to get heard. In some cases I think people will actually remember the song from a show more than they remember who was in it or what it was about. It would be wonderful to get a song placed as a theme!

Come and Get Your Love Bass Tab

I've been listening a lot lately to a song called "Come & Get Your Love" by Redbone. Not because I just discovered it as a result of Hollywood's having to dig deep into the vaults for their lack of modern-day creativity. But because I've known this song for many years and it's been in my iTunes library for a long time. And because I like to revisit some of the songs in my library from time to time and I end up getting hooked on them either again or even for the first time. With this song, this is the first time I've been hooked on it.

It is a shame that great songs such as this one can only get new life by getting placed in a movie or commercial. It's nice that younger generations can hear it for the first time. Heck, this song isn't even from my generation so I had to discover it some way. I personally do not watch any new movies so I had no idea this song was recently featured in a flick. The only reason I now know is because I searched for some info about it online and I came across these repeated phrases which made no sense to me. Eventually I learned that the phrases were the title and character of the movie the song was in.

Anyway, this post is not so much to rag on Hollywood or the entertainment industry, though I have plenty I could write about that. It's actually because I have been listening carefully to the bass line of 'Come and Get Your Love' and trying to figure it out. I think I now have figured it out and I thought about uploading a cover video on YouTube. I decided to check out if there were other bass covers of this song already on there. Lo and behold, of course there were. I checked out about 5 videos and only one is by a guy who's actually old enough to have been around when that song came out. The other 4 were without doubt way too young. Again, odds are they know the song because of the film. That's the power of Hollywood. But I'm going off course again.....So the thing is none of the 5 videos feature them playing the bass part as I am hearing it on the original recording. A bit different in fact. Now I don't know if their intent is to just play their own version of it or to show others how to play it. But as for me, I think I have figured out the bass line and I want to show how to play it. While I haven't made a cover video yet I have tabbed it out and it is included here. Once I do make the video I will link to it here.

Here is the intro. I don't think there are any debates regarding this part:

G  :----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
D  :----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
A  :5---2-0-5---2-0-|--5-2-0-5-5-2-0-|5---2-0-5---2-0-|--5-2-0-5-5-2-0-|
E  :----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|

Note that the intro does not have to be played all on the A string. I myself prefer to play the B & A notes on the E string. I tabbed it out this way because it looks as though Pat Vegas plays it all on the A string.



Now the verse part. This is where I'm hearing different notes from what everyone else on YouTube is playing. I listened to this very carefully before checking out anyone else's interpretation. I tabbed out the first 4 measures because the 2nd and 4th measures are different by one note. But after playing measures 1 through 4 you keep repeating measures 3 & 4 up to the chorus.

G  :----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
D  :----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
A  :--------------4-|5---5---2---2-0-|--------------4-|5---5-4-2---2-0-|
E  :0-2-0-3-5-4-5---|------2---------|0-2-0-3-5-4-5---|----------------|



Here is the chorus part leading back into the verse.

G  :----------------|----------------|---------------------------|
D  :----------------|----------------|---------------------------|
A  :--------------4-|5---5---2---2-0-|---------------------------|
E  :0-2-0-3-5-4-5---|------2---------|0-0--0-2-2--2-3-3--3-5-5--5|

G  :----------------|---------------------------|----------------|
D  :----------------|---------------------------|----------------|
A  :5---5---2---2-0-|---------------------------|--------------4-|
E  :------2---------|0-0--0-2-2--2-3-3--3-5-5--5|0---0-3-5---5---|

G  :----------------|
D  :----------------|
A  :5---5-4-2-------|
E  :----------------|

So you would play measures 1 & 2 once and then measures 3 & 4 several times followed by measures 5, 6 & 7 which take you back into the verse.

That's pretty much the whole thing and I believe it's pretty close to the original so I'm sticking to it. Video to come soon.

EDIT--Here is the video:

'Song For A Friend' on YouTube

I still want to post here with some level of regularity despite the hardship I am going through right now. Writing here and focusing on my music is actually quite therapeutic. I just wish I had all the time and energy necessary to be devoted to these things. I notice that many of the blogs that I follow post a lot more frequently than I do. I really do hope that things work out to a level where I will have the necessary means in all respects to keep all this going.

Recently I uploaded to YouTube a song I made several years back. This song has been on soundcloud for a while but I never really spread it around that much. This was a special project creation for a young friend who died from cancer in his teens. Some mutual friends decided to create a tribute to him on what would have been the commemoration of his birthday. I decided to contribute a song. Some songs come fast--words and melody--other songs come very slow. This one came fast and it's a good thing it did because the target date for this tribute was his birthday which was not very far off. The recording and everything was finished rather quickly and in time.

I have thought several times about changing some of the lyrics to make for less specific details and perhaps creating a wider audience appeal. I feel the song has tremendous pop sensibilities and I drew inspiration from at least 2 songs--'Leaving Ninety-Nine' by Audio Adrenaline and 'February' by Ten Shekel Shirt--that I like very much. (In fact, the title of the Ten Shekel Shirt song influenced me to originally title the song in a similar fashion. I have gone on to change the title several times). However, as I mentioned before, I'm not very keen on trying to re-work old songs, or at least old songs which have already been recorded. There are a few things I could do to make the recording sonically superior. But as far as a re-write, there are no plans for that unless I received a professional suggestion to do so.

As it stands the song is officially called "Song For A Friend." Here it is:




On this recording I used 2 guitars which I no longer own. One was the emerald green Carvin CT-6 and the other was a Rickenbacker 350V63. I'm not completely sure but there may have been a third guitar used. I did not keep recording notes at that time so I can only go by memory. Bass used was a Fender Jazz bass. This song also features some prominent slide guitar playing which I incorporated during a slide phase I was going through. I certainly do plan to add more slide to my recordings as I see fit.

So what do you think of the song? Someone upon hearing this song for the first time said it sounded like the Beatles. I found that to be interesting.

Go Fund Me

I'm going to take a break from my normal writing about music to post something that is extremely important. I have set up a Go Fund Me campaign to raise money to keep me from losing my home. I don't know how many regular readers I have on this blog, but if any of my tabs or videos have been helpful or entertaining to you I would ask you to consider making a donation to my Go Fund Me link below. And perhaps even share the page with others. Clicking on the link will open a new page. Thank you!

Submit 'Milestone' For Review?

I really want to get working on my next album. And I would really like to have it done this year. At the rate I've been going the last decade or so I would think that is impossible. But a 'new' band I just discovered said they recorded their latest great record in 3 days. Of course they are a 4 piece band which makes things easier. And their album is over 60 minutes long. I know I can do it but it will require extreme dedication.

I want my next album to be great in every aspect that matters to me. What that means is that I want solid musicianship, really good vocals, lyrics that are at least somewhat meaningful, relatively simple productions and great mixing. While I do feel accomplished at having released "Milestone," the songs on there were recorded over a period of 12 years. I grew and learned a lot during that time. Some of the songs on there will always be personal favorites of mine. But others were lacking in some way or another. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to my music but I am limited by certain things.

I have considered several times sending in "Milestone" for review on websites that accept artist submissions. But I almost know what they will say. The musicianship is solid in my opinion. Some of the older songs had some recording issues which I could not fix without re-recording. However my biggest concern is the vocals. I'm not a good singer and some of the songs have flat vocals in spots. Perhaps to the average ear they may go unnoticed. But I'm confident that reviewers will not miss that. Thus while I'm curious to read some reviews of the album I also want to spare myself the outside criticism of what I am already highly critical of myself. It's not that I cannot handle it. It's more of a matter where they may decide to focus so much attention to that issue that the rest of the product will go largely unnoticed. Of course, they may dislike the music as well. They may conclude that the album does not flow well and that there are too many styles on it. They may deem it uninteresting. If they're going to say that the songs are badly produced and poorly vocalized, I will not completely disagree. I already have my reservations about those things so I do not need to hear that. The next project will be improved in those areas. Hopefully they will realize this was not created in a state of the art studio. But I would like more focus to be directed towards the musicianship, the arrangements, the lyrics. I want to hear who they think the music reminds them of. I guess I'm seeking more of a focus on the creativity versus the technical aspects.

So I don't know. I'm already overly critical of my material. I don't need to hear more criticism. I'd like to focus on the positives. Again, I'm not afraid of criticism. I'd rather not read anything that may discourage me. There's plenty of that going 'round already. Of course, there's no guarantee anyone would ever get to doing a review of my album anyway. Just something to think about.

Exit World's Milestone Album Song Previews Video

Per a YouTube recommendation I decided to make a short video that previews each track on the new Milestone album. It was a bit more time-consuming that I had envisioned but I guess that is true of most things, not the least of which is a recorded song. So if you have about 4 minutes to spare you can get an idea of what the music is all about.




This was a rather fun project to work on. Reminded me of those old Time-Life commercials for music compilations where they would play little segments of the songs in the collection. I certainly look forward to the next one of these that I will be able to do.

'We're Gonna Make It' Video

I made a video for the song "We're Gonna Make It" from my new album "Milestone." This version is just slightly different from the album version in that I trimmed out the fade-in portion of the beginning. A fellow musician had suggested not having a fade-in at all but it was something I never used before and I wanted to extend the song a bit. But for the YouTube version I eliminated the fade-in which in turn shortened the overall length of the song.

Here is the video:

New Life For Some Old Songs

Last evening I took one of my old recordings that I never officially released and used a minimoog to play the melody part over the backing tracks. I had this song up on myspace.com eons ago and here and there over the years. This song is so old in fact that I no longer have the electric guitars or bass that was used on it. It's from 2006. But I never recorded a vocal track I was satisfied with. Last year I even considered re-writing the lyrics with a complete new melody. That didn't pan out either. So I went back to the original melody and played it with a minimoog sound. I have some harmony parts which I need to add as well. Just for the heck of it, I may try mixing in the new melody I came up with also, just to keep things interesting. The original song was called "All For You." The rewrite was called "Going Back." If I decide to use parts from Going Back I'll call the finished song "All For You/Going Back." Strange titles always make for interesting conversation pieces.

For my next project I may continue on this route with "Long For Heaven." This is a track I officially released in 2011 as part of an EP. I regret having released this EP as I included incorrect versions of some songs and also songs that I have since improved.Long For Heaven is a tune I really like the music to but not the vocals. Not too long ago I tried to rewrite this one also albeit unsuccessfully. So I may minimoog this one too and use parts from both melodies.

I'm also ready to start recording a new song. It will be my first one in 6/8 time. It will also be another dark, moody song--the kind I gravitate towards. I want to get the guitar track recorded because it basically repeats throughout the song. I don't have lyrics for this one yet but they'll come. This song will be in the vein of "Tomorrow" with sparse instrumentation and a haunting atmosphere. Tomorrow remains one of my favorite songs sonic-wise in that all parts can be clearly heard. That is a goal I want to continue to achieve. My earliest recordings feature a lot of distortion from levels being too high and too much instrumentation competing for the same frequency space.

If I ever release an album of instrumental only music these older songs I'm fiddling around with will mostly likely land on it. I'll have to do as much as I can while the cold weather lasts. It's really comfortable to work in my studio during this time. When the heat of summer arrives it will be very difficult to do anything in there without shorting out some piece of electronic equipment. Well, off I go to a more productive year.

Bandcamp Page Fully Up & Goals for 2015

Well, my Bandcamp page is finally up and running! My new album release is completely there along with the 3 Christmas songs I have recorded. Basically everything that I intended to be officially out there is now available for legit purchase and download. Of course, I have other tunes out there on YouTube and soundcloud that are not really available for official download. Many of those will eventually be released on future albums. Some will never be other than in bootleg capacity.

I had a thought about recording an instrumental album.I already have several instrumental songs that are noteworthy for inclusion in such a project. And some other tracks which I thought about rewriting lyrics to may end up becoming instrumental songs altogether. It's just a thought. Again, I don't wish to spend too much time revisiting old material. Also if I should release an album of instrumental works, ideally it will be as an addendum to an album of singer/songwriter type material.

All that sounds a bit ambitious however. I am going to start recording a new song very soon and fiddle around a bit with one or two older ones. I will try much harder to make 2015 a more productive year relative to the past years. As I look back on 2014, I started and completed only 3 songs. I updated several songs from past years for release this year. And I began a new recording which I did not finish. Overall I feel that I accomplished more than in past years--especially considering the album release--yet still a rather unproductive year.

I read about a guy who participated in a projected where he wrote and recorded one song per week. Imagine that! Fifty-two songs in a year! That's definitely too ambitious for me but I do think that one song per month is quite reasonable. The keys to accomplishing that is to spend more time writing new songs, finish up writing some of my other songs and keep the production values not overly complicated. Will I actually release my 2nd album this year? It's possible if I work hard enough at it. I've always admired recording artists who released an album per year, not to mention those who released more than one in any year. The Beatles put out at least one album each year from 1963-1970. America did so from 1971-77. The Moody Blues from 1967-72. Creedence Clearwater Revival from 1968-72 with at least 7 albums. The Doors from 1967-71 with 6. Bread from 1969-72 with 5. R.E.M. from 1983-88.

But it seems to be art lost on today's artists. Nowadays the album release rate is about 1 every 2 or 3 years. And that's not counting the more established artist, such as U2, who are never in a hurry to release new albums. Albums are a bit longer now than they were in 1969. Many reach the 50 or even 60 minute mark. Thus artists feel less an obligation to release new music on an annual basis. Personally I prefer the one album per year schedule and if all I had to do in life was make music I would most assuredly abide by that pattern.

It's quite a bit late as I write this so I just want to close with a link to my Bandcamp page. I first signed up on Bandcamp in 2010 but only now is it complete and will be one of my official music pages.

Exit World on Bandcamp