Music

Music

I like to sing and play guitar. That about sums up my current musical focus. While I like some songs from most genres of music, I'm primarily drawn to classic rock, blues, and rock oriented pop. I have learned or am in the process of learning songs from Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, BB King, Bob Marley, Jimmy Buffet, The Doobie Brothers, Van Morrison, The Eagles, Garth Brooks, CCR, Jim Croce, The Stones, The Doors, and many others.

At different times in the past I've spent some time playing alto sax, tenor sax, slide trombone, valve trombone, euphonium, flute, clarinet, cello, and piano. Definately a case of "master of none". But I've had fun with all of them.

I've written and recorded several songs in studios ranging from the simplest of basement analog systems to advanced 24 track digital (or direct to hard drive) commercial studios. Lots of fun and good results, but no fame and fortune yet. Methinks that should arrive via FedEx sometime next week.

For a variety of reasons I haven't written anything for quite a while. I'm heading back that direction however and have aquired a small but decent home studio setup to aid in that effort.

I have a number of interesting musical friends in Toronto, Manhattan, Nashville, and Chicago. Makes travelling a little more interesting.

I hope to eventually include some short digitized samples from my better tunes.

The photo below is the last time I had an opportunity to play a decent sax. The other player was kind enough to include me on some practice and a jam later. I didn't kill anyone with my playing but I didn't receive any offers for recording deals either. Oh well.

OK... I'm tired of the comments about my jeans. NO, a pen didn't break in my pocket. NO, I did not mix my colors and my whites. NO, I wasn't eating fruit salad and then had an accident. Consider it a style reflective of my personality... OK, fine, so they're stupid.

Musical Friends
Southern Heart
Mike and Patsy

I've finally added some original tunes in MP3 format. They're not new, but it's the first time I've had a chance to process them for use on the internet. Others will surely follow.

MP3 File	Size	Note
Set You Free	4.1 MB	I wrote it. Had a friend named Graham sing it.
Where Will The Eagles Fly	3.4 MB	More writing. Had a friend named Garrick sing it.
I Didn't Even Look	2.4 MB	Yup... still more. Can't even remember the name of the guy I had sing it for me. Would you believe he was actually a drummer by trade?
Heartbeat Next To Mine	3.6 MB	Ditto. Had a gorgeous blonde named Deborah sing this one.
Now I Know (just a snippet)	0.8 MB	I actually got to play a bit in the studio. Just for fun. Hadn't played sax in years at this point. Borrowed a friend's sax... and it didn't turn out too bad!
Now I Know (just a snippet)	1.5 MB	OK, so here's the professional. Would you believe this was done after one listen to the song and one take?
Now I Know	3.3 MB	And finally, the entirely finished version. Unfortunately, the entire song had to be redone, and the sax player changed. Oh well.

Here are a few examples of the kind of stuff we like to do in the park. This is just two guitars, two voices, and the same type of "make it up as you go" kind of jammin' stuff we do in the park. Simple but fun.

MP3 File	Size	Note
ParkJammer Warmup	0.3 MB	How we warm up for the park jams!
Fox On the Run	2.9 MB	Hillbilly harmonies!
In My Life	2.9 MB	One day the Beatles will be successful. No really.
Keep Your Hands To Yourself	3.8 MB	A park pick-me-up
Long Train Running	5.5 MB	Old Spaghetti Western licks tied to classic rock!
Memphis Tennessee	2.6 MB	Early rock rules!
Set You Free	6.5 MB	An original. What the heck. Never hurts to throw one in.
Sleepwalk	2.4 MB	Feelin' smooth and meeeelllllllloooooow!
Flip Flop Fly	5.3 MB	Old blues
All For You	3.7 MB	A song by Sister Hazel
Brown Eyed Girl	4.0 MB	Fun sing-along stuff
A little silliness	1.6 MB	Can't be serious all the time. Or ever.
Stir It Up	4.5 MB	Argh! Breakin' in the voices on this one. Anyone in tune? No really... is anyone in tune?
Stray_Cat_Strut	5.9 MB	Slinky!
When Will I Be Loved	2.0 MB	Simple harmonies... but they're fun!
Wonderful Tonight	3.9 MB	When the lights go down.

Be advised:

These files are quite large and can take a while to download. I advise saving them rather than simply opening them. Browsers usually give you a choice of saving or opening the file once you click on the link. However, if you are having difficulty, click on the link with the right mouse button and do a save link as and give it a file name.