This is a song begun several years ago. It’s one of those songs written late at night - almost whisper quiet - when you’re wallowing in some profound understanding that, in daylight, would seem obvious or even trite, but given the moonlight (spilling white through the windows) and your mood (a cocktail of self-obsession and self-pity, perhaps), it seems impossible to ignore. And so the notes come out, and so do the words, and you scribble them down on a torn piece of paper that you shove into the back pages of a notebook, which then goes and hides on a shelf as you crawl, finally, to bed.
In time you open the notebook for something else entirely and by accident discover the song again. If you’re lucky it’s aged like a good wine and settled into itself; if you’re not it’s like something out of a time capsule from the fifties. If you’ve got the time and inclination you can trim off some of the weaker bits, now that you’ve got some distance from the thing, and maybe tighten up that part over there with some better lyrics.
This is how I ended up with this song. I’m working on the arrangements now to try and turn this lonely acoustic thing into a full-on song for the album. Stay with me; it’s coming soon.
Another song for the upcoming album project. This song is, to my ears, an unabashedly poppy love song. And that’s how I likes it!
I wrote it this summer in Russia, so it’s one of my more recent songs. We’ve been rehearsing it for the gig this Saturday, and - as with many other songs we’ve played together - I really enjoy seeing my music grow and change as I play it with others. It seems that letting something go improves it. A lesson there, probably. And Morgan improved this song greatly: from his harmony on the pop chorus to the counterpoint guitar work, I can no longer imagine my song without him on it.
Once this gig is done, I will get started on recording studio versions of this song and many others.
I think this is the kind of song you’re only supposed to listen to at night. It’s one of my absolute favorites. Anastassia and I are planning a studio cut, but I felt like posting it pretty much as we play it, raw. If you’re not already, I highly recommend getting familiar with the work of Leonid Fyodorov and the incredible Petersburg group Auktsion. This is our cover of “Esho Ne Pozdno”, which translates to “Not Yet Late”.
More rehearsals, only Nando left before we got to this track. So this is just Morgan and me, two guitars and two voices. The lyrics are from a poem by Shel Silverstein which Morgan set to music. Short and sweet.
The school where I teach music has asked me once again to make music for their annual art auction fundraiser. Getting ready for this gig (which takes place in a month) I was struck today by how much better things get when you find the right people. I think this applies to everything, actually, not just music; but it applies especially much to our rehearsal today.
Three of us in my living room, playing our songs with one another and all of us surprised, I think, at how much better the songs became when opened up and shared.
This is the first time we’ve practiced together and, based on our rapport, I’m very excited for the show!
This is Nando’s song, with Nando singing and playing classical guitar, and Morgan and me on steel string guitars. It’s called Buying Zen: Download Free
This is Morgan’s, with Morgan himself singing and playing guitar, Nando providing lead on classical, and me on bass. Nastja sat in too, playing a hand drum while nursing. If that’s not a super mama, I don’t know what is. This song is called Soberless: Download Free
And this is mine, with me singing and playing guitar, Morgan on bass, and Morgan and Nando together singing amazing background vocals which, to my ear, absolutely make the song. It’s called Proverbs: Download Free
I’ll post more rehearsal music as we make it, and of course the gig itself will come online as soon as we play it.
