Here are some songs and a little bit of their back stories. I wrote all the words and music with the exception of "Speak Low" which was composed by Kurt Weil and Ogden Nash. The lyrics to these songs can be found here.
Both my friend, Stu Shames, and I hate disclaimers. Even so . . . .
"All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their own peril." - Oscar Wilde
I hope that if you enjoy listening to theses songs, you will also be interested in being a friend to one of my favorite charities, too.
INTERNATIONAL WAGR SYNDROME ASSOCIATION
Thanks.
Sparkling Conversation - . . . . and every single word is true . . . .
Heaven Knows - A 'new wave' song about two old friends who happen to bump into each other in a coffee shop. 05:31
Two new recordings of "The Melting Sun" and "Perfect Symmetry" . . . . .
The Melting Sun - Based on a short story I wrote about several musicians on the last night of the world’s existence. Seems that the world is on the direct trajectory of the “melting sun”. So . . . what do musicians do on the last night of their lives . . . ? 04:40
Two mixes of "Perfect Symmetry" -
Perfect Symmetry Acoustic 04:28
Perfect Symmetry Studio 10/06 Mix 05:47
The studio version is the first of the original test mixes for this tune. I mixed it in the box - thanks, Damon Ireland, for show me so many new ideas with ProTools - you made this mix possible.
The acoustic version of this is just me with my Martin and was recorded by Marc Moss at 4W5, a now-defunct club in Wilmington.
The Mandarin - One night, I was at Sullivan's, enjoying a good steak and , even more so, enjoying the piano work of Don Glanden. I ordered another one of what I usually order, a Mandarin and tonic, from a new bartender. When he went to tab it to my order, he didn't know what name I was rung under so he asked a more experienced bartender, who replied, "Oh, him? He's the Mandarin." Yes, it's semi-auto-biographical - but don't believe everything you read - or hear. 05:10
Until You're Here - Less said, the better; better no details. 04:26
Azure Skies and No Goodbyes - a song of pending travel. “Drakian haze” is a nod to Nick Drake. 02:19
A Party in Tangiers - Slightly amped, shaken, as well as stirred, this is the up-teenth mix of this song - and won't be the last ;) especially considering the little bit of db I need to give to the guitar. The song itself grew out of several elements. Musically, I was experimenting with different ways to play a d minor chord on the guitar (the tune is in d minor). The groove and initial guitar chord template revealed themselves when I messed around with new ways to address the G and A7 sus chords 'pacificly in relation to resolving to the above mentioned d minor. Lyrically, a story developed . . . . a writer travels to Tangiers armed with only a Royal typewriter and a local phone number for an established author. He reaches his "party in Tangiers" , meets his cast of characters, and creates his . . . final chapter . . .? . . . . a new prologue . . .? 06:28
I guess I should mention that I did all the playing and singing on each of the tracks on all of these songs. So . . . don't shoot the piano player; he's closely related to the bass player.
By the way, when Stephen Foster passed away in Bellevue Hospital in 1864, his only earthly possessions were about a dollar in change and a scrap of paper in his pocket with the cryptic phrase "Dear friends and gentle hearts". .
The Girl I Love/Soon - two great Gershwin tunes
Another You - I considered the musical question, "You Again?", but it just didn't have the same vibe as the final title. Harmonically speaking, isn't always a bit of fun to go to the tri-tone? 03:48
Pythagoras Was Wrong - I don't know about you, but I really enjoy the NBA. Some of the best moments I have spent on this rock were in the company of my Dad at a Sixer's game. This is a little urban ditty morphing basketball and the nature of relationships - "Put me in, Coach!" 04:49
Speak Low
- Music by Kurt Weil,
lyrics by Ogden Nash. As
perfect a song as has ever been composed. One
of my Dad's favorite Nash
lines is “If called by a panther, don't anther.”
I Can't Go On - a song that grew out of a place, Shepherd's Gate, as well as a loss. 04:27
How Was I To Know - As my good friend Shawn Qaissaunee noted, the "brooms and sweepers" line is a nod to the Dan's "hats and hooters". By the way, if you haven't checked out Shawn's latest CD, "Passing Through", at CDBaby, you are missing some fantastic music. 03:46
Instrumental Production Music
Over the years, I have had the great honor of providing scores for Sharon Baker and Teledudtions Inc. Here are a few sound cues from several of our more memorable collaborations.
Theme - from a documentary set in Eastern Europe. 02:06
"Reel Fish" Theme - A full-blown orchestral treatment for a proposed series that never aired. The pilot featured "reels" of incredible film footage of sport fishing in exotic locals. 01:54
Theme - This picked up a regional EMMY. The following year, I was fortunate to be selected as a regional Philadelphia market judge for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences EMMYs. 01:00
Sound Cue #1- From a Delaware Humanities Forum documentary about the civil rights movement in Delaware 01:19
Sound Cue #2 02:21 and
Sound Cue #3 from an international film documentary shot in western Africa with former President Jimmy Carter and noted epidemiologist Dr. Donald Hopkins. The film chronicles the efforts of an international coalition to eradicate Guinea worm disease, which affects seventeen million people. 02:15
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