The Road beneath My Wheels
Tuning: E A D G B E
I wouldn't mind taking another crack at the vocals, but I like how the ending turned
out, so here it is.
Inclinations
Tuning: D A D G A B
Almost the entire melody for this came to me while working the warehouse floor of Amazon.com.
The three weeks I spent there didn't give me much else, but sometimes in life you've got to take what you can get.
He Never Expected Much
Tuning: E A D G B E, capo 2nd fret
Thomas Hardy wrote a lot of great poems, of course. Why did this one grab me
by the collar and demand to be put to music? Who knows? There's music in it to begin with, like all great poems, so that
has something to do with it. And sometimes these things fall together out of happenstance. Had I not already committed the
poem to memory when I sat down with my guitar one day to fiddle around, surely something else would have come of the chord
progression. Or worse, maybe nothing would have.
One Man's Junk
Tuning: E A D G B E
I wrote words for this, and I think they were pretty decent, but I prefer it as an instrumental.
La Víctima de la Luna Celosa
Tuning: E A D G B E
As mentioned above, this is the only composition in this group of musical numbers to be recorded
on an instrument other than my Taylor. It's played on a nylon-string Yamaha G-100A. I'd welcome another take, but
what the hell. The translation of the title is "The Victim of a Jealous Moon." Actually, I guess it comes out as
"The Victim of the Jealous Moon," but to my ear, that makes absolutely no sense in English. It has no poetry.
Still, I was told that the indefinite article in Spanish would also be troublesome in this context. Don't hesitate to
contact me if you have informed opinions about this. I'm ever curious about this sort of thing.
Mr. Bus Driver
Tuning: E A D G B E
Just a little splash of harmless fun here. I was listening to a lot of Jerome Kern during the
time I wrote "Mr. Bus Driver," but I don't know how much of his influence can be ferreted out in my little ditty.
I wasn't trying to emulate his style or anything, but he was on my mind. He often is, actually. Whenever I come up with
a melody that I think is maybe a little too stock, his ghost appears at my elbow and tells me, "Try throwing some unexpected
interval jumps in there, man. Wake this thing up!"
Here in Tarnation
Tuning: D A D F♯ A D
A little old-time country music can be good for the soul. Trust me.
Pay Dirt
Tuning: D A D G A D
I wrote this piece shortly before my grandmother passed away. It was my privilege to play it
at her funeral.
Open to Enchantments
Tuning: D A D F♯ A D
A bit of over-the-neck finger positioning is required to make this one happen. There
are also some full-chord pull-offs. The open-D tuning makes this sort of thing fairly effortless and quite resonant, methinks.
It's My Heart
Tuning: E A D G B E
Sometimes the simplest songs are the most fun to perform. That's always been the case with
this one for some reason.
Sun across My Window
Tuning: D A D G A D
Another personal favorite. Interestingly, it's also another single-line composition. Hmmm.
I think the modulation from major to minor works well in this. The music does what it was called upon to do and nothing more.
No back sass. No complaint.
No Boundaries
Tuning: D A D♭ E A D♭
As mentioned above, this was written in memory of Michael Hedges, who has been
the single most important influence on my guitar music. The title comes from one of his most admired compositions, "Aerial
Boundaries." I utilize several techniques here that Hedges invented, reinvented, or made famous (harmonic slaps, string
stops, arpeggiated pull-offs, etc.), but I like to think these things fell into place organically for me on this piece, and
that the music is well served by their presence.
Miscellaneous
(recorded in 2006)
Blood Red Sky Theme (no tenor part)
Tuning: E A D G B E
I wrote this theme for a friend to consider using in the pitching of a television series idea.
People seem to prefer this version to the one below, in which I added my own voice to the mix, but I actually prefer it with
the tenor part. In fact, the tenor part came to me in the car on the way home from the studio after recording this initial
version. By the time I got home, I knew I'd be going back into the studio to lay down another vocal track.
Blood Red Sky Theme (w/ tenor part)
Tuning: E A D G B E
Please see the note above. I consider this to be the full-fledged version.
("recorded" 2009 to 2010)
Darkness
As with all pieces in this section, Darkness was composed using the online notation website, Noteflight.com. Well, actually it was composed in my head, where it sat for a couple of years before I stumbled across Noteflight. The words belong to Byron, or, if you prefer, he delivered them to the world. I got hooked on the notion that a melody might
be locked inside the poem, waiting to be set free. It wouldn't let go of me so I ran with it.
Sometimes
Noteflight gets hung up during playback, so everything in this section is presented as an MP3 (simply click on the title of each track),
just like all the rest of the music found on this page. But if you're curious about my ham-fisted approach to standard musical
notation or want to see the lyrics that would replace instruments in some of these tunes if they were heard in the real world,
you can always click on the
View and Listen! link at the end of each song's description.
This isn't a
fully realized orchestration of the
Darkness that resides inside my head, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, preferrably
with a good set of headphones. And Byron, if you're listening, I hope I've done you some sort of justice. More importantly,
I hope the human race can manage to avoid the outcome depicted in your cautionary poem.
View and Listen!
Fantasy March
I wrote
Fantasy March in September of 2009. Although it's not nearly as long or involved as
Darkness,
it has an energy to it that I like. With a little luck, you'll agree.
View and Listen!
When Clouds Part
This came together in late September/early October 2009. It's brief, but it might just be my favorite of the tunes I've
written as original
Noteflight pieces, as opposed to guitar songs that I've transcribed for
Noteflight.
View and Listen!
Hope is the Thing with Feathers
I wrote this one in 2007 or 2008 for guitar and vocals, using for lyrics the words from Emily Dickinson's famous poem.
This version is an arrangement I did in October 2009. It's a very different piece of music than the original song. It's an
instrumental here, for one thing, with a flute doing the vocal duty, so to speak. But I also decided to give the guitar part
to the piano in order to attain the clarity and dynamics I was after.
Noteflight is a great tool, but it can be exceedingly unforgiving in several respects.
View and Listen!
Water Song
The story here isn't dissimilar to the one behind "Hope is the Thing with Feathers." "Water Song,"
too, was originally written as a song for guitar and vocals in 2007 or 2008, and again I arranged it as an instrumental using
Noteflight.com in October 2009. The rhythm part needed a good deal of simplification here if I wanted to avoid turning the chords throughout
the middle section into a wall of noise. "Water Song" made the transition to an electronic format with a bit more
of its original life force intact than did "Hope," I think, but still, there are obvious drawbacks to working essentially
with fake instruments. The thing is, it's also a hell of a lot of fun. Both tunes are meant to be heard in their original
states, but until I have the time and gumption to get back into a studio with my guitar, this will have to do.
View and Listen!
Hypothetical Romance
Once upon a time, I had aspirations of scripting and scoring a stage musical. Ha! I can't call the notion a complete
wash, though, as I did manage to wring several decent songs out of the daydream. This is one of them. Who knows, maybe a few
more will show up here over time.
Noteflight makes this sort of thing awfully tempting. I like the lyrics to this one quite a bit. The first verse is meant to be sung
by one character, the second by another. Oddly enough, this piece began as a variation on a riff from an old heavy metal tune
of mine. Funny how things fall together sometimes. (The lyrics to that song, incidentally, were not so great.)
View and Listen!
Misbegotten Man
This little number came to me more or less fully formed one blustery day in November 2009. I couldn't decide whether
I wanted it to be a mouthpiece for some of my own views or a soapbox for the ramblings of a character, so it kind of wanders
in and out of both. Turns it into a sort of guessing game for you!
View and Listen!
Just Passin' Through
I managed to wring one last
Noteflight transcription out of 2009, and here it is. This, "Hope is the Thing with Feathers," and "Water Song"
were all conceived on the guitar originally. "Water Song" made the transition to
Noteflight with more grace. Maybe "Feathers" did, too. but there's still something I like about this version of "Just
Passin' through." Sure, it loses much of the Leo Kottke-influenced fingerstyle action that marks the piece when it's
played on the old Taylor six-string, but something interesting happens to the through-line of the thing in its electronic
incarnation. That's my opinion. Yours is more important, I suppose.
View and Listen!
Hot Fusion
Here's my kickoff to the new year, folks. Written in January 2010, this little number boasts a distorted guitar line
that's been a favorite practice run of mine for more years than I care to recollect. I never imagined it would amount to anything,
and maybe it hasn't yet. That's for you good people to decide. But I feel like I've gotten it out of my system at any rate.
FYI, this tune was called Cold Fusion until Noteflight came out with a premium service in early 2010 that boasts better sound quality and a wider variety of instrument sounds.
I promptly subscribed, replaced the trumpet line with the distorted guitar, and changed the name of the piece. View and Listen!
Back When There Was Love
Not a lot to say here, for once. It's really just a short piece of music about the fleeting nature of joy.
View and Listen!
There Was a Time
I knew a guy once, see. Had it all, lost it all. Maybe
you knew him, too. He's been around for a while. His
story's an old one. Maybe not quite as old as boy meets girl, but it's gotta be next in line. I mean, boy meets girl was never
the whole picture anyway, was it? It's always been a case of boy meets girl, boy loses girl. Maybe it just depends on where
you enter the story. Isn't that what Clive Barker tried to teach us in
Weaveworld, after all? That no story really
has a beginning or an end? Yeah, that sounds about right. Leave it to Clive.
View and Listen!
Holding Pattern
The story behind this one is a little personal, believe it or not. Yes, some things can actually be too private to broadcast
over the interwebs. But I don't think I've ever dug deeper than I did for this tune, so by all means, enjoy. Written for guitar
in the first half of 2010, "Holding Pattern" was transcribed to
Noteflight in early August.
View and Listen!
Older Stuff
(acoustic guitar music recorded
1996 to 1997)
Leaving Impressions
Tuning: C G C G C E
This cut is the musical culmination of my years spent in Arizona. The title is an attempt to
reflect as much, though it also has a second, and maybe a third, meaning. I was both ready and saddened to be leaving the
desert. Maybe something of that paradox is captured in the music. All of the tunes in this section, incidentally, were recorded
on an Ovation 1661.
All Alone
Tuning: E A D G B E
Obviously, this is a song about the joys of loneliness. Sure, it's self absorbed and whiny,
but what do you want? I was an English major. Besides, in my own defense, there is a note of hope to the damn thing: "All
alone ... I survive." Hey, it's not much, but men have hung their futures on less!
Cupidity
Tuning: D G D G B C
In a rare multi-track excursion, I recorded "Cupidity." One track is played with a
plectrum, the other is fingerstyle.
In the Arms of Sorrow
Tuning: E A D G B E
I generally receive a pretty warm response to this one. Maybe it has a slightly pop flavor to
it. The structure, melody, and lyrics work together to form something more cohesive than the sum of its parts, too. I'm
not thrilled with my singing on this, but it's the best version I have.
Destination
Tuning: D A D E A B
There's something unusual about this track. The 6/8 time signature seems to have brought
about an ethereal approach. The melody is constrained, too. That's not usually something I aim for, but it felt right
in this instance. I also sense that when I wrote this I was working toward what would become my favorite composition (see
"Middle Man" below).
Listen to Me Now
Tuning: D A D G G D
I think I wrote this while squatting in my good friend's fiancee's apartment when I first
moved to Seattle. Or it might have been in a motel room somewhere in Idaho. I drank too much back then, so it's hard to
say. The point of the song, however, I do remember. The speaker's not asking you to listen to him because he has any answers.
He just figures that if all the things he says about you through the course of the song are true, you and he probably have
a kinship of some sort, so why not kick back and enjoy the music.
The Sleeper Must Awaken
Tuning: D A D G A D
Ah, David Lynch. The world would be a far emptier place without his creative output. Not a day
goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars I didn't read the novel Dune before seeing Lynch's film. Almost
no fans of the book seem to like the movie even a little bit. I, on the other hand, think it's a work of genius, even
without H. R. Giger's set designs. I hope this little piece of music contains some of my feelings about Lynch's Dune.
Lucky Man
Tuning: E A D G B E
This is one of those tunes where the music takes a back seat to the lyrics. But that can
be misleading, too. The music plays an important role in what's going on here, but it needs to stay out of the way of
the words. (My apologies if you think the words suck.) It's actually kind of amusing that I should make this point, because
I screw up the order of a couple of lyrics in this recording.
Another Yesterday
Tuning: E A D G B E
Sometimes, with really short pieces, I wonder if I simply gave up on them before they could
grow into their truest form. That's never been the case with this one. "Another Yesterday" is probably my shortest
composition, but I don't think it wants a single note.
Walkin' Away
Tuning: D A D G G D
Here's another multi-tracked tune, but it's just the same exact part doubled for
stereophonic bliss. The old Ovation gives good volume for this sort of thing. Almost makes up for its tonal shortcomings,
depending on the nature of the piece being played.
Healing All the Wounds
Tuning: E A D G B E
Not a lot to say about this one, but I like the wide-ranging chord progression.
I Keep Coming Back to This
Tuning: E A D G B E
I began working on this when a friend was still alive. I finished it after that was no longer
the case.
Therefore ...
Tuning: E A D G B E, capo 5th fret
An odd little number, but not without its charms, I hope.
Sonnet #80
Tuning: E A D G B E
Just think about this for a moment: Within a mere 400 years, western culture gave us both
Shakespeare and Metallica. Strange permutations are bound to result from time to time.
After a Sweet Dream
Tuning: D G D G B C
I have a special fondness for this one. I think it makes pretty good use of the Ovation's
sweet spots. Can't imagine I would have written it on any other instrument, or at any other time in my life.
Punch Line
Tuning: E A D G B E
Just what the world needs, another cheerless goddamn love song.
Headwaters
Tuning: C G D G G G
Sometimes a musical idea suggests an open tuning. Sometimes a tuning I happen to be in suggests
a piece of music. This tuning was used by Michael Hedges on his Taproot album. I learned his composition titled "Nomad
Land," and while in the unusual tuning, I found my way to "Headwaters." Interestingly, Hedges used the same
tuning for a song called "Ready or Not," but when I sat down to learn that one, I was quite new to open tunings
and thought he had simply dropped his low E string to D. So that's what I did, and I still play the song that way whenever
the mood strikes me. Ignorance can be a useful tool, though it's been oversold in some regions.
The Beaten Path
Tuning: E A D G B E
Inspiration works in mysterious ways. I wrote this after reading The Complete Works of
Edgar Allan Poe. You'd think it would sound a little more menacing. Oh, well. Who am I to question the gift horse?
Let's Go Back in Time
Tuning: E A D G B E
Vocal harmony madness! You should have heard it with the harmony part on the chorus as well. Yeah,
that got a little dense.
Adam Bede
Tuning: D A D G A D
If this captures any of the rustic flavor of George Eliot's brilliant novel, I've accomplished
what I set out to do. If not, perhaps I've accomplished something else.
Speaking of Eyes
Tuning: D A D G A D
I don't remember whose eyes inspired this piece, but they must have been something else.
I mean, you see some pretty good eyes out there in the world, but how often do you take it in your head to sit down and write
a piece of music about a pair?
She Smiled and I Said ...
Tuning: D A D G A D
Here's a composition that really needed no supervision. Each phrase just sort of called forth
the next one until it was over. If they all came this easily, a musician could get spoiled.
If I'm Free
Tuning: E A D G B E
I like the mixture of playful music and somewhat somber lyrics. I also have no regrets about
the impromptu harmonic strike at 2:45.
The Voyeur Eternal
Tuning: E A D G B E
This one might never have been recorded if not for the persistence of Pat Frank, the man behind
the knobs on all these tracks labeled Older Stuff. He's always liked the tune, and I think his enthusiasm for
it rubbed off, at least long enough for me to lay down a presentable rendition of the damn thing. There's kind of a mandolin
tone going on. I'm not sure where that's coming from, but it works. My guess is that it was Pat exploiting the tonal
deficiencies of the Ovation.
Middle Man
Tuning: D G D G B C
Of all my songs and compositions, this is my personal favorite.
Entropy
(thrash metal showstoppers recorded
1986 to 1990)
Something Wicked
This is going back a ways now. We're talking late 1980s for the Entropy material. That was the name of the thrash metal
band I was in at the time. By and large, it's the instrumental stuff from that period that holds up, so that's where we'll
begin. I still like this little number quite a bit, actually.
Nightwatch
Another one with a special place in my blackened heart. It takes its title, but nothing else, from the Rembrandt painting.
Thoroughfare of Dementia
No complaints about the bass line on this one. I remember tackling the four-string myself for this recording.
Confessions of a Saint
I wrote this specifically for drummer Corey Johnson. He was the stick man on all of the Entropy material, but by this
time the band was no more. I wrote "Confessions of a Saint" while away at college and presented it to Corey during
a return visit to my hometown. What you hear on this recording is the two of us going at it maybe half an hour after I introduced
the song to Corey. There's no bass, and it was recorded through the air using a crappy boombox, yet methinks I smell smoke.
Death Reign
I can't resist including a few vocal numbers from the Entropy era. I had no business singing in a metal band, but there's
some decent riffing going on in these last three tracks. And honestly, I think my voice works okay on "Outcast,"
which is really a different breed of metal than the other tracks presented here anyway. For the singing on "Death Reign"
and "Welcome to the Body Count," I can only ask your forgiveness.
Welcome to the Body Count
James Hetfield used to have a knack for sound repetition in his lyric writing. Still does, I guess. In an effort to prove
that imitation is not always the sincerest form of flattery, I wrote this song. The music, again, is much better, in my humble
opinion, than the lyrics and vocal delivery. (My singing on this is so bad, it's actually difficult to get through the whole
thing, unless you find yourself doubled over with belly laughs; you have been warned.)
Outcast
I remember wanting to inject this whole song with a sense of humor, but it ended up having a little something to say, I think.
Maybe it's even a tad satirical. At any rate, I like it, right down to the sound quality. I'm pretty damn happy with the guitar
solo, too. So there.