the white visitation

the white visitation

emily finally finished this term of school, which is pretty great news.. and i'm sure she got 100% in everything, so we're celebrating. ! and with that celebration we can post this little guy.. another instrumental experiment, which has a neat big modulation from Emaj to Amin.. and i think it worked out alright. it'd be nice to have a cello or something, but i don't.

now that emily has much less stuff to do all the time, maybe we can kick out some jams.

the lonely rocketman

uh huh.

the lonely rocketman

i'm pretty proud of this one.. it wasn't super hard or complicated or what-not.. but it was the most successful experiment of the past two weeks.

happy thanksgiving.

cloud or lion? part 2

here's a few more things i've been up to..

she left
bad dream / wake up
anti-venom

absolutely no luck on the job front.. it's terrible.

i've managed to stay busy, but not by making any money. sad face.

i found a way to control and trigger midi events in protools with this alesis keyboard. ha.

cloud or lion?

i found a dead bird..
bum
indoor pigeon
juggernaut

it's a leaning towers clearance!

these are all little instrumental pieces that we've been working on.. well, mostly instrumental - no lyrics but there are some voices. some of it was put together as sorta marketable tv commercial style experiments. some of it was just experimental, 'cause i gotta keep busy somehow. 'bum' dates all the way back to October Mountain.. and 'juggernaut' is pretty old too, but 'i found a dead bird' was mostly over this weekend.

in addition, i don't really like to crowd a single post with more than one 'song'.. so that part is also new. i'm very experimental, ha!

Creeping Tokyo

Creeping Tokyo

this song has a kinda tricky harmonic structure.. it's got a Bb major, a Gmaj and Gmin, Cmaj and Cmin, and it's mostly in the key of F (as per the good time outro solo).. so i'm kinda proud of that stuff. it's not super complicated, but it is a little bit clever, i think. it's got some guitars weaving in and out playing single notes to build chords, along with the moog and the keyboard, so i had to be kinda careful about the orchestration.. or something. it's just a song.

and it has some funny words -

you're a whore and i would kill you if i could
i'd write a dangerous little tune
a creeping tokyo of doom

it's a war and i'm never calling truce
i've got little left to lose
and i'm not afraid of you

i cut tiny little holes and you'll never be the same again

you're a fake and i'll expose you to the world
show them all how much you're worth
i guess i've always hated girls

you're not safe and i'll crack you in the end
you'll get betrayed by all your friends
i'll never let you sleep again

i cut tiny little holes but you'll never be the same again

evidence, a pop song

evidence, a pop song

well, it seems like good news all around at the house - i've been working a little bit for ben, and i've got an interview scheduled at powell's books for wednesday.. and i'm pretty hopeful for that job. and leah had a great interview for OHSU med school, and the new mexican revolution had a pretty good show the other day, despite wes having two missed up arms from two seperate bicycle accidents (!)... i guess that last bit is both good and bad news. ha!

and emily and i found some time to finish a few more tunes.. this one i wrote mostly while watching a documentary on Thelonious Monk - neat stuff. it's also kinda inspired by the new Blitzen Trapper album, Furr.. which is pretty great.. a full half of the album blows my mind, makes me jealous, all that stuff.. i like it alot.

celebrate

this is.. umm.. day 8 of unemployment, i guess. sad face. i've filled a few applications and sent a resume, but no replies yet. sad face. i feel like i should accomplish more creatively, but i'm pretty bummed out and always feel like i need to be finding work.. which isn't doing much to cheer me up. ha! and then i have 'band practice' just about every night of the week, but it often feels like a waste of time, a luxury.. that's a new feeling. band practice used to be a responsibility, right up there with all the other big time things i have to do. oh well. blah blah. i have written a few bitter songs and what-not.. emily's been trying to help out with a couple of pretty good ones, so i've shelved those in favor of finishing this one..

celebrate

i also have a picture! i'm not sure who took it, but it was given to me by G. Tony Jacobs (the bass player in the picture) and i think it must've been taken by Dan or Colae.. i like it. that's the one Leaning Towers show we've played, for their wedding. for the record, we played two cover songs and Beautiful Creature, an original.. short set, hopefully we kept them wanting more.

rivers run downstream

day two of unemployment, not much to say... i've got band practice every night except thursday, when the king hen plays a show at the Tonic Lounge, so that's keeping my nights busy enough.. and during the day? songs.

i've got a few things that are kinda neat, including two pretty things that just need more lyrics.. yesterdays big effort, "evidence, a pop song" is coming along nicely, i think i can finish that pretty quickly, but for today:

Rivers Run Downstream

this has emily rocking out on the bass - thats always a treat.

mermaid babies

well, i lost my job yesterday at The Portland Mercury.. i'd worked there for a little over four years, first as a distribution driver with emily, and then as an advertising runner. they were always really cool to me, let me take time off for touring and always treated me well, and it allowed me to work just a few days a week and still make ends meet while working on music. fairly ideal situation, i think.. so it's sad that it has to come to a close..

and then, well i didn't want the last song we'd posted to be dayjob, so i figured i'd better finish something else and post it.. this one wasn't the first choice, but i spent so much time working on this other song and i couldn't quite finish it.. well, anyways, i wanted to post something, so here it is..

Mermaid Babies

i like the lead guitar and all the crazy drums on this one.. i kinda thought it was a little like Keith Moon at times.. with a big windmill guitar.. and i kept it short, 'cause i've always like the little short rock tunes.

Dayjob

Dayjob

i'm not sure what happened, but this was supposed to be posted a few days ago.. oh well.

this was all words and chords that i had for a few weeks after the wedding, but it didn't seem nearly substantial enough for a song.. two verses and a guitar solo is all i had.. so i dropped that big D minor change into it and got a little weird, i really like that.. the accordion comes in and the odd drum exchange, neat-o.

ichi ni san shi

ichi ni san shi

well, i finished two songs today, which is pretty cool.. they've both been sorta stalled out for at least a month, so i feel good about closing 'em out and posting them. this one here was one of the first things i did in the basement with drums, but it was difficult to bring together all the elements.. the keyboards and the hundred guitars and all the different parts.. on and on, it was a pain.. but as always, once i could get emily to stop studying and going to school all the time, she came down and recorded some more vocals and keyboards, and it made a lot more sense, sounded a lot better, and so we're gonna call it finished.

hmm.. that's quite a run on paragraph. oh well.

busy week here - last night we went out to see Deerhoof and Experimental Dental School (who are locals now?).. pretty great, inspiring stuff.. but we knew it would be, we've been fans of both bands for awhile now. tonight and tomorrow are band practices.. friday the King Hen has a show at towne lounge, and we haven't played out in awhile. lots of stuff going on..

Pillar of Autumn

pillar of autumn

i wrote/recorded this a few days ago.. with a few very specific ideas.. i wanted the first phrase (all the synth string bits) to be in an odd-time, with a bunch of 3's in it somehow.. so i started fooling around, weaving these little C minor bits in and out of each other, trying to be catchy and simple and odd.

and i also wanted to experiment with this "tense rising string" thing that seems to be everywhere these days.. it's on Lost a lot, and in There Will Be Blood.. i think it's a string section sliding up slowly while bowing, all at slightly different times. so i did that with a few electric guitars and the moog, but it wasn't quite right.. those frets can really get in the way sometimes. then all those guitars, after the climax of that rising action, just sorta of lie there and look pretty in soft relief. which is probably my favorite moment. just floating in space.

so it didnt' really satisfy my experiments exactly.. but it's odd and pretty.

lil pudding cake

lil pudding cake

we both woke up in ditches today
how'd we let things get so far away?
with our fingers dig deep in the mud
breathe life into clay
make worship the noises we've made.

we swarm out of the basement
never get away
twist up in your stomach
dried up and afraid
it's all for nothing lil pudding cake.

the swarm has lots of patience
it's never been afraid
eats off all your clothing
and no one looks away
it's all for nothing lil pudding cake.

today is saturday, and we have a knick knack poker game tonight at dan and colae's house.. i have collected a few knick knacks.. a leapord print snap bracelet, and a bonsai tree seed, some halloween music, and something else. i don't care much for poker, so i may not last long in the game.. which is just more time to hang out with samba, the dog.

as for this song, it's a crazy thing.. i wrote all the major seven chords and the rhythm in five awhile back, probably just as we moved into the house, and then the drums came next, turning it into a big rock out ending.. and then i came up with emily's verses, but i hated the way i sang them.. so i got emily to do all that pretty stuff she does.. and i spent awhile on the noise solo at the end, over and over and over.. some of the odd filter noises at the end are guitar solo bits fed into the moog, and then manipulated, which i love doing.

really i kinda wanted to finish this groovy little song called ichi ni san shi, but i'm still hung up on parts of that.. emily put down a good scratch bass guitar track, but the whole song needs more work than i thought.. oh well.

High As A Kite

High As A Kite

i shoulda said something
i shoulda just lied
like, "it got out through the skylight"
it flew up high as a kite
"and the sunlight was right in my eyes"
maybe she'll still find her way home

i shoulda done something
i shoulda tried
i know you don't feel good
but twenty bucks and a quick phone call
we'll be high as a kite
maybe meet up on the other side
we'll never be alone

i shoulda said something
i shoulda just lied
now i'm out on a tightrope, all alone
high as a kite
and it's gorgeous but i'm scared of heights
(still glad i let the bird go)

i was playing some songs with my father the other day, old dylan tunes (isis!) and whatnot, when i pulled out this song.. i wrote it awhile ago but never got too happy with it, and the words and the writer's block and the blah blah.. so i played it with my dad and it sounded really nice, and made me revisit the recording i'd worked on. if nothing else, it's a song, eh? or something.

of course, my dad was around 'cause of the recent marriage between emily and i.. so, you know, thanks for the support of our union and all that. and that goes for everyone else, also - the cosgroves and the spurlocks, the couchs and the kronsers and the chess'(s) - and all our friends who were around and wanted to hang out in a park and drink for love who didn't share a last name. love.

Fenced

Fenced

i made a list of the things that i sorta regret
it started off with last night's argument and it still hasn't ended,
but i guess that we're still friends.

a pretty song shouldn't suffer like this
sing that bit about the bicycle trip that seemed never ending
as we swore we'd never fight again

i got a list torn in two on the ground
the falling bombs make a whistling sound
just make a noise when the dogs come around
another kiss and i can go back to digging down
the world seems close to ending,
holding hands we can slip right through the fence.


not too much to say right this second.. emily's parents come into town tomorrow, the weather is nice outside.. i have another 3 or 4 songs that are pretty close, but i've got all sorts of problems writing lyrics.. so it's hard to say when they'll get finished, and in some cases, what they'll even be about. hmm.

and i'll likely be pretty busy for the next week at least.. so we'll see what we can accomplish.

David Dunn vs. The Bark Beetles

David Dunn vs. The Bark Beetles

a long time ago wes called me up and left a message about David Dunn being on NPR.. and i didn't get to hear him on NPR, but i was able to use the voicemail in a song! ha!

david dunn was one of two super important professors for me back in school.. totally changed me, and the way i think about music, and art and entertainment.. on and on. i've always been a little worried that steven and david are disappointed with me and my lack of forward thinking artistic output.. and i started thinking i should do a neat arty soundscape or something, and tag the voicemail to it. and that's how this started.. it was all stretched out string bits, playing this odd slow melody.. but the more i worked on it, the more normal it got, with the guitars and that big synth bass sound.. this morning i was listening to it and decided to just say 'fuck it' to the arty soundscape plan and turn it into a Mono song.. so i played the drums to it and sealed it into a fairly typical instrumental indie-rock band song.

i saw a documentary of Mono a few months ago from Netflix, and they were pretty cool.

and i got to play the drums in a real bombastic fashion, which is always fun.. it reminds me a little of a local band called Grails, with Billy on keyboards.. they had a drummer who use these ridiculous over-the-top awesome drum fills, and you just had to pray that it landed somewhere near the 1. exciting stuff..

also, i got a picture of the studio.. it's obviously still a work in progress, but it's so much better than what i've been working with.. it might be the best ever. wow.

Banhammer Blues

Banhammer Blues

you just really wanna win
so you cheat a little bit
or send some pictures to a friend
but we object to the content
and now you've forced bungie's hand

you got smacked by the hammer (banhammer!)
you got sent to banadu (banadu!)
and there's nothing you can do,
but say you're sorry

umm.. if you can't play Halo, you might as well write songs about Halo. umm..

of course, i've been working on a bunch of other songs.. three or four are coming along nicely, plus Matt and I are kicking some things around.. and the New Mexican Revolution has perked up a bit, with a new accordion player and a few gigs and such, so that's been nice.

also, the studio is awesome.. i'd say it's probably 80% set.. i meant to post some pictures, but too much happens at once sometime.. i suppose i'll have to finish some more songs and post more entries, and the pictures'll get up here eventually.. good stuff.

lastly, emily and i got a book in the mail the other day, Fretboard Logic, which has been interesting.. i'm not sure who sent it - although i have suspicions - and i've been working the guitar pretty hard these days. so thanks, mysterious book sender.

a second round of cleaning..

lets see here.. i've got a nerd alert intro (labeled number 7!), an instrumental track i did over an afternoon for some reason.. which i named for Jana's long defunct band, the Crane Barons.. and in fact, i don't think they ended up naming the band that, after all.. so it's not much of shoutout, i suppose. oh well.. and one called Car Ride #1, which was the soundtrack for a short movie we made. or are making. whatever.

car ride #1
nerd alert intro 7
for the Crane Barons

the studio is coming along nicely.. but emily said she played the drums earlier today and they were really loud, so i think i've got a lot more work to do/money to spend.. carpets and foam and all that.

the first things to do..

well, just a half hour ago we finally got the intranets up and running at the new house - and i'm very excited about it.. i have a long list of stuff to accomplish, a whole host of bills to pay and emails to check and work to finish, but i'd rather post a song or two..

it's a bit of house cleaning, with the idea of starting fresh in the new studio, which is looking quite promising. did i mention i was very excited? i am.


this is an intro song i'd made for the bungie podcast.. they make Halo, which i'm quite fond of. ..and an interlude, which i never gave 'em 'cause it didn't do much. but it's pretty enough.

bungie podcast intro 1
bungie podcast interlude 1

intro lyrics:
b - u - n - g - i - e - p - o - d - c - a - s - t (bungie podcast!) has arrived, finally.
where do you go when you need a BR? (hey lars!)
let's play more ranked so we can lose the gold bars
what's up with the plunger guy?
is the master chief gonna be replaced?
will bungie's slingshot work this time?
if brian and luke won't say we'll have to wait for bungie day..



i also have another nerd alert thing worth posting, and a few instrumental bits i think i'll post.. and at least five "new" songs, but i don't think they'll make the cut. and after that, all new (hopefully awesome) songs from the new studio! yeehaw.

Nerd Alert Jingles, mostly..

jonpaul and mark used to do a podcast, called Nerd Alert.. or maybe Nerd Alert, Nerd Alert.

it was funny stuff, and emily and i would write little songs for them, especially intros and outros, but also little recurring themes for specific segments. i kinda thought of the leaning towers as paul schaffer and the cbs orchestra. and jonpaul and mark as david letterman. i suppose one of them would be that red-haired announcer guy, or biff the security guy.

emily says totes.

anyway, the podcast seems to be over.. and i thought we'd just post some of the things we did, they're sometimes funny and catchy.

writer strike 2
nerd alert intro lost
nerd alert intro 3
nerd alert outro 3

there are more of these, of course.. intros and outros for all the episodes, plus little bits, but i think we'd rather just do more podcasts.. so mark and jonpaul should get back to work.