A whole new Traveler

If you've read through this blog before, you may remember that I posted a song in March called Traveler.  Well, I came across a completely different version of it the other day that I had forgotten about.  This was recorded around the same time but I never did anything with it.  Anyway, after giving it another listen, I decided that it had a nice feel to it.  So, I added a bass line, organ and drum track (all real, no MIDI) While it's rough, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.   So tell me, which do you prefer...this one or the earlier one?

Slow Sad Rain

 "Could have been a way out..but I've got no place to go..."

Is this song finished?  I can't really tell.  Sometimes I want to add a baas and drum track.  Other times I want to subtract the organ and clean guitar and just leave a reverberated storm of vocals and distorted guitars.   The first time I recorded this song was in about 2005.  At the time it was played at this same pace, but with acoustic guitar and fiddle.  I toyed with the idea of making it a mid-tempo rocker but I don't think that matches the lyrics.  So, I compromised and kept it slow but with a definite hard edge. 

What do you think?  Too much organ, too much guitar fuzz?   Not enough cowbell? 

Dirt Lanes

"These highways will take you anywhere you want to go.  But the dirt lanes and the back roads will always take you home."

Dirt Lanes is my attempt at a classic country waltz.   Lyrically, I don't have much of a back story for this one.  Its been floating around in my head for a few years and I finally committed it to paper just as I was getting ready to start recording.  I recorded a melody for this song on several instruments and somehow ended up using them all.  I finally picked up a keyboard so I was able to add a true organ sound rather than a midi one.  In fact, the only midi on this track is the bass line.  One of these days I'll get a bass guitar and then I'll be able to record the whole thing "live" (i.e. no midi).  Here's the lineup for the track:


Vocals - slight EQ and Reverb...otherwise completely natural
Acoustic Guitar - slight EQ and Reverb...otherwise completely natural
Bass - Midi generated
Organ - I used my newly acquired Casio CTK with an organ tone.  I then added a tremolo effect after the recording to simulate a Hammond / Leslie sound.
Piano -  Same as above, just used some sort of piano on the Casio.
Mandolin - That's me playing through a microphone
Lead Guitar - Going for the telecaster sound.  I used a couple of pedal effect pre-recording...reverb and tremolo.
Drums - That's actually me playing live.  I found a voice on my DM-8 for the great rim shot.  

Hope you enjoy.  Let me know what you think.

Luck and Gravity (version 2)

A few weeks ago, I posted an original mix of this song. Well, I wasn't very happy with how it came out and, frankly, I've been a little unsure about whether or not to even keep it on the site.   After a few weeks, and working on other songs in the interim, I decided to take another pass at mixing and editing the song.  So, I present to you version 2.  I considered simply replacing the old file with thew new but decided against it.   Since this is a songwriting blog, I decided to show a part of the process. 

Here's an overview of what I changed:
1.  I slowed the song down by a few percentage points. The song was originally recorded at 100%.  Version 1 was sped up to 118% and this version is 114%.
2.  I pulled back the drum fills and start them later in the song.  I felt like they were too distracting in the beginning of the song.
3.  I removed some of the dual lead areas.  I think one is still left in, but the others just focus on either mandolin or guitar but not both.
4.  I added compression and a master limiter to get more volume.
5.  I added a flanger effect to the acoustic guitar to give it a nice roving feel.  I dialed it back though so as not to overpower the rest of the parts..
6.  I added some chorus effects to the vocals
7.  I adjusted the general EQ of the individual pieces
8.  I created a double of the acoustic guitar track. I then EQ'd out all but the low end frequencies.  This helps compensate (I hope) for the fact that I don't have a bass part in the song. 

I think that's it.  What do you think?  Can you tell the difference?

Also, here's a copy of the lyrics:
Hey Girl, where'd you go
I ain't the same boy you used to know
things have changed, those times are gone
Its left us here all alone

But I ain't afraid to hit town
in the middle of the night
And I ain't about to let you say
that what i'm telling you ain't right

(chorus)
I say Romeo, he ain't got nothing on me
Juliet, she ain't the girl, we always thought she'd be.
That whirlwind keeps us spinning many miles above the ground
And its only luck and gravity that keeps us coming back around, to this town.

I dreamed I saw you walking in the rain
Standing there alone I saw you calling out my name
I know that things are different then they were back in those days
I find some comfort knowing things they'll never stay the same

(chorus)

After all the things that we've been through
Did you know that I still think of you sometimes.
After all the things that we've been through
Did you know that I still think of you sometimes.

These paradigms of self and time lay lost along the way
And our only price for heaven is the hell we have to pay

(chorus)

Words and Music copyright 2012 - Bonus Room Music

Dog Days Of Summer

Here's my first real shot at garage rock.  I've been listening a lot lately to The Replacements and I wanted to record a song that had a similar pre-grunge alternative, unpolished sound to it...I do unpolished particularly well.  I've also been listening a lot lately to bands like the Drive-By Truckers.  I wanted to try and replicate that same 3 guitar attack that they, in turn, borrowed from the classic rock giants of the 70s.  I also threw in a little mandolin to country it up a notch or two.  Here's a rundown of the instrumentation:

Drums - I'm playing an electronic set and recording as midi
Guitar 1 - no distortion but with a slight phaser effect
Guitar 2 - heavy distorion and reverb
Guitar leads - heavy distortion and tremolo
Bass - all midi generated
Mandolin - Just a little reverb
Vocals - lots of reverb and compression

I used compression on nearly every track to get this sucker as loud as possible.   It just isn't garage rock if it doesn't leave you with your ears ringing.

I hope you enjoy.  Let me know what you think.

Weddings & Funerals

Weddings & Funerals is a song that I've been kicking around in my head since I was about 16.  The story of the song is as true as i can remember things that far back.  Some songs are very literal and direct, others are more abstract. There's nothing really abstract about this one...just a story about the way things go. 

Musically, I've gone through numerous revisions of how I wanted it to sound.  I got pretty far with a full band recording of the tune...distorted guitars, bass, drums...etc.  I was going for full alt-country glory.  But, at the end of the day, I just wasn't happy with the sound.  In a moment of frustration, I just decided to record it straightforward and acoustic.  I then added the effects-heavy guitar part in the background and a single-string electric guitar lead part.  Thanks to my Reaper mentor, Andrew, I was able to get the vocal tones mixed a bit more to my liking.  I still have a very, very long way to go with recording and mixing...but I think I'm on the right road.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the song.  Leave me any comments or thoughts.

Luck and Gravity

Another new, old song.  Luck and Gravity is a song that I wrote in the late 90s while playing with Silver Saddle.  However, never made it out of the vault until now.  I came across the song the other day and decided to try to work it back up.  The melody line is pretty standard bluegrass but the drums keep the song from leaning too far into that camp.  This song is also played considerably faster than I'd originally intended, but I think it worked out ok. 

This is also my first full session with a new recording program called Reaper.  This gave me a chance to work on my mixing and editing chops...I have a lot of room to improve.  The new software has a ton of bells and whistles, and it will take a lot of practice and recording to get it all figured out.  

Lastly, this is the first song I've recorded since getting my new e-drums. I recorded them as straight audio as opposed to midi for a more realistic effect.  Its been a lot of years since I played drums on a regular basis, so I'm still getting my rhythm back.  I was able to record this drum track in only a couple of takes and with minimal editing, so I feel like I'm on the right track! 

Anyway, enjoy and please provide feedback.  Thanks for listening!

New Songs...On The Way

I'm really excited about some new stuff I'm putting together. I'm literally in the process of mixing down one new song (Luck + Gravity) and I'm in the recording phase of another (untitled so far...maybe I'll call it dirt lanes). I'm hoping to have them ready for posting by mid-March, so stay tuned!

 in the meantime, here are some links to keep you busy:
Ryan's Smashing Life

Aquarium Drunkard

 and of course: Hickory Wind

The Traveler

I wrote The Traveler when I was in college. I had just started playing country music with the band Silver Saddle and I wanted to contribute a southern-rock'esque ballad to the new group's line-up of songs. We made two separate recordings of the song with Silver Saddle, but sadly I've lost both copies. Instead, I have this version of the song which I recorded right here in the bonus room studio. Its me playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar and singing. The rest is midi. Not optimal, but it gets the point across.

The lyrics were inspired, in part, by a middle-of-the-night road trip a group of us attempted in or around 1995. We attempted to drive from southwestern Virginia to Nashville, TN starting about 10 at night. We got as far as Knoxville before we were exhausted and tired of the whole idea. We slept there and returned home the next day. Oh well, at least I got a song out of it.

Whiskey Rebellion

Whiskey Rebellion is song I wrote and recorded right here in the Bonus Room studio.  The recording is all me...I play acoustic guitar, mandolin and sing.  I tracked it using Audacity with a few reverb effects.  I guess it was written and recorded around 2005 or so.  I was going for a Hank Williams / Bill Monroe sort of vibe with this one. Lyrically, I'm definitely leaning on Hank Williams...heartbreak, booze and death.  The music though, especially with the mandolin melody, is my (humble) attempt at Bill Monroe'ness.

I've performed WR with the Right Turn Clydes several times and love the way it sounds with bass, fiddle and banjo added in.  In fact, my buddy Shane (former banjo'ist for the Clydes) does a kick-ass high-tenor harmony over the chorus of this song.  Its a shame we never got that one on tape.

Leavin' Town

Leavin' Town is a song that I wrote in about 1996.  This is the version I recorded in 1997 with the band Silver Saddle, with whom I played throughout college.  Despite the fact that I played drums for the band, I wanted to record it with only minimal accompaniment.  I think the singer's voice with only the acoustic make for a nice arrangement.  Initially I was skeptical of the lead guitar tag being added, but 15 years later (gulp) I think it sounds great!!

Silver Saddle - as the name implies - was a straight-forward country band and if I wanted my songs to be played, they had to fit with that general tone.  While the narrative style of the song is in line with the popular country of the day, I wanted the song to take on a darker tone...hence the minor chords, crawling pace, and stark instrumentation.

Mechanicsville

Might as well start where it all started, huh? This is a song about the town where I grew up, Mechanicsville, VA. I wrote this song back in 2005 while I was playing with the bluegrass band the Right Turn Clydes. We've since disbanded, but we had a lot of fun there for awhile.  This is the version that I recorded with the Clydes sometime around 2006 or so.

Musically, I really wanted to write a song in the style of "Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show. While bluegrassy in instrumentation, it had a very rock n' roll kinda feel to it that our audiences loved. I wanted to see if I could write one that had that same flavor.

Lyrically, the inspiration for the song came from an overnight road trip back to my hometown with buddy and former Clyde singer/fiddler Larry. Larry and I journeyed from Raleigh to Mechanicsville to see a solo acoustic show by Scott Miller (of Scott Miller & The Commonwealth). We met up with some of my old, good friends who joined us for the show and good times were had by all. Somewhere along the way I started humming the words that would go on to be the chorus of the song.

Welcome to the Bonus Room!

So, I had this idea for a song...and then another..and then another. Over the years I've collected them in notebooks and word files on my computer.  Most of them probably are not very good...others are actually pretty ok.  Some of these songs have been lucky to see the light of day with my various bands over the years.  Most, thought, never made it off the page or screen.  Bottom line, I got tired of writing them and then socking them away into useless oblivion. 

That's where you come in.  Now I can put them out there for all to hear.  I'm using this site as a simple medium for posting the songs that I write and record here in my modest bonus room...which also doubles as the kids' playroom, and also acts as the general media room.  If you like them, please say so.  If you don't, at least be gentle in your flaming. 

By the way, if you're a stickler for songs played in tune, pitch perfect singing, or top notch production values, you're probably not going to like it here.

Ok, let's have some fun...

JG