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