Tagged: songs

February 10, 2011

Four New Songs Released: Workin’ Progress Album Completed

I am pleased to announce that the Workin’ Progress album is officially complete with the addition of four new songs!

The new songs are: “One More Round”, “Monday”, “Talk Too Much”, and “La La La La La La La”.

They are all on the music player here on the site and are also available on my other pages (Facebook, Reverbnation, etc.) I have not added them to Nimbit yet but will soon.

I’m very excited and happy to be able to finish the record and move onto the next few projects I have in mind. Hopefully, this year will see the formation of a live band and gigs in the NY/NJ area. I hope to see you out there because these songs are going to sound much better when played live with a great band.

Enjoy the new songs and send me your feedback.
Thanks for stopping by!

Lou's News / Writing

December 6, 2010

Inspiration

There are many ways to write a song. Writing a song is not all that difficult, actually. Writing a good song is a little more challenging, but just writing a plan old song is a very simple thing. Small children do it all the time without even thinking about it. Some people have to be inspired to write a song, others can just craft something on a whim. While I’m not completely unable to perform the latter (and have at times), I’m definitely a creature of inspiration when it comes to songwriting.

Like most people, I can be inspired to write by just about anything from news headlines to songs by other artists to films to novels to real-life experiences, and so on. Inspiration can hit anytime, anywhere and that’s the rub. I would estimate that 90 percent of the time I get wildly inspired is time that I’m nowhere near musical instruments. Those of us who like to write songs know that sometimes if you don’t write something down when it comes to you, you’re apt to lose it forever.

I’ll always try to put something down electronically and then e-mail it to myself, should inspiration strike while I’m not home. Sometimes, I’ll just send myself a test message with a bit of lyrics or notes about song. Other times, I’ll take a break at work and go sit in the park with a notebook and pen. Most times, however, I’ll just open up a text file on the computer and type away as the day goes on, sending it to myself at the end of the day. I have a great number of text files floating around with full songs or song ideas. When it’s time to record, I’ll usually look in that folder and pick a few to begin recording.

Many of the songs I’ve written in the last few years have been written sitting at my desk at work. I’ll be in the middle of something and then all of the sudden – BAM! There’s a song knocking at my brain’s front door. I have to quickly stop what I’m doing, open a text file, and write down whatever it is. Maybe it’s just a phrase. Maybe it’s only a song title. Maybe it’s an idea for a concept album. Maybe it’s a good idea for a movie script. It could be anything, but I’ve learned that when the idea comes, I need to get it out of my head and onto something I can read and process later or else I’ll risk losing it. I find I’m OK if I just write down a line or two and come back to it later to finish it up. As long as a fragment is there, my subconscious will bring back the rest somehow. That way, I can get back to work and not have to worry about losing a good (or crappy) idea.

For me, the tricky part about this unorthodox method of songwriting is remembering the melodies that pop into my head as I’m writing the lyrics down. I’ll try to make notes about the songs as I go. I might write something like “Fat groove – mid tempo” or “Funk vibe – party song” or “Slow acoustic” or “Bluesy rock”. Each song is different. Luckily, I have a tendency to attach a musical progression to the lyrics I write so that when I go to record the song at a later date, I can still remember how it goes without having worked it out on an instrument previously. I’ll sing it to myself before I record, and then write down all the chords and changes. This is probably not an ideal way to work, but it’s been pretty successful for me.

Even when I am home, though, sometimes inspiration just isn’t there. I may have as many as four songs currently being worked on at any given time (I usually don’t like to work on more than that at once) but I can’t get myself motivated enough to work on them if the inspiration isn’t there. This is a different kind of inspiration. I call it “Phase Two”. “Phase One” would be the spark that prompts the moment of conception. This second phase is more like the follow up to that first phase. It’s the execution. It’s taking the idea and moving it from the head to the real world and making it tangible. To do this, I absolutely have to be inspired. If it feels like work, I don’t want to do it. If the time is right and no one’s home and I’m feeling musical, I’ll hit those tracks fast and hard.

Inspiration is personal. It’s different for everyone. What inspires me might not inspire you in the least bit. Embrace that which inspires you because there isn’t a much better feeling than when that spark of inspiration hits you and you act upon it.

Do you have a funny story about inspiration? What methods have worked for you? Please feel free to share in the comments section below.

Lou's News / Music

November 23, 2010

Every Song Tells A Story: The Luckiest Man Alive

The Story

Long story short: this song is about reconnecting with an old friend.

It was specifically written for a friend of mine named Joyce. We met when we were in our late teens, both of us working for the same company but in different locations. It was a retail chain so there was always a lot of interaction between stores. Sometimes people from one store would go work in another for the day to cover for someone who was out, and so on.

Joyce worked in the Nanuet store and lived up that way. We interacted on the phone a lot and became very good friends. Sometimes you just connect with people on the right level and the friendship that’s forged is a solid one. That’s how we were.

So time went by and we lost touch after high school turned into college. We got busy and moved on but there were always funny pictures to look at and memories of those fun times.

The glories of social networking arrived and soon enough, there was a friend request from Joyce one day sitting there. How long had it been? 20 years? Really? The funny thing is that we talked and it was like no time had passed at all. That’s what good friends are all about.

So as it turned out, she married a music man who also owns a club in New York City and opened her own business in mid-town Manhattan. We met up and have been in contact ever since, be it at the club to see a band or just online. A day or two after our initial meet-up, I was inspired to somehow put down what happened in a song. For me, the friends of my youth are the ones I have the strongest bonds with today.

As you can see by the lyrics, the song is fairly literal. There are a few bits and pieces I might have thrown in for the sake of the song but for the most part, it’s all true stuff. It’s mainly the transcript of a reconnection at a table. How have you been? Tell me about the kids. Remember this or that?

The phrase “That man is the luckiest man alive” isn’t meant to be as literal as it sounds, I suppose. That part refers to something a little bigger but it’s disguised as something personal. What happens in marriages, as time goes by, is that two people get so used to the situation and so comfortable in their shoes that they forget how lucky they really are to have someone.

Call it, “The Grass is Greener Syndrome” or “The Seven Year Itch” or whatever else you like, but I feel that sometimes people don’t realize what it means to find someone really special and go the distance with them. I realize this about my wife all the time. Whenever there’s an argument, usually the next day it’s over and we can just forget it. I realize that love shifts and changes faces over time but it’s still the same love and I don’t know what I’d do without my wife. We have great kids and whatever problems we have, we’ll work through together. That’s just how we are.

So that chorus was just me reinforcing that idea to my friend saying that if this guy doesn’t know it by now, he’s the luckiest man alive to have a nice person like you for a wife. That doesn’t make the rest of us unlucky, however. We’re all lucky to have a special lady or man in our lives.

The Recording

As with a lot of the songs I record, I started with the drum track. I already had the lyrics and most of the melody in my head so I just charted it out and got to work.

The song was not that difficult to record, actually. It mainly consists of variations of a big A chord. You might think that’s a little boring, but when songs come out, I try not to fight them and this one came out that way. The bass line is quite simple. Lots of A hits with the occasional little fill-in riff.

Next, I added some keyboard parts. I put some electric piano on top of the bass which blended well. In the pre-chorus parts and the bridge, I added some regular old piano which filled out the song a little and gave it some more life.

The guitar parts are all done on the Martin acoustic – even the leads. I was adding the acoustic strumming in the main parts of the song and when I was done, I added another track and put some light crunch on the guitar sound. The acoustic, when played through this amp simulator had a nice sound that just seemed to fit the song and since I was already plugged in and holding the acoustic, I figured why not just do the lead now.

The vocal is pretty loose. I just went with it. You’re hearing mostly first takes there. The little backups were fun to do. Those “Bah Bahs” just follow the main groove of the electric piano.

In retrospect, I realize that the song might be a little too long. Once I have a drum track down and finished, I really hesitate to go back and edit the hell out of it or re-do it. Sometimes you can’t re-capture things the same way.

It wasn’t until I was doing the vocals that I noticed I had played a little too long here or there, especially in the guitar solo. The bits before the second verse drag on a bit also. When we do this song live, I’ll probably trim it down a little to make it more streamlined.

The Lyrics

Way back in the old times
When the days were slow
We were just two crazy kids
What did we know

Lost track of the hands of time
We drifted away
Never thought I’d ever see you again
Until today

Flood of memories
Ton of bricks
Emotions high in the sky
I’m so glad you found me

So tell me more about your man
I’ll tell you about my wife
Sounds like you’re really doing well
You’ve got a good life

We’re both hitched and the kids are growing
Growing too damn fast
I got time, so let’s palaver
And relive some of that glorious past

That man of yours
He got it right
I wonder if he knows
Yea, I wonder if he knows

That man’s got it in his hands
That man is the luckiest man alive
That man – doesn’t understand
That man is the luckiest man alive

Never regretted a thing in my life
I’m not about to start
You were the first girl to make me sweat
The first to put some dings in my yet unbroken heart

Second guessing is not in my nature
Clairvoyance is a poor man’s myth
Got no use for what coulda and shoulda
We had youth and we enjoyed it

So here we sit down the line
We look good and we feel fine
We both smile cause it’s funny the way
20 years feels like just one day

And I remember
The times together
Still fresh in my mind
I gotta say it one more time

That man’s got it in his hands
That man is the luckiest man alive
That man – doesn’t understand
That man is the luckiest man alive

Lou's News / Music

October 11, 2010

New Song: Space Reggae

I have a wacky little treat for you today – an instrumental! It’s a bit far out and loaded with crazy synthesizer mayhem but I think it’s pretty fun! I hope you enjoy it.

This will be part of the Workin’ Progress record which is starting to really shape up. Check it out in the music player and let me know what you think.

Look for more news, songs and hopefully some gigs in the near future.

Workin’ Progress titles, so far:

Welcome to the Party
There You Are
Something New
My Own Private Babylon
Secrets
Space Reggae

More soon…

Thanks for coming by and listening.

Lou's News / Music

September 29, 2010

New Song: Welcome to the Party

Today I’m proud to release a new song from the Workin’ Progress project called “Welcome to the Party”. This one was a bit different for me and a bit challenging but a lot of fun. It’s basically a funky party jam.

The amazing sax you’ll hear on the track is by Gary Breitling, a local NJ player. The organ parts were played by Chris Preston. I played everything else.

You can play the track on the right in the music player or if you want, you can hit one of my other links listed here and get to the song that way. If you’re having trouble, just contact me.

Hope you enjoy it!

Lou's News / Music

September 20, 2010

Every Song Tells A Story: Will We All Be Friends At The End Of The World?

The Story

This song is, basically, a protest song. Protest songs and rock and roll seem to go hand in hand. I’m not one of those activist-types who go to rallies with signs and stuff but I’m certainly not opposed to writing a protest song when the feeling hits me and the inspiration is there.

This song is the end result of the combining of two song ideas, plus a little Utopia. I had a batch of lyrics with a loose melody called “The World’s Gone Crazy” lying around, waiting to be worked out. That song was more of a misanthropic ode than a protest song and it still has a few good bits in it that I’m going to eventually re-work and transform into another song when I have time.

The other idea was the protest song that eventually ended up as “Will We All Be Friends at the End of the World?” This idea was straight-up inspiration from both a vibe and a lyric from another song I was listening to at the time. That song was from Utopia, Todd Rundgren’s side project, and is called “Marriage of Heaven and Hell” from the album Oops! Wrong Planet.

Somewhere in that song is a lyric that goes, “They will all join hands at the end of the world,” and I thought to myself, “Hey, that’s a neat little visual.” That led to a stream of consciousness that led me to all sorts of places. I was thinking about current events and how all the nations of the world can’t seem to get it together. There’s hatred all over the world pointed in all sorts of directions. There’s hatred within political circles here at home. It’s like a cancer, eating away at humanity.

So I was thinking to myself, “What’s it going to take before everyone gets along and can be friendly to each other? When will we all be friends? Is it going to take a big alien invasion? A nuclear war? The end of the world as we know it? When the world is about to blow, will we then be able to hug it out? Will we all be friends at the end of the world?”

Now, the Utopia song has a couple of different parts to it. The first part and the bit at the end are very upbeat and bluesy which I liked a lot. The part with the quote that I mentioned above is a slower part with a totally different feel. I thought that the bluesy vibe really fit the idea I was trying to convey.

As the newly re-worked lyrics came around, the music in my head started to change a little also. The upbeat vibe was still there and was joined a little by some KISS; specifically the song “100,000 Years”. So, musically, if you take Utopia and KISS and throw them together in a blender, then add a little Alice Cooper and maybe some Wings, and then let me have at it for a while, you’ll come up with something like the song I ended up writing.

As I said, I’m not really a big fan of protest songs, but sometimes inspiration hits and you can’t just turn that sort of thing off. It’s really easy to get angry at the state of the world today. The chorus is something you might hear me say in casual conversation while scanning the news stories of the day. The world really has gone crazy. Nothing makes sense anymore and no one can really tell me why. I don’t get it.

There was a time where I started to really pay attention to politics and what was happening in the world and more so in our own government. Slowly, as Presidents came in and out of power, I just started to realize that there was really no difference between any of them at all. Politicians say what they have to in order to get elected and keep a career going. I also realized that political parties are a bit of a joke. There’s no room for a centrist like myself. If you don’t fall totally and completely down the party line, you don’t fit. I don’t vote based on party, I vote on the issues. I agree with one party on this or that, and I agree with the other on certain other issues. But why is there all this hatred between the parties? There’s no agreeing to disagree. There’s blame, pointing fingers, excuses, lies and red tape. Meanwhile, the people bear the brunt of their mistakes. I’ll stop there. Let’s just say the world was making me angry and therefore, I wrote a song in protest. Do I feel better? Maybe a little. Will the world change? Nope.

The Recording

As usual, I recorded the drums first on this one. I usually try to map the song out in my head and then jot down a few notes so when I’m playing the drum track I know where I am in the song. I’m usually singing in my head as well which is why it’s important for me to have lyrics, even if they’re scratch verses or whatever.

The song starts out with a drum intro that I did “on the fly”. I tried a few different things and it wasn’t until after I was done with the track that I noticed my subconscious inserted a little Peter Criss into my playing. The little intro is a bit similar to what Peter used to do in his old KISS drum solo. So I recorded the drums, made sure I added some accents, left room for some other ideas I had in my head and that was that. As usual, there were not many takes.

There are specific accents in the song, so when I was laying down the bass parts, I tried my best to hit them well. There were no issues that I recall. The song is a bit repetitive, especially on the bass. There’s a constant bluesy thumping that provides a secure foundation.

The guitars were a whole different scene. Once I got started having fun, I found it hard to stop. The tune is very guitar driven and almost “anthemic” in a way. So the basic rhythm guitar is intact, mostly a big A with some C and D accents. Over those accents, however, I started to add some harmonized guitar fills that worked really well. I’m very pleased with the results on those. They added another layer to the song.

The guitar solo is 16 measures, which is quite a bit for me. I pieced together something that I felt worked really well though. The solo took me quite a while. It wasn’t so much playing it as it was coming up with the parts that worked best and then quickly putting them down. I layered a lot of other little guitar parts over stuff where it fit, most noticeably over the bridge which was another bit that I felt worked really well.

This kind of song is especially fun to sing. You can yell a bit and it’s OK. I didn’t pay too much attention to the way I was singing. I just did what felt right and it seemed to work well. The one thing I pre-planned vocally was the little a cappella breakdown with the hand-claps toward the end. That was something that came to me early on when I was writing the song and I wanted to make sure it sounded good. When it was done, I walked away for a while so I could give it a fresh listen and when I played it back later it sounded great. I was actually surprised I pulled those harmonies off. My approach to harmonies and backing vocals is so laid back that I never know what I’m going to do until I do it. This usually gives me mixed results but in this case, I just got lucky and nailed the parts quickly.

Many protest songs are folksy and acoustic with lots of meaningful lyrics and are designed to make you think. This one’s energetic, sloppy, and pretty angry but somehow maintains an air of guitar-in-your-face fun. Protest songs don’t need to be dreary.

I’m really proud of this song and it’s one of my favorites to play.

The Lyrics

Wake up, put on your coat and your hate
The train’s moving backward – you don’t wanna be late
Road full of rage and a heart made of stone
Stupid people make you wanna go it alone

Countries of the word all acting like babies
All the pointing of the fingers and the drama and the hating
Every fist clenched tight raised high in the air
Now we can’t come together when there’s nobody there

The world’s gone crazy, it’s a hell of a time
Nothing’s making sense and nobody knows why
There’s only one thing I’m asking you girl
Will we all be friends at the end of the world?

Don’t believe in politicians they’re not working for you
They’re just thinking about elections, nothing they say is true
From the crib to the dirt you’ll find the sky ain’t so blue
It’s one hell of a quandary, I don’t know what to do

The world’s gone crazy, it’s a hell of a time
Nothing’s making sense and nobody knows why
There’s only one thing I’m asking you girl
Will we all be friends at the end of the world?

The hate is too much
Makes you wanna give up
Somebody please tell me why
I’m seeing bombs in the sky

Power makes you lazy, yeah it goes to your head
Anybody tries to save us, they’ll soon end up dead
How can we get it right when we can’t get along
Everybody like the singer but they can’t stand the song

The world’s gone crazy, it’s a hell of a time
Nothing’s making sense and nobody knows why
There’s only one thing I’m asking you girl
Will we all be friends at the end of the world?