Hi, long time, hope all is ok during these crazy times ! Nice track, interesting harmony/melody going on.

This version is an early 2023 update of something that was first put up here in January, 2018. It's a new and clearer mix. There's also a discrete horn and woodwind part that hadn't been there before. I know a bit more about recording now than I did then, and I believe this is improved over what had been before through some tweaks I now know of and can employ..
I'd never explained the title in my previous track note. I personally couldn't believe that I'd ever be capable of writing or performing something like this. I had the idea when hearing it develop that it was really pretty cool and different from other things I'd done. I really thought it could represent my "life's work", and that I'd be happy to have anyone at any point of time hear this as someone said "Listen to this. This is this guy's essence."
I've done other things in life that I've been proud of, and written and recorded other pieces of music that I've liked, but I'd be happy to be remembered through this piece of music alone, if it ever came to that. It might not mean much to anyone else, but it does to me.
For what it's worth, VBS were my mother's initials. I think she'd too be amazed and impressed to hear that the kid who grew up playing loud bass and guitar on her porch had ever gotten to the point that he'd generate something like this
Guitar, bass, keys, drum and percussion programming, and composition by John Schwetje. Recorded at Swetchsongs Studios, Long Island, NY. Photo by John Schwetje. Swetchsongs, ASCAP.

Life's Work (VBS)

This song started acoustically many, many years ago. It became electric at another point quite awhile back too. Now, there's a merge of both, along with fewer lyrics, a new rhythmic slant, and a new ending.
The words are inspired by the idea that, in this crazy world of ours, things can sometimes seem totally great.
That realization might occur to us at times. It's certainly aided by being somewhat blessed in our circumstances and outlook to begin with. On top of that, we've got to be open to that "light bulb flashing on" at those times when such an impression might be possible.
I had a friend who'd said, near the time when this was first written and played, that it reminded him of Jefferson Airplane's Embryonic Journey (which I'd never heard at that time). The electric part was a more conscious attempt for me to work with a vibe remotely akin to Tomorrow Never Knows by the Beatles. If this came close to either of those templates, I'm happy.
New mix put up 2023-01-28.

Written and performed by John Schwetje (acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drum programming, keys, and vocals). Production, recording, and engineering by John Schwetje at Swetchsongs Studios, Long Island, NY. Photo by John Schwetje. Copyright, 2019 Swetchsongs, ASCAP.

The Universe And Me

I was a recreational runner for many years, and a variety of things have now made me a walker. This song is an imaginary stroll in a forest. There's definitely a walking pace that might set feet in motion, and the different song sections might set up different trails and vistas on this walk.
Woods in the title also relates to the fact that this all originated on an acoustic guitar. Once upon a time, I felt it might solely be recorded with a pair or trio of acoustic guitars, but that didn't happen. The basic percussion choices also related at one point to wooden mallet instruments like marimbas, but that expanded too.
Hoping that this might make a nice stroll unfold in the mind of the listener, or that some might take the hint and play it via earbuds on an actual woodland sojourn.

Written, played, programmed, engineered, and recorded by John Schwetje as Swetchsongs studios, Long Island, NY. ASCAP (C) Swetchsongs 2023. Photo by John Schwetje

Walking The Woods

First the disclaimers: this is not intended in any way to be offensive to practitioners of any New Age/Pagan faith who might think "This guy is painting us with a broad brush that's based on archaic stereotypes.", Sorry if that impression comes across to anyone. Secondly, this song was written and first recorded in the very early 1990's, when sensibilities about being PC or "woke" were a bit different.
This is basically a lighthearted take on something that really happened to me on a Long Island roadway about a mile from home one late afternoon. I fearfully observed another driver nearly clobber a few of us at an intersection. It just so happened that their car was absolutely covered with bumper stickers and decals telling the rest of us that they'd rejected many conventional belief systems and embraced what's mentioned above as their alternative.Beyond the stickers and decals, there were crystals hanging from mirrors along with a spirit catcher or 2.
We all very narrowly avoided an accident and I was soon home, shaken and stirred to commemorate the experience in a rather curious way. I'd recently gotten an old cassette port-a-studio, and set out to document the experience and soothe my shattered nerves through song. Witchie was born, and a very old version of this survives somewhere in my basement on a cassette tape. My wife and daughter actually helped out on the "Which witchie was it..." part on that version.
My wife is now part of an upcoming run of Macbeth at one of our local theaters. Of course, the famous "Weird Sisters" are part of that, and the director and cast are having a bit of fun with that aspect of the production. Therefore, my wife asked me about that old cassette of Witchie. Rather than finding that, and dusting off whatever might still exist on that tape, I set about to do a 2023 DAW version, and here it is!.
No help from others on this. It was all written, played, programmed, produced, engineered, and recorded by yours truly here at Swetchsongs studios in early October of 2023. Hope it'll be heard in the tongue in cheek fashion in which it was written and intended.
ASCAP (C) Swetchsongs 2023. Photo adapted by John Schwetje

Witchie

Inside Glow

Human is

Follow Dynamics

Portrait of My Sister

Live show recorded at Counterpart Studios for WKRQ

Todd Rundgren Cincinnati WKRQ 11 11 73 Full 1644

Our Ties

This is a live recording of Todd Rundgren and Utopia from 1978.  It was a radio broadcast of a concert at One Block West in Kansas CIty, KS, back in 1978.  The broadcast was on KY-102 FM.  I recorded it on cassette tape.  Then years later, I slightly enhanced the quality, while moving it to digital.

Todd Rundgren and Utopia Live at One Block West in 1978

Something finished just as 2019 turned into a new decade. Continually hoping that clearer and more positive views will always prevail. If some optimism and forward drive is apparent to the listener, that's good. The (re) has to do with the idea that some of the clearest and most positive views have been in circulation, under discussion, and subject to contemplation for millennia. Therefore, as we expectantly and hopefully look forward with clarity and purpose, we might eventually find ourselves in a better present thanks to truths still with us from a distant past.

20 20 (re)Vision(s)

Lots of good, and hopefully different, music here. I'm rooted in rock that's informed by influences like Kurt Rosenwinkel, John McLaughlin, Keith Jarrett, Weather Report, and Pat Metheny. Huge impact from Todd Rundgren, Neil Finn, XTC, the Island Records stable circa 1968-74 (Traffic, Free, Fairport Convention, etc.); and 70's prog-rock from Yes, King Crimson, Soft Machine, and Mike Oldfield. This all filters into what you'll hear from me.

20 20 (re)Vision(s)

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