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Wrote this one in LA after being away from my family for quite a few years.  Obviously about my folks.  Likely the most autobiographical song I ever wrote.

What I Know How To Do, by bump

This is the original demo of "I'm Feeling Better--a song I later recorded with Sideshow Bob

I'm Feeling Better, by bump

I still love the Brian May guitars that Patrick Sugg played on the choruses of this.

Live Again, by Neverland

This song appeared in "Remembering Composition," the first film I did with Todd Taylor.  I wrote this song on my beach guitar while camping at Jalama Beach with artist Alex Echo.

Freedom, by bump

My go to, play it anywhere, any time song.  Wrote it in an hour one night in LA. 

This Old House, by bump

JFA recorded this at The Enterprise in LA with engineer Marc DeSisto.  It's big and dreamy.  I write some pretty soft songs, and this is certainly one of them.  It's certainly a precursor to Neverland's "Live Again."  Heavy bands, soft songs.  Probably one reason I wound up a professor of writing.  :)

I Still Dream, by Jungle Alley

I remember writing this song with Ted McCloskey immediately after he bought a new vacuum cleaner to replace the one his ex-roommate took when he moved out.

Furniture, by Sideshow Bob

This was from the Untucked album. It's hard for me to listen to this track because I was suffering from vocal nodules at the time of the recording.  That said, I was pretty proud of this song at the time.  It felt substantial, and I think it reflected how I was feeling at the time--heavy hearted in a party band.  This one was pretty autobiographical.  I always worried that folks would think, from the title, that the song was heretical.  It's not.  Far from it.  As it turned out, no one seemed to care very much about it.  But I did and do.

Ghost Unholy, by Sideshow Bob

This was from the Untucked album. It's hard for me to listen to this track because I was suffering from vocal nodules at the time of the recording.  That said, this remains one of my favorite songs.  And I love the pedal steel that Ted McCloskey played on it.  Plus, I got to mention "Chimney Rocks" from my hometown!  More autobiography on this one.

Nothing, by Sideshow Bob

An older song that bears the burden of my over use of "more, more, more."  Still, I like the contrast of more and less in this song and am quite fond of the chorus lyric, even if the rest of it is a bit thinky.  Very low-fi production on this song writing demo.

Less Me, by bump

This was one of the last songs I wrote in LA.  

Can't Leave Here Fast Enough, by bump

Alex Echo gave me some partial song lyrics.  This is my favorite product of that partnership.  Of course, I screwed up the chorus lyric.  Alex wrote a brilliant lyric: "Chase the clouds AND the sunny days."  In this songwriting demo, I changed that brilliant lyric to the more pedestrian, "Chase the clouds FROM your sunny days."  I have sung the song as originally authored ever since.  Please forgive.  And, please, chase your dreams, no matter how far away. Chase the clouds and the sunny days.  

Chase, by bump

This was the first song I wrote and recorded in my home studio.  As such, the production is a hot mess.  But there's some cool stuff in here too.  I think I was trying to set an Olympic record for notes sung at the top of my register.  Alas, I took 4th place and did not even medal. Still, it remains the national record in Latvia. :)

Planting Tears, by bump

I had a friend, Hans, who I hired to come over and track the piano & organ for this tune.  This is the only song I can ever remember writing without an instrument.  I wrote it while driving.  I hated the lead vocal on this for a long time, but I always loved the song.  And I really enjoyed playing bass on this track.  I'd still love to have another go at this vocal.  Maybe I'll have to fire up the old 1/2" 16-track deck and see what I've got left in the tank.

I'll Wait, by bump

This is another of the excellent lyrics that I got from Alex Echo.  I added the bridge.  It remained a staple of my solo shows.  This is the original songwriting demo of it, tracked live to two track.  I continue to love the idea of this lyric more today than when we wrote it.  

She Bought Herself Flowers Today, by bump

This is the original songwriting demo, tracked live to two track.  Oddly, I never performed this song very often.  It always felt too melodramatic to me to do at shows.  I've mostly sung it when sitting around w/ folks.  It seems like an intimate song. and I remain proud of the lyric.  

Save Me, by bump

My buddy, Shawn Klaiber, helped me track this & he mixed it.  This song became a staple of my live solo shows--usually a set closer.  So most folks who ever heard this song, heard it as a singer-songwriter thing.  So, in the spirit of being gotten from your blind side, Surprise!  

Blind Side, by bump

OK, this is the non "way-oh" mix, which seems far more reasonable to me these days than the original version I had posted.  I'm happy to have found this version.  Production aside, I love the song.  And, production not aside, I'm really proud of the bridge vocals. I haven't played this song live for the longest time.  I'm really happy to have rediscovered it.

Alone She Cries, by bump

Erik Turner (Warrant) and Butch Walker were friends of mine who introduced me to Tommy Thayer & Pat Regan.  I did a bunch of work with those guys, singing, songwriting, and singing on demos.  Erik and I wrote this song and cut the original demo in my studio.  We had hoped it may become a Warrant song.  Alas, about a month later, the Scorpions released their song with the same title.  So it goes. A few years later, I did this acoustic version of the song. 

Winds Of Change, by bump & Erik Turner

I've always had a vexed relationship with this song.  It's kind of like a stray dog that comes around every now and again.  I don't like it, but can't seem to turn it away either.  I don't think I have ever played it live.  And yet, here it is.  Again.  I'll let y'all decide.

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