Your darker mood on your darker days

Demo I made at home. Trying to get better at sharing WIP stuff. Not a perfect performance but the song got to a point that I wanted to share. I'm still pretty amateur at recording but I love experimenting with it.

Focusrite Scarlett 18i8
Logic Pro
Martin DCX1E
Hohner Special 20
MXL 990 and 991

Apathetic Ears V1

First demo of a new track. Still writing and rewriting but first iterations are fun sometimes. All me so far. Looking forward to seeing what the band does with it.

Closed My Eyes V1

Another first demo. Did a scratch w the robo drummer in Logic. Sent around to the band and waiting to see what they come back with. In the meantime, just sharing what I've written lately.

Life Is Coming

Home recording of a new song. When I say new I mean since our band's last album (Goodnight Freeman 'Past the Dark Side'). This one was a scratch I did, added some random lead guitar and the boys added drums and bass. You can tell this song is chopped up a bit as I was really writing a lot through Logic. Moving parts around, etc., until I got the composition right. It's on my list to go back and redo my parts now but I'm working on getting a few other scratches to the boys first. Let me know what you think.

P.s. This song is about Giles Corey of the Salem witch trials. Long story short, I found out long after writing the song that Giles killed a relative of mine. Small world.

More Weight

Wrote this song in the early days of COVID lockdown. Woke up with the melody in my head. My first recording was on my phone and just me singing a cappella some random words that ended up being the song. I couldn't figure out how to play it on guitar fast enough so I switched to piano. Then it was just a song that was burning me up inside until I got it all out and recorded. Once I got it to a decent place, I sent it to the guys (my band Goodnight Freeman) and they added drums, bass and even ebow bass. Then I added a bunch of layers. Rhythm guitar. Lead guitar. Harmonies. There is a music video of this song that I also made at home (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOTnQPRaZu8). This was done in May I think. Little did I know then that 3-4 months later it would still be going on.

What Day Is It?

Second iteration of this track. Still working on the composition. Changed the ending from the previous version. Not going back to the the original tempo for the ending but staying in the new tempo and hallowing out for a soft ending. I think I like this better. Cuts a bit off the run time so that's good. Feeling set on composition, I'm going to move toward finalizing lyrics. I have a theme but a lot of the lyrics are just placeholder, whatever I came up with on the spot. I'll go through several re-writes before completion.

Lemme know what you think!

Closed My Eyes V2

Super early version of a new song that just popped out of nowhere. One of those songs that you create and record very quickly just to get it out. These lyrics are all just mush mouth, sing whatever pops into your head the first time through, type stuff. But loving the riff and the build of the music. Liking the chants. Still working out the kinks but this is all about sharing the progress.

I Get My Way

For this update, bandmate Jason Spillman added bass and I redid the vocals. I had updated some of the lyrics and wanted to get those out there. I really like how this is shaping up. I really only pictured it as an acoustic jam but am digging the addition of the drums (Vince Caiafa) and bass. It still has the raw feeling that I'm going for. Lemme know what you think.

Apathetic Ears V2

Few small tweaks getting this ready for mastering. Going to try the mastering service here on Soundcloud. I'll let you know how it goes. 

Anyway, just balanced it out a little. It was a bit too bass heavy. I pulled out some organ that was just adding clutter in the background. I did dupe the lead vocals. Same take just double it on separate tracks then pan one just slightly left of center and right of center. Thickens it up considerably. (Reminder - very little idea on if this is good practice or not)

Update - the mastering service was decent. It added a bit but I wouldn't say it replaces having someone do it. You pick a portion of the song to master then pick between 4 preset mastering styles. I would say it's worth the $5. Especially for a home recording. If I had a studio recording I obviously wouldn't use the Soundcloud mastering.

What Day Is It? (Final-ish)

Scratch track for a new(ish) tune. Wrote it a few months ago but was working on other stuff so am just now coming around to finishing it. Scratch track to share with the bandmates. We'll see what happens.

Lyrics:
I keep looking up
to the sky
Just wondering 
Will a star will go by?
And can I catch a ride?

But it’s giving me
A pain in the neck
I don’t need a star
I need to pay the rent
That’d be heaven sent

Cuz it’s a long way
It’s a long way
It’s a long way up

I didn’t get that job
That I didn’t want
You’d think I’d be scared
But I’m not
I’m nowhere near the bottom

So watch me tear it down
To build it up
You gotta start at the bottom
Keep reaching up
Til you reach the top

cuz it’s a long way
It’s a long way
It’s a long way up

And if a star does go by
Close enough to catch a ride
Would i go or would i stay under the sky

It seems so strange
But it’s ok
This is just a game
That we all play
It always ends the same

And it a long way
It’s a long way
It’s a long way up

And if a star does go by
Close enough to catch a ride
Would i go or would i stay destined to die

Heaven Sent

Heaven Sent (scratch track)

Hi. This is my songwriting channel. I post WIP songs and update as I go. I find the journey a song goes on in creation to be very interesting. I hear a lot that you shouldn't share until you're done but this feels more natural. I'd love to get a look inside the process of some of my favorite songwriters. Some of this stuff will turn into material for my band, Goodnight Freeman (www.goodnightfreeman.com). Some of it won't go any farther than this page. Ok, let's see what happens.

Cedars Beck