Just an experiment, to see if I can write a piano song.

While You Were Dreaming

This is my 2nd composition for solo piano.

Rhapsody No.1 (Purpose)

Original composition by Chris McGraw
Arranged for 2 pianos and performed by Antonio Giardina

Rhapsody No. 1 - Performed By Antonio Giardina

This is my first ever composition for solo piano, performed by Antonio Giardina.

While You Were Dreaming - performed By Antonio Giardina

For the retro gaming enthusiasts, this is my original MIDI file for Rhapsody No.1, but played back and recorded on a 486 machine with a Sound Blaster 16 card, using the YMF262 - a.k.a OPL-3 - which provided a MIDI synthesis standard that all the other PC-compatible sound cards emulated in the 80's and 90's, creating a sound palette that is distinct to the era.

Rhapsody No. 1 - played by Yamaha YMF262

See the music video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO30LBjvb7c

Guitar and Bass: Chris McGraw
Drums: Tom Reavis

Written and Produced by Chris McGraw
Copyright © 2024 Chris McGraw

Afterburner

In April 2024 my good friend and former Red Penguin drummer Mike visited for a weekend.  We wrote and recorded this song in a day, despite not having collaborated with each other in about 17 years.  Fast forward a few months and I finally got around to finishing the mix.

Drums and Guitars: Michael Austin
Bass, Guitars and Synths: Chris McGraw

Mike comes from a country/blues background, and I come from a prog/hard rock background.  What we got is, in my opinion, a pretty cool fusion!

Chicken Pickin' with the Alien ft. Michael Austin

This is a cover of Take My Breath Away, written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock and originally performed by Berlin for the Top Gun soundtrack.

Take My Breath Away

A strange blend of acoustic guitar, electronica, and one of my favorite Rush songs.

Chris McGraw - Bravado (Rush cover)

Guitars/Vocals/Bass/Keyboards/Written and Produced by Chris McGraw
Drums by Zamm Kenoby

How can we live together
If reason has no voice?
Won't we fight forever
If we ain't got no choice?
How can we stand the mirror? 
How can we stay alive
In the end times?

How can you even think
If you would dare not speak?
Won't it break your spirit?
Won't it make things bleak?
How can we bite our tongues?
How can we find some peace
In the end times? 

Look at all the young souls
Innocent but meek
Fighting to survive
In the battle of the week
Who'll come to their defense?
Who'll save them from themselves
In the end times?

How can we forge our lives
When spirits yield to force?
It's difficult to choose
To stay the lofty course
Our minds reduced to ashes
Our bodies bound and chained
In the end times

You and I
Striving side by side
To the end of our days
To the end of our days
Oh yeah

Eyes open wide
Souls on fire
To the end of our days
To the end of our days
Oh yeah

Where will our hearts lead us
If mindlessly they roam?
When you lie awake at night
With thoughts of the unknown
Each point of light a mystery
Against the endless shadow
In the end times

Listen to  the robots
The ones that must comply
They've been designed to steal
They've been programmed to lie
Our dreams reduced to wishes
Their fantasies fulfilled
In the end times

Chris McGraw - End Times

This was originally a composition for solo piano.  I wrote it, transcribed it, and hired a professional pianist to play it.  You can find the original version on Soundcloud - it got stuck in a classical music playlist and received the most listens of anything I've uploaded on here.  Well, I was playing around with AI, and gave it a MIDI version of my piano score.  I told it to produce the song as a Synthwave track, always having thought it would sound good like that.  What I got back sounded like it was ripped straight out of my imagination, and also like the coolest guitar backing track I'd ever heard... so you know I had to shred over it!  I hope you enjoy this experiment in the merging of man and machine.

While You Were Dreaming v2.0

This is the 2nd track on my forthcoming concept album, Reason and Romance.  Help me fund this project and pre-order a copy of the album at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/re...

If you like this song, please help me by liking and sharing the video, and subscribe to the channel if you don't want to miss the next song.  Thank you for listening!

More about the album here: https://youtu.be/CqtoKvjB_uk

Credits:
Words and Music by Chris McGraw
Produced by Jackson Jackson

Lyrics:

Into the darkness
You peer with squinted eyes
The creatures that surround you
Shed their mystic guise

Your heart’s a broken mirror
Dissecting the view
And I am the judge
Deciding the truth

When you wake from every nightmare
From the visions you fear
When you sail the wild seas
Know that I'll be there 

I am cold, I am real
I do not feel
I'm absolute
I'm the things
You can't refute
I'm always there
I'm not what you wish
You cannot hide

Welcome to reality

Welcome to Reality

I am a guitarist/singer/songwriter/producer living in Portland, Or.

Chris McGraw

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