A Day Wasted

One from Dave Jr. If I remember correctly, this was the last song to receive overdubs (electric guitar) during our last session at Hayestock; Dave Jr and I started and finished recording Rehearsal and Wide Awake during this session as well. 

After taking our time for most of the record, we faced a hard deadline as our recording engineer was set to leave for boot camp in May of 2007. We did finish all of the recordings just in time, though by then we were out of sufficient time, funds, and energy to finalize a "package" (artwork, commercially produced copies, and such) for the record. 

I still have the masters (somewhere, anyway), so if I ever have a spare several hundred bucks lying around, I might get that done just for posterity's sake. But, assuming that doesn't happen, I'm still glad I have these recordings as a souvenir of a really fun time shared with the Umsteds. Thanks, y'all.

Black Moon

This is a demo; the finished version appears on the Dewey Starr page.

This song, written in 2003, is actually a companion piece to Hall of Fame--from the point of view of the person left behind when the singer sought fortune and ended up in the Hall of Fame (Lounge). 

This also is the first song I recorded directly to my iPad. I might record a few more this way (though I might not).

The Rocket Song (One Last Wish)

A couple of months ago, Dave Umsted sent me some music for which he wanted lyrics. It took me a minute, but I finished them this week, drawing on my memories of living alone for the first time back in my early 20s. Here's a pretty rough version of what I wrote.

NOTE: The finished version appears on the Dewey Starr page. It's pretty different from this one. 

The Little House Behind the Big House

When my brother's first son was born, I was amazed that he and my sis-in-law would NOT let him sleep in the afternoon. "He'll keep us up all night if we let him sleep now," he said, "so we do what we can to keep him awake."

I wrote this song about some of the ways they might keep him awake. My cousin David Umsted and I recorded it in the spring of 2011 with Chris Isaac at Farmhouse Studio.

Sawyer's Song (Strange Lullaby)

A new song, written from the perspective of our sweet, sensitive dog, Cy.

You Wave Goodbye

Written as a vocal only a couple of hours before a gig on a March (2008) day that saw several inches of snow fall; I added guitar chords and such a few weeks later. 

As is the case with The Wrong Train, I may or may not record a "real" version of this song someday, but the present demo will suffice otherwise. 

Milk and Bread

Before The Archives, Dave Umsted Sr and I were in a cover band together called Group Therapy along with his brother (and my stepdad) Jim as well as Blake and Holly Swan. Because of Jim's connections, we were able to record an album's worth of songs at Sun Studio in 2002, tracking tunes after hours. 

This song, a cover of the tune by Richard and Linda Thompson but really following the arrangement R.E.M. put together for their own cover in 1996, was recorded during those sessions.

Wall Of Death (Richard and Linda Thompson cover)

Another track from the 2002 Group Therapy session* at Sun Studio. 

*See what I did there?

Rain (Beatles cover)

A final track from the Sun sessions. This is probably my favorite of them; David Umsted Sr, in addition to playing most of the guitar parts, nailed the lead vocal. 

My Back Pages (Bob Dylan/Byrds cover)

This is a demo, recorded in the kitchen. Dave T's dog Cy makes a cameo toward the end of the recording (pant, pant, pant).

Slow Down, Jonah

The Archives, formerly The Missing Teeth, formerly Puddleglum, formerly Big World. Side-gigged with Group Therapy. Not Dewey Starr, though--look for them on a separate page.

The Archives

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