Fantasy for Piano, F-sharp minor
Like in the case of my previous ballade, the main theme is one of my oldest one, written on a guitar almost two decades ago, in a secluded house, when I took guitar lessons with my friends under a guise of a senior, eccentric professor who was probably semi-drunk every single lesson.
It came almost seamlessly and it never left my mind, and finally it found a satisfactory growth and expression in a piano composition.
Paul Anthony Romero made spontaneously numerous improvisations on it (He received it with a bunch of other musical themes), and a lot of those variations ended here as a homage to him, as this work is dedicated to him.
Initially the theme was planned as an initial statement in a nocturne I was writing, preceding the main theme, but after Paul's suggestion I separated the two distinct themes and decided it was best to let them grow separately.
The fact that I developed one of my oldest melodies with a superb composer and pianist, and a musical inspiration since high-school, makes me beyond blessed and happy.
The watercolour artwork, like in all other released compositions, is done by Vanja Kalemba.

Fantasy for Piano, F-sharp Minor

Nightfall

A really nice 60's 70's feel of music which still incorporates the feel of today. Me and @frankzozky got this again!

The Scar You Carve

submission for Friendly Music Jam #4 hosted by Gullo, featuring Gullo, Xafae, elia the animal, lodesa, and RSR's samples + my connectors

modular multiple-step process on this one the most ambitious that I have done so far since 2023.  There aren't MIDI dumps or MuseScore scores of this because if i did it would be only tiny pieces of the whole thing.  It's done with random throw away lines in my text files for lyrics that didn't go into full songs so it feels like some White Album thing of half-songs or the way Alan Parsons Tales of Mystery & Imagination doesn't quite hang together because it was his first solo effort.  The samples of the contributors were paired with Roland FA-08 performances into "modules" and the ones that failed in that process for selection were replaced with Akai-MIDI keyboard performances of instruments that I got off places like Humble Bundle that are integrated with the Mixcraft 10.6 Pro Studio DAW.  And then backbones of performances which connect the sample section modules complete the process when overlaid with vocals corresponding to all (or almost all) the modules.  This went twelve draft versions, I've never done that many incremental drafts.

Buy on Beatport

William Tell Should've Known Better - Chocolate-Dipped Chocolate

Listen to the book "The Year of Becoming Gracia" on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Year-Becoming-Gracia-Necessary-Adventure/dp/B00O1ES4RW/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hjF60yF0sUduswWfU1dtWCm8O5h2z17IywJy6cjPQYIlJnmh9uiO2K5RaoCY-4SN.yPLpXWGXr2uudcmDwY2kJF7PJRcEoS1rG18fCGvFV3M&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+year+of+becoming+gracia&qid=1753828983&sr=8-1


[verse 1]
She left Colorado with the wind at her side
Chasing a whisper across the great divide
Two daughters grown and walking their own trails
But in her heart, their laughter still prevails

She taught in the suburbs by the bay
Melbourne mornings, chalk dust and prayers each day
Teaching roots in a world far from home
Still wondering how far a soul must roam


[chorus]
And she’s still becoming Gracia
Through the healing and the ache
Crossing oceans for the questions
That the silence sometimes makes
In her journal and her heartbeat
There's a light she will not fake
She's still becoming Gracia
Every breath a chance to wake 

[verse 2]
On a Kibbutz where the Galilee sings
She found peace in the simplest things
University walls in old Haifa stone
Studied faith, but she still felt alone

She held the past in tender grace
Missed her father’s final face
In a veterans bed, far from her sky
Ventura wept while she said goodbye

[chorus]
And she’s still becoming Gracia
Through the loss and through the flame
Two daughters off on journeys
But they echo in her name
In the quiet of her longing
She has never passed the blame
She's still becoming Gracia
Never walking quite the same 

[bridge]
Now the road bends, not so wide
But wisdom walks close by her side
With Reiki hands and open eyes
She learns to live, she learns to rise

[chorus - final]
And she’s still becoming Gracia
Not a finish, just a start
Finding healing in the desert
And the shadows of her heart
With her daughters in the ether
And her father in the stars
She's still becoming Gracia
Just as she is, just who you are 

[outro]
Still becoming... Gracia…



Still becoming Gracia

"VERONICA" THE FIRST SINGLE OFF OF THE UPCOMING ALBUM "sleepwalking" IS OUT NOW.

"sleepwalking"
My definition: The feeling of living but not fully awake, ignoring a harsh reality.

An album about my fears, uncertainty of my future and personal struggles. COMING SOON.

Produced by: Ben Mercedez
Written by: Ben Mercedez
Performed by: Ben Mercedez

Lyrics:

VERONICA on a pedestal
Why am I jealous of you, I feel so small
You got the boys on their knees for you
And I'm left in the gutter blue

VERONICA I'm so happy for you
I would kill just for a sliver of the
Attention you so always receive

You'll never know my fear
Of talking to the monsters underground
You don't look in the mirror
And see a boy who's LOST NOT FOUND

VERONICA oh he calls for you
You got him on a string he adores you
To him I was just a mere experiment

VERONICA oh the girls are jealous
They want your man we're overzealous
You better watch behind his back before we attack

You'll never know my fear
Of talking to the monsters underground
You don't look in the mirror
And see a boy who's LOST NOT FOUND

You'll never know my fear
Of talking to the monsters underground
You don't look in the mirror
And see a boy who's LOST NOT FOUND

Oh and if I could I would be you
Just for a day I'd feel the power run
Deep through my veins it'd be so true
Living life without a care in the sun

Released: August 15 2025

Sleepwalking

Veronica

Actin So Stupid (2024)

COVER SONG

This is part of a live jam session held at my house on February 7, 2016. Super Bowl Sunday!

Larry Ponczek - Vocal & Lead Guitar -
Joe Storino - Bass -
Joe DeBrizzio - Rhythm Guitar -
Ron Snyder - Guitar -

Billy Roberts copyrighted this song in 1962.

HEY JOE - (Jimi Hendrix) COVER - Ponczek/Storino/DeBrizzio/Snyder - LIVE

Just another song (of mine) that makes no sense.

Copyright: 1984

Watch our dog catch a Frisbie to the jam part of this song:
http://youtu.be/czhxwiaZ9A4

Main Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SnyderRon

This song was recorded in 11 hours on a 4-track recorder in October of 1984.
Remastered with Soundcloud in 2021.

Ron Snyder - Shoot The Bull (1984)

Please listen to the scientists.
Thanks to asianews.it, for the use of their image.

Cult

A beautiful call for peace for yesterday, today, and tomorrow..... its the only way!!!
watch on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnsnwlEH9NrnHrcIpCSOWbw
listen on all major streaming services https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ERiLI8Cf2OrHTBwhUstvP

Peace

A therapeutic journey into a mix of jazz, classical, and a blend of types of electronica.  And a wry, gradual observation that promotion tends to only go as far as you push it.  At least I make my fellow musicians laugh a little.

William Tell Should've Known Better - Chocolate-Dipped Chocolate

Doug Stoothoff