It Happens

Join me as I sit down with Pittsburgh's Lady of the Blues "Miss Freddye" for a conversation about her musical career and current projects. The episode ends with her performance of the song "Something to Believe In" which at the time of this release is in contention for a Grammy nomination!

Musical Lives #21 - Miss Freddye

Join me as I sit down with local singer songwriter Mary Angel Blount to talk about her musical journey that has led her to Morgantown WV. We feature two songs: "Off The Grid" and "Finding the River" from an album that we recorded together with the Morgantown band Second Cousin.

Musical Lives #23 - Mary Angel Blount

Solo guitar version of the song by song by J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson. Arrangement by Tim Lerch. You can find a video of the performance here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSpC05uO9II

Lift Every Voice And Sing

Join me as I sit down with Appalachian Soul man, Aristotle Jones for a chat about his journey into music as one of the up and coming original artists from West Virginia. During the show we dive into a lot of topics  and get to hear two of his recent recordings - "The Talk" an original composition, and a cover of the classic "West Virginia Hills".

Musical Lives #24 - Aristotle Jones

Demo version of a Martin Taylor arrangement of this hit made famous by Barbara Streisand in 1965. This song was written by Herbert Martin and Michael Leonard and was written for the Broadway Musical "The Yearling"

Why Did I Choose You?

Solo guitar rendition of this old favorite. You can see the video performance here... https://youtu.be/jsIriT4fACI

America The Beautiful

My try at Pat Martino's arrangement of the Joni Mitchell classic recorded around the one year anniversary of Pat's passing :( You can find a video of the performance here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjdUmHxQ31Y

Both Sides Now

My instrumental tribute to Nick Drake... one of my all-time heros! This version features Brandhi Irvon on percussion and Chris Plein on mandolin

Stark Draked

Join me as I sit down for a chat with Terry Schnell who, like me, is a transplant to Morgantown and has found his musical home here. We chat about song writing, performing and the importance of keeping cover versions of songs alive through fresh arrangements.

Musical Lives #26 - Terry Schnell

To mark 100 years since Wes Montgomery's birth (March 6, 1923), here's one of his pieces for solo guitar.

Mi Cosa

Join me for a special edition where I sit down with surely my most knowledgeable guest, the remarkable chatGPT. In this brief encounter, we talk about the role of AI in the creative process. We revisit some poetry by Bob Dylan and Michael Blumenthal!

Musical Lives #27 - ChatGPT

Join me as I sit down for a conversation with instrumental guitarist Damon Buxton. We talk about his musical journey and listen to three of his tracks from his 12 albums so far: Lily's Traveling Lullaby, Olive's Violin and Istanbul.

Musical Lives #28 - Damon Buxton

Join me as I sit down in Steve Frisch's backyard for a conversation and a listen to four of his tunes: "How Else", "Skye McDougall", "Amethyst" and "Stories". We'll learn about Steve's roots, his approach to songwriting and recount some of his experiences along the way. It's a great chat, and the melodies are really different and thought provoking.

Musical Lives #29 - Steve Frisch

Join me as I sit down with Nashville-based singer/songwriter/musician Jeff Miller to discuss his musical journey into the world of looping guitar. Jeff has a lot of great advice for songwriting and performing during the hour. We close out with a tune "Perfect 10" from his upcoming album.

Musical Lives #30 - Jeff Miller

A Christmas classic by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent in 1943 to honor all the service men and women away from their families for the holidays. You can find this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/skJ0CzASttg?feature=shared.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

A quick version of Frank Loesser's standard from 1947!

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Quick demo of this timeless tune that unfortunately still rings true so many years after it first featured in South Pacific in 1949.

You've Got To Be Carefully Taught

A little tune I wrote one cold spring day while stuck in a cabin in West Virginia!

Cabin Fever

This is a little tune I wrote recently about starting over and taking the plunge in love. For me this happened back in 2000 and this tune is dedicated to my wife! The title is based on a little phrase that we came up with sometime after we started dating :)This is the jazz combo version featuring Mark Poole on drums!

That Someone Is You

I recently paid homage to one of my guitar heros and visited Wes' grave in Indianapolis. Been playing his tunes a lot lately, especially Mi Cosa. I wrote this little solo tune as my small tribute to the great man. The crickets you can hear in the background were recorded on Gladesville Road just outside of Morgantown one summer's night.

Wesleyan

Demo version of a little ditty with lyrics adapted (with permission!) from "Villanelle for a Cat" by Michael Blumenthal (http://www.michael-blumenthal.com) Michael just happens to be my next door neighbor, and he and I share a love for cats! Artwork for this track is by my son, Finlay Lorimer :)

Mind Of A Cat

This track never made it to any of his 3 studio albums, and was released posthumously. It is one of my all-time favourite ND tunes!

Time Of No Reply (Nick Drake cover)

Here's a neat simulation by David Saroff of what an all-sky monitor for Fast Radio Bursts might sound like. The first 30-40 seconds set the scene with background noise from the Parkes telescope. After that, FRBs begin to rain down - about 30 of them during the 5 minute "observation". You can hear different intensities (volumes) and different dispersions (chirp lengths) of the FRBs as they sweep through the frequencies of the radio telescope. Here, the sky frequencies of 1.4 GHz have been converted to audible frequencies for your delectation :) The simulated bursts themselves come from work being carried out by my graduate student Akshaya Rane and represent bursts originating from cosmological distances. Their origin is still unkown!

Fast Radio Bursts

Almost Blue was written by Elvis Costello apparently for Chet Baker. Both Elvis and Chet have great versions of it, and I came about this tune from playing it with some great friends of mine. We even named our band after it, and this version is very close to how we played it at our shows.

Almost Blue

River Stay ‘Way From My Door was written in 1931 by Harry Woods and Mort Dixon. After I recorded this, my producer, sound engineer and great friend Mark here at Zone 8 told me that the great flood of 1985 in West Virginia literally came up to the door of the studios here in Granville WV! My heart goes out to anyone who has been affected by flooding which can be a devastating experience.

River Stay 'Way From My Door

Cole Porter is probably one of my all-time favorite songwriters and composers. I don’t think I’ve heard a tune of his that I don’t like… this one you’re going to hear next, was written for the musical “Born to Dance” in 1936 and has been sung by crooners ever since. Like many of Cole Porter’s tunes, he gives away the title in the first line!
I guess my version, like many, is based off of Frank Sinatra’s recording from the late 1950s. I learned to sing it in a duet version, but here it is in solo form.

I've Got You Under My Skin

This "Big Band" tune was written by Duke Ellington and Bob Russell in 1940. This version is inspired by a vocal/guitar rendition I heard recently from Fiona Apple.

Don't Get Around Much Anymore

This song was originally written by Walter Donaldson and Gus Khan back in 1930. Nina Simone had perhaps the biggest hit with it in 1958. I updated a couple of the lyrics from her version, and the overall feel of the song is my attempt to capture her pianistic style in her version.

My Baby Just Cares For Me

A little country waltz about remembering the important things in life. This version features Chuck Snider on pedal steel guitar, Mark Poole on drums, Brandhi Irvon on percussion and Paul Marganian on fiddle.

All You'll Ever Need

A new tune with words adapted from the Villanelle of the same name by Michael Blumenthal. This features Mark Poole on drums, Brandhi Irvon on percussion and trumpet.

Cycle

A little ditty about changing one's course in life and how good it feels on the other side. This version features Brandhi Irvon on percussion and Chris Plein on mandolin.

This World Of Ours

Solo guitar version of a tune I used to play in this band... https://soundcloud.com/almost-blue-wv/still-in-love-with-you
We added a bit of old crackly record sound to make it feel like an old standard :)

Still in Love

Solo guitar and vocal version of this old favorite set to a bossa nova feel!

Night And Day

Join me as I sit down with local blues guitarist Josh Arthurs and talk about his musical roots and influences which have helped him develop into an amazing musician carrying on a time-honored tradition.

Musical Lives #15 - Josh Arthurs

Here's my cover version of this jazz standard by Alex Wilder and Morty Palitz arranged for solo guitar and played on the "So Much Guitar!" album by Wes Montgomery. For a video performance of this song, click here... 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD5WRWmFFWQ

While We're Young - Wes Montgomery Arrangement

Originally from the UK, I play for tips in wild and wonderful West Virginia. Thanks for listening! Check out videos for some of these tunes at my YouTube channel!
https://www.youtube.com/@DuncanLorimer

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