Mostly instrumental, this song was inspired by the band Cake, reminiscent of some of their less lyrical tunes. The message, repeated as the only lyric of the song, is "It's so easy". What's easy? Caring for others... being less selfish... celebrating differences... doing what's right. It's so easy.

Piece of Cake

This is my cover of Use Me by Bill Withers. Just having fun :-)

Use Me (Bill Withers Cover)

My cover of Buena Vista Social Club's song El Carretero.

El Carretero

My best friend Doug, who has been suffering from Treatment Resistant Depression most of his 47 years, was the inspiration for this song. Genetically, he was dealt a bad hand with the parts of his brain responsible for happiness being severely underdeveloped. His self-worth was crushed as a child due to bullying, and "normal" therapy never worked for him. He has been battling this demon his entire life, and only recently discovered that the root cause is neurological, not psychological. 

His depression can get so severe that he underwent brain surgery to implant electrodes into his brain (called Deep Brain Stimulation) that attempt to stimulate the production of serotonin and raise his mood. He has had brief moments of remission where he felt great, but they are fleeting. He continues fighting to this day.

We both now do a podcast on mental illness and mental health, called Unhinged (www.unhingedpodcast.com), where we discuss his progress, the ups and downs, and work on removing the negative stigma surrounding mental illness.

This song is a tribute to his fight. 

For those interested, I recorded this on my Surface Book laptop using Mixcraft Pro Studio 7, a Paul Reed Smith SE Custom guitar, various synth plugins controlled by a Roland A700 MIDI controller, and my voice (on an Audio Technica ATR 2100 microphone).

Lyrics below:
-----------------------------

Your dark and lonely journey passes day by day
Your hidden pain is real no matter what they say
There is no blame, it's not your fault you were born this way
Ooooooh, there is no shame

Scattered about are islands of hope. Too few. Too fleeting.
Preparing the knife or the rope, oddly concerned about bleeding
The plan, never complete, be it fear or bravery
But you still march on, under the demon's slavery

Your battle with the devil leaves you singed
Fighting alone, you become unhinged
A lone warrior, bloody and scarred
Slowly sinking, burned and charred 

Help me, I'm burning
Save me, I'm yearning
The world is silent, but I hear screaming
My thoughts are violent, I hope I'm dreaming

So now you're learning how to live your life
Your brain is churning with ideas, not strife
It's been so long, the curtain's up, you can see the sun
but you can't give in, don't stop cuz your work's not done

Unhinged

Journey Unhinged

My version of the classic It's Alright, done acapella, like the version done by Huey Lewis and the News.

It's Alright

Our version of Free's "All Right Now".

Vocals, rhythm and lead guitar: Doug Warren
Bass, backup vocals, lead guitar, keys: Ed Caggiani

All Right Now

Here's our version of the classic southern rock tune Midnight Rider.

Doug: All lead electric guitars, background vocals, percussion
Ed: Acoustic guitar, lead vocals, bass guitar, keyboard

Midnight Rider

This is an original written by me with help from my musical accomplice, Doug Warren. 

Rhythm & lead guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals, production, lyrics: Ed
Rhythm guitar, lead guitar, keyboard, bongos: Doug

Lyrics:
----------------
I can't breathe!
I can't breathe in the air!
And I can see...
I can see it's not fair!

Everywhere...
The whole world is on fire!
Do we care?
or do we sell out to the buyer?      

Do we see?
Do we know what's going on?
Or are we blind...   
to what's right or what is wrong?

I don't wanna watch it... 
I don't wanna watch it burn
I don't wanna watch it... 
I don't wanna watch it burn
I don't wanna watch it... 
I don't wanna watch it burn
I don't wanna watch it... 
I don't wanna watch it burn, oh no!
 
Superstition...
Is the writing on the wall
Don't lean your ladder...
'cause those bricks are 'bout to fall!

Vivid illusions...
Trick the mind into believing
Smoke and mirrors...
Hide the fact that we are grieving!

Who's to blame?
For all the fear and paranoia?
We stoke the fires
So who is really the destroyer?

I don't wanna watch it... 
I don't wanna watch it burn
I don't wanna watch it... 
I don't wanna watch it burn
I don't wanna watch it... 
I don't wanna watch it burn
I don't wanna watch it... 
I don't wanna watch it burn, oh no!

Watch it Burn

Here's a song I wrote one day when it was raining. I thought to myself that the rain will pass and all is good. It's a simple message about staying positive when things are tough. 

I sang and played all the instruments myself except for the opening and closing keyboard parts, which were added by my music partner Doug Warren.

It's Raining

Original song by me and Doug Warren. Created in Mixcraft Pro Studio 8. 

Lead Guitars, Keyboards, Bongos:
Doug Warren

Bass, Vocals, Keyboards, Lead/Rhythm Guitars, Shaker, Lyrics:
Ed Caggiani

Resist The River

My cover of Cake's Never There. I played all instruments and did all vocals. Mostly an exercise in mixing/production, trying to get it to sound as close as I could to the original.

Never There

There's a balance in life. A positive and a negative. A dark and a light. 

Ed Caggiani

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