All instruments, lyrics performed, arranged and composed by Evan McDoniels.  Photography by Evan McDoniels

He walked through circles of worlds
Magnatonic swirls ovals oak burl
A tinge of sandalwood and juniper burned into the sleeve of his shirt
The smell of camping in the red mesas of northern Arizona
A conversation with sage
Only heard when javalinas translate
To the cactus and rocks
A waft of sacred scarred into the lock
Whom, what or where was the creature to be?
Why be cataloged into the canon
Of pretenders and wallowers
When the land of Maderas 
Awaits in softest fleeces
And offerings off the coats of sheep
Building a blanket of spaceship kites
And a planet out of airplane parts and speckled eggs
This he knew when he walked into the challenge
There was one possibility to succeed and it involved 
A large amount of bravado mixed with cactus spines and rancid wine
Cowboy hats had no purpose anymore in this factory
Civility and politeness had no validity within this callous vanity

Part 3- He Walked Through Circles Of Worlds

I finally had a chance to record the announcement bell at my son's school. I placed it in Simpler and draw in random notes to trigger parts of the melody it plays. 

jam-13025-school-tones

Analog Drums Ableton Live Pack: https://brianfunk.com/blog/2015/4/8/analog-drums-ableton-live-pack

Micro Cassette Ableton Live Pack: https://brianfunk.com/blog/2019/3/15/micro-cassette-ableton-live-pack

31 Marching Out

Song a Week 2025 #5 

The "Ask an Axolotl" song was stuck in my head, like an earworm that has hacked into many of our brains recently. And what's going on in D.C. would not leave my head either. 

I wrote another song this week, but I couldn't finish work on it, because this one was insistent on being written. 

It's odd writing about this insanity with a children's song, but, this is all so very, very odd. 
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Photo Credit: Fair use; author unknown; please advise, if known

DOGE Hacker (Ask an Axolotl Parody)

Song a week 2025 #11

Jesse Colin Young passed away - I started to sing "Get Together" and realized I had to rewrite it! People kept talking about how disempowered they've been feeling, so I wanted to write something to lift us up, to remember that every little thing matters, and that it's enough, even if we can't see it right now.

Original by The Youngbloods

#parody #protestmusic #protestsong #politalparody #musicwithamessage #oligarchy #autocracy

Get Together (Parody)

Please use nice heaphones or proper speakers for much better listening experience!
Play at max volume to hear all the nullified nuances, idiotic improbalities, sleekily sinister soundwaves, rapturously rawer ramifications plus all those creaks/bleeps/hisses as well!
The Spiders are the Guardians of my House! Whatever that means, hahaha.
Cheers!

#psychedelic #freak-out #mini-opera #experimental #Suvela #liminal #hauntology #DIY #freakbeat #punk-prog #one-man-band #occult #katharsis #alternative #learning #b-movies #multi-genre #underground #Finland #art-rock #vaudeville #world #psychodrama #garage-rock #theatrical #docudrama #megalithic #hallucinogenic #glam-jazz #post-spiritual #gothic-soul #carnival #macabre #ritual #operetta #Discordianism  #punk #troubadour #shockrock #gothsoul #elevator #Dada #cinematic #Takabuti

The Bedlams of Nevermore (memo of a freak)

Song a week 2025 #13

I used a backlog of prompts: 
Reddit - Birthday and Blue Sky
Songaweek.org: Outlast, (Takes) what it takes, Bended knee, None other, Second to none

I had an intense conversation with someone yesterday who was telling me how he was preparing for his son's future.  This is his story. 








Photo Credit: Synergee (Fair use)

On Your Eighteenth Birthday

Song a week 2025 #14 - 
Prompts - Save Your Breathe (songaweek. org)
and Thought Police (reddit)

I didn't use these prompts explicitly, but they framed the story for me. 

I came up with the eerie melody line for the chorus, and then the words came from there. 

Photo by Marilu Domingo-Ortiz

They're Coming

Song a week 2025 #15 - 

Prompt: "Stream"

I started with a stream of consciousness babbled into my phone while I was driving down the highway.  However, I couldn't hear the words very well on my recording, so I rewrote it. It's no longer stream of consciousness, but it's about streams, nonetheless.



Flowing Going Down

Please use nice headphones or proper speakers for much better listening experience!!

#psychedelic #mini-opera #freak-out #punk #learning  #vaudeville #Suvela #theatrical #pseudo-progessive #megalithic #carnival #macabre #underground #cinematic #ritual #troubadour #Bossa #Discordianism #one-man-band #Finland #gothsoul #nightmare-radio #experimental #world #art-rock #crooners #vaudeville #shockrock #ascension #dramedy #hysteria #acid-folk #pataphysics #Takabuti #noise #balladeer #hauntology #singer-songwriter #chaos #lo-fi #neo-prog #occultic #avant-garde #outsider #low-budget #hallucinogenic #elevator #freakish #phantasmic #Bricolage

The Tribulation Town Transmissions

Original by Conor Oberst

Oh, oh, oh brother totem pole
I saw your legends lined up
And I never felt more natural
Apart, I just came apart
Please, please, please sister Socrates
You always answer with a question
Show some kindness to a petty thief
Forgive, you did forgive
And watch the migrants' smoke in the old orange grove
And the red rocket blaze over Cape Canaveral
You've been a father to me, your 1960's speak
Give me comatose joy like re-run TV
While the mountainside was shining
Wild colors of my destiny
I watched your face age backwards changing shape in my memory
You taught me victory's sweet even deep in the cheap seats
Hey, hey, hey mother interstate
Can you deliver me from evil
Make me honest, make me wedding cake
Atone, I will atone
Wait, wait, wait mighty outer space
All that flying saucer terror
Made me lazy, drinking lemonade
A waste, it just went to waste
Like the freon cold out the hotel door
Or the white rocket fade over Cape Canaveral
You've been a daughter to me, your buried shoebox grief
I felt your poltergeist love like Savannah heat
While the waterfall was pouring
Crazy symbols of my destiny
I watched your face die backwards little baby in my memory
You told me victory's sweet even deep in the cheap seats
And you don't judge me
That's not your style
But I won't see you for a little while
And there's no worries, oh Lord, who's got time
All these changes gonna fill your mind
Like the citrus glow off the old orange grove
Or the red rocket blaze over Cape Canaveral
It's been a nightmare for me, some 1980's greed
Gives me parachute dreams like old war movies
While the universe was drawing
Perfect circles for infinity
I watched the stars get smaller tiny diamonds in my memory
I know that victory is sweet even deep in the cheap seats

Cape Canaveral (Cover)

@milkweedhummingbird

Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, audio engineer, live sound production, poet, visual artist, gardener, ultramarathoner.