Just a demo I put together to learn my way around Cakewalk Sonar X1 and Native Instruments Guitar Rig 5.  Fun to play, but mostly remarkable just because it's the first thing I've managed to start and finish in, like, 4 years.

Fate's Accomplice - Guitar Rig Demo

I wrote this in about 1987, and re-recorded it in 2010.  It started as a play on the term "fait accompli," but grew into the idea that, while fate does have a hand in things, I am determined to shape my life along the path I choose.

I've been told that what I do
is not my deed at all.
That fate takes over, tips the dice
to fall where they may fall.
But even falling cubes will bend
to laws that write their course.
Where I'm concerned, I am the law
and I'll exert the force.
I am the pilot of my life.

Tell me where to go and what to see
Take a survey, show what's right for me.
I will be the man I want to be
and I will be free.
You'll see.



My life's not a fait accompli
ruled by man or deity.
Fate appears in the form of chance
but I am fate's accomplice.

Fate's Accomplice - Fate's Accomplice

I wrote this in the early '90s for my then-girlfriend, who was having a hard time in a college class we were taking.  She ended up passing the class, and I give myself, and this song, full credit.  :)

Why the long face?
Someone set the pace
faster than you could run
so you fell behind
now it's hard to find
a reason to go on.

It's never easy
it's almost never good.
Nothing ever seems to work the way that it should
but it's all right
if you give it a chance.
You can go the distance if you know that you can - fight!

You've accepted defeat
because you know when you're beat.
It's easier that way.
You've been hurt before
but not any more
it's a game you just won't play.

You've had some tough times
and it's hard to go on.
It seems like you've just lost so many more than you've won.

But it's not over yet
though you'd like it to be.
The truth is, you're damn good.
The truth will set you free
you'll see.

Sometimes it gets hard
to let down your guard
and let the mirror show
a winner's smile.

Dave Wesner - Winner's Smile-remix

I wrote this in 2009, as a demo of some new recording software.  Rather than just staying a quick'n'dirty test-bed for new technology, it turned into (what I think is) a pretty decent instrumental song in its own right.  I'd kinda like to add lyrics, but I have no idea what it's about.  Any ideas?

Fate's Accomplice - VSTDemo

I wrote this in 1997, as a way to get to know my then-new Korg Trinity synthesizer.  Not sure what to call it: jazzy fusiony instrumental?  Sure.  That works.  Anyway, I like it.

Dave Wesner - Four-Banger

After my wife told me in late 2008 that she wanted a divorce, an online friendship turned into a long-distance romance. She was in Canada, and we planned to meet in person that winter. This song is about that anticipation. We listened to the song a lot that weekend, and she asked me to do an "unplugged" version. I couldn't make it work with just me strumming a guitar, so I did it as though a band were playing a live show with acoustic instruments; pianos in place of synths, etc. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, especially for being only the second song I did with PC-based drums and keyboards.

Snow falls in the higher elevations
Time crawls, adding to our aggravations.
We break walls, while controlling expectations,
and despite our separation, we talk about time.

Long way from the desert to the prairie
I must say I've come to see it's necessary
to rendezvous with you, though I'm tryin' to be wary
and January's just so very far from where we are.

Leaves fall, in quiet resignation
You call, and we share our desperation.
Best of all, we get to choose our destination
Pick the best location for our big getaway.

Meanwhile, we wait for time to find us
We smile over words and how they bind us.
Every mile is a beacon to remind us
Behind us is the easy part, we've so far to go.

This time apart
is hard on my heart.
The space between us is an ocean.
This notion that we
can finally be
together fills me with shining seas of pure emotion.

So long 'til we can be together
Play this song and remark about the weather.
We'll be strong, as though our hearts were made of leather
The tether that ties our hearts together is long.

And so, as winter shrouds the city
Although the snow is very pretty,
time's slow, with no remorse or pity
This ditty gives me one more connection to you.

This time apart
weighs on my heart
You know how mad I am about you.
Without you, I drag
I sloop and I sag
I suffer from lag
But know my heart will never doubt you.

This time apart
is breakin' my heart.
I spend my days in hibernation.
Vacation with you
will show if it's true
the best we can do is live our lives in combination.

Dave Wesner - ThisTimeApart-Unplugged

Another song that was originally intended to be just a gear demo; this time, of my SansAmp PSA-1 guitar preamp.  Whatever the intent, it turned into a song I really like, so, well, here it is.

Fate's Accomplice - PSADemo

OK, here's the premise: German powermetal band (or True Metal - whichever is more swaggering mit dem power of metal) is in the studio, stuck for a song idea. One of them is flipping through some sheet music and finds - ach, du lieber! A song with the PERFECT set of True Metal lyrics! A song of indomitability; of iron-clad will and refusal to back down in the face of adversity. The Teutons arrange the tune they find on the page for maximum True Metal impact, creating this anthemic, sword-swinging battle cry (which some Americans of a certain age [say, mine] will recognize from elsewhere...).

Stahlpfosten - WirKonnenTunEs

This one's a little hard to explain. I'm on a few progressive metal e-mail lists, where some people post under made-up identities. One such person posts as "The Kurgan" (I'm convinced it's a female, but the persona is male). (S)He challenged me to write a song called "The Kurgan," and to include at least some death-metal grunty vocals. Never one to shrink from a challenge, however silly, I put this together during the fall and winter of 2004. It's abstract, heavy, fun to play, and probably a bit better than it has any conceivable right to be (at least The Kurgan liked it...).


THE BUS IS AN ANTENNA
EVIL RAYS FROM THE FLOWERS
BE AS NIGHT
UNTIL THE SORROW
FEEDS HATE

In the garden delight awaits
Alive, alight, aware.
Float up, one among the clouds
Sing your dreams in the air.

GENUFLECT BEFORE YOUR MASTER
BEHEADED, I ARISE
IN MY MIND
I AM DIETHYLAMIDE

From the mountain, electric hope.
Run on wings light as sky
On the wind, where Alhambra grows
Be the god in the eye.

Fate's Accomplice - The KURGAN

The main melodic theme of this song popped into my head one night.  It had an '80s feel, so I went with it.  The title came along early, and I wrote the lyrics based on the experience of friends with chronic health issues, who just suck it up and power through.

fatesaccomplice