the image is AI generated based on my description

cheap city digs

Moonrise (Inst.)

Nafplio is a historic coastal town in the Peloponnese region of Greece, known for its Venetian architecture, castles, and as the first capital of the modern Greek state.

NAFPLIO - ΝΑΥΠΛΙΟ

I have been using a CPAP machine for several months.  I am sleeping much better and I decided to take a stab at writing a song about it.  
***
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is a common treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. A CPAP machine uses a hose connected to a mask or nosepiece to deliver constant and steady air pressure to help you breathe while you sleep.
***
Copyright 2025
Vocals, Lyrics and Chords: Joe Stroffolino
Guitars:  Joe Stroffolino: Taylor 114ce (two guitar strumming tracks) and Fender Squire Picking track
Drums:  Programmed using EZ drummer 3
Bass:  Pg Music Midi track with .vst sound from Native instruments Rickenbacker
Organ: Joe Stroffolino: Playing Midi Keyboard with vintage B3 Organ sound from Logic Pro
***
Cover art:  Real (Non-AI) Photo of a Halloween Skeleton wearing my actual CPAP mask  (I was going to take a picture of me wearing the mask but believe it or not, the skeleton looks more attractive) 
****
CPAP Lyrics: 
I was snoring, so I had a sleep study, and they gave me a CPAP machine
It took a bit of getting used to, it was uncomfortable at first, but now it’s part of my nightly routine
When I first put on that CPAP mask, I tried to pretend I was like Darth Vader, part man and part machine, but actually I look more l like Jason in that hockey mask on Friday the thirteenth
The doctor said if I don’t wear that mask, I’ll be gasping for breath all night long and I know I’d better keep wearing it, if I want my heart and brain to stay strong.  I just wish I looked a little bit more sexy while I was wearing it.
Every night when I go to bed I wear a mask that covers my mouth and my nose and on the top of my head, connected to the mask, there’s a big, long hose.
They say when it comes to romance, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover 
 But something about that CPAP mask makes me thinks it’s goanna be hard to find myself a new lover.
The doctor said if I don’t wear that mask, I’ll be gasping for breath all night long and I know I’d better keep wearing it, if I want my heart and brain to stay strong. I just wish I looked a little bit more sexy while I was wearing it.
Sometime you gotta try to put things in perspective
Sometimes you gotta try to be a little bit more objective
Sometimes you just gotta put function over form
Sometimes you gotta be willing to deviate from the norm
The doctor said if I don’t wear that mask, I’ll be gasping for breath all night long and I know I’d better keep wearing it, if I want my heart and brain to stay strong.
I know it’s very important to follow all the proper medical advice and I have every intention to keep using my CPAP device.  I just wish I looked a little bit more sexy while I was wearing it.

CPAP

The Aries & The Leo (II)

Lyrics: David L. Graham
Music, vocal, instruments & mix: PJ

Had Love A Time Or Two

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/UUWMRv_sRh0

A dream pop excursion into the meaning of love...
Have you ever said those three words without meaning them?
Or ever heard them, but knew they were a lie?
Whispered without care, tossed into the void as a gesture of placation...
A preoccupation 
A mental vacation

A ticket to easy street
Or manipulation...

Actions always speak louder than words 🖤

Lyrics:

I used to think you had a heart
But now I know it fell apart
The emptiness you gave to me
Some cheap apology

I love you
(I love you)

I Love You

Music : Janne Hennie & Little Man
Lyrics & vocals : Janne Hennie

A little bird told me you had left this town
And no one knew where you had gone
So many rumors everywhere
They all talked about you, when you weren't there

But little birds can sometimes be fake
You were there, hiding, had made some mistakes
You couldn't show yourself, had so much fear
The little birds made a rumor, that you had disappeared

Sharp tongues on the little birds
They spoke very loudly, made sure they were heard
"What have you done?"
"Why did you leave?"
While you were hiding, the little birds screamed

Little birds can sometimes be fake
You were there, hiding, had made some mistakes
You couldn't show yourself, had so much fear
The little birds made a rumor, that you had disappeared

Fake little birds.....

Fake little birds....

Fake Little Birds

(Music: Hans-Michael Albers, Lyrics: Terry Reeves)
Terry Reeves:  Vocals
Hans-Michael Albers: All instruments, Arrangement & Production

Today, 22nd. August 2025, marks 13 years since our dear brother Bri succumbed to the deadly combination of leukaemia and Guillain-Barré syndrome.  Watching him through 2012, unable to do anything for himself and increasingly confined to a hospital bed is something none who loved him will ever forget.  
He has never been (and never will be) forgotten, not only for the music he created but for the force of nature he most certainly was.  In 1964, our Mum & Dad bought him an entry level acoustic guitar as a Christmas present and his progress on the instrument was something to behold.  By the time he was 18, he’d bought himself a Gibson Les Paul on HP (24 payments of five pounds and thirteen shillings per month) from Selmers in Charing Cross Road, London.  He joined a band, somehow co-opting me in as lead singer at the tender age of 15 (still a schoolboy, no less) and over the ensuing ten years, formed bands of whose line-up I was always a part, graduating from singing to percussion and eventually drums.
There being guitars laying around the family home, Tel took to playing and encouraged by Bri, never stopped.  Fast forward another five years and he too started writing songs so that by ’82, the 3 of us decided to form a band (Root Division) to play them.  It’s a truly special thing to be in the same band as your brothers and recording those songs became something Tel and me still remember with an abiding nostalgia.  No wonder we still talk about those days…
This song started life as an instrumental, written by Hans and of course, it’s brilliant as is but Tel liked it so much, he asked if he could write some lyrics and a vocal melody.  Being a generous fellow, our dear friend from Hamburg said he’d love to hear what Tel had in mind.
His basic idea was to incorporate as many references as he could to Cripple Club tracks, in celebration of the firm friendship we have formed in together recording what amounts to over 50 songs.  There may be a few of you who can spot one or two…
So this is for you, Bri.  We love and miss you, sweet brother.
(Gary Reeves)

Last Summer day reasons
Hamburg always shines
Shadows of Superheroes
Another surprise will come in time
Click toward a pension
From birth but never knew
Surprised to find a blackbird
In the flames as the music grew

Touch wood for satisfaction
CC music every day
Root of strong existence 
Step off the world to feed the phrase
Another Titan message
Titanic stories past
Image of a fraying edge
Never thought hang of time would last

It’s the time, it’s the place
It’s the only performance I can show my face

Last chance for singing
Avoid resistant tide
Pleasing distant garage
Remember 4 to 3 to 5
Stars in space that linger
Soaking up the blue
Palette of sunshine yellow
Mix to green for go - but for who?

T,G & H, Two and you!

LAST SUMMER'S DAY BLUES - CRIPPLE CLUB

“It weaves its way to summer's end and gathers with each leaf that falls.
A whisper carried on the wind, a quiet longing – autumn calls.”
 – Laura Jaworski

We are in our final days of summer, and I must admit, I am glad, since most of the season was especially hot and humid.  Suddenly, we have cooler temperatures with blue skies, and the air is crisp with a hint of mystery…Autumn is whispering that it will be here soon.  Thinking about autumn this morning seemed like a great reason to create an improv piece. I hope you enjoy it, even if you’re sad to see the end of summer. ☺️

Autumn Whispers

I was glad to contribute some guitar parts to this summer confection from Marcus and Martin of Splintered Finger @fraudstein.

For those keeping track at home, Splintered Finger created the basic tracks as an open collaboration. I added that melodic 70's-style rhythm guitar part as well as a spacey guitar pad. The first solo is also me. The second solo comes courtesy of the always distinctive and ever rippin' Martin Reed @its-tophonicus. Then Jörg @joerxworx brings his smooth and sexy alto (you can hear more of that horn here: https://soundcloud.com/joerxworx/sax-on-sunrise-redemption-by-splintered-finger) Finally Martin picks it up again and takes it all the way home and beyond. Martin also edited and mixed. 

This track kept me good company recently on a particularly salty week away from work. I'll keep it posted until the end of summer, or whenever summer ends for me, anyway.

And check out Tante Meli's take: https://soundcloud.com/fraudstein/sunrise-redemption-with-tante-meli



Sunrise Redemption (Splintered Finger, Tophonicus, joerxworx and me)

A laboratory with an open bar and floating altar. Come on in! 

Here are various solo and collaborative projects - songs, soundscapes, live looped solo guitar improvisations. 

This project used to be called "imaginary friends", but it became too real for that name, as did many of you.

I hope you enjoy something you find here. Do feel free to be in touch, you never know what might happen.  

I also invite you to attend @hypnopompetus, a duo project with the illustrious Cheesemont Paisley-Paisley https://soundcloud.com/sel-sync, and Fictive Sisters, a transatlantic band with  the incomparable Wheelwright https://fictivesisters.bandcamp.com/album/immaculate-distraction.

Sunrise Redemption (Splintered Finger, Tophonicus, joerxworx and me)

Jonathan Beckenstein