Thank you, Jonathan @jonathan_beckenstein for your encouragement, the beautiful guitars you contributed here, and for the thoughtful and satisfying mix job!

Upon This Sea 
Janine Levinson 2023
Guitar and Mix: Jonathan Beckenstein

I don’t get tired, but I get weary   
Feels like my faith abandons me
And from the storm I have no shelter    
I have no boat upon this sea

I don’t feel bad, but I can feel hopeless      
And I can walk, but I lose my feet
I am strong, but I cannot carry    
I have no boat upon this sea
 
Upon this sea   
Upon this sea   
I tread a lifetime 

I am the spring that you will drink from
I give you life and cool your brow
You will not drown, but you will perish
And next to me you will lie down 

Upon this sea  
Upon this sea 
I tread a lifetime

I don’t get tired, but I sure get weary
Feels like my faith abandons me
And from the storm I have no shelter
I have no boat upon this sea

Upon This Sea - with Jonathan Beckenstein

Fool’s Gold

Cast of Characters:
Joe Stroffolino-- @joseph-stroffolino -- Taylor 114ce acoustic guitar, main vocals, harmony vocals, lyrics, composition
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender HSS Telecaster electric guitar
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitar, mix, mastering, and production
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – piano
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –- four string Fender Precision Bass with a plectrum

This song began as one of Joe's catchy, lyrically centered songs, which he wrote on his acoustic guitar, and filled in with VST instruments. He came up with the lyrics by sharing ideas with fellow SoundCloud musician Michele Ansani, who began the thought process of a song about becoming a musician.
Knowing that Josh is a fan of his work, Joe offered this song to him in hopes that he'd share it with the rest of the band. Of course, Josh jumped at the opportunity to work on his song, and immediately shared it with the rest of the group.
Ken went to work first, adding his driving, excting drums. Josh was having a hard time coming up with a good bass line for it, until Ken suggested that he use the power of the 1/8 note to propel it. Tez was up next with his clever fills you hear throughout the first half of the song. Stephen came along right after and matched Tez's energy for the guitar fills in the second half of the song.
It was still missing a solo in the designated spot, though, so Mark stepped up with his innovative piano solo you hear in the middle. If it sounds a little mechanical, that's because he's using an arpeggiator to achieve the effect. We thought it sounded good in a song about AI, though.
Once all the parts were dialed in, and Joe had gotten all his vocals tuned up, we asked one of our resident pros, Stephen, to mix it for us. He did that and mastered it, too, expertly, as always.
This is the first song we've ever done with Joe, and don't expect it to be the last. We all really enjoyed putting together, in no small part because Joe is such a competent, receptive, and gracious collaborator. We all hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Lyrics by Michele Ansani and Joe Stroffolino
Music by Joe Stroffolino (@joseph-stroffolino)

When I was thirteen I picked up my first guitar
it was my mother's, it only had one nylon string
I tried to play it like a rock star
I learned to play the Coca-Cola jingle
So I could teach the world to sing
When I was fourteen, I put on six new strings
I learned to play Beatles, I learned a Bob Dylan song
I sounded out of tune but I tried to carry on
At fifteen I wrote my first original tune
So bad it sounded like it might have been written by a baboon
When I was sixteen, I got a new guitar for my birthday
The metal strings sawed through my fingers
But I continued to play
And the calluses formed and every day I learned a brand new chord
I was obsessed with that guitar and I never grew bored.
I wrote songs every day and most of them were a mess
But I believed that through hard work, I could achieve success
Malcom Gladwell wrote a book that said it takes ten thousand hours
To become and expert at your craft
But now all it takes is two commands and an enter
And in two minutes you have ten versions of the same damn new song,
You just have to choose the type
folk, rock, rap, pop, metal, jazz, trap or blues.
You don't even need to write the lyrics,
your push a few buttons let the AI choose.

And people will think your songs are great even though you didn’t write or play a single note.
When I was 20, I did my first concert, it was time
it occurred in a village square
there were four cats all friends of mine
I was still using the plectrum and sometimes I got the chords wrong
at thirty I finally wrote what I thought was a decent song
It had a very well thought out structure

AI Sucks - Eclectic Collective

VIDEO LINK! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C__pptxJljIeaIrOwFYjcqTr56xt5HcF/view?usp=drivesdk

Cast of characters:
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Taylor T5z acoustic guitar, Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitar, Gibson Earle Scruggs banjo, Eastwood MandoCaster mix, mastering, production, composition and video production.
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ-- organ
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums 
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Fender Precision four string bass, played with a plectrum 
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – harmonica, jaw harp, timpani, hambone percussion, and production editing     
This song began with Stephen, who recorded it on his acoustic guitar and bass to a programmed drum track a few months ago. We were all thrilled to work on it, even though it sat in BandLab as a project for almost a month before Stephen separated the tracks, thus allowing us to trickle in our parts. JJ was first to jump on it, because he could before the tracks were separated, as his part is completely his idea. He added the organ that really set up the entire sound of both dominant sections of the song. 
  Ken was first up to the project once the tracks were replaceable, making the wild, driving beat his own. Inspired by both JPJ and Michael Ivins, Josh laid down his bass line, trying to match Ken's energy. Last, but not least, Mark jumped in with the rumbling timpani. He also added the flavorful harmonica, and unique jaw harp you hear throughout, as well. Finally, Stephen also got the idea to add the hambone percussion at the very end of the song, which we all consider a treat, and after showing us how it's done, Mark volunteered his percussion skills to give it a go. Stephen wasn't done, though, and still had some magic to sprinkle. He went in and added the howling electric guitar you hear prominently in the second main section. Also, he added the tempting intro with his acoustic guitar and electric mandolin. 
  Once it was in the bag, we thought it appropriate for our master mixer Stephen to put it to bed, which he did in his always expert manner.
  This is a gift from Stephen to all of us, and you, too. It took a lot of teamwork to make the dream work, as always for Eclectic Collective. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Country Ham - video in description!  (Eclectic Collective)

Surfers like Us ….. composition, all guitar parts, arrangement and mix

Artwork provided by Remnant60 (Thanks, Bill :)

Hi Everyone!
I invite each of you to listen to an alternative version of my piece called „Surf Dance” that I wrote two years ago. This song was also recorded with The Eclectic Collective as our first song together and released in July 2023. Yes, time passes quickly... 
Please check out the original version of „Surf Dance” with the Eclectic Collective 😎

https://soundcloud.com/user-411502040/surf-dance?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=1&si=B615E96AC3CA4CC5A80FAA8A7DC4CC17&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Of course, I dedicate this solo version of the song to the fantastic guys of The Eclectic Collective 🌞🏄🏼‍♂️
Thanks, guys for your friendship and love! 🍀

Hope you all enjoy the surf vibe!

Many thanks for listening and any support! 
Artur

Surf Dance >25

Original demo recorded: 2015
Remaster: 2025

The Twists And Turns Of Youth

This is a fun country music track called "Running After Bacon".

Running After Bacon (Country Dance)

Cast of Characters:
Didier Burli-- @didierburli — acoustic guitar, main vocals, composition
Llanpsych–@llanpsych –Tez– Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, mix, and production
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums, percussion 
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Roland Phantom organ, Roland piano, Paul Reed Smith cutom SE electric guiar, Warwick four string fretless bass, vocal harmonies
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson custom T model electric guitar

This song began with Didier coming up with it on his acoustic guitar. However, when he first sent it to Josh, he had played electric guitar, bass, keys, and drums on it, because he is a very talented multi-intrumentalist. This song passes the stool test, though, which is the question of whether it sounds good with someone just sitting on a stool with a guitar, playing and singing it. So, when we asked him to give us a version that we could add to, it was already a great song that he sent us with just him singing over his acoustic guitar. 
  Tez was the first one up on this one, adding the fiery fills throughout, as well as the co-solo at the end. Ken entered the fray next, adding his rock solid, dynamic drums. Once the drums were down giving him something to play against, Josh added his fretless bass to the song. Being very excited about this one, he also added piano, organ, and eventually the lead guitar solo at the end. He also went in and added all the vocal harmonies throughout. Stephen then brought up the rear with some really cool textural guitar throughout. 
  Once we had it in the bag, we asked Tez to produce and mix it for us, which he did in his usual expert fashion. 
  This is our first song with Didier, but we hope it's just the beginning of his new inclusion into the Eclectic Collective family. He has a lot of great music on his page, which is worth checking out, too. We hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Original lyrics by Didier Burli:
I wish I could stay awake but I need to sleep
Thunder is on it's way but I don't hear it
I don't fear the ghouls, and I don't fear the creeps
And with this dancing zombie, I don't know what to do with it
And I just get too much information....
in the middle of the night, when everything is silent....

(chorus) And the noise rises up
From all those things, that mankind does, that makes you want throw up

(chorus) And the noise rises up
From all those things, that mankind does that makes you want dream of

(chorus) And the noise rises up
From all those things that makes you scared of

(chorus) And the noise rises up
From all those things that mankind lost

And I just get too much information....
in the middle of the night, when everything is silent....

The Noise Rises Up-Didier/Eclectic Collective

Written by James Geer

In the ocean of my mind
From subconscious deep
A storm may come my way
Troubling my sleep
 
I’m Skirting the abyss.   
My Circumstances dire 
What has wrought me this
Circling the gyre

And crashing are the waves
And howling is the wind 
I find I’m save at bay
When I reach for you again

When thoughts of empty years
When I had lost at love
Attack my inner peace
Like hailstones from above

Safe at bay

46²

Just a Girl Coping With Life's Challenges...
Lyric Video :
https://youtu.be/3uzyoFHTPyw?si=WN1YXvtgQS--3ikw

UNSTILL WATERS

Songs with a twinge of humor (and some a bit more serious).  
I do not use AI to create my songs. 
https://linktr.ee/joe.stroffolino
Recently I have had the urge to pick up my guitars (Taylor 114ce and Fender Squire) and I have been trying to use more guitar in my songs.  
My go to .vst plug ins are  EZkeys 2, EZ Bass and  EZ drummer 3) and my DAW is Logic Pro 11. 
I welcome your comments and enjoy listening to all the great music on SoundCloud. 
All songs are originals and copyrighted.