Copyright 2024 Joe Stroffolino

There’s day’s when you’re going through life
 And you’ve just gotta put a fake smile on your face
And go through the motions 
and pretend that everything is okay
People ask you how you’re doing 
you tell them
Hey I’m doing great
Even though
that’s not what you really want to say
There’s days when you wish that it was Halloween
So you could walk around looking like someone really mean
There’s days when you feel like you’re grasping for straws
You look at your hands and you wish you had claws
You’ve been walking around with a stiff upper lip
Trying not to let the mask slip
You’re going through life, trying to understand
Is this part of some master plan
You’ve been waiting for so long to strike when the iron’s hot
But lately you’re starting to feel like some kind of creature that time forgot

There’ve days when you just want to stay in bed  all day and watch TV
And eat lots of popcorn and potato chips
There’s days when you go to a fast food restaurant 
And they make you they make you pick up your food and and clean up the mess and you wonder why they ask you for tips
And there’s days when you realize that your milk’s past it’s expiration date 
But you drink it anyway, it’s the closest think you ever do to tempting fate
And there’s days when you’ve been sitting in your cubicle for way to long
And you wish you could stand up and sing a loud a rock and roll song.
You’re walking around all day and on your shoulder’s a really big chip.
You go through your day desperately trying to maintain your grip
You spent your entire life living in a self imposed cage
You kept your feeling bottled up, you never let out any rage
You’ve been walking around with a stiff upper lip
Trying not to let the mask slip
You’re going through life, trying to understand
Is this all part of some master plan
you’ve been waiting for so long to strike when the iron’s hot
But lately you’re starting to feel like some kind of creature that time forgot
Grasping for straws stumbling around sleep walking your way through life
Trying not to make any ripples , trying not to cause any strife
Sometimes you’ve just gotta do what’s right for you

Grasping For Straws

"Magic is what we do. Music is how we do it." -- Jerry Garcia

Welcome to my page, my peers, associates, friends, and musical family. I'm a lifelong, multi-instrumentalist musician who records prolifically and joyfully. You'll hear me play guitar, bass (regular four string, and four and five string fretless), mandolin, banjo, keys (piano, organ, synth), lap slide, sitar, and sing on my recordings here. I've been in a few dozen bands in my life, playing everything from bluegrass, jazz, rock, jam band, reggae, funk, afrobeat, Middle Eastern, traditional Irish, singer/songwriter, pop/covers, to experimental/avant garde. 
  Since I found SoundCloud a couple years ago, I've found many talented, creative people with whom to create music. However, in the summer of '23 I formed a band called The Eclectic Collective with some of my favorite musicians I've met through here. It started as a loose collective of musicians and coalesced into a core group of musicians who find other musicians with whom we'd like to make music, then run their songs through our process, and in effect add a full band. That core of The Eclectic Collective includes Tez (Llanpsych), J.J. Terrel, Ken (K2 and the Three), Stephen (Texmex Shaman), Chris (cgmaness), and Mark (mistermark). A couple of other musicians are frequent collaborators, as well, including Artur of Surfers Like Us, and Steve Vervaet of Steve's World. More recently, we've been joined by Carl of The Beautiful Dark fame. 
  The magic of music is amplified exponentially by each person adding to it. So, we really try to add our sorcery all kinds of music from all kinds of artists. Sometimes, we keep it within the group, but a lot of what we do is collaboration with other artists. Therefore these days, 100% of what I do is collaboration, within the group or with other artists on the side.
  I, and we, are also available for hire if you have a song or lyrics and you really want to add bigger instrumentation or a band and good production to it. 
  A small sampling of the artists whom I consider primary influences, and whom you will hear coming through my fingers include Phish, The Flaming Lips, The Grateful Dead, Radiohead, Rye Cooder, Steve Earle, Miles Davis, Fela Kuti, Arcade Fire, Mikey Dread, Yellowman, Purpleman, The Meditations, Michigan and Smiley, Lee Perry, Dillinger, Django Reinhardt, Impossible Recording Machine, The Allman Bros Band, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Bela Fleck, Les Claypool, Sam Bush, David Grissman, John Prine, Talking Heads, Beastie Boys, MMW, Moe., Morphine, Ween, Steve Lukather, Michael McDonald, John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, John Scofield, Victor Wooten,  Cannonball Adderly, Thelonious Monk, Flea, Parliament Funkadelic,  Frank Zappa, Prince Paul, Pete Rock, Thievery Corporation, Amon Tobin, Chet Baker, Joao Gilberto, Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, Carol Kaye, Tame Impala, Mumford and Sons, Japanese Breakfast, LCD Soundsystem, Beach House, Sean Lennon, and Billy Strings, but of course there are many more. I also really like and am influenced by traditional Iranian, Palestinian, Indian, Sri Lankan, Sudanese, Mauritian, Somalian, Egyptian, West African, and Syrian music. I welcome anyone who plays non-western music to contact me for a collaboration, too.
 I'm overjoyed to have found my community on SoundCloud. This is a truly unique forum where everyone is sincerely trying to build each other up. The profoundly supportive and positive SoundCloud community has really opened up an exciting new world of collaboration for me. That is the main reason I'm in the Cloud, actually, to connect with other musicians and make music that I enjoy listening to, and hopefully others do, as well. I am ALWAYS looking to collaborate with interesting musicians, mostly though BandLab, which is where I record almost exclusively. It's a solid, free digital audio workstation hub where you can share recording projects, even if it's not where you make your recordings.
  Everything I do is live instrumental, not programmed, and using no computer beyond my phone. That's not to say that I would be opposed to using that kind of tool, it's just not my preferred medium with which to paint. If you like my music, please share it. If you want to collaborate, my BandLab handle is @bingo_pajama. Feel free to contact me at cornbreadband@hotmail.com, as well, even if you aren't on BandLab.
  If your music is primarily AI, please don't come around my page, as I'm not at all interested in complimenting a machine.
  Here's a link to music I've recorded live with a group of musicians here in Pittsburgh called The Northumberland Street Ramblers.
Check out The Northumberland Street Ramblers on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/fU4Me

Hello, Everyone! Do you like surf rock? Do you like the soundtrack from „Pulp Fiction” and „Kill Bill”? I try to combine surf rock with other styles of music: with indie, psychedelic, space rock, ambient, electronica… 
All pieces on my profile were written by me (unless otherwise noted in the description) 
I hope you enjoy the vibe 😎🎸

COLLABORATIONS 

I co-found a duo with my friend from Sweden, Håkan (WELL ) on synthesisers. We have recorded several tracks together, which you can easily find on my profile and on WELL's profile. My friend and I are trying to combine ambient music or space rock with a surf guitar sound in our project. Our collaboration continues 😎 Please check out Håkan’s profile on SoundCloud:

https://on.soundcloud.com/QqMQiooju5M6WSFx7

I also recorded a few tracks with my friend from Poland, Marcin Jakubowski. He is a great composer, musician and producer of electronic and ambient music. You can listen to our tracks  „On the open road to north”,  „Drifting Away” and „Space Crash” on SoundCloud 😎

https://on.soundcloud.com/bMxPLfRnmm7MaPk69

Notable are my collaborative tracks with a group of wonderful musicians from the USA and from the UK who perform under the banner of The Eclectic Collective. We were able to join forces on eight tracks (compositions of my own making): Surf Dance/ A Time Race/ The One/ See You Soon (in a better world)/ Tell Me The Truth/ Sweet Rainy Day/ Flow Of Life/ Between Sun and Moon 😎 This music goes beyond classic surf rock and into psychedelic territory with the help of incredibly talented and creative musicians such as Josh Clary (bass), Ken Karasek (drums), J.J. Terrell (keyboards), Tez Terril (guitar) and Stephen Watkins (guitar and sitar) 🌞 Listen to our songs on Josh Clary's profile:

https://on.soundcloud.com/zRWZiu92GW5C8Sv27

A special project is the track "Ghost Train" which was recorded in a quartet, with Håkan (WELL), Josh Clary and Tez Terril. It's psychedelic ambient based on a trance beat, synths, bass and guitars!🌔

https://on.soundcloud.com/9xhTU5uo5phBPj8A6

Another notable one is the project with my friend from Kansas City - Nathaniel Ehrnman. Together we created a quiet track called "Good Days”. Nathaniel added his guitar parts (slide and baritone) and harmonica to my track. His unique playing style gave the song a folk character 🍀 Please check out Nathaniel’s profile on SoundCloud:

https://on.soundcloud.com/KmSiEyaRZLmFxWGTA

In the next track called 'Clouds', our friend Bill Brooks (Remnant60) joined our duo (Nathaniel and me) on synthesizers. This combination of different musical styles gave an interesting final result, so I invite you to listen to the both songs (produced by Remnant60)🍀

A short time later, another project followed: "Between Us”. Bill Brooks (Remnant60) added his synthesizers to my guitar part and also took care of the production of this song! This is how the combination of surf music with electronica came about. 🌔
Our next collaborative piece between Bill Brooks and myself is titled: „Things Change”. Bill added his synths and bass to my guitar track and also took care of the production and mixing. The end result is available on our profiles! 😎 
Our latest track so far is “Surf Odyssey 2025” where Bill added his synths, second guitar and “ocean sounds”, and handled the mixing and production! 😎🏄🏼‍♂️ Please check out Bill’s profile (Remnant60) on SoundCloud:

https://on.soundcloud.com/Bcfbq2vJq8vZqUXM7

In 2025 I recorded two tracks with Andre (noxpox), a friend of mine and a great musician (synths, bass) from Germany: „Meltdown of the Ego” and „Surfin’ Marrakech”. He is also the producer of the both pieces. You can find many other interesting tracks on Andre’s (noxpox) profile:

https://on.soundcloud.com/RebtnaZDvscdseHA8

Enjoy surf music in a new version! 🔆🎸

MANY THANKS for listening, commenting, reposting and support 😊

Artur / Surfers like Us  

[ All rights reserved ]

**I NEVER USE A.I. IN ANY OF MY SONGS!** Hi everybody, my name is Jim and I’m a songwriter, I've written over 300 songs, I play guitar, bass, piano, and am an okay lyricist.  I play all types of music and have my own recording studio.  I use no A.I. or DAW or any computers to make my songs, all the instruments are played by me live on a multitrack studio recorder and Charlie, my vocalist, sings most of my songs and also plays the Harmonica on several tracks. I'm not a pro or a great musician but I do what I can with the tools that I have! I belong to the "Keep Humans In Music Movement" (KHMM)! We're NOT perfect but we're REAL! Thanks everyone for listening and the world needs more music now, real music made by HUMANS not MACHINES! So let's all sing a song with our own voices, please! I do not consent to any of my songs or videos being used or sampled or lifted in any way or fashion. Take care!👍😎✌🏼.

Songs with a twinge of humor (and some a bit more serious).  
I do not use AI to create my songs. 
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.

Heidi-Marie Arapa, known online as #ARAPAMusic, has cultivated her creative world on Soundcloud since discovering the platform in 2012. This space serves as the outlet for her diverse musical talents, where she composes, plays, and produces a wide spectrum of genres. Proficient in piano accordion, piano, and two synthesizers, Heidi-Marie orchestrates her sonic visions using Logic Pro X DAW. While her journey on Soundcloud unexpectedly led her into electronic music production, she also enjoys lending her voice to a touch of jazz. Since 2012, she has dedicated herself to music composition, production, and sound, undertaking orchestration and global collaborative projects. Heidi-Marie shares her creations openly, appreciating any resonance her music finds, and understanding when it doesn't.

New Album Released 29 August 2024

https://heidimariearapa.bandcamp.com/album/classical-compositions-2024

Album "Greetings From Australia" with my dear friend Wiesenberg 
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/31YvZRb2A16PoZBUmx5y0s?si=0c13ba6b19494de0

https://vimeo.com/846466472

I also feature my talented friends whose profiles I occasionally rotate on my profile since joining the Soundcloud Community, they have encouraged & supported  musicianship & creativity.  I cannot thank them enough #greatfriends #trust #respect

https://spotify.link/1e82g87w3Db
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6L1qFzNenl1bRHGtDkK6gW?si=4ba561ca84df41a1

https://www.instagram.com/arapa_music/

https://linktr.ee/ArapaMusic

My parents listened to Franz Liszt - I still have the original record so I ended up a fan.  My music teacher was the late: Anatoly Miroshnyk (born August 19, 1923 - died July 14, 2011) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, teacher, musician and public figure.
https://musical-world.com.ua/en/artists/miroshnik-anatoly-mikhailovich/

We often think of talented musicians as folks who start young and advance their skills via the finest education available to them. While this is certainly true in some cases, there are plenty who realised many of their artistic capacities without the aid of specialised instruction or a degree in music. 
#patience #perseverance #persistence #perspiration #nevergiveup

Thank you for visiting my profile. 

https://www.abc.net.au/triplejunearthed/artist/heidi-marie-arapa/
https://youtube.com/@ARAPAMUSICPRODUCER

Where words leave off, music begins.. Not everyone has the ability to compose music I also sing Jazz & Blues with musicians on Wikiloops a truly amazing community.

 I've always been passionate about music composition and fortunately the internet & technology made it possible to build a community in the clouds.

Find my global music journey since 2012 below:

https://linktr.ee/ArapaMusic

I've been tested by an examiner from the Australian Conservatorium of Music & apparently I have perfect pitch and blessed with the ability to accompany any musician, add hooks to any genre - as a singer I’m not great but who cares thats why most is spoken word.

I have my own style - either you like it or not -  always open for collaborations

🎤I have no fear of perfection - will never reach it 🎧   I don’t have the perfect voice nor am I aiming to be the best I'm only human with a passion for what I love music is in my heart.

Thank you to all who believe in me and MOST OF ALL my amazing Mentor thank you Sir for encouraging me to NEVER GIVE UP it all takes time and practice.

My mixing & mastering techniques have been learned from Youtube tutorials & experimenting with Logic Pro X.   I love the creativity and flexibility music production - a continual learning journey  of #passion #persistence #perspiration #patience
 
Having begun her musical journey at the young age of five with the piano accordion – an instrument initially more of an expectation than a choice, yet one for which she now holds deep gratitude – Heidi-Marie eventually transitioned into the captivating world of electronic music production a few years ago. This discovery led to the gentle retirement of her accordion, making space for her true passion: composing, producing, and sharing her sonic creations with the world. For Heidi-Marie, music is not just a pastime but a lifelong dedication, a constant until her final days.

Appreciate a like, repost or comment.  ❤️ 🌈🇦🇺

1st album by Charlie and the Fox is out now https://open.spotify.com/album/78ewrWZjS41XvHT9mFWd6O?si=qkG2b5LbSK6mo6qDzuZskw Quick note , if someone plays a track of mine I Always return the favour , and if they have no tracks I always say thank you ! But sometimes SC will show me all the listeners , but other times they only show me the last 2 hours and I have no idea of who listened to what , it is so annoying , and I apologise if I miss anyone out , it's not deliberate , I value every single one of my listeners ! Self confessed Music Addict ! I write and play/vocalise everything myself whether it be real or synthetic . Recently teamed up with Charlotte Thornton , and together we are Charlie and the Fox , it's the best thing I have ever done musically . Char has an outstanding voice , writes amazing lyrics and comes up with melodies I would never have dreamed of , it's a partnership that works so well , and long may it continue ! We thank you for listening , liking and commenting . Cheers , Mike and Char .

Progressive Metal Guitarist, Drummer, Bassist, and Keyboardist.

Folk indie punk singer songwriter, guitars, keyboard. Jordan Watkins co-wrote 7 songs and plays guitars on those songs (as attributed). Also writing credits (as attributed) to Nigel Boot, K. Biggle and M. Rambout on 8 songs.

Putting my stuff out there "where funk meets punk"- using dynamic Shure SM58 microphone and Ableton 11 live recording software. Hohner Strat, Epiphone ES339 guitar, Taylor GS Mini Acoustic, Hohner harmonica and Yamaha keyboard E463.

Fave bands - L7, Lemonheads, Fat Tulips, Joy Division, Strawberry Story, The Smiths, Shonen Knife, Sex Pistols, Heavenly, The Fall, Slits, Bhundu Boys, Vaselines, The Pastels, Teenage Fanclub, Shalewambe, Jonah Moyo, Billy Bragg, Felt, Velvet Underground, Jeffrey Lewis, Jimi Hendrix....plus loads of other stuff.

Thanks in particular to Damian Smith and the Journeymen, QB Bills and The Strums for getting me into the Soundcloud community, and John Stone for listening from the start, and all those great musicians around the world listening in. Wonderful that music that didn't even exist a day, or even hours ago gets to go around the world. Always brilliant to be amongst the first to hear new stuff.

Remember, inconsistency means, even if one track is dodgy, the next might be a masterpiece. Keep listening folks, and keep making great music.

TOP 3 MOST PLAYED SONGS FOR EACH MONTH

JAN 2022
1. MCCARTHY'S GAME
2. FIELDS OF DREAMS
3. WEATHER WOMAN
FEB 2022
1. SO MANY THINGS TO DO
2. QUEASY
3. CAN I HAVE MY BALL BACK PLEASE
MAR 2022
1. PUT YOURSELF IN MY PLACE
2. MY NEW GIRLFRIEND
3. GCHQ
APR 2022
1. LET'S SEE WHAT YOU GOT
2. YOU ARE NOT ALONE
3. YOU WON'T REGRET DOING NOTHING AT ALL
MAY 2022
1. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS
2. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
3. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE KIDDING
JUN 2022
1. A MILLION TEARS FOR YOU
2. PURPLE ZONE
3. SWEET HOME ALABAMA
JUL 2022
1. SEVEN NATION ARMY
2. THREE LIONS
3. PASSENGER
AUG 2022
1. STOP THE FROWN
2. NITE CLUB
3. KEEP IT SIMPLE, DO IT WELL
SEP 2022
1. STOP THE FROWN
2. FEARLESS
3. EINE KLEINE PUNKMUSIK
OCT 2022
1. THE INSOMNIA SONG
2. KEEP IT SIMPLE, DO IT WELL
3. RUNNING UP THAT HILL
NOV 2022
1. HELEN
2. DON'T CHA
3. STOP THE FROWN
DEC 2022
1. LA PUNKEILLAISE
2. CHRISTMAS LIGHT
3. KEEP IT SIMPLE, DO IT WELL
JAN 2023
1. THE PRICE OF WAR
2. SHEENA IS A PUNKROCKER
3. THIS CHARMING MAN
FEB 2023
1. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT
2. JA JA DING DONG
3. BIG GAY HEART
MAR 2023
1. SONG TWO
2. I DIDN'T KNOW WHO LOU REED WAS
3. CRISPIN WAS A STREET CLEANER

Thank you to all my fans and friends for all your well wishes during the recent death in my family .. Jodi & I appreciate you all very much ❤️
                         

All music posted on this channel created & composed & played & arranged & produced in house by myself (Luke)

I’m a 🎶 writer / composer / musician / producer always creating & producing new Piano 🎹 arrangements / scores / themes / compositions / tracks from scratch ..
 
all my work is Original.. 
one of a kind …
played with old school instruments including my 100yr old upright piano & Yamaha keyboards 🎹 my old school skins 🥁 and trumpet 🎺 etc…
 
👉🏻NO Artificial Intelligence  aka A.i. 👈🏻

I don’t do Covers 
I’m to busy to Collaborate at this foreseeable time..

so stay tuned & check back weekly / monthly..

In between creating major  Piano & Symphonic music,
I like to wind down by creating quick “fun music” using “Found Sound “ & samples & loops & libraries along with a few bars from my piano / keyboard or synthesiz..
 (they are usually of a “ Trap “ genre) 

Use your headphones 🎧 to really experience my music layering to its fullest... 

Lastly..thank you for being a loyal fan supporting all my “experiments” and successes..

Luke 😊   Attention:👉🏻  Name change coming soon..
               from 👉🏻  Beats by Luke 
                    to 👉🏻  Luke H.  S c h ü ß m a n n

Recorded / mixed / Mastered by Luke 
a 🥶“Frosty - Nutz Production”🥶 🇨🇦 🇺🇸