Hey Joe man, great piano playing in this one, with some great chord progressions that float the melody. Great subject, too, about inequality. Love your message in this one. Great song, my friend!

I love how you tell it "just like it is". Keep it up!!

Old trains, new trains come wailing down the track while old dogs howl at the moon and the trains. Something oddly comforting about such neighborhood sounds.

Audio of train and dogs recorded live 2023.

85 bpm

Old Howlers

It looks so good from far away
but when you’re up close you can smell the decay
The skyscrapers stand tall and proud 
but down below there’s a beaten crowd

But you can’t smell the stench the stench that hovers around you
you can’t smell the stench cause you’re living in an ivory tower
and the con men stalk their human prey 
as the junkies shoot their problems away
cause it’s just another sunny day in the bright shiny city

A testament to the progress of man
total domination of the land
concrete and asphalt spread like a disease
obliterating plants, animals and trees

But you can’t smell the stench
the stench that hovers around you
you can’t smell the stench 
cause you’re living in an ivory tower

We built a shining city up on a hill
But we caught a bug and now we're ill
and the only cure is a bitter pill
They say it takes a village but the corporations steal
Smells like we got the wrong end of the deal

But you can’t smell the stench the stench that hovers around you
you can’t smell the stench cause you’re living in an ivory tower

We build our walls to hide behind
We install our locks and close our minds
Anarchy and chaos throughout the land
Things are not going according to plan
Forces unleashed beyond our control
We’re falling into a bottomless hole

You can’t smell the stench the stench that hovers around you
you can’t smell the stench cause you’re living in an ivory tower
And the con men stalk their human prey 
as the junkies shoot their problems away
Cause it’s just another sunny day in the bright shiny city
Cause it’s just another sunny day in the bright shiny city

Stench

Cast of Characters:
Steve's Planet-- @steve-vervaet —Steve—acoustic guitar, vocals, lyrics, composition/arrangement
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen–electric guitar
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ—organ and piano
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums and rhythm guitar
cgmaness-- @user-419254289-15129531 – Chris -- electric guitar
Llanpsych– @llanpsych –Tez–electric guitar, production and mix
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – five string fretless bass 

This song was released a few weeks ago as a mix that Stephen did. Tez, being the equally talented producer that he is, decided to make a mix that highlighted the interplay between the guitars and the keys. This mix is more focused on the instruments, while still giving Steve's vocals their due. 
  The song was written by Steve on the acoustic guitar. He passed it along to Ken, who added a sturdy rhythm acoustic guitar, as well as his always solid, dynamic drums to it. In short order, Ken got the rest of the Eclectic Collective together on it, starting with Josh, who added his five string fretless bass to complete the rhythm section. Next up was JJ, who's keys, both organ and piano, can be heard livening the whole thing up. Then came Tez with his fiery ripping guitar fills. 
  We were all blown away, though, when Stephen added his equally ripping guitar fills as responses to Tez's parts. It really sounds like the two maestros are having a conversation. Not to be outdone, Chris sprinked some of his magical guitar to fill in the spaces, mostly at the beginning.  
  We all really enjoy working on Steve's songs, although it's been a few months since we did one together.  It's been proven many times before that if,you start out with something good, and you end up with some thing great. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it.
Original lyrics by Steve Vervaet:
I hope we ever meet x2
I hope to see you again
I hope to see you smile
I hope to be your friend x2
Hand in hand, hand in hand
Once again x3
I hope you shake my hand
On the boulevard
Gazing at the stars, gazing at the stars
I hope you ever be, a part of family
A comfort zone for me x2
To be around in everything I found
Please, please love me, forever being around
Hope you ever be, a part of me
Hope to touch your eyes, I hope to touch your love
One day you’ll see that you belong with me

Hope We Ever Meet - Llanpsych mix

Pathway though the nighttime forest.

Echo chamber, You're living in an Echo chamber
Echo chamber, You're living in an Echo chamber

You used to get in your car and you’d listen to nineties grunge
But now you turn on talk radio and you absorb it like a sponge
There’s a guy on cable news who says the things 
you were afraid to say out loud
But now you shout them out in polite company
and it makes you feel so proud.

Living in an echo chamber surrounded by people who agree with you
And you’re not interested in hearing any other point view
You used to believe that issues were grey
 but now you see things in black and white
You used to live and let be but now you just want to fight

You say cut taxes for the rich and it’ll trickle down to you and me
And when they sing the national anthem, you’d better not take the knee
You think electric cars are foolish and gas stoves are your God given right
And when you turn on your lamp to read Atlas Shrugged it better be an incandescent light 

Every single second of every single day
you’re walking around muttering that things are not okay
The pundits on the cable news
 say we’ve reached the point of no return
We’re in a downward spiral 
and we’re goanna crash and burn

Living in an echo chamber surrounded by people who agree with you
And you’re not interested in hearing any other point view
You used to believe that issues were grey 
but now you see things in black and white
You used to live and let be but now you just want to fight

Echo chamber, You're living in an Echo chamber
Echo chamber, You're living in an Echo chamber

Echo Chamber

01 23 26.17.0 (Duh) Obviously!

I'm Awake.

Cast of characters:
J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ—piano, synth, lead vocals, lyrics, seed idea 
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen–electric and acoustic guitar, slide guitar intro 

mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – backing vocals, organ, vst sax, mix, and production
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 – four-string fretless bass
Composition--The Eclectic Collective

 This song began as an idea JJ came up with during one of his Saturday night creative sessions, fleshed out on the piano, drums, and bass. Josh was first on this to come up with a new bass line to go with it, but Ken was also an integral part of that process, as always, too, adding his perfectly suited drums to it. Once we had the rhythm section down, Stephen added his electric guitar, which adds a great howling at the moon aesthetic to it, and his acoustic guitar as a foundational element. He also added the cool slide guitar you hear in the intro. 
  At this point, JJ decided it needed some vocals, too. So, he wrote up some lyrics and sang them, giving his typically light, gentle voice some rough swagger. Inspired by J.J.'s piano, Mark threw down the sax solo and the organ, then added the rich harmony vocals. He also was able to correct some timing issues we were having, by using his able hand in the DAW. Then, of course as every good song needs a good mix, Mark did the honors for us with this one, too.
  This is a true Eclectic Collective song, and we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.

LYRICS:
That fog around the mountain
is getting set to rise
pulling these wheels on down the road lord
is pulling my heart right out

If you really love someone now
wouldn't you want it to be a hundred to none?
instead of traveling around with a scorecard by your side

ooooh oh yeah
gonna set you free
ooooh, oh yeah
gonna leave you be

that fog around the mountain
it's like a dream
my heart, it has soon forgotten
a rolling stone like me
saxophone

looking down that dusty road
sun's beatin' down
pulling these wheels on down the road lord
has got me down
until I see you again.

--------------------------------------------------------
here's some pictures I took:
https://500px.com/p/MrMark?view=photos

That Dusty Road (The Eclectic Collective)

SOLEDUM

Hai Faa Phaa Ter

ITS 1917 IN SURREY AND

 FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOPS TO THE LOWLAND SEAS NEW LINES ARE DRAWN IN CASUALTIES

It’s been nice but I can not stay
I’ve seen what the papers say
Reminds me of what Iago said
And part of it stuck in my head
Hey slacker some men in khaki cry
It’s the green eyed monsters call to die
But it mocks the meat on which it feeds 
As the more it takes the more it needs

And at Madame Lind’s the lights are on
The clink of Glass and pianola song 
I can still hear as I reach my door 
Where a letter looms on the hallway floor

Now I was nearly forty one
when I appealed for my exemption 
For domestic hardship would ensue 
If I should limp round the colours too
Cause rheumatic fever did for me
When I was young my stick you see
So to aid the prosecution of the war 
In a civil role I’d help much more

And mechanically it carries on 
The ticking clock goes on and on 
Below the mantle piece supine on my knees
The fires lit with obituaries 

And like the steam from the six forty six
I was compelled into a new office
Where the letters swam in elusive shoals
I cast my net of coherent wholes
And the thief of time had been and gone
when the knot i tied it came undone
And that’s when I began to roam 
Beneath starlight and hedgerow 
I made my home

And I woke with the feathered songsters song 
And in my bones I felt the sunlight shone
Touched by the beauty of life and its brevity 
From small mindedness momentarily 

I took my, I took my, I took my , I took my      leave

Clink of Glass (Acoustic)

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.

Stench

Joe Stroffolino

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