noob's overture

Cast of Characters:

Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – Warwick four string fretless bass, vocals, lyrics, and seed idea
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums 
TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson custom T electric guitar
Mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark – clavinet and VST sax     
Llanpsych-- @llanpsych -- Tez – Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, mix, and production
Eclectic Collective -- composition

This song started its life as one of a batch of bass lines Josh came up with around the New Year holiday. He recorded it to a rudimentary drum loop, which Ken replaced perfectly with his own beat. Stephen joined the project next, adding his chordally flavorful, foundational guitar you hear underlying the entire song. Not to miss out on the guitaring, Tez came up with the ethereal guitar fills that float around in there. Mark came after Tez with his textural wah clavinet, also adding the wonderful sax solo you hear in the middle. 
  After it was done musically, Josh went back and wrote some lyrics and sang them, too.
  Once it was in the can, we asked Tez to do the honors of mixing it for us, which he did in his always expert fashion. 
  This is a fine example of the Eclectic Collective coming together to create a heartfelt song.  We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Original lyrics by Josh Clary:Sometimes I think about 
Things we used to talk about
Now I have to go without
Ever looking at your face x2
 
But I want you near me
Wish that you could hear me

What if we could ever reach
Out to the other each
But what would we say?
Is it just another routine day? x2
  
It makes my heart hurt bad
When I think of what I had
Now you’ve slipped away
Seems I saw you just the other day
 
Life can be really cruel
And I can be a fool
But I wish there were a way
I could hear what you would say

Loss (Eclectic Collective)

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, lyrically centered songs, which he wrote and filled in with VST instruments. He came up with the lyrics by sharing ideas with fellow SoundCloud musician Michele Ansani.
   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. 
Original lyrics by Joe Stroffolino (and Michele Ansani):
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
And a catchy vibe and beat
It was overly verbose but when I played it people tapped their feet
In my forties I stopped wasting my time
Work was more fun I was doing just fine

AI Sucks! (Eclectic Collective with Joe Stroffolino)

Echoes of yesterday by Zitou Itou & Albert Paule & Royaltyusrecords

Collaboration
Check out Ramixjoe ♈︎ music
@josef-schweinzer

In Color -With Ramixjoe ♈︎

'brown flowers' 
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJNklB-uNg3/

Well, I'm not quite alone.
I have you, I guess.
I always knew I'd be a mess.
What more can I say,
My life's in disarray. 
And I keep cavin' in to stress. 

And it makes me fuckin' crazy.
Yes, it makes me quite insane.
Why can't no one fuckin' pay me
to exist within this game? 

Behind on mortgage payments. 
Ain't got no food to eat.
I'm 'bout to lose my children.
Shufflin' my feet.
I swear, they're tryin' to kill us.
I won't claim defeat.
I will take this to the street.


brown flowers

Stoplight stuck, red, yellow, green
Show at the movie house, already seen it
If I were to leave where would I go
Cause dreams and roads don't go nowhere no more

Map of the world, go on, spin the globe
Possibilities abound if you say so
Ships may sail far offshore 
But dreams and roads don't go nowhere no more

Into the night I'll be watching the skies
Satellites and rocket ships flying by
Apparently there used to be a future I'm told
I'm guessing that's all in the past a long time ago

It's a whole new thing, the signs entice
But stick around long enough
Seen everything twice
Waters may rise, rivers may flow
But dreams and roads don't go nowhere no more

Into the night I'll be searching my heart
But all I see looking back at me
Nothing but darkness
Apparently there used to be a future I'm told
I'm guessing that's all in the past
A long time ago

Stoplight stuck, red, yellow, green
Show at the movie house 
I already seen it
Atoplight stuck, red, yellow, green

Dreams And Roads

Under The Stars (2006)

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

Running After Bacon (Country Dance)

This song was written by Craig Pate in 1987 - He sang all the vocals and played all the instruments with the exception of Lead Guitar which I played. It's a great retro hard rock song with that heavy rock guitar sound that I love! No A.I. cheating here guys, instruments are actually played!  WOW! 🤯 We really need to bring back hard driving guitars and lead guitars in music. I remixed the song and added an outro section during the credits from another song of mine called "Lady Green" recorded in 2017 for the my album "Vulcan Mind Meld".  

VIDEO - https://youtu.be/Sd0A0hKgbps

The video was originally produced in 2022 but I added several little bits and pieces here and there and added some sound effects like a Theremin at the end. Overall the video has been enhanced for your viewing pleasure! I was still getting used to making videos back then so keep that in mind while watching it. It drops this weekend! It was a really fun track to record and I thank Craig for giving me the lead guitar part and for letting me produce the video. So break out some stale popcorn and enjoy your favorite beverage or what have you and enjoy the ride of your life!  Oh and don't forget to CRANK IT UP! Thanks & Enjoy! 👍😎✌🏼🤘

“RIDE OF YOUR LIFE”
 
HEADING OUT TONIGHT,     
READY TO TAKE FLIGHT,    
GOT A FEELIN’ THIS COULD BE THE ONE,    
WON’T TAKE IT LAYIN’ DOWN,    
GET YOUR FEET OFF THE GROUND,   
SO LONG TO FOOLISH PRIDE,   
WE’RE GONNA TAKE YOU FOR THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE,
     
SIMPLE AS CAN BE,    
LET YOURSELF GO FREE,    
GET YOUR FEELIN’ IF IT TAKES ALL NIGHT,  
DON’T GO AND LET US DOWN,     
CAN’T FLY HIGH WITH A FROWN, 
                      
[LEAD]

HEADING OUT TONIGHT,           
READY TO TAKE FLIGHT,      
GOT A FEELIN’ THIS COULD BE THE ONE,     
WON’T TAKE IT LAYIN’ DOWN,     
GET YOUR FEET OFF THE GROUND,   
SO LONG TO FOOLISH PRIDE,   
WE’RE GONNA TAKE YOU FOR THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE.

BY CRAIG PATE © 1987

"RIDE OF YOUR LIFE" (2025 Remix) [VIDEO - https://youtu.be/Sd0A0hKgbps]

46²

"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

AI Sucks! (Eclectic Collective with Joe Stroffolino)

Entheogenic Psychonaut (Josh Clary)