A joint effort between Nate2timez and Mark Schirmacher, "Stories from the Other Life" represents long-distance musical collaboration at it's finest. 

Mark sent stems, Nate2timez produced the tracks, and talking back and forth about arrangements, instrumentation, and final mixes, the two created a lively, organic, methodical, and daring collection of accessible dream-pop songs.

World Without You

These songs were all candidates for my 2021 EP "miles + minutes."

The first three tracks on this EP - Little Bird, Lead On The Page, and Build You A Box were the only ones Christian Andrews (Producer) chose to move forward with.

The next 2 tracks - This Could Be Our Night and The Other Life - appeared on my 2022 EP "Stories From The Other Life" produced by Nate2timez.

The final track - Put Me In The Dirt - is a favorite demo of mine, full of mistakes, bad mic technique issues, but a whole lot of heart, IMO. I haven't done a finished recording of this song yet, but maybe someday...

All of these demos were made at home, using Garage Band on my iPhone, and possibly on a desktop version. Except Build You A Box, which was recorded in a single take at Christian Andrew's old house in St. Paul and This Could Be Our Night, which was recorded also in a single take during the tracking sessions for 2019's Losing Things album.

These songs expose my working process, and the breadth of my imagination, when it comes to what a song could sound like. I hope you enjoy the glimpse inside my noodle!

Cheers and be kind to one another,
Mark

Put Me In The Dirt (DEMO)

The Other Life (DEMO)

This Could Be Our Night (DEMO)

Build You A Box (DEMO)

Lead On The Page (DEMO)

Little Bird (Demo)

Lyrics:

Time to Fly

What’d it mean when you cried?
Winona, said goodbye
Hold me tight to the sky
Now it’s time for you to fly (you to fly)

	Time to fly where it’s cold (way up high)
	I am young & my mother’s old
	You are lost in the middle of the road
	Dry them tears and open your arms up wide
	-baby, it’s time to fly

Summer’s end, colors turn
Back to school, my stomach turns
How you been, you alone?
Have you had the time to be missing home?

	Time to fly where it’s cold (way up high)
	I am young & my mother’s old
	You are lost in the middle of the road
	Dry them tears and open your arms up wide
	-baby, it’s time to fly

Where you sleep, where you shine
Down the river, down the line
Try your faces, dry your tears
You got a bed all the way back here (way back here)

	Time to fly where it’s cold (way up high)
	I am young & my mother’s old
	You are lost in the middle of the road
	Dry them tears and open your arms up wide
	-baby, it’s time to fly

Time To Fly

Cheap Oil is a modern protest song criticising the extraction & transport of oil from the Alberta tar sands and the North Dakota oil fields. We are short changing our future generations by way of pollution, resource depletion, and animal endangerment - ALL FOR cheaper gas prices now. All proceeds for this tune will go to Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light, an anti pipeline org. in my hometown of Minneapolis, MN.
lyrics
Ooh, Trains at night, trains in the day and they don’t stop
Ooh, Bringing me sweet relief by the penny at the gas pump

We’re making a big mistake
To take all that we can take
Our spinning Mother’s back is gonna break - for Cheap Oil

Ooh, We’re pouring it out by the barrel in the green fields
Ooh, Mile by mile we’re snuffing out life around the steel wheels

There’s a fire in the vast wetland
Where the trestles cross the land
& we’ve all gone to sleep in our beds with blood on our hands - Cheap oil
(Chorus)
Cheap oil, cheap oil
We’re barking up the wrong tree, brother (2x)
We pay and we pay just to roll along today
We give it all away, How’re our babies gonna pay
For this cheap oil?

Ooh, in the middle of the night I hear the rumble of the long train
Ooh, a job’s a job and a man’s gotta eat but it’s not the same

We’re stealing from future mouths
while the pipeline gouges South
our children’s children turn as we curse the soil - Cheap oil

Our future children cry
as the birds fall from the sky
and the tanker trucks roll by full of tar sands spoil -
God damn this Cheap Oil

Cheap Oil

Music & Lyrics by Mark Schirmacher
Production, Mix, Master & additional Instrumentation by Zachary Michael

The Simple Life

Music & Lyrics by Mark Schirmacher
Production, Mix & Master by Torgny Elgstrand

Temple

American musician, songwriter, and producer. Visit www.markschirmacher.com to learn more.

Mark Schirmacher

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