@ApproachToSilence (17.7.21)
[Teaser]

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/track/19dKR6GvmIpgxATVzs8ObA

ApproachToSilence_2015

Per aspera ad astra

The Valuable Friends:

@janinelevinson Electric blanket vocals and additional lyrics
@rick-4-1 7/4 Drums
@phil-mcwalter The other butter lad stuff

I COULD HELP IF YOU WANTED

I could help if you wanted

Don't let me fall into your eyes
Don't let me call your name
Don't let me fall
I don't want to go there
You do it if you want to
I don't feel like going out
I could help if you wanted
[Wash your face]
I guess it's over now...

I could glow if you lit me
And you could melt into my eyes
I'd cup my hands when you were close to me
And I would let you fall
Steady like Sundays and pigeons
And we'll fill the bottles with wishes

Electric Blanket Lucy and The Butter Lad
Electric Blanket Lucy and The Butter Lad

Don't let me fall into your eyes
[Putting wishes in bottles that's all we do]
Don't let me call your name
[Listen really hard]
Don't let me fall
I don't want to go there
[Putting wishes in bottles that's all we do]
You do it if you want to
[Listen really hard]
I don't feel like going out
[Putting wishes in bottles that's all we do]
I could help if you wanted
[Wash your face]
I guess it's over now...

I could help if you wanted
I could help if you wanted

© Phil McWalter & Janine Levinson August 2021

I Could Help If You Wanted

This is a cover of the song "Sugar Baby Clown" .  The original author of this one is none other than Rekha Iyern [Fe].  We made a fun deal not long ago to cover one of each other's songs 

You can hear her fantastic version of my song 'Newly' here-
https://soundcloud.com/rekha-iyern-fe/newly-tms-cover-rekha-iyern-fe-m1b-aug-25th-2021


You can hear her original version of Sugar Baby Clown on her BandCamp page here
https://rekhaiyernfe.bandcamp.com/track/sugar-baby-clown

and listen to my original song "Newly" found here -
https://soundcloud.com/texmex-shaman/newly

Sugar Baby Clown

Sugar Baby Clown - Cover by TexMex Shaman | song by Rekha Iyern [Fe]

Long before September 11, 2001, there was a September 11, 1950; the birthdate of my wife Terry.  This song started out as a very personal musical portrait of her.  Debra became interested in the track after I sent it to her for collaborative consideration.  The result is something very special for the both of us and we hope you too.  In my playing, I address the intimate side of the song and day. In Debra's playing, she addresses the now much larger meaning of the day for our nation and the world. Ultimately I think what we are saying is that 9/11 is profoundly personal. Each of us, if were old enough to remember, know where we were, what we were doing the day the attacks occurred. The attacks also shook the world, world markets, world travel, and any and all sense of security.   Profound sorrow was draped over our country and any nation that called us friend.  "Stay With Me" is another way of saying "hold me close", "we need each other", and as the track picture suggests "forget me not".    A big "thank you" to Debra for lavishing her talent on this very personal song.    More of her beautiful music can be heard @debra_buesking.

Stay With Me (featuring Debra Buesking, piano)

This was made on the occasion of being unexpectedly called back to full time work after some years of delicious semi-retirement.

Why Must We Toil

Piero Caniparo: guitars, guitar synth, mix
Donatella Basilico: vox, keys, drums, lyrics
Feat. Bruno Torre on bass guitar

I ARRIVE

WITH MY SOFT AND ELEGANT WAY TO PROCEED

 AND I'VE LONG AND SHARP TEETH

I'M ELEGANT, THIN AND VERY KIND

I HAVE LONG AND TREMBLING FINGERS,

AGILE AND FRANTIC LIKE INSECTS' ANTENNAE.



YOU WERE SITTING ALONE, LOOKING AT YOUR SOUL,

FLAILING WITHOUT HOPE IN THE PUDDLE OF YOUR LIFE

SHE ARRIVED WITHOUT A SOUND

SHE SEEEMED NOT TO TOUCH THE GROUND

     AND  SITTING BY YOUR SIDE

SHE TALKED WHISPERING TO YOU



HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO UNDERSTAND  AND FACE

YOU'LL FIX IN YOUR HEAD, SHE SAID, YOU HAVE BEEN ALWAYS ALONE

FIX IT IN YOUR HEAD , SHE SAID, YOU ARE ALWAYS ALONE


THEN SHE SAT BESIDE YOU,

GENTLY FORCING YOUR DEFENCE

MAKING YOU CONFIDE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOURSELF

YOU FELT GLAD AND THANKFUL FOR THIS

SHE BEGAN TO MOVE ALL YOUR THINGS

AND SLEEPING IN YOUR BED

SHE KEPT ON REPEATING


HOW LONG WILL YOU TAKE TO REALIZE

THERE'S NOBODY BY YOUR SIDE 

'CAUSE YOU'RE ALWAYS ALONE




FINALLY ONE DAY YOU ASKED HER WHAT SHE REALLY WANTED

SHE SHOWED  LONG AND CUTTING TEETH, SHE REVEALED A MONSTRUOUS BITE,

THE SAME INSTANT YOU FELT YOUR CLAWS AND SOMETHING SHARP IN YOUR MOUTH


 ARE YOU STILL INSIDE THERE?

IS STILL YOU INSIDE YOURSELF?

HOW MUCH DID YOU CHANGE

HOW MUCH LINGERS OF YOU FROM THAT TIME?

WHAT LIFE TORE AWAY FROM YOU,                                             

HOW IT CHANGED YOU IN YOUR SHADOW,

ARE YOU STILL ALIVE INSIDE ,

WHAT'S REMAINING OF YOUR SOUL?

YOUR SOUL,YOUR SOUL, YOUR SOUL                                 REPEAT


HEY YOU, IS STILL ME, DO YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHO I REALLY AM, THEN?

ME  WITH MY TREMBLING FINGERS?

I'M NOT REAL, I'M NOT TOUCHABLE, YOU CAN'T SEE ME, YOU ONLY CAN MAYBE

IN SOME FLEEING FLASH OF YOUR LIFE GRASP SOMETHING OF ME IN A GLIMPSE OF 

AWARENESS.

MY FRIEND, I'M NOTHING ELSE THAN A VOICE, THE VOICE, THE ONE YOU'VE 

ALWAYS KNOWN,

 YOUR VOICE,  YOUR DESTINY, THE TRUTH, THE ONE 

YOU ARE AFRAID OF ,YOUR SOLITUDE, YOUR 

USELESSNESS, YOUR EMPTYNESS, YOU ARE MEANINGLESS, ONLY A PRODUCT

OF CLASHING CELLS

I'M YOUR  DEATH,  YOUR DUST, YOUR END....I'M YOU,  AND YOU ARE ME, JUST YOU AND ME, JUST YOU AND ME, JUST YOU AND ME...........

MY FRIEND, MY FRIEND,MY FRIEND.........

YOU AND ME feat. Bruno Torre on bass guitar

YT video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dZ6FGmnaMo

Peacemongers

Peacemongers - Billy Korg & winkandwoo

This song is inspired by some experiences I had in high school where I struggled to navigate intersecting relationships. I came up with the riff after I injured one of my fingers and had to change all the tunings around on my guitars to keep writing music.

Ships Passing (demo)

The Last Reason

We all wear masks, some to fit in, some to stay safe, and some because we’ve forgotten who we were without them.

“The Chameleon” is a metaphor for the quiet contortions we make to survive, at work, in public, even with family. It’s about the person who adapts so well, they lose sight of their own reflection. The one who paints on a smile to avoid questions, and fades into the background to avoid the truth.

But it’s not judgment, it’s a confession.

This song speaks to the cost of constant camouflage. It asks: what happens when you change your color so often, you no longer know what your true shade ever was?

It’s a reminder that staying hidden may be an art, but it’s also a lonely one.

[Chorus]
I change my color just to survive
Paint a smile just to stay alive
But I’m hiding not showing my true face
Caught in the shimmer… gone without a trace

[Verse 1]
He clings to bark in a world so loud
Fades to match the shifting crowd
A master of masks, a living disguise
Reflecting the world through borrowed eyes

[guitar solo}

[Chorus]
I change my color just to survive
Paint a smile just to stay alive
But I’m hiding, not showing my true face
Caught in the shimmer… gone without a trace

[Verse 2]
They wonder why I’m cold, detached
But my truth lies in layers well-matched
So I keep them guessing, play the part
To stay hidden… is an art

[Bridge]
I once dreamed I could hold one shade
But life don’t honor the plans we made
To stay alive, I blend and bend
And lose a little more of me again

{guitar solo}

[Chorus – Final]
I change my color just to survive
Paint a smile just to stay alive
But I’m hiding, not showing my true face,
Caught in the shimmer… gone without a trace

[Outro]
So skilled at covering up their tracks
Even truth forgets the facts

[epic guitar solo]

To stay alive, I blend and bend
And lose a little more of me again

Chameleon

!!!HOT NEWS!!! New Valuable Friends vinyl album and CD available! See link below. Pre-order now for release on 12th Aug! (Release has had to be moved back from 7th due to unprecedented demand!)

Composer/Guitarist/Producer

Songs: We find them unpainted in our hands, throw them up into the air of our imagination, turning them in the colours we see after we close our eyes until they feel just right, and sometimes we catch them perfectly, without blemishing them...

My music is on most platforms for your ease.

Wow!!  417K+ plays and 4,000+ valued followers and friends on SC alone, that provide lots of wonderfully helpful comments that fuel the next track! Really big thanks to the SC community for listening and providing such brilliant feedback and support. It means so much to myself and my collaborators - huge thanks.

I work in different styles, as the inspiration, dreams or bubonic plagiarism comes! I use Logic Pro X on Mac.
 
I write, produce and play all my own stuff (unless otherwise stated), play vintage Tokai Strats mainly, PRS Torero, Steinberger, Gretsch G2627T, Classical, Fender Dreadnought, Yamaha and Rickenbacker basses, keyboards and sax. I use Native Instrument's Komplete, Omnisphere 2 and my own organic samples.

I mix on Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's and HD 650's (closed and open headphones) when not making a bigger noise through my Yamaha HS8 studio monitors. I use Focusrite Clarett 2Pre ThunderBolt and Apogee audio interfaces, Neumann & iSK condenser & AKG dynamic mics. 

Hardware: Feb 1978 Marshall JMP 50W Combo, BOO & BOSS stomps

I love collaborating with other musicians and will compose with, play guitar for, produce, arrange, master or even just hum along with other SC musicians. Please ask!

P.S. I am a long standing member of the Performing Rights Society and PPL through my old TV and theatre work as well as my record and publishing deals.