My original demo for the track "Van Man" that was on our second LP "Unmacho"

Van Man [Demo]

For anyone unfamiliar, Sheetz is a chain of gas stations primarily found in Pennsylvania, West Virgina, Virgina, Maryland and North Carolina, although they are expanding... rapidly.

Actually, it's more than a gas station. You can order MTO (Made-To-Order) food that is pretty delicious. Their coffee is the best "gas station" java I've ever encountered. Last but not least, the atmosphere is clean, fun & bright. 

I lived next to a Sheetz for 4 years in my early 20's, and needless to say, it provided all the necessities a recent single post-grad could ever require. As a musician who tours as frequently as the cosmos will allow, seeing a Sheetz along the highway is *always* welcomed with cheers. 

Sheetz has given me a lot over the years, and I've given Sheetz a lot of money. However, I wanted to give something more. So here is my tribute to the greatest gas station ever.

Lyrics:
When you're drivin' down the highway
And need a tank of gasoline
Breakfast, lunch and dinner
And some premium caffiene

There's an oasis in the desert
Where the service can't be beatz
And if anyone tells you to keep it a secret say

Sssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhheetz

S-H-Double E-T-Z
Sheetz for you and Sheetz for me
In a pitstop prison they set me free
I pledge allegiance to Sheetz

(I Pledge Allegiance To) Sheetz

This is a theme song I did for an episode of the Jonah Raydio podcast

Jonah Raydio Theme Song

This is the theme song I wrote for my friend Bryan's zine "Popular Demand"



Popular Demand

This is my original demo for the song "New Mexico" which appears on our debut album "The Rozwell Kid LP" (2011)

Full discloure: I've never smoked crack, and I most likely never will. These lyrics came as a direct result from sending some of my earliest demos to a small indie label in Ohio around 2006-2007. The feedback was generally positive, but obviously didn't end up in any sort of deal. However, the strongest shred of constructive criticism they shared was "your lyrics are just a bit too... goofy." 

So, I tried to write the most serious shit I could think of on my next demo, and "New Mexico" was the result. Ironically, I tried to be so serious, it ended up sounding goofier than anything I'd really done prior. So whatever.

I always liked the chill drum-machine and smooth-ass synth on this demo, but it didn't really fit with the full band aesthetic of the first record. 

New Mexico [Demo]

This is a bedroom cover of Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag" I recorded in the winter of 2012/2013... I can't remember exactly when. 

I did this at the same time Dave from Sleeping Bag and I were demoing/writing the "Dreamboats" split. Initially, I really wanted us to record a cover of this song for the split, but we decided to stick to all originals.

I added a guitar solo in the middle, and Adam did some wah-shredding over the outro. That was fun to record. He couldn't even hear the track, I just pointed at him when he was supposed to start wailing in the key of the song.

Teenage Dirtbag [Wheatus Cover]

This is my original demo for the title track from our second LP "Unmacho" (2013)

This song started out as a jangly guitar riff that sorta reminded me of "Something To Write Home About" era Get Up Kids. But then it morphed into something heavier. 

You can hear the drums bleeding through my headphones in the beginning when I tracked the bass intro. 

I changed the chorus lyrics from "my Reeboks" to "my sneakers" for the final version because I'm not a sellout, maaaan.

Unmacho [Demo]

This is my demo for "Chinchilla," the first track on our collaborative split with Sleeping Bag, "Dreamboats" (2013)

I can't claim this is the *original demo* because Dave from SB sent me the seed for this song that included the chorus, bridge & lead line after the first chorus. I took what he sent and wrote the verses, intro & structured the song. This demo is what I sent back to Dave, and thus became the version we ultimately re-recorded in Bloomington, IN for the album.

I really liked the distorted cowbell in this demo. We tried to approximate it on the final version, but it doesn't sound quite the same. I like how it sounds kinda like sonar beeps, like in that LEN song "Steal My Sunshine." I got the idea for the cowbell from Dave's original demo. There were some hot bass pickup clicks that sounded kinda like cowbell. 

Wow, what a boring anecdote.
 

Chinchilla [Demo]

This is a song I recorded a long time around Thanksgiving of 2007. It was part of an experiment where I wrote & recorded the drum parts first. Then, I would work out the instrumentation/vocals based on whatever I came up with on the drums. All of these songs ended up being very short... around 1:00 – 1:30 each.

"Big Robot" is a fantasy tale about my friend Jake and me galavanting around, stumbling into an abandoned laboratory and plugging in a big robot we find in the corner. Pretty groundbreaking stuff. 

Big Robot

"Moonmen" is from the same recording experiment that birthed "Big Robot"... I recorded drums first, then wrote the music/vocals around whatever drum part I had improvised. 

This song is about taking a spaceship to the dark side of the moon where a bunch of moonmen are having a party. Then somebody blows up the moon, and they aren't any more moon parties. 

Moonmen

This is my original demo for the song "Hawaiian Shirt"

It appears on our debut album "The Rozwell Kid LP"

It's about a time I had in North Carolina. "Lake Placid" was on the TV and I was scared.

I always felt like this song was too much of the same and too long. Oh well, live and learn.

Hawaiian Shirt [Demo]

Precious Art

South By

The Rozwell Kid LP

Rocket

Ace Ventura, Pt. 3

UHF On DVD

Wendy's Trash Can

Boomerang

MadTV

Futon

Total Mess

Rozwell Kid on Audiotree Live

Kangaroo Pocket (Audiotree Live Version)

Halloween 3.5 (Audiotree Live Version)

Wendy's Trash Can (Audiotree Live Version)

Covers

You're So Great [Blur Cover]

Caring Is Creepy [The Shins]

This is my extremely embarrassing voice memo that eventually became UHF on DVD

UHF on DVD (Original Voice Memo Idea)

This is a cover of my favorite weezer song... maybe my favorite song of all time. I had just gotten a new laptop and microphone, so this was an early experiment with my fresh setup. The goal was to do a pitch perfect cover of the song, but completely ruin the ending with a blues outro. I think I succeeded.

You Gave Your Love To My Softly [Weezer Cover]

my demo for "South By" (originally called "SXSW") 

Devin played piano on the official recording and you can really hear the difference. I recorded this demo on my parents piano, and it's pretty outta tune. Nevertheless, the idea was there and we ran with it.

rozwellkid

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