This was the first song I ever wrote, and I was pleasantly surprised: it gave me a little bit of confidence that I am actually capable of songwriting, and I'm still kinda proud of it.
I'd like to re-record it, but I've got so many other songs I need to do demos of first before I get down to making better versions.

What do you think?

Cammy's Song (demo)

I dunno if this one will make the cut for my 'album', but it's what came out when I set out to write a song in the style of my good friends The Rubys (I actually recorded it with Luke's guitar and amp!).

I'd had the main riff and the lyrics floating around in my head for a while, but I don't think I was always planning to have piano, or weird time signatures in the chorus...

Crucifixion Blues (demo)

Clearly pasty scrawny white guys like myself were born to rap. This is my take on hip-hop, and probably the least familiar genre I've had a go at so far. Well, I guess I got the bitches and bling down...

Pet Shop Special (demo)

I intended this one to just be a short little intro track for the album. The recording turned out pretty well, although there's a fair bit I'll change if I re-do it.

Dunno what I was going for other than a 'spooky' vibe... I had fun making all the little sound effects though.

The Mill (demo)

Another one that I didn't really write for the 'album', it's only sort of related. I made the piano intro up ages ago, and eventually got around to writing a song around it.

Beyond the Sand (demo)

This is the backbone of my new song - it just needs vocals (and mixing etc). And for the vocals, for the first time ever I'm looking for some help because I don't think my falsetto is going to cut it.

Any girl/lady/woman want to sing for me? It's only a demo, so you don't have to be great, just roughly in tune. I'm envisioning something that could fit into both a Basement Jaxx and a Sarah Blasko song if you want hints.

It's going to be a back-and-forth kinda thing between female and male vocals, but there's more female lines. I put a 'filler' synth in for the vocals so you can hear what the tune is. You should be able to figure out which one it is: it starts just after everything else drops out in the first few seconds of the song.

If anyone's interested in singing, let me know!

Blaze - unmixed

I've made this page so that I can share my songwriting hobby with friends; I'm not (yet) an active musician.

On the rare occasions that I have spare time, I'm writing an album with the working title 'Tales from a Suburban Doghouse'. This album will take the listener through the animal pound/shelter, in the pawprints of all those pets that have had to make the same journey, through no fault of their own. Each song will be a different style of music, so hopefully everyone can find something they like (or at least, don't hate). Let me know if you think the styles are overlapping too much, or if there's a particular genre you want me to have a crack at.

Everything here is just a first draft demo: everything's played by me, that's my awful voice, and I've spent far too much time trying to learn how to mix with limited success. Once I've got my collection of songs sorted in demo form (hopefully by the end of 2013), I'll revise them and try to record some versions people might actually want to hear! I'd also love to get a band going at some point, because I love playing on stage and want to start getting my own material out there. I don't have an artist/band name yet, so if you can think of anything that would work, gimme a shout!

Anyway, have a listen - I'd love to hear what you think. Enjoy! (or not)

Si R