This has been on soundcloud a month or so, but I've added a tricone resonator guitar slide part to it, playing the two verses and chorus before the electric slide kicks in - it seemed to be missing an initial melody part. I think it sounds better for it. 

Don't You Walk Away

What Are We Waiting For?

Close Your Eyes And Pray

Guitars tuned like mandolins .... don't try this at home folks!

Actually, it's not too bad, but it might take the bridge off an acoustic if you don't swap the A and D strings around! The tuning is (high to low): HighE tuned up a tone to Fsharp, B stays same, G tuned down to E, swap A string from 5th string to 4th D string, and tune to A, put D string where A string was as the 5th string, and tune to a D, then tune low E string up to G. I didn't bother with the string swap on the electric, but the A string which is now tuned up to a D has a hell of a lot of tension on it! 

Falling Apart

This is the first time recording with my electric double bass, so hope the intonation is OK …. maybe the dodgy slide guitar will even it out!

Say Goodnight

I started off writing this as an old 30's radio tune, so wasn't expecting it to turn out like this - I think I got a bit side tracked! I've been reading a lot of Neil Gaiman lately (American Gods, Anansi Boys) which is where the title comes from, as it seemed to have become a bit of an epic. 

The Old Gods

Never Too Late (acoustic version)

This is tune that's been a stalled work in progress for a couple of months with just  acoustic rhythm guitar over a drum loop recorded.

I added the electric guitar as a guide track intending to replace it with some acoustic lead, so I wasn't thinking too much, just improvising in the moment. I quite like how it tuned out, even if I did get a bit lost in the second chorus - it all adds to the charm.

Hope you like it.
Steve

Guitars, Bass, guitar synth (Horns, Keys) - Me 
Drum loop - courtesy of Specrasonics Liquid Grooves

Mojito Time

Slide, acoustic guitar, and bass - me
Drum loops from BFD

Time Wasn't Right

This has accidentally turned into a bit of a homage to one of my all time favourite blues guitarists and singers Robert Ward (check out I Will Fear No Evil, and there are a couple of cool Youtube clips of him on stage with Ry Cooder). I think it happened when I turned the tremolo effect on! There might be a bit of Hubert Sumlin and Killing Floor in there too.

Guitar and Slide Guitar, Bass, Saxes (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone)  - Me
Drums - BFG

Hold On To Me

I put this up on Blend last year as slide guitar and drums only, and Ben pulled it and did a brilliant job on it, adding vocals, upright bass, acoustic guitar and percussion. He also re-arranged the chords in one part (some very cool editing I must say!). He put this version up on Blend as a rough draft. I think it's amazing. Hope you like it too.

Save Your Breath Colab With Ben Gerhards (berta music)

I've had this guitar riff / chord progression, verse / chorus / middle 8,  for quite a while now (twenty years I think - phew where has that time gone!), so it's cool to finally get it out there. 

Me - guitars, bass, baritone and tenor saxes, midi guitar (horn section, hammond organ), drum programming.


Stand Up And Be Counted

Matt was kind enough to sort me out with some basic drum  patterns (kick, snare and hi-hat only)for a number of track ideas when I visited his studio in Leamington Spa a couple of years ago. This one's been languishing on my hard drive ever since. 

The guitar was recorded at the time, and I've added the bass recently in an attempt to finish the track, with a view to adding more. But now I've worked on it,  I kind of like it as it is. It's a bit raw and frantic, so for the time being I'm going to leave it be.

Matt Waddell  - Drum programming
Stephen Pickering - Guitar and Bass

Brain Freeze

Another slide tune that's been on ice for a while (about twenty years I think!), it feels good to finally record it. 

me -  electric and acoustic slide guitar, bass, midi guitar (piano).
Drum loops from BFD

After The Rain

I thought I'd mark my 18 months of learning saxophone (and driving the neighbours mad with endless renditions of the same tunes) with this wee tune ....
Me - bari, tenor, and soprano saxophones
Drum loop from an old Yamaha RM1x

Fill Yer Boots

My arrangement of Ain't Misbehavin' on bottle neck guitar and tenor saxophone. 
Go check out the clip of Fats Waller performing Ain't misbehavin'  in the film Stormy Monday on Youtube -  you will not be disappointed. 

Steve Pickering - bottle neck guitar and tenor sax

Ain't Misbehavin'

Another year older, but still no wiser. This was originally titled 'Too many candles on my cake', but Hot Gumbo probably sums it up a bit better. Is it technically Zydeco if there's no accordion? Anyone out there know?

Hot Gumbo

Hello and welcome to my piece of the Cloud. 

My tracks here are a mix of new and old (and really old).  

Mostly it's just me playing guitar, slide, bass, double bass, mandolin, and ukulele, flute, trombone, and saxophones (baritone mainly, but some soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) and faking everything else with a Roland GR55 guitar to midi synth.

I'm currently spending most of my time learning flute, trombone, and saxophone, and playing bari sax in the Leeds based Salsa band, Los Cameradas. So not much time for recording or guitars. 

Hope you enjoy it,

Stevie

StevieP

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