My Beautiful Place

Yoshi & Chie are friends of mine from Osaka, Japan, where I lived for a year back in 2002-03. They now live here in Toronro, where I got to know them while busking together on the street, and jamming at my house with a few other friends. Here's a medley of music from that day:
https://on.soundcloud.com/UtPSC

Yoshi is an incredibly talented and super creative sitar player, sometimes playing with a violin bow, or with trippy electronic effects. He participated in a performance of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band full album re-enactment here in Toronto several years ago. Together with wife Chie, who plays didgeridoo, sings, and plays various percussion and electronic effects, they form the group Kaminari. Kaminari is a very popular act performing at various music festivals around Toronto, with shows now including dancing performances by their daughter.

This is a song from their early album Triangle, where I was honoured to be asked to play the drum (djembe) part - the only other artist on the album. 

Here's a video of a show they did a while ago to give you a sense of their stuff. I just like to plug them cause they're a super nice couple and a joy to play with. 
https://youtu.be/xAsKFPaRp24?si=thr44agGgN1ZXWND

thanks for listening!

(Written by Yoshito & Chie Yamano)

Triangle

Running Carpet (Kaminari with mistermark)

Words and Music Dave Rose
A song I wrote quite a while ago. I have recorded it a few ways but like this one the best I think. Final mix :)

Lyrics

Hello, how are you where you been Timbuktu 
I haven’t seen you since god knows when 
So how the hell are you 

Remember when this world was young 
Life was simple and so much fun 
And the sun it always shone and the days went on and on 

In the park playing seventeen a side 
And the game would only end when it got too dark to see the ball ⚽️ 
So we’d all head home ‘til we could do it all again 

Remember when this world was young 
Life was simple and so much fun 
The sun ☀️ it always shone and the days went on and on 

Remember the big lad he lived down my street 
He stole my tortoise 🐢 Tom and he stole your rabbit 🐇 Pete
So we surprised him once when we pushed him in the pond 
He couldn’t swim oh we nearly drowned him 

Well we’ve all grown up and moved on 
Got mortgages and wives and kids and so on 
And this life goes on 

Hello, how are you where’ve you been Timbuktu 
I haven’t seen you since god knows when 
So tell me how are you 
Tell me how are you 
Tell me how your doing 
Oh let’s keep in touch 
Let’s catch up 
Do you use facebook or twitter (x)
Or I could WhatsApp you or I could phone ☎️ you……..

Hello How Are You

Hello, How Are You

Cast of Characters:
mistermark-- @user-432503709 -- Mark-- VST sax solo, harmonica solo, organ, tremolo guitar (synth), composition, arrangement, mix
Mysterious Decibel--@themysteriousdecibel --MD—lyrics & vocals
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– second electric guitar solo, and mastering
J.J. Terrell–@j-j-terrell –piano and electric piano solo
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums and percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –-four string fretless bass, first electric guitar solo, rhythm guitar comping 

This song originated with a slower more Jazz oriented track Mark had previously written ('1 For The Money, 3 For The Blues' https://on.soundcloud.com/BtSS4). However, he wanted a more 'suped up' version with solos turns, so he turned to The Eclectic Collective (EC) to fill in the pieces by replacing some of his solos with their own. Mark had some lyrics in mind too, however, once he heard The Mysterious Decibel's excellent lyrics and vocals, the song totally changed the direction and the vibe, for the stellar. 

   Once we had a basic structure, Ken, as always, came up with the rhythmic foundation for the song, allowing Josh to add his version of Mark's bass line. Then, after MD gave us the vocals, we got down to adding the solos. As more EC members jumped on board with new parts, Mark kept lengthening the song, moving the solos & vocals around until it's final current arrangement. JJ opens the song with his thrilling piano solo, as well as the electric piano solo where he joins Mark on VST Sax right after the first singing verses. Then Josh added a melodic and very clean toned guitar solo with a very clean tone - the first of the two guitar turns. After that, Stephen added his fiery guitar solo with a more overdriven tone. After one more vocal verse from MD, Mark stepped back in to close it out with his nasty harp solo at the end. After Mark handled the mixing on this song, we turned once again to Stephen to take care of the final sound production and mastering, which he fulfilled expertly.  

  We hope you enjoy this jazzier side of the EC as much as we enjoyed making it. MD's lyrics are about a psycho killer artist who hides clues about his murders in his paintings. 
-Original Lyrics by The Mysterious Decibel:

Some might say he's crafty and planned
With a shade of black and a brush in his hand
Some might say the world is his oyster
But no pearl lays inside just a conjuring blur

He'll paint you a murderous scene
With the blending of  sin all between pigments of green
He's a shady fella who hides behind the canvas!
I spy something with my little eye
This art might show just where he died

Will you find it?
The secret
Some freak shit
are you so sure you'll really wanna Keep it ?
The secret
Are you so sure you'll really wanna keep it?
Ahhh a little secret
Are you so sure you'll really wanna keep it?
It'll haunt your mind like it does him too
He's a swifty one he'll come for you!
The secret
The secret
The secret
Are you so sure you'll really wanna keep it?

I spy something with my little eye
This art might show just where he died

His art might show
might show
might show
just where he died 

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Side Note:
This past Tuesday, we released a fun little series of interviews over a 20 minute medley of some of our favorite musical moments. If you want to hear our voices and some of our thoughts about music, check it out! You might really enjoy it, especially if you follow us, and have been for a while. It's a celebration of all of our work over the past almost year together in various forms. This song was supposed to be a showcase of all of our skills to accompany that medley, except Tez isn't in on this one. He'll be on the next one, though, for sure! 
Thanks for listening!

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All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve. :)

Mark's Album (post-2020)

'A Brush With Death' Blues (with The Eclectic Collective)

Japanese famous nursery rhyme
Composition: Shinpei Nakayama
Guitar Instrument arrange by Toshi

黄金虫

Lyrics by Tony Harris
Vocal, music and mix by Chuck Aaron (New version by Chuck)

WE DON'T KNEEL WHEN THE FLAG IS BEING RAISED
WE DON'T WANT OUR FREEDOM TAKEN AWAY
WE DON'T BURN AND LOOT DOWN ON MAIN STREET
WE LOVE OUR COUNTRY CAN'T YOU SEE

WE DON'T LIKE WHERE THE COUNTRY IS GOIN'
WE LIKE IT THE WAY IT USED TO BE
THE MUSIC BROUGHT US ALL TOGETHER
WHY CAN'T IT BE LIKE IT USED TO BE

(CHORUS)
AND I'M PROUD TO LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY
A PLACE WHERE ANYONE CAN HAVE IT ALL
YOU'LL FIND US AT CHURCH ON SUNDAY
AND GOD AND FAMILY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL

BOOTS ON THE GROUND ARE NEVER POPULAR
WE DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TO KEEP US FREE
WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE HOMELAND
I THINK MOST PEOPLE WILL AGREE
AND GOD AND FAMILY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL

(REPEAT CHORUS 2 TIMES)


2017 © Lyrics by Tony Harris

God And Family - Collaboration by Tony & Chuck Aaron - Original

Cast of Characters:
The Mysterious Decibel-- @themysteriousdecibel –MD-- vocals and lyrics in the choruses
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– guitar, production, and mix
J.J. Terrell–@j-j-terrell –piano, synth sax 
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums, acoustic guitar intro, and vocalized tones at the end, verse lyrics and melody, composition
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –-four string fretless bass, vocals on the verses

This is a song that originated with Ken several months ago. He wrote the whole thing on piano, guitar, and drums and presented it to the rest of the band. Of course, everyone was very excited to add their spin to it. 

Josh added his bass part first, as the foundation. Ken also left his catchy original guitar intro as it was. Then JJ added his dynamic piano part, which ended up being both foundational and stylistic, along with the sax that you hear in there, too. Stephen added his solid foundational guitar to it, too, soon after. Then it sat, stalled out for need of some vocals. Of course, we asked TMD to add some, which he did in grand fashion for the choruses. All that was left were the verses. Ken wrote lyrics, and gave Josh an idea for the melody, so he sang the verses to wrap it up. Of course, we asked Stephen to produce and mix it for us, which he did so well, as always.

  We hope you enjoy listening to this song as much as we enjoyed making it.