You guys are on fire! Churning out so many great songs : ) Great ensemble sound.

Hell yeah im loving this vibe from you guys! You have an interesting voice that really fits it like a glove. Love reading the lyrics as well! Great work as always by all!

amazing band sound! one more great track!

Great theme. A cool rocking tune. What a fun and wonderful collab!

nice guitar / work , love the lyrics mate

a few songs where I take a turn at the singy part, either the lead, or backing harmony, or just a little noise here & there.


Playlist photo by John Curley; iPod Photoshopery by me

Singing stuff (songs with voices)

Written 1984 by Terry Reeves
Performed by: Vocals - Terry Reeves, Guitar Terry Reeves, Bass - Brian Reeves
Recorded: Wallington Croydon London


For me George Best was the greatest player that ever lived, but suffered from being better at what he did than everybody else. 
At one time in my life I think I was within an inch of becoming an alcoholic and yes at the time it solved all my problems. I was rescued by a beautiful women but unfortunately George was not.
He was one of my greatest heroes and I spent a large amount of my early years trying to emulate some of his football skills. I was given the opportunity to meet him on two occasions and he was a really nice genuine man and I was really upset when he died.
My brother Brian and me completed this recording in one afternoon and he came up with the fantastic bass line, it was always our intention to develop it and take it further.

This is my tribute to George Best

LYRICS

Yes I drank the bottle dry
Please don't ask the question why
Just except this drunken man
Drinking for another plan

Couldn't take things in my stride
Second place it hurt my pride
Told to take some time to think
Think I'll have another drink

CHORUS

Yes he's the greatest he really has it all
The king of any man who ever kicked a ball
He makes the head lines every time he shows his face
I wonder if they know our hero up in space
If not it's just a disgrace

He's here
Georgie   
No fear

Tried to force me to retire
From the bottle I admire
Knew I'd lose out in the end
Destroying me or my best friend

Belong to no one else but me
I'm not public property
I know I have myself to blame
Life is not my favourite game

CHORUS

It's not as sad as you might think
Not looking for a missing link
And I don't need an open door 
Cause all I have to do is poor

Georgie Georgie come back Georgie
Georgie Georgie come back Georgie

Best Of Both Worlds

I wrote this song the first time I was living in Australia. I'm singing lead and an accompanied by my bandmates from my bluegrass band Cornbread. 

Sugarcane

The first song I learned to play on the melodica as a kid.

Καλήν εσπέραν άρχοντες, αν είναι ορισμός σας, Χριστού την Θείαν γέννησιν, να πω στ' αρχοντικό σας.
Χριστός γεννάται σήμερον, εν Βηθλεέμ τη πόλη, οι ουρανοί αγάλλονται, χαίρει η φύσις όλη.
Εν τω σπηλαίω τίκτεται, εν φάτνη των αλόγων, ο βασιλεύς των ουρανών, και ποιητής των όλων.

Good morning, good people, and if you so desire, can tell you of Jesus’ Holy birth.
Christ is born this day in Bethlehem and the heavens and whole earth rejoice.
In a manger in a stable is born the King of the universe and Creator of the world.
And the multitude of the Heavenly Host is praising God and singing “Glory to God in the highest…”

video >>> https://youtu.be/IcV2rmpNaHQ

© All rights reserved

Greek Christmas Carols - Κάλαντα Χριστουγέννων

an excerpt of the intro of a song written by my good friend Dyniss from back in the day when we were in a band together (lead vocal - Dyniss, harmony - me). It's a good example of our vocal tandem when we sang together. 

Here is a cover of Dyniss's band covering "We Can Work It Out", with me on vocal lead: 
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/we-can-work-it-out-with-dyniss-vocal-mark?in=user-432503709/sets/singing-stuff

Here is a medley of Dyniss tunes recorded from our rehearsal sessions:
https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/dyniss-ditties-bestest-bits?in=user-432503709/sets/compilations

For more about Dyniss, visit http://dyniss.com/

Live in the Studio

Less Than Me (intro harmony / song by Dyniss)

I think this was the only cover tune we did back in my band days playing with my great friends Dyniss, Morris, and Alex. Here I take a turn at lead vocals with Dyniss on harmony. This is a ‘live’ version recorded in Dyniss’ studio (I believe in one take), though we performed it live on stage often.
Them wuz some good ol' times.

Dyniss Band members:
Dyniss - acoustic guitar, backing vocal
Mark - keyboard/accordion, lead vocal
Alex - 6 string fretless bass
Morris - Drums

Written by Lennon, McCartney

We Can Work It Out (cover; vocal mark)

My grandma's favourite song. that's papa on guitar, me taking a turn at vocal. I also do a pretty lame job trying to strum accompaniment while dad plays the middle solo. Originally recorded around 2014 with my phone mic, I also recently (in 2024) used AI tools to isolate the vocal & guitar into separate tracks so I could better adjust the balance. happy with the result. 

This song’s got a lot of meaning in our family. About as close to a perfect country song as it gets for me. 

(written in 1946 by Fred Rose. covered by the likes of Hank, Roy, Charlie, Elvis, and of course, Willie.)

Here's one other song we did together around the same time: 
- Back Home Again: https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/back-home-again-cover-take-2-collab-with-dad 

All comments welcome, and don't be shy to be critical or suggest ideas to help me improve. :)
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ---
here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Voice Memos, country

blue eyes crying in the rain (cover, with Dad)

Arrite... dusting this one off again for another year.
First, to answer the question I know everyone wants to know about this one - "Is that your real hair?!?" 
No. No it's not.   😎 
----- ----- -----
I lived in Japan for a year between 2002-2003 doing the teaching English thing, and made some good friends at one of the schools I worked at. We sometimes went out for Karaoke (of course!) and on one such night around Christmas I took a turn to sing one of my faves - Blue Christmas, the Elvis version. 

This is a live recording of me that night. The exuberant reaction from the group is partly due to the fact that I was/am normally a pretty quiet & reserved fellow, especially in crowds, and they were both shocked and seemingly quite impressed by my getting up to sing Elvis, and by how much I apparently sounded like him. 

I could translate some of what they're saying here, but you'll get the idea. For example though, the word "Sugoi" means "Cool!". In another spot, someone walks into the room mid-song, and another person says "hey hey, this is cool, it's Elvis!... watch this..."
See what you think.  ;)

Happy holidays everybuddy!

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 
here's some pictures I took: www.flickr.com/photos/mark_boucher/
my best photos on 500px (safe site): 500px.com/p/mrmark?view=photos

Blue Christmas (Karaoke in Japan)

Dad & me making music together. took us over 40 years but we did it! This was recorded around 2014 or so I think. 

dad - acoustic guitar
me - voice

We tried this in 2 takes. The 2nd take had a bit louder, stronger sounding vocals, but the singing wasn't quite as subtle and soulful as this one, which is the 1st take. Even with the funny botched ending, this was always my preferred of the two versions. Unfortunately the vocal recording on this 1st take was too quiet (gotta find a better way to record singing than in the basement with my phone mic!). But after looking for years for a way to bump up only the vocals, I finally made use of one of the many AI tools popping up these days for isolating instruments from audio recordings. The tool I used is called 'Splitter AI / vocal remover', but there are others out there. Finally, I was able to isolate the vocals & guitar into separate tracks and make the voice  louder. 

(Song by John Denver)

I'm happy to be sharing these examples of my family making music from back in the day. :) Here's the other song we did around the same time. This is a very special song in our family, and I was super glad I got to sing it with my dad playing.  

Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain: https://soundcloud.com/user-432503709/blue-eyes-crying-in-the-rain?si=29d81db0b84147ab9c54e6a0062a498f&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

--------------------------------------------------------
here's some pictures I took:
https://500px.com/p/MrMark?view=photos

Back Home Again (cover - take 1) [collab with dad]

This is a song for anyone who has ever lost someone they were taking care of. 

Hospital

I saw the knife
And I pulled it out
The side
Her blood was cold
But I fixed what 
I could find
When I laid down
Someone else was
Next in line

This on and on
Has me falling
Every time

Fall into the places
You forgot before
Dare to lose
Everything you’ve
Held on for
You will fear
What isn't really
Here anymore
Isn't here anymore
Isn't here anymore 

She was a mom
Who worked many
Jobs and times
She only saw 
Her little ones
Asleep at night
She was too kind
That's why they
Die every time

This on and on
Has me falling
Every time

Fall into the places
You forgot before
Dare to lose
Everything you’ve
Held on for
You will fear
What isn't really
Here anymore
Isn't here anymore
Isn't here anymore

Bless this truth
in every shade
That’s mine alone
To make the braid
That twists around
This tired nape
And to the dark that
Knows my face
Into the dark
That knows
I’m game
To take a leap
Against the grain
To fall unseen
For lives in pain
To stand between
Your life in vain

So I sit
Listening to every word
As we have shared
Every burden 
Once returned
I fall into places
I forgot before
See you there
When we meet
Beyond the door


Hospital

CAST OF CHARACTERS: 
>TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– acoustic and electric guitar, production, mix, mastering, seed idea 
>Mistermark – @user-432503709 – Mark – lead vocals, vocal harmonies in chorus, lyrics
>Llanpsych-- @llanpsych -- Tez – electric guitar 
>J.J. Terrell-- @j-j-terrell—JJ-- organ, piano, and synth 
>K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara –Ken–drums, percussion, vocal harmonies (verse & chorus)
>Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)– @josh-clary-1 –Josh – 4-string fretless bass, vocal harmonies in chorus (including chorus lyric & arrangement) 

Composition – The Eclectic Collective 
This song began its life as a beautiful guitar chord progression from Stephen. He wrote it with the idea the The Eclectic Collective would bring it to life, which we were all excited to do. First up was Tez, who added the distorted guitar you hear adding the edge to the entire thing. Ken added his lively foundational drums next. Josh, of course seized on that, and followed shortly after with his four-string fretless bass. JJ came along next and added the expressive organ and dancing piano, along with the big choral vocals at the end, which he did with his new synthesizer. Now that we had the music done, it was time for Mark to add his distinct singing to the mix, and original lyrics based on what Stephen had in mind for the song. Josh decided to come up with some very simple lyrics for the choruses and arranged some harmony parts for them, too, which he also sang. Once the song was in the can, Stephen meticulously edited, mixed and mastered it for us, very ably, as always. This was a seemingly large project, which took us almost two months from introduction to finished product. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed creating it. 

Original lyrics by Mistermark:

Watching the city lights getting smaller 
while I’m looking through my rear view 
Leaving it all behind hit me harder 
than I thought that it could ever do 
Sometimes a man gets lost on the road 
like a wheel spinning round in his brain 
It’s not what you said but it’s in the way you said it 
Now it’s stuck in my head and I’m never gon’ forget it

I’m moving on 
Away from home 
(Away from home, that’s where I roam)

Well home is where the heart is as the saying goes, 
but my heart ain’t in it no more 
But I remember all the times smelling grits in the hall 
as the morning sun hit the floor 
Old picture frames, and every toy’s got a name, 
now they’re packed up and stored away 
Turning that key for one last time 
keeps turning around & around in my mind

I’m on the road 
Away from home 
(Away from home, that’s where I roam)

Now I’m pointing these wheels toward the setting sun 
we’re flying straight up ahead like a bullet from a gun 
Just you & me kid and this old guitar 
we got dreams to dream and we’re gunna go far 
Like stars in the sky there’s city lights up ahead 
and I’ll keep driving toward ‘em till the day I’m dead 
Closing one door just opens up another 
there’s plenty of world just waiting to discover

I’m moving on 
Another home… 
(Away from home, that’s where I roam)

Away From Home (The Eclectic Collective)

The latest from Texas Tea.  Terry had come up with this sunshiney track a while ago and recently redid a few things.  I jumped in and added the counter melody guitar lines and Terry mixed and produced it all.  Static Glow


check out the Texas Tea playlist here:  https://soundcloud.com/texmex-shaman/sets/texas-tea-sea

Static Glow - w/ Tea R. Sea.  A Texas Tea Production

Cast of characters:

Surfers Like Us– @user-411502040 –Artur–composition, arrangement, and foundational rhythm guitar

Llanpsych– @llanpsych –Tez–electric guitar, composition, mix, and production

TexMex Shaman– @texmex-shaman –Stephen– acoustic guitar

J.J. Terrell– @j-j-terrell – organ and electric piano

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 

Mistermark --  @user-432503709 — Mark — production engineering

This song began its life all the way over in on the other side of the pond, where our frequent collaborator, Artur wrote it on his electric guitar. Being a fan of surf music, he composed this awesome piece with The Eclectic Collective in mind. He shared it with the group through Tez, who was first to respond to Artur's guitar with his own, creating a psychedelic base of sound for the rest of us to add to. 

  Ken was up next, laying down his always exciting drums and percussion. Josh, of course, followed straight behind him, now that he had a beat to play to. JJ came soon after, laying in his ethereal organ and dancing electric piano. Last, but not least, Stephen laid in a really trippy acoustic arpeggio based acoustic guitar part to kick it to the next level.

  Of course, every great song needs a great producer. But before we even started the song beyond what Artur and Tez laid down at the beginning, Mark deftly separated Artur's basic beat from the music. Amazing what technology can do these days! For rest of the production, we tapped the very talented Tez to do the honors, which he did perfectly.

  This song marks about half a dozen we've done with Artur. We're all big fans of his unique surf rock sound, and jump at the chance to collaborate with him. If you like what we've done here, you should check out his page, as it's loaded with gems in the same strain. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed creating it.


Flow of Life - (Eclectic Collective with Artur(Surfers Like Us))

la charrière profonde est un grand chemin creux, bordé de feuillus qui forment des arches pour abriter les rêves au pas du promeneur

en marchant dans la charrière profonde

John scofield arrangement of an old jazz tune

Melinda (J. Scofield)

If you like the music please share & subscribe, thanks!

https://youtu.be/UF0OjClnAHw
https://www.youtube.com/@theartificialhomewreckers

[Verse 1]
I found him slumped against his busted pickup
Where the desert night wind howled across the plain.
He was trembling, voice a ragged whisper,
Said, “Stranger, could you help me ease this pain?”
His eyes were fixed somewhere far beyond the headlights,
He held a worn-out locket in his hand.
Through every labored breath he gently told me,
“There’s someone back at home who needs to understand.”

[Chorus]
Take my last words down that open road,
And lay ’em on the doorstep of the one I love so.
Tell her though I wandered, I never let her go,
And these dusty dreams were all for us,
Even if they never could unfold.
Don’t let my memory fade with the setting sun—
Please, carry my love where it truly belongs.

[Verse 2]
He spoke of nights in neon-blazing taverns,
Of broken promises to pay the bills.
“I tried to make a name in every honky-tonk town,
But the cost was more than any dream could fill.
I left her waiting by the front porch light,
Always hoping I'd come walking back someday.
Now fate found me lying in the moonlit sand,
Before I ever got to show her I could change.”

[Chorus]
Take my last words down that open road,
And lay ’em on the doorstep of the one I love so.
Tell her though I wandered, I never let her go,
And these dusty dreams were all for us,
Even if they never could unfold.
Don’t let my memory fade with the setting sun—
Please, carry my love where it truly belongs.

[Chorus]
Take my last words down that open road,
And lay ’em on the doorstep of the one I love so.
Tell her though I wandered, I never let her go,
And these dusty dreams were all for us,
Even if they never could unfold.
Don’t let my memory fade with the setting sun—
Please, carry my love where it truly belongs.

Away From Home (The Eclectic Collective)

mistermark

Recent comments

Ingo Bremenkamp

Walker

Walker

Andrea Brennan

Related tracks