Chapter Friends DEMO

Let Me Live - DEMO

Should demo2

Again DEMO

Meridian Flip DEMO1

Should demo 2

Certified Big

This song was written for the Songspark Songwriting group. For more info on Song Spark, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/songsparkcc/about/

The January Songspark challenge was to write a musical response to a non-musical work while incorporating the use of a wind instrument.

This song was written and recorded using a Behringer X2222 stereo USB mixer and Apple Camera Connection kit (for the drums), iPhone, iPad, iRig PRO I/O, Marshall MXL 770 condenser microphone, Yamaha maple custom drum set, Ibanez bass guitar, Washburn acoustic guitar, and a Fender Squire Strat, via iOS GarageBand.

Below are the lyrics:

Ooh-Ooh-Butterfly Man 2X

Kind, understands 
Quiet, survivor, faithful, carpenter hands 
Strange, foreign lands 
“Earthquaker,” B-25 in North African sands 

Hero’s wings 
Subtle things 

Today I saw a butterfly
It made me think of you
Memories come flying through
Maybe it’s - coincidence
But it feels like you are here
Then you just disappear

Ooh-Ooh-Butterfly Man 2X

Brave, always wise 
Selfless, provider, unburdened in his sacrifice 
Save, roll the dice
Gentle, defender, remembering your sage advice 

We transform 
Be reborn 
		
I know it’s just a butterfly
And be that as it may
I still hear things that you’d say
It landed on my fingertip
You didn’t stay too long
I blinked, then you were gone

Ooh-Ooh-Butterfly Man 2X

There’s something ‘bout this butterfly
Reminds me you’re at peace
I pass on what you taught me
You hover for a little while
Just watching, I suppose
“Atta-boy” – “well, there you go”

Butterfly Man

This song was written for the Songspark Songwriting group. For more info on Song Spark, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/songsparkcc/about/

The March Songspark challenge was to write a song inspired by nature, animals, and/or natural phenomena.  Utilize a recording of a natural sound (rain, birds chirping, goat scream, etc.) in the song. 

This song was written and recorded using a Behringer X2222 stereo USB mixer and Apple Camera Connection kit (for the drums), iPad, iRig PRO I/O, Marshall MXL 770 condenser microphone, Yamaha maple custom drum set, Ibanez bass guitar, Washburn acoustic guitar, and a Fender Squire Strat, via iOS GarageBand.

Below are the lyrics:
1,400 miles away
From any life we know today
Hydrophones pick up the sound
Infrasonic vertigo
Radiates from point nemo

Sunken ships and tattered sails
Fabled myths and fairy tales

The flag of NOAA rules the seven seas
They heard “The Bloop,” what can it be?
Lab coats hover over radar screens
So if it’s real, what does it mean?

Slimy corpses in a heap
Wake Cthulhu from his sleep
R’lyeh shall rise again
Creatures wash up on the shore
Clumps of mud and mingled gore

Algae covered crypts of bone
Origin unknown

The flag of NOAA rules the seven seas
They heard “The Bloop,” where did it go?
Lab coats hover over radar screens
Theorists grin and skeptics moan

SOLO

“Experts” say that now it’s gone
What if they are wrong?

The flag of NOAA rules the seven seas
They heard “The Bloop,” but just one time
Lab coats hover over radar screens
Do they have an open mind?

The Bloop

This song was written for the Songspark Songwriting group. For more info on Song Spark, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/songsparkcc/about/

The April prompt, in honor of April Fools' Day, was to write a song that includes a twist or a surprise.  This song - is a riddle!  Can you figure it out?  :)

This song was written and recorded using a Behringer X2222 stereo USB mixer and Apple Camera Connection kit (for the drums), iPad, iRig PRO I/O, Marshall MXL 770 condenser microphone, Yamaha maple custom drum set, Ibanez bass guitar, Washburn acoustic guitar, Yamaha glockenspiel, West Music kazoo, and several percussion instruments, all via iOS GarageBand.

Special thanks to John Kehl https://soundcloud.com/yokeofegg and Josh Wien https://soundcloud.com/josh-wien for playing some AMAZING solo guitar on this song!  

Below are the lyrics:
I am evermore
Still I’m not enough
You can’t get enough of me
I show up everyday
Then I slip away
Like a faded dream
You can use, you abuse
I’m still the one you need 
I am evermore
Still I’m not enough
Never quite enough of me

I’d like to play a game
Can you guess my name?
I promise to give clues
Though they may confuse you
I’m more precious than gold
I can’t be bought or sold
Can’t be earned or saved
You spend me anyway

Harvester of rage
I consume your age
Newborn in my arms
Hourglass and scythe
Both can take a life
And can leave you scarred
Multiply, I can fly
Though I don’t have wings
Stronger than a king
I control all things
Ruling from beyond

I’d like to play a game
Can you guess my name?
I promise to give clues
Though they may confuse you
I’m more precious than gold
I can’t be bought or sold
Can’t be earned or saved
You spend me anyway

I can be a friend
And an enemy
Your first enemy, a prime 
To fight me is a sin
You know I always win
I sentence every crime
I can heal all wounds I’m real
I’m harmless, but I kill
Can you win the game?
Do you know my name?
Guess you’re out of…

Enigma

This song was written for the Songspark Songwriting group. For more info on Song Spark, visit www.facebook.com/groups/songsparkcc/about/

The August Song Spark challenge was to write a song using an antonym title.  Try to have the lyrics tie back to the title as best as you can. Extra credit: include some strong imagery that tells a story where you can.
#songsparkaugust2018

“Fight or Flight” is a song I wrote for my daughter.  She was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope and is prone to fainting spells and seizures.  They are physically harmless, but disruptive and exhausting.  They can be very scary and have led her to panic attacks.  Some people have an elevated “fight or flight” response, which is the physiological reaction that occurs when we sense an impending harmful event, attack, or threat to survival.  I interviewed my daughter and she explained many of the sensations experienced during an episode.  The song has some very dark moments, but it is also about hope.  There are several coping/calming methods my daughter uses to lessen the symptoms of this reaction. They help “bring her back” from an event.  I thought this would be a good subject for the antonym title/story assignment – and hope it may also help to spread some awareness of this condition.  My daughter - is my hero!

This song was written and recorded using a Behringer X2222 stereo USB mixer and Apple Camera Connection kit (for the drums), iPad mini4, iRig PRO I/O, Marshall MXL 770 condenser microphone, Yamaha maple custom drum set, Ibanez bass guitar, Washburn acoustic guitar, Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, and a Fender Squire Strat, via iOS and Mac GarageBand.

Below are the lyrics:
Dry mouth
I struggle to speak
Heavy with sweat
It gets harder to breathe

Can’t move
The room starts to spin
My heart palpitates 
The panic sets in

Senses overload I lose control again (and again)
Never knowing how or why or where or when
My fight or flight kicks in

Stay calm, slow down
It will pass again
4 in, 6 out
Breathe and count to ten

Shaking
Can’t feel my hands
The legs go numb
I’m too weak to stand

Fading
I reach for the wall
I see little black dots
I feel myself fall

Senses overload I lose control again (and again)
Never knowing how or why or where or when
My fight or flight kicks in

Stay calm, slow down
It will pass again
4 in, 6 out
Breathe and count to ten
Be brave, I’m safe
Like I’ve always been

Fight or Flight

This song was written for the Songspark Songwriting group. For more info on Song Spark, visit www.facebook.com/groups/songsparkcc/about/

#songsparkjune2019

“The Break the Mold Challenge”
Experiment with form in your song.  Do something wild that doesn't seem right.  Maybe your song has two different choruses or three bridges.  Maybe your song doesn't have a chorus at all.  Maybe your song is through-composed and doesn't have any distinct sections.  Maybe your song has sections you have no name for.  Optional add-on: get the song title from somebody you know and start writing from there.

This song was written and recorded using a Behringer X2222 stereo USB mixer and Apple Camera Connection kit (for the drums), iPad mini4, iRig PRO I/O, Marshall MXL 770 condenser microphone, Yamaha maple custom drum set, Ibanez bass guitar, Washburn acoustic guitar, Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, G&L ASAT Tribute Semi-Hollow Bluesboy, and a G&L Legacy Fullerton, via iOS and Mac GarageBand.

Below are the lyrics:

VERSE 1
The dim light of candles 
The smell of wet paint
Recalling past birthdays...
As he digs through the clay
The heart worms entwine
The beatings pass time

VERSE 2
Clumps of hair begin to fall 
Her bones break like glass
She tries to close her eyes,
Steel wool in her lashes
Her tongue crawls with spiders
There’s something inside her

MINI CHORUS
No matter what you do
I always follow you
I’m happy to

VERSE 3
They long to taste the air again 
Blood thicker than soup
They’re bathing in the darkness,
And chewing on soap
They roll on their backs
They cover their tracks
They lick their wounds clean
Whatever that means

EXT CHORUS
No matter what you do
I always follow you
I’m happy to
No matter what you say
I’m loyal anyway
No matter where you go
I would sell my soul
Always do as I’m told yeah
Good boy...
Good girl...
Goodbye...
Cruel world...

Dog Life

Chicago-area music teacher and member of the Song Spark songwriting group. This account is to be used solely for publishing song demos and other music studio related content.

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