High School 'Music Production' enrichment class. Teens performed and I recorded on an iPhone. Mixing was done with Logic Pro software.

I Like 'Em Chunky

A large portion of this tune was created using voices of elementary/middle school kids, back in 2006. The voices and some other found-sound recordings were recorded on a school hike in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Subsequently, the recordings were edited and applied to an electronica oriented piece realized in the classroom. The school program was residential and catered to emotionally disturbed boys.

Tiny Little Black Dot

Basically a Classroom jam that took place during the Anthrax scare back in 2001. You can hear a radio overdub with the usual media frenzy we've become accustomed to. It began with a drum circle and my students just started plugging in. I mostly play electric guitar. The title is borrowed from a statement one of my students blurted when he walked through the door mid-jam. He was just let out of Mountview or Lookout Mt. correctional facility and found himself at our impromptu celebration.

THE NEW, THE BEST

BOOT CAMP DOESN'T WORK

I worked on this song, one on one with a student, while teaching at a DayTx facility in Lakewood 20 years ago. The 15-16 year old girl that wrote this one, ended up in jail for murder. She even offed a friend of a friend, ninja style. Unbelievable back story on this kid - kidnapping, Chinese mafia etc. This tune, as it turned out, is about one of her multiple personalities. Chilling.

TWIN SISTERS

Last year, I was hired, by Swallow Hill to run drum circles @ an alternative high school in downtown Denver. However, I soon ran out of fun drumming activities - tough crowd. Flying under the radar, I started bringing in recording gear and electro instruments and he students responded slightly better to the change in direction. After cajoling a kid to show up after a lengthy absence, we completed our first class song on the final day of school. He wrote the lyrics and laid it down within 20 minutes. The music features the use of a Moog Theremini.  Admin liked what I was doing, so they hired me back for '19/'20.

Steady on a Mission

At this point, I had a student formed rock 'n' roll band practicing and recording throughout the day. I remember recording the drums, during a lunch break, while kids sat around eating ramen and 'Little Juan' burritos. This tune features a couple 15 yr. old girls. Ebony played guitar and Cassie sang. I can't remember who played what else, but I did play drums. Cassie had recently been booted out of Columbine high school, just prior to the shootings, and I believe the lyrics refer to a classmate there.

Different Way

I had just gotten a grant for a bunch of studio gear for my classroom in 1999. One of my students really pushed for the stuff and put a face to the need. He really helped me get started. After writing the tune, we collaborated on figuring out the studio set up. This is one of the first songs finished for what became a 3 year project. I played all the instruments and he provided the message-rap.

E.W.S.N.

I guess you could call this a shout-out to all our Autistic brothers & sisters. The 16 yr. old who created this composition was labeled "autistic" before attending my class. He had an interesting appearance - kind of a cross between The Hulk & Shrek. No, he wasn't green. Always scowling and silent, you didn't want to mess with him. Big dude. However, he did seem most comfortable being around music. While we rehearsed our little school rock band, he would sit and watch. One day, the bass player was absent and I asked him if he'd like to fill in. He did and could play everything perfectly. Zero mistakes - phenomenal. So, he ended up as our bassist for some upcoming shows. One day, he approached me after rehearsal about recording his own music.  I gave him the go ahead and 'Monga' is what he came up with. He played all the instruments, performed the vocals and engineered/produced the thing - all in a hurried frenzy. I have no idea why the music has an invented, quasi-Japanese sound to it.  Fast forward: Not long after this was recorded, he re-entered high school after a successful band audition and ended up graduating somewhere in Jefferson County. He 'lettered' as the bass player in the jazz band and I think a brass player in the marching band.

FILM MUSIC

MONGA

"Why' is a song written by a 14 yr. old girl named Christina. It was part of an EP that I put together for her. Another one-on-one collaboration, 'Why' is one of 3 tunes that were packaged together. There was a paean to the Eurythmics and a tight Little Rock/country song as well. Sadly, I lost track of those. Does anyone from the old days still have that EP? Besides the vocals, Christina plays keys and I played everything else. The lyrics refer to an abusive relationship. Although creating this music was obviously therapeutic, she took a downward spiral into depression. We barely finished the project. Someone told me not long after her tenure at my school, she jumped out of a girls group home 3rd story window and things didn't go well after that. Talented kid.

'Dream Girl" was fully realized by a 16-17 yr old boy. You can file this one under "Kid's Say the Darnedest Things" - funny stuff. Jeremiah was very involved with the classroom studio I had in Lakewood. He contributed mightily on many of the recordings at the time. A natural drummer, he would typically start recordings with the kit, layering up as he learned to play other instruments. He was listening to gangsta rap and artists like 'Brotha Lynch Hung' at the time.  Those influences weren't going to fly with admin, so all of his work got tossed.  I remember receiving a lot of flak for those recordings. So anyway, this tune reflects a budding artist being told what to do. That happens, as many of my songwriting friends know full well. I think I played the cliche rhythm guitar part and he did the rest - including all the engineering. He did a good job putting this thing together, me thinks. He also had a bevy of peers to work with at the time and ended up with backup singers and a lot of support, in general. The tune got submitted to KUSA for some sort of teacher recognition contest. I won. The award was for 'art-inclusion in the classroom' or something along those lines. I remember waiting in the wings at the Jeffco Fairgrounds as Kim Christiansen rambled on. She eventually called out my name and I entered stage-left. As I approached her, she continued to blather away and stuck out her arm with my award in hand. I continued my approach towards the mic, but was signaled to turn around and leave the stage. No acceptance speech. So, I left the venue, got in my car and went home. Less than a month later the school closed, ending my classroom studio experiment. Most of the gear was donated to a church that moved into the building. By then, I was long gone.

DREAM GIRL

This one was an experiment I conducted in collaboration with the sax player on 'My Life'. I believe he had just graduated from South high school. We were asked to engage with a kindergarten class out in Parker, CO. An improvisation ensued between Saxophone, keyboards and a roomful of 5 yr. olds playing drum  
kit and various other percussion instruments. I'm pretty sure we were hired to do something else, but the jam started to happen, and we rolled with it. Later at home, I added electric bass to glue it together. If you're not familiar with free jazz, tilt your head to the left and squint your right eye while listening. If you make it to the middle of the tune, that's when it gets really interesting imo.

Einstein Ramirez

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