A long-lost Grinstead tune that was never finished, re-mixed as much as humanly possible.  This is roughly eight years old, so it's a huge trip to be able to hear it in listenable form.

This one is one of Jimmy's if I'm not mistaken.  It's fairly linear, but we were really beginning to focus our sound and show some restrain, so it's interesting to ponder where the band could have headed if we'd maintained that direction.

My main contribution to this tune is the little harmonized, off-time riff in the pre-chorus.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but listening to it now I wonder where that came from.  

I'm also not much of a singer, but Jim really drilled me and Nick into getting the back-up vocals right.  

Grinstead - Character Sketch

This is the demo EP for the last band I was in, Stagecoach Inferno.  It's western-themed power metal/traditional heavy metal.  This was self-produced, so it sounds pretty raw, but it definitely captures the energy of the band pretty well.

I wanted to get this uploaded and share it because I think there's good guitar work in here.  My co-guitarist Brennan and I split solo duties; he did the bluesier, more laid-back solos and I did the shred stuff.  I worked hard on trying to do catchy, memorable solos that were still pretty technical.  My only regret is not having done overdubs on rhythm guitars.  I don't know how we let that slip.

I'm still really proud of these songs and my time with Stagecoach.  We had a damn good time and I absolutely loved performing live with this band.  Stagecoach is still going strong, and I definitely look back on my tenure fondly.

Stagecoach Inferno

Intro

Shootout!

Black Blizzard

The first of hopefully many original tracks I will be posting to this playlist.  Just the kind of music I enjoy writing:  hard-hitting but melodic, with lots of technical soloing and riffing.

I used the following gear and software in the recording of this track.  Hit me up if you want to talk about presets and settings!

- Les Paul Standard (rhythm guitars)
- Jackson Rhoads (leads)
- Squire five string bass
- M-Audio Pro interface
- Reaper DAW
- EZ Drummer w/Metal Machine extension
- Lepou LE456 amp sim
- NadIR impulse loader w/catharsis fredman impulse
- TSE B.O.D. & 808 plugins.

An Uncertain March

I'm a huge fan of backing tracks.  They're a fun and effective way to learn your scales, develop licks and overall get better at improvisation.

There's a million backing tracks available out there, but I find it difficult to find one that catches my ear so I started making my own.  Like most metal guitarists, my ear gravitates towards minor keys, and C Aeolian is a scale I seem to default to a lot when I'm writing something new.  Hope you enjoy.  Feel free to download it, make a YouTube video with it, whatever.  Just get shredding!

C Aeolian Backing Track

This was supposed to be the last track for Grinstead's third release that unfortunately never saw the light of day.  I think this is one of the best songs I've ever been a part of.  The original idea was mine, but the slower half we added as a band then Nick and Jimmy did vocals and lyrics.  I just think it turned out great- I'm very proud of it.  It has a youthful energy that really encapsulates that point and time for us.

It sounds really good even though it is self-recorded and largely unmixed.  There are some keyboard bits at the end, but the "oooooooohs" and "aaaaaaaahs" are all us, singing.  I remember spending over an hour tracking my vocal part and getting really mad at Jimmy because he wanted it to be just perfect.  I'm glad he drilled us.  It paid off.

Grinstead - Seven Years

My second attempt at producing my original tracks.  I was going for something brief and epic, kind of like an intro track.  Sounds a bit better than An Uncertain March, so I decided to upload it to chart my progress.  All guitars, bass and drum programming by yours truly.

Recorded using the following:

Les Paul Standard (rhythm guitars).
Jackson Rhoads (lead guitars).
Squire five string bass.
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface.
EZ Drummer 2 (metal machine expansion)
EZ Mix 2.
REAPER DAW.

Waking Giant

I just found this mostly completed idea for a song, lounging around in my music collection. Very Swedish sounding, inspired by Colony-era In Flames.  It's obviously a rough demo, as evidenced in the overall lack of clarity and volume spikes.  I didn't even use an interface; I just plugged my Behringer V-Amp 2 straight into my sound card, and programmed some very simple drums.

Sorry, no shred!  :(  Didn't get to that part.  I may re-visit this though.  I really like the clean interlude at the end.  

Jesper My Björn.

Hello and welcome to my SoundCloud page.  Here I will upload completed songs, ideas, shameless wankery, or just whatever I feel like doing!

Zeroaddone