Just kidding...
December 28, 2010 - New mp3! - "Old Kermit Cowboys" (5:15, 6 mB). For my father. Kermit is a treeless town in West Texas where my grandfather ran a grocery store for a few years. My mom still has the old 8mm films of a freckle-faced kid doing amazing tricks on the back of a paint pony. John and Gene Haley are the progeny of author J. Evetts Haley, who ran a ranch outside of town.
The recording is simple voice and piano, more-or-less live in the home studio, only went back and corrected a couple of measures. May add some counter-melody with strings later, but I like it as it is.
- More recently posted mp3's -
- December 19 - "Start it Out Here in Bethlehem" (5:55, 4.1 mB) - a preliminary rough sketch of my one and only Christmas song, recorded December 2005.
- "Speak Forgiveness" (shortened version) (4:16, 4.9 mB) Cut from the longer version below.
- "Speak Forgiveness" (Long version (6:44, 7.7 mB). Much improved over a version I had posted here on the site before.
- "As We Bow Down" (5:33, 6.4 mB) Here's a preview, still needs work.
- "Empty Air" (4:23, 5 mB). A little bit country. My best Garage Band work so far, I think.
- "Bullfrog, You Don't Know" (4:54, 5.6 mB). Swamp boogie blues.
Here's a start on some of the songs in a form that you can actually hear the music. After pulling the plug for a couple of weeks in 2007, I decided to take another listen and post them back with my own self-critiques, just so you don't think that I think what's posted here are the greatest things you ever heard. These don't necessarily include the best songs I've written and certainly aren't professional recordings; just some tracks I've found the time to record as I worked on songs evenings or weekends.
These are HOME studio recordings that so far are just one-shot, single track "live" recordings (except for the Garage Band tracks), so the vocal/instrument balance isn't always quite right and hard to adjust, since everything's on one track. I'll backtrack and record some multi-track stuff when I find time ... "real soon now." I've recently obtained some new equipment and software that should help future recordings. The "Live Dec. 2005"" tracks were recorded on a Tascam Portastudio at South Texas Coffee Company (more coming when I get them checked out and uploaded).
| TITLE |
FILES |
Notes |
Self-Critique |
| A Child of Yours |
Download the MP3 (3:24, 1.9MB) |
(Home Studio June-04) |
One of the best recordings here, but I know, the piano part (many of my piano parts) needs work to play less of the melody. |
| Before the Day is Done |
Download the MP3 (2:16, 1.3MB) |
(Home Studio Jan-04) |
Sound is good, but again, I haven't spent much time on the piano as accompaniment instead of just playing the melody. |
| Clap Your Hands and Sing |
Download the MP3 (2:54, 1.6MB) |
(Home Studio Mar-04) |
Ok, vocals not as good as they could be; a little rushed although this needs a quick tempo. |
| Freeway Song (Lord, Save Me) |
Download the MP3 (4:09, 2.9MB) |
(Live Performance Dec-2005) |
Ah, come on! This is a FUN song to either play or listen to. You'll have to forgive a couple of minor keyboard bobbles at the beginning, but not bad for just pushing "Record" at a live performance. |
| Get in the Flow |
Download the MP3 (2:19, 1.3MB) |
(Acoustic piano to tape Nov-03) |
Sounds like a "live" cut sitting at the piano singing into a little single-track karaoke/tape machine - oh, wait, it was. Get in the flue? |
| Grace, the Grace |
Download the MP3 (3:22, 1.9MB)
| (Home Studio June-04) |
Yeah, right-when I try to sing too "pretty" - it often ain't. I love this song, but that doesn't mean I'm the best person to sing it. |
| Halle-Hallelujah! |
Download the MP3 (2:12, 1.3MB) |
(Home Studio?) |
Ugh! I can do better! But here it is, just as a ROUGH idea of what the song sounds like, since it's one of the songs I've got the sheet music on sale for. I promise a better cut to come when I can get to it. |
| How Much More |
Download the MP3 (3:00, 1.7MB) |
(Home Studio Jan-04) |
A little rushed, but I think the sound came out OK. |
| In the Presence of God |
Download the MP3 (1:46, 1MB) |
(Home Studio Nov-03) |
Hey! OK, THIS is one of my better recordings here. |
| Jesus Will Speak of Me |
Download the MP3 (2:50, 1.6MB) |
(Home Studio Jan-04) |
One of my Kermit-the-Frog days - with Miss Piggy standing on his toe! This song deserves better. |
| Little Man |
Download the MP3 (4:02, 2.3MB) |
(Home Studio Mar-04) |
A few ragged spots, but overall not a bad recording of another FUN song. |
| Lord, Set My Spirit Free |
Download the MP3 (1:33, 0.9MB) |
(Home Studio Nov-03) |
This is a decent recording of a nice little song. |
| Me and the Lord |
Download the MP3 (2:56, 1.6MB) |
(Home Studio Jan-04) |
The piano came out good except that one blurb near the end; vocals sound too much like - ME! |
| Morning Thanks Song (This is Your Day) |
Download the MP3 (1:32, 0.9MB) |
(Home Studio Nov-03) |
Kermit the Frog is a freakin BA-ZILLIONAIRE! SO THERE! |
| Root Out the Planting |
Download the MP3 (2:30, 1.4MB) |
(Home Studio Nov-03) |
Vocals start out a bit muddy, but it gets better. |
| Speak Forgiveness (Long version) |
Download the MP3 (6:44, 7.7MB) |
(Home Studio Sept. 10) |
A NEW Garage Band recording, much improved over the previous version I had here. |
| Speak Forgiveness (shortened version) |
Download the MP3 (4:16, 4.9MB) |
(Home Studio Sept. 10) |
Cut from the longer version above, shortened intro and without the verse repeated. |
| Start it Out Here in Bethlehem |
Download the MP3 (5:55, 4.1MB) |
(Home Studio Dec. 2005) |
My one and only Christmas song - but not only about Christ's birth, but His whole life and relationship with us. Not a great recording - I'd consider it only a preliminary rough sketch of the song. |
| Tabernacle |
Download the MP3 (7:28, 5.1MB) |
(Live Performance Dec-2005) |
Ok recording for a live performance, but this a song I need to spend some serious time getting the "studio" orchestration worked out on. |
| When My Heart Hears You |
Download the MP3 (2:00, 1.1MB) |
(Home Studio Nov-03) |
Vocals are a bit lacking, and I think I tried cutting and pasting some parts in Sound Studio that didn't come out too smooth. |
| TITLE |
FILES |
Notes |
Self-Critique |
| About You Blue |
Download the MP3 (3:38, 2MB) |
(Home Studio Jan-04) |
Very rushed! Needs a slower, bluesier feel. |
| Beulah Lynn |
Download the MP3 (7:15, 8.3MB) |
(Home Studio March-10) |
This is pretty much what I sound like "live;" I had the tape running on the Tascam during a practice session, thought it sounded pretty good, so I pulled it onto the Mac and tweaked it a tiny amount in Sound Studio. |
| Bullfrog, You Don't Know |
Download the MP3 (4:54, 5.6MB) |
(Home Studio August-10) |
This is what came together on two pretty quick evening Garage Band sessions. Still not perfect, but I think you'll like the song. The lyrics show the kind of backwaters my mind wanders to on the morning commute. |
| Empty Air |
Download the MP3 (4:23, 5MB) |
(Home Studio Sept-10) |
I think this is my best home studio work so far. I'm starting to learn my way around Apple's Garage Band a little more. It came out a little less country than I originally envisioned, but I think what I ended up with fits the song quite well. I like it! |
| Dog Go Howl |
Download the MP3 (4:53, 2.8MB) |
(Home Studio Jan-04) |
Ok, but I think I can sound a little better on this song now. No soul comes through in this cut. |
| Google My Name
|
Download the MP3 (2:42, 2.5MB) |
(Garage Band Oct-09) |
First cut in Garage Band when the song was hours old, so after I play it awhile it may change some. Not perfect - there's those vocals sounding too much like - me - again, but not bad considering I haven't done much in Garage Band, and what I have done was months ago. |
| Have You Got a Piano
|
Download the MP3 (2:10, 1.2MB) |
(Rough First Cut June-04) |
Not bad for a "rough first cut;" I think this song was barely an hour old when I sat down and recorded it. Actually recorded a much longer version; these are the good parts spliced together in Sound Studio. |
| If You Were Not the One |
Download the MP3 (4:34, 2.6MB) |
(Home Studio Jan-04) |
Sounds like I tried to sing too sweet for the song. OK, but needs to be redone with a little more edge - and without the little mistakes on the piano! |
| Old Kermit Cowboys |
Download the MP3 (5:15, 6 MB) |
(Garage Band Dec-2010)
| For my father. Kermit is a treeless town in West Texas where my grandfather ran a grocery store for a few years. My mom still has the old 8mm films of a freckle-faced kid doing amazing tricks on the back of a paint pony. John and Gene Haley are the progeny of author J. Evetts Haley, who ran a ranch outside of town. The recording is simple voice and piano, more-or-less live in the home studio, only went back and corrected a couple of measures. May add some counter-melody with strings later, but I like it as it is. |
| Walkin' the Dog (Alligator Song) |
Download the MP3 (2:24, 1.3MB) |
(Home Studio Jan-04) |
This is another one of the times my tongue trips over the Texan in me and I sound too much like - ME! It's a fun song, anyway. |
| Won't You Come Drive With Me |
Download the MP3 (5:30, 6.3MB) |
(Garage Band Jan-08) |
My first completion of a whole song! in Garage Band! Could still use some improvements, mostly with my "bangin' and sangin'", but now I've got a multi-track baseline that I can go back and do that with! |