Lost In The Fray

I''ve just finished writing my latest ep. Yes, Justin DLC, I really do write this quickly. No, the songs aren't that amazing to begin with. Yes, I am my own biggest critic.

Lost In The Fray ep

Track Listing:

1. Against the Current
2. Keep On Keeping On
3. Pride
4. The Fall
   

I had a little bit of time on Thursday, and I managed to get the first and third tracks recorded. Hopefully I can finish up and you can have it on your iPod by next week. I'll tell you more about it when it is finished.

Them Reds! ep

Them Reds! is the first ep I finished after moving up here. The songs themselves came quickly, and the recording did as well. On the production side, I played around with a couple of different ideas here. The first song, TV Land, is an ode to the June Cleavers and the Lucille Balls of yesteryear. I really, really want to shoot a video for this one, and probably will in the near future. On the second track, I experimented a lot with looping and effecting my voice and the guitar. Not the most interesting piece I've ever written, but I'm working on a strict record everything now or you'll be sorry you forgot something later policy. The song is about someone I know whose life seemed to have a lot of references and run-in's with Joe McCarthy. I know that it is not really historically accurate, but that's not the point, is it? The last track was recorded by miking the guitar and it got this really great tone off of my Yamaha. This is another one I want to make a video for. I have both concepts right there, I just need someone with a camera to help me out. I think I know just who to bother...

As always, enjoy the music. A full album next week, I promise. Also, there will be a chance for you to get involved with helping me out with some inner album art should it so please you.

http://sites.google.com/site/anagentofchangemusic/BrooklynSessions

them reds! ep (2008, Brooklyn Sessions)

1. TV Land

2. McCarthy

3. Change My Life

P.S. The art for this is rectangular because I came up with a cool cardstock sleeve to put the disk in instead of the usual jewel case.

Socrates Eats Hemlock

Socrates Eats Hemlock is one of the first eps I wrote and commited to tape after moving up here to Brooklyn. I wrote the three songs that make up the ep in a matter of a few hours, and recorded them in the same evening, and because of this, these recordings are quite frankly the most honest and direct I think I have been in my songwriting in a long time. I write everything on my acoustic, and by the time it makes it through the recording process it rarely sounds like it did originally. Sometimes, it seems that it is best for the music to just get it out, record it in its infancy, and capture it raw. That's what I did here.

These recordings are the first in which I circumvented my DI line, forgot about layering effects, multi-instruments, etc. and just let the simplicity of the acoustic and vocals do the work. These are simply one guitar, me, and a microphone. Another unique quality of these recordings, besides the speed with which I wrote and captured them, is that save for one song, I got them all in a single take. The second track has a second guitar on it playing the arpeggio in reverse, thus the cool left to right effect in the speakers. I left the editing to a minimum (sound adjustments) and left in all of the imperfections, pops, squeeks, and even, hidden somewhere in there, a briefly incorrect chord change.

I hope you enjoy the music. There is much more to come. Please take the time to comment on this blog if you download, so I can try and keep track of what is out there. Thanks.

http://sites.google.com/site/anagentofchangemusic/BrooklynSessions

Socrates Eats Hemlock ep (2008, Brooklyn Sessions)

1. Drunk Homesick Blues

2. Socrates Eats Hemlock

3. Life Vest

4. Drunk Homesick Blues (Alternate Take)

P.S. The name Socrates Eats Hemlock is from a painting in a book in the art section at Borders Bookstore. Put that in your trivia hat.

P.P.S Sorry about all the commas, I'm not it the editing mood.

Roots Grow Deeper

I've just finished writing my most recent ep, Roots Grow Deeper.

Photograph by Stephanie Long Campbell

The track listing:

1. Water

2. Blood is Thicker Than Oil

3. Doubting Thomas

4. Deathbed Reconciliation

5. Roots

The Brooklyn Sessions

Since Steph and I moved to Brooklyn last summer, I've had what you might call an explosion of musical ideas. I've been listening to a lot of new music and trying to push the limits of my songwriting both musically and lyrically. I've created concept albums, short eps, long players, soundtracked a short film, and experimented with new instruments, recording techniques, and album art/packaging.

So, what does this mean for you?

Well, in the spirit of sharing, I want to share it all with you. Now, before you get too excited, let me lay it all out there. Not everything is done being recorded, but as I finish each entire album or ep I will post links to the art and music files here. For free. Sharing is caring, etc..

So far the sessions have been broken into two parts:

The Brooklyn Sessions, Part I
July - December 2008:

Broken Land
Broken Land [Storyteller Version]
Them Reds! ep
Gee ep
Whiz ep
Music For A Film
Lightning Teeth
Leper
Socrates Eats Hemlock
Busking

The Brooklyn Sessions, Part II
January - Present 2009:
Sick Days
Metrocard: Fourteen Narratives Concerning New York City Transit
The Empire Burns White
Roots Grow Deeper ep
Grand Old Time
Lost In The Fray
Dead Pan Piano