Category: Rock and/or Roll

Hammer on Wood

This song started as a seed of an idea about 4:30 this afternoon. Just the first two lines. Seven hours later the writing, recording, and mixing are done. There’s something about working quickly that releases you from the fear of perfection and the danger of over-thinking. Right now I’m digging the loose “Inside Me Wants Out” vibe. (Andy Pratt) We’ll see if I still feel that way tomorrow morning.

Stop checking your phone.
No one’s gonna call anymore.
You know you’re alone
when no one answers when you’re talking to yourself.

But what would you say?
You got what you deserve anyway.
You got what you gave:
an empty heart and an early bed (or early grave).

You took what you could;
packed your memories–some of them good.
Like hammer on wood it’s ringing
true and loud and hollow.

Stop checking your mail;
that endless binary sea but nobody’s there.
You pull in your sails.
You drift away, just drift away,

just close your eyes,
just close your eyes. This is your life.
Is this your life?
Or has it all been dreaming?

Have I been awake?
Or have I been sleeping?
Awake, asleep:
Always dreaming.

Stop checking your phone.
No one’s gonna call anymore.
You know you’re alone.
You know you’re alone.

FAWM 2016 Rock and/or Roll

Break Your Heart

If you keep up with this blog–and really, why wouldn’t you?–you know I committed to FAWM this year. (February Album Writing Month; 14 songs in 28 days.)

Seoul vocal booth

On day 28 I realized that I had one more song to finish. (I did not realize it was a leap year, which would have given me an extra day.) The problem was that I was in Seoul, Korea, at a conference. I had tracks for a song, but no lyrics. So I sat down in one of the sessions and ignored the speaker the best I could while working on finishing words for the song. Then I found a quiet conference room at the end of a long hallway where I recorded the vocals in one take and uploaded the song to FAWM with 1% of my battery charge remaining. Welcome to the exciting, do or die life of songwriting.

This is part of my ongoing obsession with writing neo 80s songs. It is perhaps not my finest moment as a lyricist or mixer, but I like the basic idea enough that I may revisit it at some point.

Forever, for never? For pleasure, for pain?
For whom is the balance tipping, and which way?
If we knew then what we know now,
would we have both just walked away?

I never would have hurt you if we never let it start.
We were safe until we let it go that far.
Wounds that heal together or histories told in scars.
How can it be love if it doesn’t break your heart?

Soulmate or playmate or something in between?
Who knows who we will turn out to be?
Lover or mother or a little bit of both?
Until we jump in, full skin, we will never know.

Waiting for charity–Ubi caritas–
paralyzed between the science and the art.
If we wait on charity we’ll wait until death do us part. [We’re doomed from the start.]
How can it be love if it doesn’t break your heart?

N.b. You’ll notice a discrepancy between the lyrics above and the recorded vocal track. When I went to record the song I realized to my dismay that the verse wasn’t double couplets. I quickly cut and edited to make it fit.

FAWM 2016 Quirky Rock and/or Roll

Banana Hook

The other day I was shopping for some kitchen stuff when I came across a banana hook. These things are awesome, because they let you hang your bananas to ripen like they do in their natural habitat, resulting in perfect, evenly ripened bananas.

My enthusiasm soon turned into song.

My first impulse was to make it a lounge lizard song extolling the virtues of various kitchen tools, from the point of view of a guy who thinks it would impress the ladies. But it soon morphed into a joyous surf rock romp. I especially love how the lyrics feel slightly naughty, as if there’s a double entendre. (There’s not.)

I’ve got a banana hook,
and I know how to use it.
Baby, won’t you take a look,
take a look at me?

‘Cause with my banana hook,
and the way I use it,
I ripen my bananas
so evenly.

FAWM 2016 Rock and/or Roll

Stop Feeling Sorry for Yourself

Post author By Greg Scheer
Post date February 5, 2016
No Comments on Stop Feeling Sorry for Yourself

One of the great things about FAWM (February Album Writing Month; http://fawm.org/) is that encourages you to just write. You’ve got to write fast enough (14 songs in 28 days) that you can’t second guess yourself. (Is this a great idea, or merely good? Will this come across as melodramatic? Is this my style? Etc.) The looming deadline encourages you to experiment and risk failure.

Which brings us to today’s post. One part Michael Bublé, two parts Barry Manilow, and all sad, it’s not my typical fare. That’s alright. It’s February Album Writing Month.

(Special thanks to Maria Poppen for laying down the heart-wrenching violin tracks.)

Quiet as midnight in your little home
A table for two for a party of one.
You’re still not sure where it all went wrong
All you know is you’re alone.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself.
‘Cause you can’t stop this at all.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

Can’t stop the rain from coming down.
Can’t stop the dirt turning to mud
Can’t stop the pain from soaking into your soul.
Can’t stop thinking about love (but you can)

Stop feeling sorry for yourself.
‘Cause you can’t stop this at all.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

Rock and/or Roll

Heimweh

You may know that I’m writing my second book. With a due date of October 5 (my birthday, in case you’re wondering), I’m spending long stretches of time alone, focused on writing and editing while everyone else frolics outside my window (metaphorically). It reminded me of a song I wrote in 1988 when I was two months into a year of study in Salzburg, Austria. “Heimweh” means “homesick” in German. It’s a song about being alone and far away, wondering how things are changing while you’re away. Writing a book feels a lot like that right about now.

It seems a dream; has it been days or years?
One day I’ll leave, and I’ll come back to you.

<a href="http://gregscheer.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-hand-of">From the Hand of… by Greg Scheer</a>

The song was recorded in 1993 on an album called “from the hand of…” The mixing leaves a lot to be desired, but the songs still hold up. I think you should listen to the whole album.

Church Congregational Songs Psalms Rock and/or Roll

Psalm 149 at Cardiphonia

Update 3/12/22: Sheet music for this song is now available at gregscheer.com.

Exactly one year and a day after its premiere at Church of the Servant, “Psalm 149: Let God’s People Sing a New Song” is appearing on the latest Cardiphonia release.

<a href="http://psalms.bandcamp.com/album/psalms-135-150-volume-one">Psalms 135-150 (Volume One) by Greg Scheer</a>

Bruce Benedict and the Cardiphonia gang are taking on the ambitious goal of producing a series of albums that cover the whole Psalter. This time around they are tackling Psalms 135-150 in a two volume collection. I contributed two songs, the first of which is a setting of Psalm 149, “Let’s God’s People Sing a New Song.” My goal was to make the recording sound like something by Polyphonic Spree. I don’t know that I achieved that, but it’s certainly more epic than my usual fare. Here are the fine folks who helped me bring on the epic:

Joel Klamer, alto saxophone and trumpet
Becca Klamer, harpsichord and backing vocals
Kurt Schafer, accordion
Cal Stapert, recorder
Johnny Simmons, drums
Sarah Bratt, Lis Hatfield, Erin De Young, Marie Bloem, Sine Nomine String Quartet

Art Music Demos Live Rock and/or Roll

All Hallow’s Eve, Sine Nomine Quartet

Post author By Greg Scheer
Post date June 17, 2015
No Comments on All Hallow’s Eve, Sine Nomine Quartet

Last year I wrote a song cycle called One Long Year. This year, I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m going to do with it, if anything. This month, I’m recording my setting of Psalm 149 for a new Cardiphonia compilation. Today I had a string quartet scheduled to add some tracks to that project.

But you know me: if I have a string quartet showing up to record, how can I resist writing something new and non-obligatory for the occasion? So instead of the many things I should have been doing today, I felt compelled to write a string quartet arrangement of “All Hallow’s Eve” from One Long Year . This recording is the second take and third time they’d ever played the piece. Pretty good, I say.

By the way, the quartet has never really settled on a name for themselves. I hereby dub them the Sine Nomine Quartet–the No Name Four.

Rock and/or Roll

Over Oceans

It’s been far too long since I’ve updated my blog. The sad fact is that I’ve been busy working rather than writing music. (The indignities I suffer in order to feed my family!)

I shouldn’t complain too much. Part of my work was two weeks in Indonesia. En route to Indonesia, a little ditty popped into my head, so I opened up my computer, fired up Logic Pro, and entered it using the laptop’s keyboard. I forgot about it until a few days ago when I was archiving old files. A little gussying up and–voila!–a radiant little bon bon of electronica I call “Over Oceans.”

Art Music Demos Rock and/or Roll

Deep Calls to Deep

greg_precision After Easter, I often feel the need to shun my to do list, taking a little time for renewal and creation. (Hence the term, “recreation.”) This Eastertide it took the form of an idea for bass that came to me last week.

I had just gotten some work done on my trusty Fender Precision bass down at North Coast Guitar Co, and it was feeling great. That always leads to new musical ideas. The ideas kept swirling around in my head and finally came to full fruition this afternoon in the form of “Deep Calls to Deep.”

Because the whole recording is just bass, my boys and I were trying to think of good names for the song. “All About the Bass” is already taken. “Big Bottom”–also taken. I decided to take the high road with a phrase pulled from Psalm 42.

Demos Rock and/or Roll

Rock Riff

Before the rest of the staff arrived this morning, I was trying out my ESP Strat copy, making sure it was ready to sell.

It is. In fact, it’s sounding fine and has all the characteristic bite you’d expect from a Strat. Then I got carried away and began riffing with different settings on the amp and pick up. Voila! A 39 second rock and roll bon bon: MP3

(Did I mention that I’m selling the guitar on this recording?)