Categories
Rock and/or Roll

2013 Spring Cleaning: Louie Laughing at Me

When I lived in Salzburg, there was a street person named Louie who would often stop by to hear me play my guitar in the city square. He must have made quite an impression on me because he made it into two of my songs.

The first is a sympathetic–maybe even patronizing–description of Louie’s life on the street. In this second song, the roles are reversed. Instead of me pitying his life from my place of power and ease, in this one he presides over my trial to gain entrance into the after life. I await his verdict, but he can only laugh. The song is pretty much a transcription of a dream I had a few years after I returned from Salzburg.

I’m not sure why this has never made it onto any of my projects. It’s got all the hallmarks of great rock and roll: driving rhythm, a catchy chorus, shadowy figures gatekeeping the underworld, and whole tone scales. What do you think–will this ever be more than a B side?

MP3

Categories
Choir Church Congregational Songs Contests Live

We Are the Children of God, new recording

As I announced previously, I lost the Grandfather Home for Children song contest, even though my song was the best. (A fact that was lost on the judges.) But the kind subscriber who alerted me to the contest liked my song enough to include it in his own church’s worship. Here is Dean and his crew at Erwin Presbyterian Church, TN, singing “We Are the Children of God.”

It does my heart good to know the song has found a loving home. As a matter of fact, I’m glad to hear from anyone who uses my music. Feel free to let me know you’re using a song or send me a recording. That’s what this blog is all about!

Categories
Colin

What Did You Mean? new recording

Five years ago, I wrote a song with Colin Gordon-Farleigh called “What Did You Mean?” Now that little musical seed that we planted is bearing fruit. It was recorded at Song City Studios in Nashville with a whip crack group of musicians who seemed to enjoy digging with their tastiest jazz chops. Colin told them to give it the Norah Jones treatment, and they responded in spades: MP3

 

Categories
Art Music Quirky

2013 Spring Cleaning: Leave a Message

SEP020660More fun with creative phone messages! This time it’s me singing a two-part counterpoint message inviting people to leave a message: MP3

Categories
Art Music Choir Psalms

2013 Spring Cleaning: Den Armen (Pitt Women’s Chorale)

SEP020660You heard “Den Armen” in a previous spring cleaning post in its original form as part of a cantata for choir and organ. Later, I returned to this movement and turned it into an anthem for women’s choir and piano, ably sung by the University of Pittsburgh Women’s Chorale: MP3. (I also have a version for women, strings and harp if anyone’s interested.)

Categories
Congregational Songs Quirky

Again I Say Rejoice Again

I learned about Vine six second videos yesterday, and today started thinking about all the cool musical things that could be done with them. Problem: no iPhone. But on the way to Guitarchestra rehearsal this evening I began writing a 6 second worship song in my head in the hopes one of the players would have one. Sure enough, Jim Zoeteway is enough of a techie to have brought his. He downloaded the app during rehearsal and we learned and filmed the song at the end of the night. (“This kind of quality in that little time?” you say. Oh yes.)

Without further ado, I present to you the world’s first 6 second, infinitely repeatable worship song, played by the Church of the Servant Guitarchestra–sideways–and documented in a Vine video: https://vine.co/v/bPEaJTtH5hQ.

Categories
Art Music

2013 Spring Cleaning: Du Warst Lang Bei Mir

SEP020660In Bertolt Brecht’s Trommeln in der Nacht, there’s a touching scene in which a returning soldier’s wife explains why she eventually gave up hoping he was still alive. I decided that I needed to set it to music, and friends Karen Hopkins and Kathryn Chester were kind enough to sing and play it: MP3.

 

Categories
Quirky

2013 Spring Cleaning: bass harmonics phone message

SEP020660Back in the day (in this case, grad school at Pitt in the 90s), people had physical answering machines sitting next to their phones. This was one of the many inconveniences of living in pre-digital times. On the other hand, one could have lots of fun recording creative phone messages. Here’s one of me playing harmonics on the bass  and speaking in my mellowest phone message voice: MP3

Categories
Rock and/or Roll

2013 Spring Cleaning: A Number (bass)

SEP020660There’s a song on my 1993 release From the Hand of… called “A Number of Girls.” It’s got a smoking violin riff that you will eventually hear when I digitize it and upload to the blogoscheer. A few days ago, I came across this short excerpt of the riff that I recorded on multiple tracks of bass guitar: MP3

Categories
Quirky

2013 Spring Cleaning: Special Soap

Today we commence what has become an annual event at Greg’s music blog: spring cleaning. Usually I post music I’m currently working on, but for the next week or so I’ll be posting rediscovered treasures from the vaults.

We begin with a quirky little number I wrote for Amy. When we first got married, she used a fancy facial cleaner (what a man would call a bar of soap) religiously. She’d get all out of whack if she didn’t wash her face with it, because she was sure that she would break out with pimples, warts, and all manner of blemishes. She dubbed this magical beauty elixir Special Soap.

So I wrote and recorded an old school jingle for this much-loved beauty bar: MP3