coteriefiliation

lick the toad on labor day

2010-09-03T14:07:00.003-04:00

when kevin herrmann heard that i was attending the labor day lick the toad bash at rhinebeck's starr place on sunday evening, graciously asked me to play acoustic on a break during the gig. so i am on call and will do whatever asked, (within reason since it is kevin herrmann!)

thanks to kevin and lick the toad.

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no show

2010-08-01T11:41:00.004-04:00

was asked to open for the greyhounds last night in rosendale ny at market market cafe and had to cancel, jaw and head swollen with something called parotitis. still on pain killas and antibiotics, missed doing the show tremendously, hope to reschedule in the future.

thanks go out to stuart and the band, hope it was a good show last night.

1. the greyhounds

2. market market cafe

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market market cafe

2010-06-05T11:34:00.009-04:00

was asked to open for the greyhounds in july 31st in rosendale ny at market market cafe come on out and see a great roots rock and roll and and yours truly!

1. the greyhounds

2. market market cafe

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please don't let me be misunderstood *

2010-06-05T00:00:00.004-04:00

plan on doing an acoustic version of the old animals tune, "please don't let me be misunderstood", did it with my strat, champ and pa in the room today.

1. please don't let me be misunderstood
dana pelella

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hurtickles

2010-06-04T09:58:00.001-04:00

will play whistling willies with the hurtickles on wed. june 9th. we will be going on at 8 or a little after.

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update

2010-04-12T10:15:00.002-04:00

the showcase that ken bowles had scheduled for april 16th has been cancelled because of scheduling conflicts. a future event will be scheduled in the near future.

-all things dana
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showcase

2010-04-10T11:30:00.001-04:00

ken bowles is putting on a showcase in conjunction with the sugar loaf coffee and art company in sugar loaf ny.

the first event will be held at the coffee house on april 16th. so far, the artists on the roster, are myself and ken. there have been scheduling conflicts but at least one other artist will be attending.

-all things dana
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easier than a kazoo

2010-03-16T06:38:00.002-04:00

i have finally succombed to "singer songwriter disease". i bought a harp rack on sunday and a few harps, and have been learning how to play the damn things. it just this side easier than a kazoo.

will try it on a tune wed at whistling willies.

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rosendale

2010-02-13T22:43:00.006-05:00

played this week at the rosendale cafe's "singer songwriter tuesday". great fun. i "opened" mark brown, a fantastic singer songwriter, the second time i saw him. a true original. somebody to see.

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damaged *

2010-02-13T10:43:00.003-05:00

did an electric demo of a song that i wrote a year ago, "damaged".

1. damaged
nocturnal twins

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see me with you *

2010-01-17T10:27:00.001-05:00

did an electric demo of the new song, "the way i see me with you".

1. the way i see me with you
nocturnal twins

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whistling willie's *

2009-11-28T17:57:00.009-05:00

came home from open mike at whistling willie's, psyched from playing and wrote this when i got home.

1. the way i see me with you
nocturnal twins

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hootenany songs *

2009-10-13T19:06:00.004-04:00

a friend has an informal term for a song people invariably request after a set of original music, people often want a song that they know, they can sing or clap along to. so, he does his regular set, and sprinkles on the "hootenanny's" at the end.

my very nature prevents me from from picking one which should accomplish the intended task, I inevitably pick one that is too obscure, blurring the distinctions between my songs and the intended "hootenanny" song.

this is one of my "hootenanny" picks, a raveonettes song from a few years ago. it may have been a big hit for them, but not big enough for most to be able to pick out.

i recorded it yesterday to see how i would do it, this is the beginning of the idea. i put on a straight drum loop and played along and sang over the loop.

1. the great love sound by the raveonettes
nocturnal twins

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undermine *

2009-04-28T07:02:00.004-04:00

i spent almost 3 weeks on this new song, not the writing of it, just taking out a word here or there, and then just looking for a way to sing it. i have tried it every which way, this is what i ended up with. of course the song will change a lot when we start playing it, but this is how it is now.

1. undermine
nocturnal twins

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debut

2009-03-28T11:12:00.005-04:00

we played at caffe a la mode last night in warwick. the place was crowded, so we only got to do 2 songs. so we picked the dreamy two, not the rocking two. (the first song, i'm so sad is a partial recording.)

1. i'm so sad
nocturnal twins

2. tell me something
nocturnal twins

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live at jonathan's *

2009-02-22T18:18:00.011-05:00

jonathan and i hadn't played together in almost 2 years, friday i stopped by and we made music for a couple of hours. did a number of songs, here are four that we did, 3 noctwins songs and one cover. the one cover, is a garage band classic, a song called "primitive", originally done by the "groupies", and covered by the "cramps". i thought the song was a nice goodbye to lux interior after his passing a couple of weeks ago.

1. tell me something
nocturnal twins

2. i'm so sad
nocturnal twins

3. damaged
nocturnal twins

4. primitive
nocturnal twins

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not too shabby...*

2009-01-26T16:32:00.003-05:00

giovanna sang "not pretty enough" at the middle school talent show friday. thursday night before, i finally let her put the vocal on the practice track i had recorded. its her first attempt to record.

1. pretty
nocturnal twins

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is what it is...*

2008-10-11T19:57:00.002-04:00

giovanna has to audition for vocal club. she picked "am i not pretty enough" by kasey chambers. without being asked, i recorded a instrumental track this afternoon for giovanna to sing against. it is sloppy, i will have to clean it up, but it is what it is...

1. pretty
nocturnal twins

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day after *

2008-07-06T16:35:00.003-04:00

had fun at lorie's party yesterday. everyone bailed today, so I took one of the three ideas from this week and started on one. i think i have to kick up the tempo a tad, will re-record tomorrow...

1. avon
nocturnal twins

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waking up again *

2008-07-03T21:33:00.006-04:00

things been quiet! haven't done much, not been in a good mood to create for a while... i bought some new amp models, nice guitar sounds, i was fooling around playing guitar and enjoying it. i recorded 3 different riff fragments in one session and am posting the recordings here.

1. 3 new ideas
nocturnal twins

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now closer *

2008-01-29T20:50:00.003-05:00

i redid the vocal. this is a lot closer to what i want. also added a little lead guitar snippet. i will stop fooling around with this, after all; it is a cover.

1. whatever happened
the strokes

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peel the veil *

2008-01-22T20:29:00.001-05:00

i listened to yesterday's mix on the way back and forth to work. it sounded too muddled. the original idea had to make it an acoustic copy, but somehow the damn electrics had found their way in again!

so today i went to mix it into just acoustics, bass and vocal. i ended up taking out the acoustics entirely, bringing the electrics way down, and the vocal way up. i took out the yet on the chorus cause liz don't like it.

now i can hear every uncomfortable word of my vocal, and hear my wavering pitch to perfection! but i do like the song betterer.

1. whatever happened
the strokes

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whatever happened? *

2008-01-20T23:47:00.000-05:00

i was listening an earlier strokes record, and decided to do a cover of a song on it today. its not what i expected. but it is a cover.

on monday, i added two melody reinforcment guitars ie: lead passages, and did a slight remix with the added guitars.

1. whatever happened
the strokes

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ballad? *

2008-01-11T20:42:00.001-05:00

everybody bailed, i am using my alone time carefully. i am hemingway creating. i have a gloria cubana maduro wavell, a pitcher of martoonis, a pile of beans that i have ground and boiled, and an acoustic guitar. i wrote a little ditty in an inspired 300 seconds. I learned the progression, (ok, it wasn't that difficult!), and am figuring out the flow of the tune, trying b sections, and bridges. don't have anything yet, but this is the fragment i am starting with...

1. ballad demo
by nocturnal twins

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tell me something *

2007-11-25T18:11:00.001-05:00

everyone was out of the house for 3 hours today, so i wrote lyrics for the a demo that i had recorded 2 versions, a slow one, and a faster one a couple of weeks ago. the name of the song is now, "tell me something now (that i can do)". this is just a rough mix, i doubt anyone can make out the words yet, but i had to get a mix of the tune up here.

update: i have been posting and replacing the mix once a day as i play with it, it is easier to discern the lyrics now, on the 4th mix!

1. tell me something now (that i can do)
by nocturnal twins

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roadblock to mission *

2007-10-31T18:31:00.000-04:00

i wrote this and recorded a quick version with one mike, capturing my vocal and guild archtop, down and dirty. not the greatest quality, but it shows the framework of the tune.

1. roadblock to mission
by nocturnal twins

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demo redone *

2007-10-26T20:32:00.000-04:00

it was too slow, and i hated the drums. so i scored a little drum loop from a song, and redid yesterdays demo faster.

1. tell me something now (that i can do)
by nocturnal twins

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shitty this and shitty that *

2007-10-25T21:42:00.000-04:00

its been a shitty couple of weeks, haven't done any writing, today when everyone was out i came up with this. it has a shitty little scratch rhythm, but i got it out quick. gonna pop it on my mp3 player and work out some shitty words to it tomorrow on the way to work.

1. demo 103
by nocturnal twins

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on top *

2007-09-04T17:51:00.000-04:00

everyone was out of the house yesterday, so I overdubbed a couple of electric guitars on top of one of my tunes that i recorded thursday night at jonathans. but if you asked me why, i don't have an answer ready...

1. release (acoustic with electric guitar overdubs)
by nocturnal twins

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run through *

2007-09-01T11:47:00.000-04:00

i decided that i would let jonathan listen to me run through a bunch of tunes played on acoustic, and let him evaluate me, from technique to execution. he seems to think i am ready to try the solo thang, i guess i will never feel ready, so i am going to attempt this.

he recorded the tunes thursday night at his house, you can download them separately, or together in a zip file

here they are:

1. maria's lovers
by nocturnal twins

2. i'm so sad
by nocturnal twins

3. release (your love)
by nocturnal twins

4. i don't want to do it
by bob dylan

5. you alone
by ron sexsmith

or download the zip file with all five tunes

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errant banging *

2007-08-08T18:08:00.000-04:00

as part of my ongoing plan to start playing solo in preparation for my search for band members, i am playing my songs with an acoustic while singing. so I recorded two of the songs as i played them live.

i am not used to playing acoustic, i can hear a banging as i am playing, i must be tapping the guitar top with the heel of my hand or something, i will have to get someone to watch me while i play so that i can catch my errant banging!

1. i'm so sad (live solo)
by nocturnal twins

2. release your love (live solo)
by nocturnal twins

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nerve *

2007-07-21T08:51:00.001-04:00

i wrote this song a long time ago, it sounded annoying and buzzing, so i am rewriting it. i wrote it in an evil sounding tuning, this is just a fragment of me playing and singing it so i could get the chords right.

1. nerve
by nocturnal twins

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on again, off again

2007-07-20T22:36:00.000-04:00

jonathan says that he "quit the band", (his quotes), although we plan on doing things in the future. i like to say: jonathan is busy pursuing current projects but will be playing selected dates with his "on again, off again project", nocturnal twins...

however you slice it, i have to shift gears.

what to do? i really want to find a rhythm section and practice once a week.

how to achieve that?

i think i am going to try to play solo to get started on a new foot for a couple of reasons. it should instill a sense of disipline in my performing. it could also distill my songs by reducing the guitars down to one.

maybe in the course of playing solo i will find my rhythm section, i could pitch a help wanted request as part of my "solo act".

its all hard to say at this point, but i start tomorrow.

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mix an art *

2007-06-21T21:32:00.000-04:00

i re-mixed the tunes from last week, much better this time, because I had my concentration back. you might want to see if it's worth replacing them on the blog, especially release.

jonathan

1. release (better)
by nocturnal twins

2. maria (better)
by nocturnal twins

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if nothing better comes along *

2007-06-17T18:01:00.000-04:00

we set a target date to start performing friday night. and we are going out as a two piece if nothing better comes along.

i wrote words to "call me", that now is "walk by your house". we tried it out last night, but the song isn't ready for prime time yet.

we are honing the recent tunes and we did one i wrote last year which we hadn't played for a couple of months.

on "release" we added a pause in the center of the song, and changed the ending, on "maria" jonathan is trying different instrumental parts. this is the second of the two versions we did friday.

1. release
by nocturnal twins

2. maria
by nocturnal twins

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clusterf**k

2007-06-03T11:32:00.000-04:00

i quote jonathan: "once I made the first mistake, i never looked back". we got together for our bi-monthly practice, we set up to record the whole thing since its a writing session, and thats when it took a turn for the worse! a series of compounding mistakes ensued.

to quote jonathan again: "it's not exactly true we got nothing. somehow, by dumb luck, managed not to entirely destroy the maria we did that I said had a reggae feel (it doesn't). we played it a bit sloppy, but what was great about it was that you jumped in and tried something different, which started to get me going. but by the time we really started cooking, i was well past being able to capture it on the hard drive.

there are no niceties like well mixed tracks and lush reverbs and such, guitars and vocals sit on the same track. and he said that we did much better versions; but this is what we have! it is sloppy, but i like it for its spontaneity.

1. maria (shuffle)
by nocturnal twins

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resume *

2007-05-01T07:15:00.000-04:00

friday night we got together for the first time in a while. we played three newer songs, all for the most part for the first time. one song, jonathan had not played on, i had done all of the parts on the recording. one, jonathan had slowed down, we worked at writing a bridge and getting a feel. and this one, jonathan had added his guitar parts to the recording, but we had never played this live. so this was the first time.

1. i'm so sad
by verne a.

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sweet release *

2007-03-03T21:43:00.000-05:00

all of the versions of release on this site are flawed, this one is more four on the floor than we would like, but i recorded it on my own without jonathan's timing to keep me on track. speaking of jonathan, he is on sabatical, playing guitar in a pit band with his daughter for a performance of joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat.

1. release
by verne a.

several months ago i got a myspace site for the band, and hadn't really done anything with it, i did a little today. you can check out whats there.

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server up

2007-01-14T16:12:00.000-05:00

the file server for the mp's is back up! download some of these cool tunes!

maria's lovers *

2007-01-08T18:13:00.000-05:00

i wrote the song originally years ago, while drunk and feeling very emotional and in love with nastassja kinski as i watched her in a movie called "maria's lovers". i wrote the lyrics following the movie, and recorded the first version of the tune that afternoon.

this version doesn't resemble the original version in the least. i rewrote the chords, and added a bridge. the only thing i kept was the lyrics.

1. maria
by verne a.

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and you just can't stop... *

2006-12-09T19:46:00.000-05:00

jonathan said, I like it simple... It's these frickin' guitars, man. You
get them in your hands and you just can't stop...

his guitar parts here have changed the song. i have to rethink a few things, i definitely have to resing the vocal, it had only been a scratch vocal, now with the whole majesty thing going on, i have to sing along with the new parts to do the song justice.

1. i'm so sad
by verne a.

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less guitars is more guitars *

2006-12-08T19:27:00.000-05:00

i removed the distorted scottish guitar part as per jonathan's suggestion, i redid the reverb on the vocal, i kept the archtop guitar and drum fills. i will probably stop here , so as to not continue to "guild" the lily. from here on out, its jonathan's turn.

1. i'm so sad
by verne a.

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more guitars, more guitars *

2006-12-06T19:21:00.000-05:00

i added two more guitars to the tune, a distorted bagpipe part, and a strummed archtop part.

addendum: i added drum fills to the tune since yesterday, not enough of a change to post a separate entry...

1. i'm so sad
by verne a.

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i'm so sad, again... *

2006-12-02T15:34:00.000-05:00

i wrote this song in 1982. it was the first song i ever wrote in the studio. previously i had written with a guitar in hand, not a recording desk.

i wrote this one originally with john beekman programming bass sequencer and drum machine. I decided to redo the tune and develop it using more organic noise makers. i always liked the lyrics because they distill the relationship to very simple terms.

1. i'm so sad
by verne a.

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do do do'd *

2006-11-28T06:16:00.000-05:00

this one has an interesting past. jonathan wrote the guitar part months ago and had been mulling it over, trying to write words for it. he recorded a version with a vocal where he "do do do'd" it through the song illustrating the intended melody. but he didn't give that to me. so i waited for quite a while because i didn't want to mess up his train of thought on the song. finally i decided that words from him might not be forthcoming, so i wrote a bass part, and a jangle guitar, then chorus words which i recorded and sent to him.

jonathan had mulled the song over for so long with his melody that he wanted to stick with it instead of what i had come up with. he sent me the "do do do'd" version, i dumped my words and vocal, and recorded two rock guitar tracks, in preperation for my upcoming words and vocal.

the song is loose and sloppy, mostly because jonathan had just dashed the original part down for memory's sake, and the other parts had to mesh with that producing a very loose feel. but i like it.

1. new song
by royce

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break down *

2006-11-19T21:55:00.000-05:00

these are recordings from this thursdays practice. i just got finished discussing this with lb, i like the way the combination of acoustic and electric guitars sounds, but the tone on my plywood archtop, is not suited for this type of playing. i may have to break down and get an acoustic.

so, here are two tunes from the practice. my: release (your love), and we slowed down essence from the previously breakneck pace!

1. release (your love)
by verne a.

2. essence
by lucinda williams

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no no no *

2006-11-05T13:35:00.000-05:00

this is the first original composition i wrote using the new recording setup. i have tried three sets of words on this one, i wasn't happy with any of them. i will keep on plugging but my history is, "if it don't come quick, it don't come". so, anyone wanna write the lyrics for it? co-writer credits up for grab!

don't feel compelled to use "no no no" as the title for the tune, if you write the words, go your own way.

1. no no no
by verne a.

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first time *

2006-11-03T19:34:00.000-05:00

i bought a new recording interface, something called a ux2 by line 6, it just makes it real easy to record. the first thing i did with the interface is record another version of essence.

1. essence
by lucinda williams

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nocturnal twins *

2006-10-16T17:25:00.001-04:00

we were making the last of the weeks communications, before jonathan returns to his alter ego, he gave the go ahead on the name of the ensemble, now we are semi-officially known as "nocturnal twins". the story of the name's origin can be found in post "celena"

over the weekend, jonathan took one of the practice songs, and overdubbed a break in the middle.

here is that altered version.

1. release (your love)
by verne a.
live performance with overdubbed break by jonathan

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makes perfect *

2006-10-14T15:50:00.000-04:00

practiced thursday night, didn't plug in the electric, just played acoustic. we hadn't practiced since august, so we only tried one new one, a cover by lucinda williams.

here are the three tunes.

1. release (your love)
by verne a.
this is getting closer to where it is supposed to be, sounds good with acoustic when theres only two of us playing.

2. essence
by lucinda williams
this is the first time we tried to play this, wasn't too bad. see where this is going next time, this could be a vehicle for jonathan to blow over a verse and chorus making with the single notes .

3. i don't want to do it
by bob dylan
jonathan is right, this needs to be done slower. without a drummer its harder for me to regulate, i will try next time.

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girls always laugh at me *

2006-09-30T14:42:00.000-04:00

bobby mentioned this song to me, i had heard it a long time ago, i really like it, so i did a quick recording of it to see if jonathan would be interested doing something on it. when i im'ed bobby and he was playing the song, he told me his daughter nikki was laughing at me.

nothing new...

so here is my version of a lucinda williams song.

1. essence
by lucinda williams

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celena *

2006-09-23T20:25:00.000-04:00

i was listening to a conversation between my daughter and her friend, they were playing twins, she turned to me and said, daddy we are nocturnal twins. it sounds like a good name for the band, anyway, its the first suggestion!

here is another little snippet of a song, got the amp jacked today and "celena" popped out!

1. celena
by verne a.

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wakey wakey *

2006-09-20T19:12:00.000-04:00

we have been on hiatus, i had made calls, we were scheduled to play with larry on drums, but family problems have cancelled tomorrows date with larry. so i picked up a guitar, its been almost a week since i touched one, plugged in, and this is the first thing i played. i recorded a short snippet so i don't forget it.

1. thats ok
by verne a.

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september *

2006-09-03T10:19:00.000-04:00

the plan: to start playing open mikes with just the two of us, to start honing the material in public, and to meet prospective band members. we do have a drummer with a very large drum set that is anxious to play, we will make plans to get together at his house soon.

i have been writing lyrics all weekend to try and meld them to the 3 or 4 demos i have recorded in the last month and a half, and learning/playing a few covers that might adapt to our template.

1. simple math
by verne a.
the song i am most anxious to write lyrics for is this demo. i recorded this in jonathans bedroom to serve as a reference track for him to add his guitar. its just me playing electric and slapping my bare foot on his floor.

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august *

2006-08-24T20:30:00.000-04:00

we practiced twice in august, but the months family leisure schedule hasn't slacked, so we are enjoying the summer and letting it run itself out.

here are two tunes from august.

1. release (your love)
by verne a.
i wrote this tune in march. it was a quick one off, 2 hours in the making. this is from a practice in jonathan's bedroom. i play electric and sing, jonathan plays electric and sings a little second harmony.

2. i don't want to do it
by bob dylan
this was a song that i originally learned to try and do with bobby 3 years ago when he was going to play the winery at dylanfest, but he was not asked to play. it was an unreleased tune by dylan, originally recorded by george harrison. i played it on acoustic and sang. jonathan took that demo and added the electric guitar.

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the get-go

2006-08-24T20:21:00.000-04:00

in the beginning, i was asked to accompany little bobby and paige on dobro. i did that on and off for a year. then another guitar player was brought in to thicken the mix in preparation for a gig at the warwick valley winery. it gave me a chance to start switching around instruments, i started playing mellobar, organ, acoustic and electric guitar, especially electric guitar.

jonathan and i hit it off. we are about the same age, have families, love playing guitar, and don't have huge amounts of time to devote to musical stuff.

but here we are, we have started to git-together almost weekly, we are writing new material, arranging some old material. but playing.

coteriefiliation

2006-08-24T20:03:00.000-04:00

noun: coterie kowtu(r)
an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
who
noun: filiation 'filee'eyshun
inherited properties shared with others

ok, lesson over. thats just what i called it. this is a story of how i tried to assemble a band, and a record of the music created.

*all posts after this one that contain music will be marked with an asterisk.