Songwriting, Production & Performance » Originals

Northern California Rain

George — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:41:15 +0000

Here’s a raw iPhone recording of one of my recent originals. I’m not sure how to classify this one… maybe just generic Americana? It’s one of those that just came to me, so I wrote it without worrying too much about its commercial appeal. Sometimes songs get started for me from a melody or lyric that starts going through my head, and sometimes they start with a vision or a memory of a physical space. In this case, it was the latter; I was remembering driving through rural northern California late one summer.

Northern California Rain (original)

‘Tis the Season

George — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:14:56 +0000

So, I done up and wrote a holiday song. So tender!

Of course I’m still working on it, so any comments and/or critique would be appreciated. Bring it on!

'Tis the Season (original)

The Future is On My Side

George — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:30:38 +0000

I don’t think this one fits the “country” genre, but I thought I’d share this worktape demo of a new Americana rock song I’m working on, possibly for The Georgian Company. Any thoughts? Do I need to re-work the chorus? Add a bridge? Suggestions? Critique? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

The file has a few seconds of silence upfront since I haven’t trimmed it yet… just thought I should mention that in case you think it’s not working. It probably is—just give it a few seconds.

The Future is On My Side (original)

TAXI Road Rally / Off My Mind

George — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:39:58 +0000

After years of getting emails from TAXI—“The World’s Leading Independent A&R Company”—about why they think it’s a good idea for me to join, I’m still skeptical. Why is there a $300 registration fee? It seems like it could easily be a bad scheme to rip off struggling artists if you ask me, especially with other options for getting song placements popping up by the minute. And why is it called TAXI?

However, in their most recent spam, their “Road Rally” program caught my attention. It seems like it could actually be good, and $300 for a good conference seems fair. And then I can check out what the rest of the membership benefits are, too: song listing submissions, critiques, etc. My curiosity got the best of me, so I signed up and am flying out to L.A. on Thursday to check out the conference (and visit my homies Blake and Doug).

I may not have time to keep you posted here during the weekend, but I’ll definitely follow-up with my thoughts on the conference, my better-educated perception of TAXI and hopefully an interesting story or two.

And in other news, here’s another take from my video experiment. It’s weird not knowing where to look, etc. when making these. I’ve always thought singing to the camera was a little too cheesy, but maybe I just need to get over that. Maybe I’ll get Doug to give me some video performance pointers. Anyway, this song is called “Off My Mind,” which I wrote and recorded with Just Guns.

In case you’re on a mobile phone, here’s the audio version:

Off My Mind (original)

Trainwreck

George — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:33:46 +0000

Since I’m kind of a mac nerd, and my old iPhone broke right after the new ones came out, I used that as an excuse to get the new iPhone with video. And since I now have the capability to easily shoot web-quality video, I thought maybe it’s about time I experiment with making one. So, here’s my first shot at it. The song is “Trainwreck,” which I wrote and recorded with The Georgian Company.

In case you’re on a mobile phone, here’s the audio version:

Trainwreck (original)

Modern Guy

George — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:18:59 +0000

When I was studying and playing “Love Your Love the Most,” I noticed how weird it felt for me to sing about loving college football games, NASCAR, small mouth bass and my truck (I don’t drive a truck), etc., and it made me think that while I don’t fit the exact archetype of the “country” guy, that there’s another kind of country music fan out there… like myself. So I wrote a song about being a modern, sensitive kind of guy who loves and supports his wife, who is a good listener most of the time, but still needs to get rowdy to recharge.

Maybe it’s a bit too literal. The chorus starts “I’m a modern guy,” but then again, maybe that lack of metaphor allows sincerity to seep through. I don’t know. The arrangement is still kind of loose (especially since it’s just me and a guitar), but I feel like it’s close. What do y’all think?

Modern Guy (Original)

Little Devil

George — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:43:46 +0000

I’m learning a couple more tunes, but haven’t had the time to get through ‘em all the way yet. A Keith Whitley, George Strait and another current Billboard country hit are all under investigation for my next post. Meanwhile, here’s a (standard lo-fi recording) demo for the first song I’ve written since starting this study. See? I told you I’d be posting original demos, too. I think it’s got some good parts in it, and a general dance hall-flavored romantic storyline. I’m not totally sold on a couple of the lyrics yet, but I’m just letting it go as is for now.

Little Devil (Original)