moved to wordpress

It was a sweet but short tenure here at blogger. I'll always be grateful to them for hosting my first squeaks. The new website is:

http://wednesdayssong.wordpress.com/

There's a bit more flexibilty in letting songs be downloaded and sold. So, please visit Wednesday's Song at its new location.

226.8

goal=228
me=226.8

This is as little as I've weighed lately so from here on out it'll be real weight loss. Not just skipping a soda before weigh-in.

Go, Cat, Go!, the Carl Perkins Bio is pretty cool for the 150 pages I've squeezed in. It's a gas reading about these guys that are before even my time. Their rock is full of passion. They did it without the Marshall amp. A lot of the early gigs happen in my hometown, Jackson, TN. Jackson has it's place in rock's history after all. Even a nearby early gig where Carl met Elvis.

____She Walks In Beauty____

Kind of close to the deadline. Whew. I've set a poem by Lord Byron to song. It's one of his most popular poems and one of my favorites. Since his work is in the public domain that should fit nicely with this whole creative commons kind of thing. The drums were one take! Have to admit the drumming is turning out to be something fun for me.





SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY

She Walks In Beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that 's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light 5
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face; 10
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow, 15
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Bobby Rock

The monster drummer Bobby Rock came by and played on a trailer I'm been working on. He nailed it right away. Super guy and superior skin beater! It's time to start tracking tomorrow's WS.

Bowie rules!

Another allnighter last night. My fault though. I was blocked trying to come up with a David Bowie knockoff for a movie trailer. I love the challenge but man I was blocking on that one. It's probably cause Bowie is a real rock god and his music is iconic. I pale next to Alladin Sane.

That means I've got to do a whole WS tomorrow. It's written. But not recorded. Stay tuned.

Also trying to learn how to promote the blog. Being busy keeps the learning slow.

Hey Producers

My buddy Curt from Delirium Records came up with the idea of posting split tracks on the web. That means with every new tune there would also be a solo track for drums, vocals, bass and guitar. Since this is a creative commons license you guys could remix the vocal, use the drums on a completely different song, or use the guitar or bass tracks as part of your production. Give me proper credit and all's good. If you're using a traditional publishing paradigm add me as a songwriter. My publishing entity is Lavish Music BMI. Contact me and we'll figure out a totally reasonable split. It's just an assumption that this is going to catch on, but I look forward to hearing our music. It's going to be up within about a week.

remix

Tortoise and The Hare

It's not too often I get to wear a hat. Last night's gig provided headwear. This picture is to prove that Souther Cal really has farms. We were playing in a tent in a cornfield. Good times for sure.

Saturday is turning into the day for percolating song ideas. So far I've been keeping it simple with just one guitar track plus bass and drums. It's pretty good practive for my drumming, too. I've been playing them since high school but I only got good enough to record about two or three years ago. It's like the Tortoise and The Hare. I just kept on banging 'em.

Murder and Elvis

That'll be me holding a bass guitar at a murder mystery theater tonight. Some really fine actors and a good time. I don't get to play live much lately. And I'm going to sing a couple of Elvis Presley songs for the aftershow.

229

Woo hoo! I'm down a pound from last week. Not much of an accomplishment I know because it's easy to go up or down a lb.
I'll take it, though. I know I don't look any different because I checked myself in the mirror. The trick is to see is the trend continues. It's not going to be some crash diet. My goal is to weigh 179 in a year. That's just 1 lb/week. You know what the killer is? I need some new clothes. I tried some on. There's no way I'm going pay for those giant rags when I've got a closet full of stuff that's too small. I need to get my style in the gym.

diet

Me And Tommy Lee

It's that special day. So, hot off the press is "Me And Tommy Lee". Special mention goes out to my good buddy Steve Riesner. We came up with the title a couple years back and this was the chance to make it happen.

There's supposed to be a scroll bar right below this paragraph.The song loads automatically and all you gotta do is click. I know it works on Safari on a Mac. I'll start checking out other browsers. Eventually I'll get a custom site up with proper downloads.




ME AND TOMMY LEE

Mon’s got a new husband
So I live with my cousin
I don’t like my room much at all
I gave her my blessing
But now I’m confessing
I didn’t mean what I said at the mall

I took a test to find out what is wrong
And now I know there’s someone just like me
Me and Tommy Lee

I sat by his coy pond
My problems had moved on
Until security came after me
Hey Tommy I need ya
We’re so alike I could be ya
We’ll have a beer and a chat about destiny, oh

I took a test to find out what is wrong
And now I know there’s someone just like me
Me and Tommy Lee

I thought I was all alone
We are not completely unknown, yeah

I guess that test wasn’t guaranteed
But I still think there’s someone just like me
Me and Tommy Lee, Me and Tommy Lee
Me and Tommy Lee, Me and Tommy Lee
Me and Tommy

There’s got to be a way to make him understand
If we could sit and talk man to man
I really want to know what he would do
These are the lengths my Mom has pushed me to, yeah

Me and Tommy Lee
I understand him
He understands me
Me and Tommy Lee
Me and Tommy Lee
I wanna go home
In my own room
I miss you Mom

Lease on Life

or at least on my studio. It expires at the end of January. Sounds far off. But it could come up fast. Already looking around at different situations to rent. If anyone hears of someone looking for another someone just like me please connect us.

I think the new tune is done. I got into beat correcting the drums. I'm not the most solid drummer. It sounds great now but it does add a couple hours of pure tedium. The hard rocking will make up for that.

Feeling it

I'm singing right now. I've got something bubbling up. Kind of writing and singing together. As in singing one line and then thnking, 'gee, what would be good next'. Hey, I read David Bowie works like that sometimes.

Thanks for the responses to my email blast. It's the first I've promoted the blog. Feels great to hear from you. I can tell you already keeping up with a song a week is going to get rough sometimes. This one's got the bass, drums and 1/3 of the vocal. I sure did like it when last week's song got done.

Go Cat Go!

Go Cat Go! The Life And Times Of Carl Perkins. It's Perkins biographay. Amazon.com had a used one for $6. Carl's still got me under his rockabilly spell. He also wrote Dixie Fried. Kentucky Headhunters do a great version that's on youtube. Carl's jamming with them.

Two all nighters this week related to scoring. I'm not as young as I used to be. The bounceback from such behavior gets a little harder each time. But it's a beautiful morning in Santa Monica and I'm relaxing outside my favorite coffeshop. It's OK to have a croissant in the morning.

There's some free time right after this breakfast to start the next WS track. The Perkins bio better not arrived until after I've got this song done ; - )

Peace, Love and Understanding

Carl Perkins...

...is the hero of Jackson, TN, our hometown. I never gave much thought or respect to Carl cause I wasn't into rockabilly . Yes and Hendrix and Mahavishnu Orhchestra were for me. It's hard to be a prophet in your own hometown, I guess.

So, guess who's a major Carl Perkins nut suddenly? I can't stop youtubing him. He was smoking hot. Besides Blue Suede Shoes he also wrote Daddy Sang Bass. I totally stand corrected on that one. I've been singing Blue Suede Shoes througout the day. Some of my friends love it. One is appalled.

I always loved the Beatles, I just couldn't understand why they recorded 5 CP songs. Well, duh. It's cause he rocks the house. God rest his soul. Here's to Carl Perkins.

I Wanna play the bass

It's a day off from thinking about writing the next song. But I did get the feeling to do something where the bass plays power chords in the verses. Very busy on the same webisode. Several different people to please including legal departments. It's better than not working!

Weight

The truth is I weighed 230 this morning. If I can drop a pound every week when there's a new song posted this could add up to some serious weight loss over time. There's never time exercise . Or so it seems. I mean it really is hard. I've got a packed schedule all day. But, this week is gonna happen for sure. No super dramatic gestures. Just a pound in a week.

Our first song

So it all begins. This was a pleasre...and a pain. I pulled an all nighter last night composing for some webisodes. Love the music and the work. And I still managed the cut the vocal in a couple of different session. It's licensed via creative commons so it's out there for the world to enjoy... or not. lol See you next Wednesday. : - )




Wednesday’s Song
 
Sunday morning whispers to me
Leave all your troubles behind
You look weary and I am kind
I want to ease your troubled mind
 
Close your eyes and rest awhile
You don’t have to force a smile
 
Sunday loves me but I can’t stick around
Come the night I’ll be thinking of another
I guess I need a little more adventure
That’s why I listen to Wednesday’s Song

 Monday brings me coffee that’s cold
And likes to talk out of turn
I can miss her and I can yearn
She's so harsh and I never learn

I close my eyes and think awhile
And try to find my smile

Monday loves me but it's not working out
Come tonight I'll be thinking of another
She clings tight to the point of suffocation
That's why I listen to Wednesday's Song

When Tuesday's gone
it's hard to remember
The times we spent together

Thurday's dreaming of the weekend in bed
Friday does what Saturday says

A single day lasts a lifetime when it's wrong
I've been listening to Wednesday's Song
Standing side by side I can see our future
That's why I listen to Wednesday's Song

Owl vrs. Lark

By nature I'm an owl. It's easy to stay up late, get inspired and go to bed as the sky is turning back on. Time and experience has forced me to admit, though, that the early bird gets the worm. So at 9am that alarm goes off. Laugh if you're a lark. I want to get some morning productivity just like you. Maybe squeeze in a workout. I just have to remember to go to bed before 4. It's the right thing to do. I know that. It just doesn't feel natural.

I've got about half of the lyrics written. There's meeting in the afternoon to be follwed by a composing job with a tight deadline. Rush rush. This morning sounds like a great time to track some vocals for WS.

Peace, Love and Understanding

There's a track ; - )

(C) 2007 Edward Uken HitmanPhoto.com

There's that moment before writing where there's absolutely nuttin' forming in my head. So, today I'm strumming. Nothing. Some chords are starting to come. The only thing I can think of is the the title. This one's gonna be called Wednesday's Song to kick off this whole endeavor. Seems fair enough? Funny how it is but deadlines are a great way to get inspired.

The tune came. And I put together a template just for this collection. Yeah, it's going to probably change from tune to tune. But it made me feel good and put me in the mood.

Added the drums. The real thing, baby. No library loops on this project. Added the bass and some Omnichord . Tomorrow I'm hoping to find some words...

Killing My Time

Here's one from the Statica CD. Trying to learn the code'n this blogg'n takes. It's called Killing My Time.

Missed my own gig.

(C) 2007 Edward Uken HitmanPhoto.com

How dumb was that? It was traffic near the Staples Center that held me back an hour. Well that's it for live gigs for awhile. Time to concentrate on the 1rst Wednesday's Song. 4 days to go. I'm already tempted to pull something old out of my hat. But, the focus is on coming up with something totally new and fresh. Spontaneity over refinement. It took 5 years to complete the Statica CD. So I know I can fall into the trap of perfectionism .

So, how do you like my new promo pic? It's for Samick, the guitar company that endorses me. I'm cradling the Royale. Truly it's the first guitar I've ever owned that goes back and forth between jazz and rock with no change in the way it feels. It's not pricey and I love it.

The Birth Of Wednesday's Song...

... or thanks and a shout out to Jonathan Coulton who has inspired me to start posting songs every week. Jonathan is a singer-songwriter who has acheived internet superstardom viia his "Thing A Week" project that entailed him posting a new song every week for a year. Please check him out. He's got a serious fan base that he earns every day.

http://www.jonathancoulton.com/

As for me, I'm wanting to share some of my work as a singer-songwriter. I'm playing tonight at the Spring Street Smokehouse in downtown L.A. Jonathan makes his songs available using a creative commons license which means you can pay or not or use the song to make a video with. It's pretty cool. So the batch of Wednesday's Songs is gong to be like that.

See you on the internet.