Audio by year 2009

5:46 minutes (5.28 MB)

Yo, download this fo' free.

Made with Linux -- Ardour, ZynAddSubFX, Seq24, Hydrogen -- a microphone, and a couple guitars.

3:44 minutes (3.43 MB)

Hope it paints a big, stupid grin on your face like it did mine :-D. Sounds way better in phones than speakers. Sorry -- total quickie.

Feel free to donate two bucks. I need it and appreciate it. Thanks!

Read it all

5:41 minutes (7.81 MB)

This mix is strictly for the hi-fidelity first class travelin' section. If your sound system is not fat enough for it, don't blame me. Download it right now! Don't be stupid.

Inspired by bagpipes on St. Patty's Day, believe it or not.

If you think this is pretty fly, wait 'til you hear the extended club mix; you know, the one where I excise only the choice vocals and loop them in carefully.

3:05 minutes (3.77 MB)

This was a total mess-up (last time I released one of these, "Free Key Stylin'," it got downloaded thousands of times -- go figure) so I threw it in the free bin. Some wires got crossed somewhere. The tracks all bled into each other. It's supposed to have this totally funky beat that ended up sounding like the drummer needed to go to the emergency room to have his stomach pumped. The guitar tracks got all syncopated and the effects didn't come out the way they sounded in the mixer.

Not sure if I love it or hate it. This should be called "Don't get too fancy 'cause you'll ruin something that's totally straightforward," but it's actually an instrumental version of the song "Rocker."

5:20 minutes (6.72 MB)

Enjoy.

Feel free to donate two bucks. I need it and appreciate it. Thanks!

6:58 minutes (8.92 MB)

You'll be glad you did!

[Note to old "fans" -- This is a new version of the song, recorded 5-14-2009. The song's actually more relevant now than it was when I wrote it all those years ago.]

This is a song I sing to myself when I feel down. It helps me feel better.

6:10 minutes (8.27 MB)

I'm afraid that those lacking the patience to listen until 4:15 just won't "get it." Too bad for them! Enjoy.

Feel free to donate two bucks. I need it and appreciate it. Thanks!

Read it all

7:29 minutes (9.56 MB)

This is one of only a handful of songs that I wrote as a teenager that I still remember by heart. I wish I had taken my own advice more often! It's a lot more meaningful to me now. Thanks, 18-year-old CharlieHipHop!

4:58 minutes (7.26 MB)

No words yet, but this one's not about me at all -- it's about showcasing Joe Bird's drumming. If you listen carefully, you'll hear wings. If you turn it way up in the fattest speakers you can find, you might get 1/10th the ribcage-rattling volume we had as we played it. It was fun.

4:50 minutes (7 MB)

Enjoy. You're welcome.

I would like to do this one in a studio with other instruments, a vocal isolation booth, an engineer, nice mics, etc. That will cost between $500 and $1000 depending on what kind of deal I can wangle with the studio and engineer. Please contribute two measly dollars ($2) if you'd like to hear this and other songs done right.

4:46 minutes (7.42 MB)

Download this if you know what's good for you. It's free. You're gonna like it. I promise. The vocals are awesome. Truly.

You're welcome.

10:34 minutes (14.34 MB)

It went like this:

"Hi, I'm Chuck."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Luke."

(The guitarists plug in and tune up as the drummer patters on the skins, impatient.)

Then we flip on the recorder start playing. Nothing of keys, chords, or structure. No words, just music, immediate, vital, soul-healing. And we jammed, and it was most excellent. And I listened to it later, and it was good. And I was very pleased.

So I thought, "I shall share my bounty with the world, and 47 people will appreciate it verily, and those are the only 47 people in the world about whose opinion I give half a fart for they are good people, smart people, people ahead of their time like me."

It doesn't get really "good" until about three minutes in after we start to feel each other. At about four minutes in and six minutes in, the wheels seem to come off as I lean over toward Luke and say, "Give me the lead, man." He either didn't hear me or couldn't find the groove (most likely the former) and I re-take my rightful place on this jam as rhythm, though I couldn't resist a bit of noodling.

I thought about cutting this down to a five-minute thing since most people won't "get it" in its current form. Then I was like, "You know what? Fuck it. What am I, a goddamn greedy-ass parasite record company selling shit on a stick to stupid children who couldn't tell their private parts from a corn dog if you lit them on fire?"

The people who will enjoy this deserve it in its entirety, and as for the rest of ya', well, what can I say -- I don't give a fuck what you think. Go back to your Bimbo Spears and Failout Boys and Kings of Lame-o and Moldplay and all that other commercial bullshit. Good riddance. Not my problem that you would rather be a sucker consumer than listen to (or, even better, make your own) MUSIC.

Oh, and if you like this, check back. I got a couple more hours, much of which is even better. Wait 'til you hear the version of "Watchtower" that came out of this session. We proved that Hendrix didn't, in fact, do every amazing thing that can be done with a guitar, a lot of electricity, and that song.
----------------------
Do you want to learn to play the guitar or just get better? (Disclosure: Your purchase through that link helps fund our studio sessions.)

6:06 minutes (6.74 MB)

The eerie cosmic harmony between the music and words of this song has always thrilled me. The music is the story, the lyrics a symphony.

This mix is for the patient. It goes through the song twice. The first swing through is about the music, the second about the words.

Managed to get it EQ-ed and compressed just right to bring out Joey's awesome drummin', and Luke as a Flushing boy and guitar virtuoso is welcome to jam with us any time.

3:43 minutes (4.75 MB)

Stupid, arrogant assholes in your life got you down? Crank this up and turn that frown upside down! This is a rough draft. Look forward to more polished versions.

5:13 minutes (6.71 MB)

Enjoy.

3:13 minutes (5.73 MB)

Turn it up loud enough to do inner ear damage. It's worth it.

Listen with an ear toward irony.

There's one over in the shop too.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to learn how to play the guitar. Not only is it the smartest thing you'll ever do, but you'll be helping your favorite starving artist.