FAWM: February Album Writing Month 2004

FAWM Self-Anaylsis
FAWM was amazing in that it cause myself and the other songwriters to really kick out the jams. It's so easy to start working on a song idea and either give up or just not explore it enough. Like working out or running, the beginning stages were a little rough. You had to sit down and get up an hour or two later with something to show for it. Some of the songs turned out subpar because they were rushed and not well thought out...others turned out like absolute gems that will become stapes of my live set and hopefully future recordings.

I have been listeing to my own demos alot though the past month, trying to figure out which ones I like, hate, etc. More...

Song #22 This Is The Sound (Of My Heart Breaking)
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For some reason the title of this song jumped into my head yesterday. Of course, I have no idea why, it just did, but also - after you listen to the song - don't think I'm like hurting or anything, cause I'm not. I just thought this song fit these lyrics. I challeged my friend Karie to write a song with the same progression on her piano, and we thought a good theme for the song would be all the things that can go wrong in a relationship. Of course, as soon as I started writing my brain took on a life of it's own and this is what came out.

Now to write a song for my own challenge :) More...

Song #21 It's A Good Day For Some Attitude
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I imagine this song of course really rocking and maybe a little faster than the demo came out. Full band. The lead guitar is sloppy, but you can get the idea. Should I call this what I called it or "Swimming with Sharks"? More...

Song #20 Black Anniversary
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Ok, this one is really bare...I started messing around and came up with a skeleton I want to use down the line...but I had to go to the Autumns show (awesome band -read my show review) and so I quickly recorded some "ideas". When I came home I listened to it and it sounded cool, so I figured I'd post it. I'm gonna be finishing my ideas later on with this one. I know a few things...it's gonna be about the anniversary of a death. There are no real lyrics for it yet, just an idea.

Song #19 Give Way to the Moon
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All this Pedro talk...all these Pedro riffs. Maybe I'll move to San Pedro. Maybe I could stay there, never say goodbye. Live on the beach. Write songs. Drink Pina Coladas. Eat Coconuts. Surf. Sleep. Play chess. Read books. Enjoy it with someone special. More...

Song #18 Ping Pong
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Well, first off, I didn't expect to write a song like this tonight...it kind of came as a shock to me. I suppose it sums up some of my beliefs in a pretty straitforward manner...the title Ping Pong refers to the endless debate religious scholars have for their own opinions on what is truth and what it is that they believe. This song touches on the lack of tolerance people of different religions have for one another...I guess this song is meant to be a little provacative...I state a belief that I have that we don't really know what happens after death until we become one again with the earth. I make a statement that hints at with freedom comes ignorance...and I believe this to be true. We live in a world that will always have war and hurt and anger and misery and pain...but with those things come some of life's most beautiful, precious, uplifitng and satisfying moments...I believe in darkness and in light...yin/yang...good/bad...balance is probably the only thing I adhere to in terms of "rules" placed upon myself...I believe everything that happens to us in life has a reaction...and can be viewed as good or bad depending on how you choose to look at the situation. I've told people this before but I don't regret anything I've ever done in my life. I believe every action I've taken has gotten me to where I am today and I'm thankful for that alone. On a lighter, less philosphical note, I thought it was funny that I put "simple plan" in the song because they were on Conan OBrien as I wrote the song. This song may have came about as a subconscious statement to the hoopla surrounding the release of "The Passion" - the new movie portraying the last moments of Jesus Christ's life before his crucifiction. Anyway, I'll probably be back to lovely little pop ditties again tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this bare bones, sloppy demo... More...

Song #17 Soma Holiday (For KP)
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Well, if you've ever read Brave New World then you'd know what a Soma Holiday is...this song is pretty self explanatory except for maybe that phrase. The cool part is that I AM working as a mail clerk right now! More...

Song #16 The Desert Loses Touch
Download MP3 Here!I woke up feeling a little under the weather and after awhile I made the decision to go back to bed, I'm sick. After watching "Lost In Translation" and catching a little shut eye I felt the urge to write. You see, it's been raining HARD here in California for the past two days. Last night we went out for a friends birthday and it was just pouring rain on us. So it starts out pretty autobiographical...then I try to lend some sort of meaning in the chorus. I don't think this is my best song or even if I want to sing so high on the chorus (i'm wondering if I could nail it if I wasn't sick?) but give me your thoughts... More...

Song #15 Wayward Prince
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This song is my version of a Bruce Springsteen / Dan Bern type song...I wrote it pretty quickly tonight when I got home from work. I'm gonna shoot for 8 more songs this month. I am also reading a good book called "Songwriters on Songwriting" and I'm only one chapter in...but it's great so far. I need to go out and get some inspiration tomorrow night...gonna go see this band called the Waking Hours at the Brewery...they rock. More...

Song #14 Getting Older
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YAY! I've reached the goal and it feels good, you guys are almost there. This is a silly song about what the title hints at. It's not sly or anything, it's just a statement of facts. I just turned 25, Burr just turned 26, we be getting all old...throw a little Lou Reed/Dyan/Ray Davies/Buddy Holly/Elvis Costello in a blender...hit puree...serve it up RAMONES style...this song could be pretty rocking with a band...and a tambourine. More...

Song #13 Success
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I worked all day at Microsoft...I might be their new mail clerk...before you rag on me...let me just say I have NEGATIVE cash flow in my bank account right now. Yeah, so anyway, I'm tired. But I was excited to get home and work on new songs. I have a goal of getting my 14 songs done tonight...so with that in mind I penned this tune called "Success" in anticipation of this little victory. I was like "what is success?" what does that mean to me? what would it mean to my personal life. I just read this Ryan Adams biography and he says pretty much the same thing that every rock star says about it - it SUCKS (well, parts of it anyway)...and how hard it is to be in the spotlight all the time. I got a little taste of what that was like in Alaska and even on a small scale it's not like the funnest thing in the world. Anyway...this is sort of some ramblings about that....here comes song #14. More...

Song #12 Hold On To Me
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I imagine this one with a very heavy sound, and three part live harmonies...crushing drums, walls of distortion...a very bleak, dark song...with a soft ending...

Lyrically, I don't know where this came from...I mean, I'm not feeling bummed or anything right now, but this is sort of from that point of view where things seem bleak in a relationship. More...

Song #11 Grandpa Louie
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Here is my song for Burr's songwriting challenge. It's about a very personal hero of mine...just this old guy who cared about baseball and hanging out. He was the best. It's how I want to be when I grow old.

The song kind of plods along...I'm thinking I would like to try to do this on a piano and see how it sounds. More...

Song #10 Brown Pinstripe Suit
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I really felt some writer's block today and it was weird because I came off tour with all these ideas and situations and people to write about, it's just that nothing was coming out...so I went out for a burrito and some $2 lagers at the Westwood Brewing Company and came home and was talking with my roommate and came up with a cool idea for song. Someone likes a girl, but she doesn't really like him back...another guy comes along and wins the girls heart and breaks the poor guys heart...this may or may not be based on a true story...and the character in it may or may not be from possible true story's point of view...confused? Good.

Let's just say I have a nice new brown pinstripe suit. More...

#9 One Foot In the Grave
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Well, this is my second song of the night...I guess I just don't want to go to bed now do I??? It's 3 a.m. This song is about that situation when someone tells you they want to commit suicide....it's like...what do you say to that? I just listen mostly and if they ask for advice I do my best to give it to them...but they don't always like what they hear. I hate how you feel like it might be your fault if they DO go through with their plan...like maybe you could have done something...

More...

#8 Drag Queen
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Well, I'm back in LA after an a little jog in the southwest...played two shows in Vegas and one in Phoenix recently got in tonight. Feel really behind in my song-writing, but I have lots of inspiration for new stuff so be expecting a deluge of tunes in the near future...this song is up for interpretation...call it my answer to Burr's Challenge...if only because it has the word "shine" in the first line. More...

Song #7: Heavy D
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I was messing around last night with this weird chord and this sort of stumbled out of my mouth. It's really just one of those fun songs with lots of delay...I might rework it later on...perhaps a total overhaul...but I do like parts of it...it's sort of got a Wilco "Being There" vibe.

I won't even tell you what it's about...guesses anyone? More...

Song #6: Girdwood, Alaska
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This is sort of nostalgic song written with Valentine's Day in mind (it's right around the corner, boys, I hope you're making her something)...said girl is no longer my Girlfriend, but she is my girl friend and I still care about her alot despite us going our seperate ways. So yes, this is sort of a personal "Pinkerton" song for me. Lot's o' inside jokes and just insider stuff in general in it, it's a trip down memory lane for me....man oh man.

I think my favorite line and the one that sums up our relationship is "I'm in love with you but I know the timing's off"...and I like all the stuff about Stevie Nicks - my favorite.

I met this guy Marc Broussard last night...ever heard of him? He just toured with Maroon 5 and he's recording his new record here...the song he played me sounded sweet! More...

Song #5: Poor Madeline
NOTE: C'mon guys, it's almost February 3rd and no one is posting anything, what's going on?

Download MP3 of this song here!

This one's pretty sloppy...and I copped a run from Elliot Smith (R.I.P.) but I don't think it's a rip for the most part...but let me know what you think. Would love some feedback. This one has a little Brian Hall flavor to it I think...and maybe a little Paul Kelly influence. More...

Song #4: Bombs Away
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This is one of those old songs that's been sitting around for awhile that I never finished. I'm just curious to hear opinions on it. I like playing it with a loud, obnoxious band that rocks out. I think we played it with a version of the Candles once at Russian Jack Springs but I never finished it and we never played it again. The song is about being cool, even when everyday life tries to get you down. It's about having fun and laughing in the face of your problems. More...

Song #3: Skipping Winter
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This song is called Skipping Winter because it's about me being in Santa Monica and my friends and family being up Alaska were it's really cold! Santa Monica is nice and sunny every day. It's amazing. I think it's rained once in the month since I've been here...and even that was at night and only for a short time.

This song is sort of a meandering one...lazy and melancholy. The only part I'm not too sure about is the "Ok, I miss you part"...it's pretty sloppy...and I sort of thought maybe I could do an Eddie Vedder thing there but you know, some things are best left to Eddie Vedder. Ha!

I need job! All I do is check my e-mail, eat, and play guitar all day. More...

Song #2: S.O.S.
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I was jamming on the fingerpicking part of this song and figured out some chords that would fit underneath and just started singing about being out on a ship. After I sat down to work on the lyrics I decided a nice chorus would be to talk about not giving up even when it seems like things aren't gonna get better. It's something I think we've all experienced in some way or another - in other words, it's a pretty general theme to write about. I took the three verses and described three different situations where one might feel like giving up or getting out - and then the chorus is basically a big rally to school your problems. I know the fingerpicking is reminiscent of Sunday Bloody Sunday a little, and I know I'm singing Bright Eyes style but it seemed to fit the somewhat bleak verses to sing in that desperate voice. I also know that the bridge sucks ass, I'm aware of that...I was just jamming it out and haven't really given much thought to that part. I'm also gonna mess around with the arrangement a little...I dunno...it's a long song and some parts I think could be better orchastrated...ideas? More...

Song #1: He's a Prophet
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I've been reading this book called "Into the Wild" and it inspired me to write this song...it's about this guy who gives up everything as we know it to wander the Earth looking for truth and meaning...he ends up starving to death in Fairbanks, AK about 30 miles from Healy (where I've done shows before solo and with a band)...it's a great read. The song is sort of about letting go and doing your own spiritual journey. More...