I will not be slowed down.  I feel no pain.

I have been writing alot lately, and have posted some demos of a few new tunes.

I also posted the lyrics.

I have mixed feelings about that.

Here’s my version of a Kings of Leon song too:

sex on fire

For my summer gig schedule, go here:  Wilder Brothers Blog

crumbs

Vs. 1

Pretend we never met Undo it better yet.

Portray me to the world like I’m a criminal.

I’d like a little time to wrestle with my mind

I’m starting to believe I might be self-destructive.

They say home is where your folks are and i know it’s true that most are

All fucked up like everybody else.

And hope it springs anew with every sight of you

whether near or far, it doesn’t matter now.

Chorus:

The Communion that we take is the love that we make

but thieves made off with the bread and the wine.

One empty wine glass sits there next to one small pile

of Crumbs

Vs. 2

Even though everybody listens not everybody hears

We’re all using our voice box; neglecting our ears.

and i for one won’t be held down, i’ll fight for better years.

You made off clean with my heart, but i retain my tears.

Chorus

The Communion that we take is the love that we make

but thieves made off with the bread and the wine.

One empty wine glass sits there next to one small pile

of Crumbs.  Crumbs.

Vs. 3

Fast forward six months from now

No longer tired, no longer down.

No longer searching for absolution.

Chorus:

The Communion that we take is the love that we make

but thieves made off with the bread and the wine.

One empty wine glass sits there next to one small pile

of Crumbs

Crumbs

Crumbs

done awake

Vs.

Open all the windows cause i like to feel the wind blow.

Medeski, Martin, and Wood is crankin on my radio.

My Dog is in the back and he rides so well.

We’re driving kind of fast cause we smell that smell.

Chorus:

Crossing streets and skipping too

The biggest things inside are true

Being here and only here

Dreaming’s done awake, my dear

Vs. 2:

Up against this surface, i’m so close to breaking in.

I can’t reason you away, i’m deeper than my skin.

I don’t know what to tell you, but i like to play it cool.

The best thing you could do is stay perched up on that bar stool.

Chorus:

Crossing streets and skipping too

The biggest things inside are true

Being here and only here

Dreaming’s done awake, my dear

Bridge:

Music is so innocent.

Heaven’s here; need not be sent

Cryptic quips erupt with ease.

The books you’ve read, now, if you please.

I’m supposed to keep it clean, so clean.

Inside, alive, i’m so obscene.

Vs.3:

I opened up my eyes to see a cupcake wearing tennis shorts.

The image burned and now i feel a little bit out of sorts.

I wash my face reluctantly and head out through the door.

It’s time to walk that line goes from the ceiling to the floor.

Chorus:

Crossing streets and skipping too

The biggest things inside are true

Being here and only here

Dreaming’s done awake, my dear

Crossing streets and skipping too

The biggest things inside are true

Being here and only here

Dreaming’s done awake, my dear

the ridiculous

Vs. 1

Put it away or let it all go

Keep it shut tight or let it show

Tell me your life. Tell me your death.

Tell me your lies under my breath

Chorus:

The fire’s all around us and the heat is going up in this place

I couldn’t be any less concerned about saving face.

You’re probably disappointed but that’s not my problem, not anymore.

I did what i did and then you kicked my ass right out the door.

Vs. 2

Give me your laughter.  Give me your screams

You can’t even imagine this isn’t a dream.

Who are you?  I’ll tell you who am I.

We are ridiculous staying so high

You think you’re selfless, i say you’re kind

But it’s  not my place, dear, to change your mind.

Chorus:

Click here to see it.

It involves intensive studies in music theory, history, piano skills, pedagogy, ear training, and arranging/orchestration, as well as performance requirements such as private lessons and ensemble playing.

Improvisation is unique to a jazz degree in academia and other jazz specific courses are also common.

In addition to that, my master’s degree also required a music journalism class, a transcription and analysis class, a music business class, a music technology class, and a music composition class.

The final project was a combination of a recital(see audio clips) and a thesis.

We had a lot of choice, as far as our subject matter goes and what I chose to do for my thesis was to do a transcription and analysis project on the late, great jazz bassist Ray Brown.

In the paper, i focused on his way of playing bass lines.  Although i did transcribe some solos, i did not write about them because my paper would have been twice as long, at least, and that would not have put me in very good standing with my evaluators.

so, with no further adieu, i present to you my master’s thesis:

Deep Brown

I must warn  you, this is a 48 page document, but there might be some gems in there for you bassists out there.  Plus, transcriptions in the appendix.

On a less academic note, i did have a brush with the man himself in the spring of 2003, i think.

Here is a pic from the clinic that i attended.  I asked a question and he had me come up and play.  I was terrified, but he was really cool.

Yes, I am playing his bass there.

Yes, I am wearing a mock turtle neck.

Yes, I look very different, but i assure you, that is, in fact me.

This melody was composed while i was sitting at the piano next to the TV.  It was September 11, 2001 early afternoon and i was watching coverage of the attacks on the world trade center that had taken place that morning.

I’m sure most of us remember the details of that day in detail.  I had just arrived at USM that morning and since i was early, i decided to go to the computer lab to check my email before class.  While i was doing so, some of my fellow music students turned on the television in the lab and we were all made aware of what was happening.  It was traumatic.  Some cried.  I was in quiet disbelief and shock.  Classes were cancelled and an emergency performance of Mozart’s requiem was scheduled for the afternoon.  I went home and spent the rest of the day with the TV on(rare at that point in my life), making phone calls, attending to household chores and writing this tune.

In hindsight, what i felt was not anger, patriotism ,or any of the many things that were talked about on the news shortly after that event.  It was more like a disturbance in the force, so to speak.

You see, I believe that there is a collective conciousness out there instead of the patriarchal God figure that i was raised to believe in.  I see it as an energy force that binds us all together.  It’s the reason that we feel for each other and the reason that the crossword seems easier when you give it another try the day after it’s published in the paper. That day i felt a million cries of pain of varying degrees ripple through that collective.

This tune is my tribute to the rest of humanity and my way of saying ‘i feel your pain and empathize with it.  You are not alone.’

Here is an Electric version in a different key:  prana

Here is the version played by the Uarts Jazz Ensemble:  Prana (take 2)

Theoretically, this song is an example of what i’ve come to call “Modal Cubism” or “Cubic Modality”…still working on that one.

Basically, this is my own personal way of playing improvised music.  In a nutshell, it means combining a modal approach to the melodic and harmonic material while using the number 12 for your rhythmic content.

A cube has 12 sides and if you divide 12 you get 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12.  For me, it’s a way of allowing any music that is in duple or triple time to exist in either time signature.

This song is intended for the groove to go back and forth between 2 and 3, although it is written in 3.  The melody is pretty much D aeolian, although others can be superimposed to imply other tonalities as may be indicated by the harmony.

This tune sounds really nice played in the higher register of the bass.

Here is the music:

The car belongs to Kevin Roughton and we ride to gigs in it.

mp3:  the smooth

Here is the music:

I often will jot ideas down in a little music paper notebook, when they strike me.

They range from very short snippets to full songs.

This tune is like a sonic patchwork quilt.

It is several small ideas that i found in my notebooks, put together by my brain.

My brain is like the Bond-O that holds together the smooth.

Enjoy!

I wrote this tune the day that he died.

To me, he was one of the greatest people to ever live and i could never do justice to any of the stories about him.

click here to hear it:  VWR

Here is the lead sheet:

Theoretically, i don’t have much to share about this one.  When i wrote it, i was in college and really into Monk.

I heard from one of my instructors about Monk writing major blues tunes sometimes.

I also was just beginning to understand about chord substitutions, and how Bartok used harmony.

I misunderstood both of those things at the time and this tune came out of that combined misunderstanding.

That is a beautiful thing.