Kick Off The New Year With A New Song!

Here are some suggestions from Graham English.


For other ideas you could also visit one of these sites:

The Songhacker's post on the Musak Test.

Jeff's Songwriting Blog. A Lesson From Country Songs.

Rob Roper hangs his songwriting butt out for all to see.

In Case You Missed These Three Songs That Put Us Up To Fifty Written...

The Pepto Song.mp3

Built-To-Spill-inspired Instrumental.mp3

Rock A Bye Baby.mp3

Pepto Bismol Revisited

Yes. In this post you may remember my challenge. To go where no writer has gone before. At least, no writer here at Songwriting Apples. To my knowledge anyway.

So here goes. I ain't too proud. Heck, I posted a song about Unicorns so what have I got to lose?


Pepto_Bismol.mp3

Pepto Bismol Commercial Jingle


Nausea, heartburn, indigestion
Upset stomach, diarrhea

Yeah, yeah, yeah pepto bismol oooooh
Yeah, yeah, yeah pepto bismol oooooh yeaaaaahhh.



I made it to be exactly (or almost exactly) 30 seconds so it would fit as a traditional commercial length. It's patterned after those cheesy beer commercial type songs. I think I may have achieved it too well. :)

2007-12-09 Instrumental: Did I Steal This From...?

...that one band? Uh...what's their name?

Seriously, I can picture the band I stole it from. The beauty is, most people won't know I took it. But I confess now in advance that I realize after the fact that I most likely stole it unintentionally from...

**edited on 12/28/2007** The band was Built To Spill. I'm pretty sure I must have ripped off something from their album You In Reverse.


I can't remember. But there last album looked like the drooping clock paintings that Van Gogh. Wait. Google says that would be Dali. (See accompanying picture).
Whatever.

2007-12-09 Instrumental



I just had fun playing bass, drums, and guitar.

Rock A Bye Baby

I don't know where this song is going, but this is a jam I was playing on my front porch. I saw my kids playing outside, thought of the old nursery rhyme, and found that it had a new significance (at least to me) sung in this way. The keychange weirdness is something that popped into my head as I was working it out in my mancave.

Here's the origin of the song. I may reference this more if I decide to do something else with this song. Here's an extended lyric and a midi-esque sounding piano version.


Rock A Bye Baby.mp3

Rock A Bye Baby



Rock a bye baby on the tree tops
when the wind blows, the cradle will rock
if the bow breaks the cradle will fall
and down will come baby cradle and all, cradle and all

even if God finds me I will take a chance
even as the sun hides from the moon
even if the wrongs I've done can track me down
even if your love comes back too soon

Some Effects of Playing Music I Never Counted On

Last week the bass player in my new group asked me to play in a situation I had never before. His church was hosting a group of homeless men each night this week. Feeding them, offering hair care, entertainment, etc. He asked if we might have our weekly practice at the church building to entertain the visitors. I quickly said I'd love to, not at all aware of what sort of effect it might have on me or the visitors.

Last night on the way to the building, I found myself feeling anxious, but excited. I wondered how the music would be received. Mostly, I just reminded myself to be open to anything.

After practicing for an hour or so, the vans began to arrive. And for the next hour and a half we were able to play our music for a group of homeless men. They applauded. They joked. They sat, rapt at the music they heard. Privately, they discussed some of their feelings with Dave while Lisa and I did a few songs ourselves.

Today I receive an e-mail from Dave with some of the content of those discussions. He mentioned that a few of the men indicated that they appreciated the songs. They were easy to understand and had a relevant meaning. The following is a quote from the same e-mail:

"Many of these guys that I have had conversation with each night this week indicated, they were "just like me" (hope that was meant as a good thing) when they were younger but had just taken their eyes of of God and started to direct their own steps and bang! This is where they are. Interesting find in all of this, not one man has asked for anything more than what we have provided and not one man has blamed God for their misfortune. Quite the contrary, they blame only themselves."

And here I thought WE were the ones providing the service and giving out the lessons...

John

In The Studio With Stephen M.: Control Freaks Letting Go

Here's one of my indie-rock super heroes talking about letting go in the studio.

Dylan Goes Electric

Well, it's nothing so radical, but for the last three months I've been playing acoustic only shows. This week I will be plugging in and hauling along a drummer as well.

I'm actually pretty excited about it. I get to use my newest amp for the first time in a live setting.

I'll report back or post a link of the show when I'm done. Here's a tentative set list for the evening:

Paul
We Could Write Our Own Songs
Things (Brothers, Sisters)
Such Great Heights
Here's To Things I Haven't Done
I Can't Get Over It
Can You Hear Me?
Don't Give Up
Silent Night
Auld Lang Syne

I Like How This Song Sounds

This song sounds good to me. When John posted his last post about hearing records and listening for sounds you want to have, I realized that I had a recording of my own that I was reasonably happy with sonically. If I can recreate the acoustic sound, the drums, and my vocal sound, I will be very happy with my own recordings. I just have to see if I can recreate it.

(I accidentally posted this post on my family blog and someone commented that it sounded like Wilco. Cool! I'm sure I hope it sounds an eighth like one of the good Wilco records).

Four Fingers and a Broken Swiss Guitar Tied Behind His Back

Even with it tied behind his back he could kick my butt.

CHOPS. Out.

Some Things Live On

We had a great Thanksgiving here. Jen, Rachel and a couple other friends and I did the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot run in the morning. It was very windy and snowing during the race, but fun was had by all. Did a little prep around the house and then welcomed 20 or so family members for dinner. Dishes brought by all made for quite a feast. A morning spent running makes the bird and trimmings taste even better.

A personal highlight of the day, for me, was to have Grandma Renda in our home again. She is over 90 and was in the hospital most of the summer/fall. I didn't see any way she would be with us for the holidays, but, thankfully, I was very wrong. She walked into the house assisted only by an offered hand to steady her up the stairs and visited with the family all day. Quite a woman.

In recent weeks, I had been looking into purchasing a Mandolin. Jen mentioned that Grandma had a couple of Grandpa's old Mandolins lying around. Well, word got to her about this and two mandolins are now sitting in the Man-Cave™. I was a bit nervous about the whole thing, but she was very gracious about it all and said that Grandpa would've liked that someone is playing them again. As I said, quite a woman. Kent (relative) had brought his bass along, so the two of us retired to the Man-Cave™ to while away a couple of hours in song. Family members wandered in and out to listen and bring us cookies.



Today, I got some new strings for the instrument and began to read up on the process. Sometimes particular instruments have little quirks that must be respected. After a bit of study, I decided to remove all the old strings and use some elbow grease to polish her up. About halfway through, I was struck with a nostalgia that made me pause and look a bit on the instrument. This was Grandpa's mandolin. He had been the one to play it and change out her strings for years. Now, it was my responsibility. Now, it was my pleasure. I thought a bit more and, for some reason, grabbed my camera to capture the process a bit.


The bridge on a mandolin is not fixed. Rather, it can be moved to bring about the best possible sound. Not being comfortable with the whole process, I replaced the bridge in the same spot.


Not exactly re-stringing a guitar. One by one, the new strings began to bring the old mandolin to life.


Done. Polished body... Treated fretboard... New strings...

And music.

Some things live on.
J

Trying to See the Sound

Now that I have a few songs in my suitcase, I've really started to think about recording these things for real. While being away for awhile hunting I took the opportunity to begin to think about my "sound palette". You know, the "colors" that will make up my sonic painting. When I write, the palette usually consists of an acoustic guitar, main vocals and maybe some harmony vocals. Occasionally I'll add something to the mix, but that's pretty standard.

Over the past few years my sonic palette hasn't really been important or obvious to me. Recently, I've begun to see my desired sound more clearly. LeAnn Rimes said in a recent interview in American Songwriter Magazine that she made a mix CD for her producer to give him an idea of what she was looking for in her sound. I thought this was a great idea, so I began to look through my music collection for the "sounds" that I've been inspired by. After getting down to a short list of songs (not necessarily artists), I sat down and listened. Over and over again. Why do I love these songs, sonically? What instruments are playing? Where are they positioned in the sound field? What types of instrumentation and mixing fits the type of songs I write?

Here's a little bit of what I've learned the past few days. I'm a sucker for a few specific instruments when combined properly. Also, I have some very specific and different ideas about drums and percussion and how they should relate to the song (well, MY songs, at least). I actually took it so far as to make a list of instruments I would love to have on my CD someday. Here's that list with a few observations about each choice:

1. Acoustic Guitar - This will be the bread and butter of the sound. Sometimes it may be the focus of the song, other times in the background as a scratch track. Also, combinations of Acoustic Guitars (posssibly capoed) could be great.
   
2. Piano - Sometimes there's nothing like a few well timed chords from a piano to anchor an idea in a song.
   
3. Slide Guitar - High soaring sounds. Adds atmosphere.
   
4. Bass - Upright if possible.
   
5. Cello - Adds low end acoustic flavor.
   
6. Mandolin - Adds high end acoustic flavor plus a little country.
   
7. Violin/Fiddle - A lead instrument.
   
8. Drums - Sparse, but with a purpose when used. Not overly busy. Pocket.
   
9. Percussion - Usual shaker and tambourine, but other non-conventional sounds as well when effective.

So, there it is. The beginnings of my sound palette. Now all I need to do is find some folks who can actually PLAY all these instruments!

Write on,
John

2007-11-15 An Instrumental Thing

It's not really instrumental in the sense of there being only one instrument played well. Instead, I'm playing several instruments poorly to make a louder noise.

I just had to try and record the idea. There's a whole other part to it, but it wasn't interesting enough to bother including.

Enjoy!

2007-11-15 Instrumental

What Are You Waiting For?

This came in a flash this morning. I was up earlier than normal and decided I should just record it quickly. I just picked up my guitar (capo II already on) and played this little ditty.

What Are You Waiting For.mp3

What Are You Waiting For?
c2007 Steven Wesley Guiles

What are you waiting for?
What are you waiting for?

There's no time like the present
There's no time like the present

You'll regret it forever
You better go and get her

You better go and get her
You better go and get her


Something can wait, but somethings are needin' some of your attention
Can you bear the weight of a deed undone that could release the tension?
(repeat)

Win A Chance To Have Sufjan Record YOUR Christmas Song!

It could be cool. Sure, you relinquish all rights to your song forever, but it gets recorded by SUFJAN STEVENS, indie songwriting master of destruction. How can that be wrong. Plus, you get to KEEP and OWN one of HIS songs! Tell me THAT ain't cool. I officially make this our December challenge that you can start now. I didn't even ask John. But this is too cool to pass up. C'mon people!

Here's the link. Christmas Song Give Away

Here's the official skinny from the Asthmatic Kitty (Sufjan's label) website.

Times of Possibility

Inspired by Big Fish and an email with John Natiw...written in about 5 minutes. I may change it or rerecord it better. But I like what this rough sketch looks like...



Times of Possibility.mp3

Times of Possibility
by Steven Wesley Guiles

Times of possibility
times of risk and change
Times for moving forward
and times for making gains

Times for consequences
to actions that we've made
These times of possibility
Times of risk and change

Times for past resentments
growing for too long
Time to let them fall to earth
before they become to strong

Time for pure forgiveness
Time for feeling pain
These times of possibility
Times of risk and change

SWG Show Review Nov. 9

Here's my show review in plain old text.
You can also recheck it at the ol' myspace page if you want.

Here are some photos from my last show at Rico's. The first is me and the second is My Name Is Milk. Thanks to Somafied for the pics. Thanks to my head for looking smaller than normal. And a special thanks to the fish eye lens.





Rico Coffee November 9th

This show was a pleasant surprise. I've had a few pretty horrible weeks. For the past two weeks I've been in and out of being sick, losing my voice, etc. Fiona and Joy have also been sick, so sleep has been sporadic for everyone and the misery index at the Guiles' house is at a new high. We're going to survive, but it sure ain't fun. Did I mention I had two wonderful nights of kidney stone related pain? Yeah. That was part of the "sure ain't fun" of the past couple weeks.

The pleasant surprise was first, there were more people here this time than last time. That's always nice. Our faithful attendees were attending (how attendant of them!) and several new faces were in the audience. We had offers of live bongo playing from one audience member and some neighbors of mine also came. It was an all around fun evening and I got to pick and choose from a bunch of songs that I've been wanting to play. This once-a-month residency has been working out nicely so far.

My Name Is Milk, co-headliner for the evening, started things off in strong form. As soon as he comes out with a recording I'll be better at identifying the titles to all of his songs, but last night I was in the middle of figuring out my set while he played, so I didn't do a very good job of tracking his set. Milkman played his newest song (which is a tear-jerk masterpiece) and ended with his great set-ender, Goodnight, I Love You.

Here were the songs in the order they were played...or close to the order they were played:


I Won't Back Down (with modified kidney lyrics)
-I dedicated this song to my kidneys. Tom Petty sure has written a lot of songs I like.

Weapons of Mass Destruction
-I really, really need to do a good recording of this song. I like it and have played it to positive response for sometime, but I've never recorded it properly. I have one recording with spastic drumming that captures the idea I want, but really sucks as a recording.

Can You Hear Me?
-I decided to do this song in a simpler version because I forgot my lyric sheet, but everyone seems to like this one when I play it. I scratched out a modified lyric to use for the evening and it worked out fine.

The Next Chapter
-I have a pretty good recording of this song that I included on my second E.P. I handed out 10 hand numbered copies tonight. 5 new songs. It was fun. This is a really good song too (of course, I'm biased). My recording had only drums and acoustic guitar as background instrumentation, but it sounds so full that I really like it.

Here's To Things I Haven't Done
-This is a song that may eventually become a Pushstart song (if I don't record it first). I may work up an acoustic/drum demo version of my own to release on an E.P. in the future. I love how it feels when I get to the chorus on this song...mmmm....big chorus.

Don't Be Waitin'
-This song is the step-child of two other songs I'd written. The guys in Pushstart liked the verses but didn't like the original chorus, so I took a chorus from another song I'd been working on (in another key) and slapped it on, and they LOVED it. It was weird for me at first, but now it seems natural and I can't imagine it any other way. This is another chorus that I'm really proud of.

Help!
-Another cover tune that I modified to fit my kidney/intestinal situation. You've got to be able to laugh at yourself and your life or else you just get sad all the time.

Country Star
-Jeff said I should play this song for someone that was coming, so I broke it out from memory (because I HAVE performed it hundreds of times by now). It went well and didn't feel as worn out as it's felt in the past. It was like visiting an old friend. I may have him over again sometime soon.


As Milkman heckled me, I cut into the first line of this song...

I've Got News For You
-On my previous 5 song E.P. The recording of this is very basic. I love the 3 part power yell harmonies on the last chorus. I was trying to copy a song I'd heard before (but couldn't remember what it was). I'd really like to mimic what the Verve does on their vocals on Urban Hymns. He does a lot of vocal tracks where he sings the chorus in octaves (a low and high voice) and it has a great sound. Not that this song is ANYTHING like the Verve. I just think maybe that was the original inspiration for HOW I recorded it.


Fill My Mind With You
-ON the new 5 song E.P. (#2). A pretty and simple song I wrote for Joy.


One
-One of my all-time favorite songs from one of my all-time favorite bands, U2.


Bridge Over Troubled Water
-Once before I had played this song and then done a few after. My friend Eric told me once before that I probably shouldn't try to play too many more songs after playing this one. It IS like, super epic. It IS by Simon and Garfunkel, the masters of 60s and 70s top 40 pop. (Would they be considered top 40?) I love this song too. This song has deep roots with me because I've heard it since I was a kid on my mom and dad's record player. I still have the record.


Song I left out that I want to try and do next time:

Don't Give Up (a newer song that I really like), Such Great Heights, Los Angeles, With Friends Like These Who Really Needs Amphetamines.

I also want to play Tammy Faye, I Love You and People Are Pictures next time. Both were on the new 5 song E.P. but I didn't have enough time to practice them (due to the sore throat, lack of sleep, kidney stone-esque, very bad, horrible week).


Covers I'd like to do:

The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes, and the Pride of Life (by the 77s). This is a song I used to cover all the time that I absolutely love. I may try and find this one and pull it out for Dec. 14. We'll see how the kidneys fare.

Good Grief! Radiohead Inspires Paste!

I told you in a previous post that Radiohead may well shake up the model for how people do business. Now Paste Magazine is following suit. If you don't already subscribe, you MUST take advantage of this freaking amazing offer online. Here's the deal: Receive one year of Paste Magazine for whatever you think it would be worth. That's it.

I already get this magazine and can't recommend it highly enough. I would pay the full retail price to get it, so this is just an amazing offer. I'm sure many of you will be hooked and addicted within a month of subscribing.

Here's the link. Do it. Do it now.
(The lowest price you can set to receive one year is $1. Shoot. That's a good deal.

Be A Pepto-Star

Sure, it's cheesy, but then again, it's a potential $15,000 of cheesy.
I'm willing to bring the cheese for the pesos. If I can put one of my silly songs into a nationwide ad campaign and make some money, I'm ok with that. If the Rolling Stones can do it, I think it's ok for me to do it too. Not that the Rolling Stones ever did a Pepto-Bismol ad...

Here's the link.

I've already got a sweet little tune in the hopper for this.
I'd like to make this a songwriting challenge...but we'll make the bonus challenge for the year. The contest is open until January something or other.

Here are some more rules and requirements for your perusal:

You must be at least 18 years old to enter, and anyone appearing in your video must be at least 18 years old, too.

• Video must be original and no longer than one minute.

• Video must portray the five symptoms—nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, and diarrhea.

• Video may not contain or refer to any brands other than Pepto-Bismol.

• Please don't depict anything crude, lewd, or vulgar.

• You and up to five additional people may appear in your video, but it is not necessary for you or any other person to appear.

• All video entries must be your own original unpublished work and cannot contain, incorporate, or reference anything that is owned by any third party or entity or would require the consent of any third party or entity in any jurisdiction.

• Videos will be judged based on the following criteria:
• Originality and creativity (50%)
• Appropriate portrayal of the five symptoms Pepto-Bismol treats (35%)
• Suitability for use in an advertisement (15%)

--Here are the lyrics...yeah, they're pretty bad, but they do get across their central message--

Pepto Star Song Lyrics
Nausea,
Heartburn,
Indigestion,
Upset stomach,
Diarrhea,
Yay, Pepto-Bismol!

Cold Tacos

For every extremely serious song I write, my brain creates at least three ridiculous, wacky songs. A majority of these songs are written around my kids or my students at school. I've noticed that my school written songs TEND to take on a more hip hop vibe.

This song is destined to rank up there with other classic dumb songs, like Unicorn: The Other White Meat, The Chicken Song, or Don't Be Hatin'.

I now present to you, in all it's silliness, Cold Tacos.

Cold Tacos.mp3

Cold Tacos
c2007 Mr. G and the Homies

I like tacos, I like 'em when they're hot
Tacos are good to heat when they're hot
If you get a cold taco that's not so great
Cold tacos on my plate
That's messed up...I don't want no...cold tacos
I don't want no cold tacos

Cold tacos
Cold tacos
Cold tacos

Don't give me no cold tacos
Don't give me no cold tacos
Don't give me no cold tacos



Cold Tacos

Death In Texas

I wrote and recorded this one last night after deciding on the title about a month ago.

I really didn't know what this was going to be about. I thought up a melodic structure (typical western song structure) the other night as I was falling asleep but that and the title were all I had until last night.

I didn't know where the verses were going to go until I got there. The third verse was a twist to me, it gives the song more meat. I really like where it goes.... Hope you do to.

Happy Halloween!
Eric
________________________________________________

Death In Texas.mp3

Death In Texas
Words and Music by Eric Shouse © 2007 Everybody Run Music

One dark night as I lay half-asleep in my bed
Got a strange phone call from the world of the legally dead
I was awake enough to hear the rattling chains
And through the hisses and moans, this is what I heard him say

"Get out of town, ride out as fast as you came
Don't pack a bag and tell all the rest to do the same
Don't know what the night will bring
All I know is one thing
In this world nothing can be certain...
but death in Texas"

Hung up the phone and tried my best to get back to sleep
Figured it was just a crank call from some psychopathic creep
But all my dreams were nightmares, kept me awake
Saw Texas chainsaws & Troopers and this is what I heard them say...

"Get out of town, ride out as fast as you came
Don't pack a bag and tell all the rest to do the same
Don't know what the night will bring
All I know is one thing
In this world nothing can be certain...
but death in Texas"

Hopped out of bed, swore I heard someone screamin' my name
Looked at my hands and all I saw was blood stains
I was awake enough to hear the voices and the rattling chains
And through the whispers and sighs, this is what I heard them say...

"Get out of town, ride out as fast as you came
Don't pack a bag and don't tell no one your name
Don't know what the night will bring
All I know is one thing
In this world nothing can be certain...
but death in Texas"

Ooo!... Death in Texas
________________________________________________

PS - Ben Franklin has been quoted and misquoted by some of the greatest minds of our time... and me. I heard Mr. Franklin's famous quote about taxes and filed away this idea a few weeks ago. Thanks Ben Franklin!

It's the Rest of Your Life

photo courtesy of the city of Pittsburgh,
the sun and my daughters - 2007

This one started to form on October 14th. A couple verses, which did not make the cut, came out very quickly. The chorus idea came shortly after... It's the Rest of Your Life. There have been a lot of things happening in and around my life of late that probably helped bring this song out. I've tried to keep it as "open" as possible. Hoping that many people can relate to the simple idea of "beginning anew". The music is deliberately simple in this one. I struggle a bit with lyric writing and melody (not a good thing for a songwriter), so I decided to use only two chords and try to vary the melodies and focus intensely on the lyrics. I can't remember ever putting more work into lyrics than I have these. Hopefully it'll pay off.

This recording was done after making numerous work tapes as the song progressed. Just felt like this one needed a little better treatment than just a work tape. And, yes, that's my cell phone going off silently at the end. *doh*

Thanks for listening,
John
10/23/07

UPDATE 10/26/07 - Had the chance to rehearse this one with a couple of my ex-band-mates from Seven Bridges the other night. Not often these days that I get to play music with other folks. Dave did a great job of lending some "bottom" to this one with his bass. Lisa added some nice dynamics with backing vocals as well. Even in places where I had not originally heard them. Looks like the three of us will be debuting this one on November 10th at the Baseline Folk Society open mic. I can't wait.
John

It's the Rest of Your Life.mp3

It's the Rest of Your Life
words and music by John Natiw

Well it's time to go
I see it in your eyes
It's a winding road
It's a big surprise

It's the rest of your life
It's the rest of your life

And it starts now
You're born again
No goin' back
To where you've been

Maybe find some hope
Or even something more
It's the time to dream
It's an open door

It's the rest of your life
It's the rest of your life

Maybe see the world
Through different eyes
It's the chance to change
It's a new sunrise

It's the rest of your life
It's the rest of your life
It's the rest of your life
It's the rest of your life

Oooh, yeah
Oooh, yeah

Well it's time to go
I see it in your eyes
It's a winding road
It's a big surprise

I See Your Ghost

Here's my best at a spooky song for October. I didn't think I would get one, but I did.

I See Your Ghost.mp3

I See Your Ghost
c2007 Steven Wesley Guiles

I see ghosts everywhere I go
I see your ghost everywhere I go

Wander through the earth
Wonder when you'll return
Cuz' I see ghosts everywhere I go
I see your ghost everywhere I go

Now I thought I saw your face
But it was...just a ghost

Live Show Review By Me And Of Me

I played a show.
I reviewed that show, song by song, to the best of my ability.

Here's that review.

Simple Math II: The Revision Continues

Well, this blog has given me several songs that I've loved and a few I've regretted...

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?

So, this song has been rattling around in my brain and I've come up with a bridge for it that I think is pretty clever, if I do say so myself. I haven't had time to record it, but I may try to tonight if the kids are sleeping peacefully. We'll see.

For now I wanted to post the lyrics because I think they're pretty clever.

One is a number that I'm thinking of addin' on to
Two is a number indivisible me plus you
Three now that's progress we've added one more Are we a company yet?
Four that's where I had to lock the door
I don't think I'll look back with regret

Who knew simple math would be so hard to do?
Sub-tract add on until they say you're through
Count cruel numbers until your face turns blue
I always thought...that one plus one was two

One was the loneliest I'd ever been till you moved in
Two now I think maybe we added wrong let's do those numbers up again
Three was a trainwreck crashin' into
Four four four is walkin out my door,
Excuse me while go and get her back

Who knew simple math would be so hard to do?
Sub-tract add on until they say we're through
Count cruel numbers until your face turns blue
I always thought...that one plus one was two

First we were just multiplying
Now it seems our times are dividing
I think we’ve met our quotient for this year
If you factor in the joys and the tears
If in this equation you are an x, and I ask “why?”
Do we subtract, add or multiply?

Who knew simple math would be so hard to do?
Sub-tract add on until they say we're through
Count cruel numbers until your face turns blue
I always thought...that one plus one was two

One plus one was two
One plus one was two
Aaaaaaoooooooohh

Wrinkles of My Mind

Wrinkles of My Mind.mp3

Wrinkles of My Mind
words and music by Gene Gorski

A little further down the road
Another spin around this world
Letting the universe unfold
In the wrinkles of my mind

Steam's rising from my bike in the cold mountain air
And the morning bites like a wolf on the hunt
Snow paints serenity over the chaos of my life
A brief vacation from the reality
Like an expensive Santa Fe gallery
Where I can't even afford to look

A little further down the road
Another spin around this world
Letting the universe unfold
In the wrinkles of my mind

The best I can say is that I am still in the game
And I haven't heard the fat lady sing
So as long as I still got some gas in this tank
I'll take it a little further down the road
Hang on for one more spin around the globe
To see what is turning my way

A little further down the road
Another spin around this world
Letting the universe unfold
In the wrinkles of my mind

John and Paul gave us the ticket to ride
Billy Graham left us no place to hide
Snoop Dogg said just let it slide
While Mick Jagger can't be satisfied

So tell me what's a poor boy like me to do
but take it

A little further down the road
Another spin around this world
Letting the universe unfold
In the wrinkles of my mind

Forbidden Fruit

The first two lines of the chorus are where the song came from. It is the story of a man trying to get in to the wrong pair of pants. I recorded this using a Mesa Boogie 5/25 Express using only 5 watts into an AT 4040 mic. Playing the Jon Kammerer acoustic. This is my first time micing the amps and I am happy. Next time I will add room mics for a bigger sound, but for a first try I am pretty darn happy.

Forbidden Fruit.mp3

Forbidden Fruit
words and music by Gene Gorski

I've never loved a woman
Like I love you right now
But is this fresh and never frozen
Or am I just getting my heart broken

Feng shui, passion play
Three way, fore play
On my knees
Here I pray
Gimme what I need
I 'll love you forever tonight
Forbidden fruit tastes so sweet
But I'll love you forever tonight

In this world ruled by fear
Our love is all that stands
Between eternity and damnation
Laying my sanity on your salvation

Feng shui, passion play
Three way, fore play
On my knees
Here I pray
Gimme what I need
I 'll love you forever tonight
Forbidden fruit tastes so sweet
But I'll love you forever tonight

It's a chance I'm willing to take
We'll work out the rest
in the light of day
It's a leap of fate
I'm willing to take

Feng shui, passion play
Three way, fore play
On my knees
Here I pray
Gimme what I need
I 'll love you forever tonight
Forbidden fruit tastes so sweet
But I'll love you forever tonight

This May Be The New Business Model: Radiohead Releases New Album...For Free?!

If you haven't heard about this yet, get with it.
This may change how you (we, me, I) do music in the future.
Pay attention.

Read this article.

Challenge for October?

Anyone with ideas for October?
I know we had several ideas in the past, but I can't for the life of me recall what they were.

Broad theme? More specific?

A song about a dog?
A song about cats?

Cats and dogs?
Pumpkins? Halloween?
The color orange?


Color theme? Primary colors only?
Let's here some ideas and take a vote.

Eggs & Sausage...

Just watch this.

An Idea... That's Getting Closer

About a week ago, I posted An Idea Whose Time... Has Not Yet Come. Since then, I've been plunking around with it trying to find out what it wants to be when it grows up. A few days ago an additional part reared its head. I'm just posting the thing here to track the evolution of this song. Whatever it becomes. NOTE: this is a work tape recording, not a "studio take".

07_0925_idea.WMA (2:07)

Carry on.
J

SoundClick.com

Hey all,
Just a heads up about a pretty cool/useful/entertaining site I came across the other day.

SoundClick.com

If you're looking for a place (other than Songwriting Apples, of course) to host your mp3's, videos and maybe even keep a blog, then this site may be right in your wheelhouse. I plan on trying this site out for myself. I'll keep you posted.
Late,
J

May the Nations Praise You (Psalm 67)

>>EDITED POST MATERIAL<<
Well, here's a revision based on a few ideas from fellow Apple contributor, Doc Gene.
I like it a lot better now! Thanks for the ideas Gene. I took it a few steps further...

Here are the revised lyrics, though not incredibly different, I changed many of the verses by removing one syllable/word to make the line match up with the original first verse melody. Here's the revised lyric and a newer recording:

May the Nations Praise You (Psalm 67)
Steven Wesley Guiles
revised on 9/24/09 with some ideas from Gene


Bolded parts were modified from the original lyric.
(syllables/number of notes sung)
May God show mercy and bless us (8/9)
His face shine with favor upon us (9/10)
Your ways shall be known throughout the earth (9/9)
Your power among your people to save us (11/12)

May the nations praise you, O God (8/10)
May the nations praise you, O Lord (8/10)

How glad the nations will be (7/9)
Singing for joy because you govern them with justice (13/13)
You guide the nations of the earth (8/9)

May the nations praise you, O God (8/10)
May the nations praise you, O Lord (8/10)
May the nations praise you, O God (8/10)
May the nations praise you, O Lord (8/10)

The earth will yield it's harvest (7/8)
And God, our God, he will richly bless us (10/10)
The people of the whole world (7/8)
Will know his works and fear him (7/8)
The ends of the earth will fear him. (8/9)

May the nations praise you, O God (8/10)
May the nations praise you, O Lord (8/10)
May the nations praise you, O God (8/10)
May the nations praise you, O Lord (8/10)

One of my greatest inspirations is the Bible, in particular, the book of Psalms, basically the early songs of the Jewish people for congregational worship. I've always associated with King David in his desire to be close to God regardless of what others think, even to the point of foolishness (and nudity). :)

So, I'm going to let my leaves fall where they may, and place one of this song of worship here.

It's almost a direct quotation of Psalm 67 (New Living Translation). I was pleasantly surprised at how well it fell into the melodic pattern I'd come up with.

After looking at the lyrics, I think it might flow smoother to remove a few syllables in the second line (get rid of everywhere in the 4th line). Thoughts?

May the Nations Praise You.mp3 (version two)

May the Nations Praise You.mp3 (original)

May the Nations Praise You (Psalm 67)
Steven Wesley Guiles

May God be merciful and bless us
May his face shine with favor upon us

May your ways be known throughout the earth
Your saving power among your people everywhere

May the nations praise you, O God
May the nations praise you, O Lord

How glad the nations will be
Singing for joy because you govern them with justice
You guide the nations of the earth

May the nations praise you, O God
May the nations praise you, O Lord
May the nations praise you, O God
May the nations praise you, O Lord

The earth will yield it's harvest
And God, our God, he will richly bless us
And the people of the whole world
Will know his works and fear him
The ends of the earth will fear him.

May the nations praise you, O God
May the nations praise you, O Lord
May the nations praise you, O God
May the nations praise you, O Lord

photo by spoon.

Advice from One of the Best

Tunesmith. net is a site I've mentioned in previous posts here. I've been doing quite a bit of reading over there of late and I'd like to share a few nuggets of wisdom that I've found with you. The first is a wonderful interview transcript with Chris Wallin, a successful Nashville songwriter who posts occasionally over on that forum. It's been a real treasure find to be able to read stuff posted in a songwriting forum by one of the best. Keep in mind that this information is from the "Nashville" perspective of songwriting. But, as far as I can tell, this is just solid information for any aspiring songwriter.

Transcript of NSAI's Pro Online Chat with Chris Wallin on June 7th, 2006

If time is tight, here are a few quotes from the interview:

Q: Do great ideas for you happen and "finish themselves" quick or not? How long does it take?
Chris: My writing never comes quick. I always have to build lines. When they do come faster then normal I always beat them to death to make sure I wasn't hasty.

Q: What is your single most important piece of advice?
Chris: In general, find out what it is that you do well and do that till you drop...no matter what it is. Whether it is editing, the idea person, melody, and so on and never write for the radio because radio is two years behind. If you can sing, save your $$ and do your own demos. But PLEASE be honest with yourself. If you can't do the song justice, get someone who can. It’s only your song that suffers if you don’t.

Q: Is it all about networking?
Chris: The networking helps but the best way to have good networking is to have great songs. The reason people will help you is because they like your songs. A plugger friend of mine has helped me out a lot. I thanked him one day for helping me. He said "Chris if you didn't write what I thought were great songs I couldn't afford to help you."

Ok. Now a few other quotes from Chris that I dug up in different threads on Tunesmith.

This one is his reaction to hearing When I Get Where I'm Going for the first time. I include this because I've had this exact same reaction to a couple of Chris' tunes.

This is one of those songs I heard and cried like a baby and then I called up Rivers Rutherford and said "YOU B*STERD!!!!" I have lost alot of family members in the last two years . This song hit me where I live. It also reminded me how powerful a song can be and inspired me to keep writing the songs that heal me.

This one is a small snippet from a longer post of his. This line really stood out to me and seemed to represent what we are about here at Songwriting Apples.

People look at Jeffrey Steele and Craig Wiseman and others and wonder "what do they do I don't do? I'll tell you.... they write 100-120 songs a year. They work their tails off all the time. They moved to Nashville years ago and sacrificed EVERYTHING to put themselves in the "right place at the right time".

I thought this "p.s." for one of his posts was very interesting...

p.s. There are songwriters here that will have deals one day . Probably not who you think. I wish all of you the best. Please don't stop learning. I learn something new everyday. If your dreams are flowers then hard work and knowledge are the sun and rain.

Concerning the process...

Sometimes I have Hook Sessions with people I write alot with. Just think of hooks and Ideas for songs all day and write them down. There will be alot of food at your next songwriting buffet.<---- ok so that was a little wierd. Anyway sometimes a song breaks out and you start writing. What a Concept.

And, finally, I don't think this is his, but he used it and it's relevant...

Just because you eat(listen to songs) doesnt mean you can cook(write).

Hope these quotes and the interview are useful and inspirational.

Write on,
J

An Idea Whose Time... Has Not Yet Come.

Don't normally do this, but here is an idea I've been working on for a few days. I doubt it'll turn itself into a song by the end of the month, so I'm basically just trying to save face by posting this. This is an instrumental idea (not really a song) at the moment. Some of my tunes start just like this. A single idea. If I play it and listen to it enough I'll come up with some other stuff to go with it. Maybe I'll keep coming back to this post and update any progress that is made with this. Talk about "transparency in the writing process"!

Anyway, give it a listen. It's just the same thing done three times. When I can't come up with a change, melody or lyrics I'll usually make it into a CD and listen to it over and over in my truck until something comes to me. Then it's back into the studio. By the way, I thought enough of this idea to actually record it in the studio. It's just a single mic recording, but a vast improvement over the work tape recordings I usually do. The Martin sounds so good when it's recorded like this. I can't wait to hear what it sounds like in a real studio!

07_0919_idea.mp3

But WAIT... there's MORE! I was sitting around after posting this tonight listening to the work tapes for this song and pondering the "creative process". I really enjoy listening to/reading about people's creative process. Steve's video where he documented the making of a song is a great example of this. In that spirit, I present the work tapes for this idea. Probably not many people will have the patience (it's pretty brutal listening if you're not totally into this sort of thing) to check them all out. But consider them posted here for posterity's sake. These recordings ARE made on my little portable Olympus Digital Recorder. And, as near as I can recall, were made last week over a two or three day period.

Work Tape 1 (3:42) - You can hear the basic idea here as well as a whole lot of hacking away on the Martin which, in the interest of my creative reputation, we'll call "running down the idea". It's funny listening to this now because I can hear bits and pieces that actually made it into the mp3 recording. And, yes, that's my furnace kicking on at about 1:09. Hey, it was cold here in Michigan that day!

Work Tape 2 (1:20) - Mercifully shorter. The C/B/Am transition is becoming more apparent. Also working on the Am ending (which wouldn't feel right until the studio take). Also the hammer on the last Am chord would be kept in the studio take as well.

Work Tape 3 (2:01) - Starts out almost identical to the studio take. Still didn't have the last Am chord worked out (as is painfully obvious from about :57 - 1:30.. ouch!). And, like the last take (and eventually the studio take), I hammer the Am at the end. Only on the studio take would I hammer three strings instead of one.

So there it is. My soul laid bare. Do with it what you will.

And, for the record, if I don't come up with anything by the end of the month, this "idea" will suddenly become a "song".
Out.
J

100 Posts and Still Going Strong!

Back on December 21, 2006 we here at Songwriting Apples made what is now known as our infamous First Post (catchy title, we know). Today we make our 100th post. What began as an almost silly thing for a few friends to play around with has become a somewhat serious way for our members to improve in the area of songwriting. We've done a lot to improve the site since we started out. Steve and I had no idea that this site would become as much fun and productive as it has. And, to be truthful, I don't think either of us has any idea what it holds in store for the next 100 posts.

One thing we're sure of is that we've helped a few very creative souls push themselves a little further than they might have gone without the extra motivation (ourselves included!). If you doubt this, be sure to check out a few of the 37 songs that have been posted here.

We'd like to pause for just a moment to say thanks to the good apples who have contributed to this site during the first 100 posts. Liza, Eric, Gene... Your writing, photos, videos, websites, humor, words and songs have made this a great place to spend a little free time now and then. One of my favorite things is to click over to the Songwriting Apples site and find that one of you has posted something new. I know Steve has said this before and I'll say it too, this place is a great motivation!

So come on in, write a bit, sit back and listen... whatever feels right.

John Natiw & Steven Wesley Guiles
Co-Founders and Editors
Songwriting Apples.com

The Apple Don't Far Fall From The Tree

I get an industry email out here in Southern California from a lady that helps place indie band's songs in TV and movie. A couple of times a month she has a question and answer email from people on the list.

This little bit dealt with apples...so I couldn't pass it up:

The artist's biggest problem is understanding that just because they wrote a song, that does not mean it's great. They have to get to the point of "is this the best I can do with this, and is it good enough, or should I toss it and start over?" It's like picking apples, not every apple on the tree is going to be great. Strange analogy, but the best I could come up with this early in the morning.
{Editor's Note--(this is the editor of the email letter, not Steve or John): That's a great analogy! I couldn't agree more. And lots of those apples may be fine to eat but how many are super large, juicy and amazing? Artists always think the last song they wrote is their best. Most often that is NOT the case. In fact, many artist's first albums are their best as they had their whole lives to write it and pick songs from for it. The second one is usually harder to come by as it has to be written in a year or two. Some apples look good on the outside but you bite in and get a worm. A good apple is like a good song. It takes a lot of time to grow them right, pay attention to them, nurture them, develop them (the trees, not the apples themselves). Think you get my drift.}

So the inability to know what's bad, good, or great (which is ignorance) is the downfall of most artists. And the refusal of constructive criticism.


I couldn't agree more with some of this. My latest song is usually my best (lol). I love them all like my children. Or, in this case, my apples.

Photo by Stephen Butler.

Simple Math (Numbers Challenge Song Entry #2)

There's no prize. There's no glory.
But there IS a new song with a numeric theme in my collection that I don't hate.

I wrote this one with the low E dropped to a D.
My favorite chord is during the instrumental break I play my finger straight across all the strings at the fifth fret and then add my ring finger to the 7th fret of the G string and my pinkie (pinky?) to the 7th fret of the high E. It makes a nice little chord that I've never played before.

Yeah for me!

Here it is in all it's ragged glory. (If you hear or see a better title I'm open to it. I'm not so attached to it that it couldn't change).

Simple Math.mp3

Simple Math
c2007 Steven Wesley Guiles

One is a number that I'm thinking of
addin' on to
Two is a number indivisible
me plus you
Three now that's progress we've added one more
Are we a company yet?
Four that's where I had to lock the door
before we had one more to regret

(alternate last line-- I don't think I'll look back with regret)

Who knew simple math would be so hard to do?
Sub-tract add on until they say you're through
Count cruel numbers until your face turns blue
I always thought...that one plus one was two


One was the loneliest I'd ever been
till you moved in
Two now I think maybe we added wrong
let's do those numbers up again
Three was a trainwreck crashin' into me
Let's hope we can get it back on track
Four four four is walkin out my door
and never comin' back
(alternate last line—Excuse me while go and get her back)


Who knew simple math would be so hard to do?
Sub-tract add on until they say we're through
Count cruel numbers until your face turns blue
I always thought...that one plus one was two

One plus one was two
One plus one was two
Aaaaaaoooooooohh

Dante's 9 Circles of Hell

Here is my throwdown to the number challenge. I have had a loose collection of lines for a few years hanging around in a dusty old file in this computer. It seemed like it had potential and so I dusted it off, polished it off and then applied a simple chord progression to it. Instead of writing the melody down, I just played it and then recorded it and it is not all that bad. There are so many themes here that I have 'borrowed' from the old blues men. Just a good man feeling bad. What more can I say.

Dante's 9 Circles of Hell.mp3

Dante's 9 Circles of Hell
words and music by Gene Gorski

Suffered the past 9 hours trying to reboot my head
Lost the past 9 days, friends and family think I'm dead
Wasted the past 9 years hanging on your venomous lies
Gave you 9000 dollars baby, turns out that was unwise
In return you gave me a trip through Dante's 9 circles of Hell

Temptation in high heels and lust gift wrapped in lace
Painted woman with beauty locked up inside your suitcase
Didn't know till too late you ain't the real deal
You loved me like a tiger hungry for a meal
How was I to know you were a hell hound on my trail

Suffered the past 9 hours trying to reboot my head
Lost the past 9 days, friends and family think I'm dead
Wasted the past 9 years hanging on your venomous lies
Gave you 9000 dollars baby, turns out that was unwise
In return you gave me a trip through Dante's 9 circles of Hell

Burning in the fires of hell, with no ticket to get me home
Like some tourist stranded at night on the streets of Rome
Walked out with all my money, for kicks you kept my soul
But I don't gotta worry about ever being cold
Since you sent me through Dante's 9 circles of hell

Suffered the past 9 hours trying to reboot my head
Lost the past 9 days, friends and family think I'm dead
Wasted the past 9 years hanging on your venomous lies
Gave you 9000 dollars baby, turns out that was unwise
In return you gave me a trip through Dante's 9 circles of Hell

Just remember girl, he didn't call 'em circles for nothing
Be catchin' you next time through
Remeber my name, it's Norman

Suffered the past 9 hours trying to reboot my head
Lost the past 9 days, friends and family think I'm dead
Wasted the past 9 years hanging on your venomous lies
Gave you 9000 dollars baby, turns out that was unwise
In return you gave me a trip through Dante's 9 circles of Hell

(the kiss goodbye)

A Series of Fortunate Events... And a Bit of Deception... Leads to a Good Songwriting Lesson

Ok, stay with me on this. Here's how it went down.

Yesterday - I hear a Kenny Chesney song on the radio, Don't Blink (see video above). Now, I'm not a big Chesney fan, but right away I dig this tune. Especially the lyrics. They just fall right to me or something. I've always heard of how we as songwriters should endeavor to say something simple in different ways. Don't Blink is a genius example of this (IMO). Think about it. You could say Time Flies, Time Goes On, Don't Let Time Pass You By or any number of things. But Don't Blink. Freaking genius. Many of my tunes revolve around time, life and experience {cough}Tiny Footprints, {cough}for example{cough}, so when I heard that chorus, I literally said "Daggum... That is so good". Dug this tune so much so that today I go looking for the writer.

Today - I do a Google search for the writer of Don't Blink. I come across a songwriter forum called Tunesmith.net. There's a thread there that has this song as it's subject (although he doesn't call the song Don't Blink in the subject line). The post was made back in March of this year, before the release of the song (later in the thread, "Lester" tells us it was actually the day that Chesney cut the song in the studio). But anyway, in the beginning of the thread "Lester" comes off as a new songwriter looking for some feedback. In actuality, it's Chris Wallin, the very successful Nashville songwriter (and co-writer of Don't Blink) posting as a newbie. Anyway, I was pretty amazed about the whole thing.

The Thread

You really need to read the whole thread to get the gist of it. This thread incited a variety of very intense reactions from various folks. As I understand it, one of the lessons of his post was that we should not be too quick to take random critiques of our songs to heart. People will apparently even rip multi-million selling songs if they don't know what it is. The thing is, to be true to the vision (while employing general guidelines of sound songwriting). Another lesson that seemed to be given is that if you don't know how to write great songs, don't be quite so quick to criticise another's work. One particularly vocal poster basically wrote that everyone there didn't know squat and that this thread simply illustrated the fact. There are some posts in that thread that I definitely don't agree with, but I'd be interested to hear what you all have to say about it. At first, it made me somewhat angry, but, with some further thought, there were some good lessons to be learned from the whole thing.

Take care... and Don't Blink.
J

p.s. And Chris, if you're reading this (what? I'm sure he has nothing better to do!), that was a dirty rotten underhanded trick. But a great lesson. Thanks, man.

God Remembered My Name

This title came to me on thursday last week and had some quiet time over the weekend and in about an hour the lyrics appeared. I write using a program called Masterwriter and they have some good deals going on right now for co-writers, so if anyone wants to take advantage of that let me know as we are all collaborating here. So anyway, it has been a stressful week. My 22 year old nephew was killed over a year ago and his trial is currently ongoing in State College, Pennsylvania. My wife is with the family at the trial and I am home with the kids. I have had some time to ponder all these events and miss the heck out of my wife. The song is pretty obvious, a look back at mistakes that I have made and the one who was there all the time waiting for me. I can't say that I am a great Christian or anything like that, but I do feel that there is a higher power that watches over all. I truly need to feel that way with every thing going on. This is for Michael and also for J.

God Remembered My Name.mp3

God Remembered My Name
words and music by Gene Gorski

I've been to the bottom of every dead end
And vandalized the halls of my life
Scrawling my name without purpose
Never scratching deeper than the surface
Of what my life could be

Easy way outs and fatal doubts
paved the roads I've traveled
Alibis and convenient lies
Were the chains that kept me shackled
In the end I got myself to blame
Cuz through it all God remembered my name

I've been driven through my valley of darkness
In a cancer eaten Coupe De Ville
With the pedal stuck to the metal
Fueled by questions I couldn’t settle
In the pieces of my mind

Easy way outs and fatal doubts
paved the roads I've traveled
Alibis and convenient lies
Were the chains that kept me shackled
In the end I got myself to blame
Cuz through it all God remembered my name

I read all the books to seek out the truth
That stood before me all the time
I climbed the mountains for the answer
That was always at my feet

Easy way outs and fatal doubts
paved the roads I've traveled
Alibis and convenient lies
Were the chains that kept me shackled
In the end I got myself to blame
Cuz through it all God remembered my name

SongwritingApples.com!

Well, we finally did it. We went out and got us a domain name. Steve and I have been brainstorming about how to make this site a bit more useful, accessible, interesting and even fun. One of the first things that crossed our mind was registering out own domain name. Thus, www.SongwritingApples.com is born. Bookmark it and come back soon! We also registered another domain name, www.AppleOrchardSongs.com for the future. We aren't exactly sure what we may do with this one, but we've kicked around a couple ideas. We'll be sure to keep you posted! If you have any questions about Songwriting Apples check out the FIRST POST, which contains lots of useful info about the site as well as instructions on getting involved.

In line with the above improvements, we've also created a new e-mail address account with google. You can now reach us at: songwritingapples@gmail.com.

That's it for now. We're still working hard on more improvements for the site. Oh, and we're trying to write some killer tunes too!
John

Deathbed Confessions

This song sprung from a book that was titled Last Words of Saints and Sinners. I wish that I could tell you that there was a little more behind it, but that was about it. I tend to channel my writing a lot and this was written in about 45 minutes.

It speaks to the pursuit of heaven through mere mortals. Thinking that we can buy our way to heaven and then the thought that we are far more important than we really are.

Deathbed Confessions.mp3

Deathbed Confessions
words and music by Gene Gorski

Last words spoken from the lips of saints and sinners
Third eye glancing through the gates of heaven or hell
Tunnel so long with the light that shines and shimmers
To answer the tolling bell

Deathbed confessions
To unanswered questions
My life’s playing like a Saturday matinee
Hypnotic regression
Or celestial wrestling
To see who gets my soul come judgement day

Salvation calls sinners floating in their fear
Wrapping up their soul in a sanctified veneer
Buying that first class ticket to the last frontier
Hear that tolling bell

Deathbed confessions
To unanswered questions
My life’s playing like a Saturday matinee
Hypnotic regression
Or celestial wrestling
To see who gets my soul come judgement day

Fates can only laugh, "What fools these mortals be"
My soul is prized by no one other than me
Henchman play your role, send me to eternity
The bell is tolling for me

My spirit is ready to be set free
Free to wander through this eternity
Eternally seeking my immortality
What fools these mortals be

The bell is tolling for me

The Singer Songwriter Live: What's Missing?

I was perusing Jeff's Songwriting Blog and I found a little critique of a songwriter's performance. No names were mentioned to protect the innocent. Yes, that sentence was ambiguously written on purpose.

Show Review

Go on over to my myspace page and read the review I've posted there. I tried several song I've posted here, and I think they went pretty well.

Here's the blog entry. If the link doesn't work, just visit the first link above and then view the blogs there.

One Cut Too Deep (2005)

A few years back the older girls had a couple friends who practiced a form of self-harm called cutting. I had the chance to talk to these girls and was, of course, equal parts amazed and horrified at the concept. It was some time later that the idea for this song came about.

I was sitting in Church one night and had a pad of paper with me. As I listened to the class I started writing lyrics. The phrase One Cut Too Deep came out and almost immediately I began to see a very clear mental image of a room. In the room was a fictional girl who was actively cutting. The detail of the mental image was astounding to me. All of the imagery in this song comes from the mental image I had that night. I wrote down everything I saw as fast as I could. The original piece of paper is still in my file somewhere. Quite a mess! There are quite a few images I wrote down that night that didn't make it into the song. One was a poster of Kurt Cobain on one of the walls.

As I "looked" around the room I realized something was going wrong. This fictional character did not have the intention of killing herself (those who practice "cutting" rarely do), but something went horribly wrong. The image made me terribly sad. I kept writing.

Upon finishing the song, I made a recording of it. As I could not play the finger-picked guitar part and sing it at the same time, I overdubbed the vocals. I was pretty happy with the result, but never was able to play the song live in front of people. Eventually, I had the opportunity to play the recorded song for a couple of the girls that had, by then, stopped cutting. One particular girl, scars still visible on her forearms, sat at my computer and began to sob openly as the song played. When the song was done, I asked her if I had gotten it right. She answered "yes" and then hugged me. The song seemed pretty unimportant all of a sudden.

So now, two years later, here is a somewhat different version of this song. It's recorded on my little digital recorder in one take. The original finger-picked part is heard as an introduction in this version. This take is not so much about playing a "finished song" as it is about exploring melodic possibilities in the lyrics/singing. That's why you'll not hear me singing the verses the same way most times. I had previously sung them all exactly the same when I originally wrote it. Seemed to me now that the song needed some melodic improvement. Perhaps I'll play this one out sometime soon and eventually settle on a melody that suits the song. I've been waiting two years to experience an audience's reaction to this one.

Maybe soon.
J

One Cut Too Deep.WMA [2007 scratch recording]

One Cut Too Deep (2005)
words and music by John Natiw

VERSE
Fist closed tightly
She braces for the pain
The edge of frustration
Opens virgin skin

Cold steel warms quickly
As blue turns to red
Blade falls gently
Light flickers overhead

She only wanted to hurt
Didn't mean to go this far
Just to feel something worse
Or leave another scar

Moments of emptiness
Grave consequence to keep
Precious soul flies away
Body goes to sleep

CHORUS
Can't undo what's been done
And now she's gone...
One cut too deep

VERSE
Voices of children
Crawl underneath the door
Blood falls like teardrops
Through cracks in the floor

Nothing left to feed on
Her demons finally die
Angel at the window
Hangs her head to cry

CHORUS
Dreams fall to the ground
And now she's gone...
One cut too deep

VERSE
Suddenly peaceful
She doesn't feel a thing
No disappointments
Or things that might have been

No explanations
Or farewell notes to find
Reasons are lost now
Forever in her mind

CHORUS
Soon comes the dawn
And now she's gone...
One cut too deep

Can't undo what's been done
And now she's gone...

Testing Your Songs Live

Well, here's goes nothin'.
I'll be playing a song I wrote this week, live, Sunday night.
Yep. Then I can just see how it flies.
As long as I can remember the chord changes...

I'll be doing three song I've placed here on the SA:

I Can't Get Over It
The Skeleton of the Rocketship
I've Got News For You

(and maybe Don't Give Up as well)

Sunday Night, Bean Town, Sierra Madre, CA

I'm on at 7pm. I hear you can get some killer rates into L.A.X. this time of year.
:)

Cosmic Soda Machine

This is a song I've had for YEARS. It will be on the e.p. for sure. Tried and tested.
I finally did a simple rough recording of it this month...I didn't write it this month, but I wanted to share as a proud parent.


Cosmic Soda Machine
c2007 Steven Wesley Guiles

cosmic soda machine m1.mp3

Are you just my soda machine? My cosmic soda machine?

With some luck we'll get unstuck out of the muck and mire I jumped into
With some tears here's all my fears, please make it all clear
through the smoke and the beers, and those impossibly high one-way heaven mirrors


Are you just my soda machine? My cosmic soda machine?
I'll just stick my quarters in you, shiny and new, my cosmic soda machine


Well with your power and with your strength I should think that it'd be quite possible
For you to shrink my debt and then could you fix the leak in my bathroom sink?
Ok I admit I ask for a lot but look what I've got, it's really quite pitiful
All I need are a few more things, intagible nothings like happiness and patience and someone to love for the rest of my life...

Are you just my soda machine? My cosmic soda machine?
I'll just stick my quarters in you, shiny and new, my cosmic soda machine
Are you just my soda machine? My cosmic soda machine?
I'll just stick my quarters in you, shiny and new, to see what you'll do
my cosmic soda machine

God, help me to be thankful for the things I have got, and the things I have not