What Are We Waiting For?

What Are We Waiting For.mp3

Crappy days have this one major benefit: sweet creative tension.

It may not be my best song (falsetto soul singer songs) but it came out pretty complete, the chorus first, then a verse, then a not-so-horrible bridge. If I stole it openly from any song you can think of, let me know. It's nagging in the back of my mind...

What Are We Waiting For?
by Steven Wesley Guiles

Was it something I said? Was it something I did?
Well let me take it back.

Was it something I lost? Was it something I hid?
Well let me give it back

What are you waiting for? What are we waiting for?
Get your feet up off the floor?
What am I waiting for? What were we waiting for?
Get on up through the door

Did I leave you in pain, child?
Did I wipe out your sweet smile?
Well that's why I've come back

Here take another tissue
I think I'm gonna need some too
Let's have ourselves a good cry here and now

What are you waiting for? What are we waiting for?
Get your feet up off the floor?
What am I waiting for? What were we waiting for?
Get on up through the door

No, I never thought I'd see your face again
Now I'm comin' around back from where I've been

No, I never thought I'd see your face again
Now I'm comin' around back from where I've been


verse and chorus chords: Em-G-D-A
bridge chords: C-G-D-A 4x


Photo found here. Great pictures!

I Tried To Make Sense of a Senseless Act of Will

This picture was taken by this nice lady. Here's a link to the photo.


This song was written as I watched the news on Columbine eight years ago. I've posted it on my Myspace page so you can hear it. I thought I wouldn't post it here, since it's not a new song, but it felt like something I could share. I may write another song about this soon as a way to cope.

These things are horrible and evil.

Here are the lyrics to Mary:
(The character Mary, in this song, is a name I gave to a person standing outside on her phone waiting for news after the shootings...)

Mary

I tried to make sense
Of a senseless act of will
There were only questions in my house
Why they had to kill

Someone tell me why this happened
Someone tell me why we’re all crying
Someone tell me this never happened
Someone tell me this will never happen again

Someone’s gonna get back to you Mary
Someone’s gonna get back to you soon
I’m sorry if you are feeling badly
Sitting in your room
Sitting in your room

Look into my eyes again
Tell me it’s alright
Look into the TV set
Will Mary get a call tonight?

Someone tell me why this happened
Someone tell me why we’re all crying
Someone tell me this never happened
Someone tell me this will never happen again

Someone’s gonna get back to you Mary
Someone’s gonna get back to you soon
I’m sorry if you are feeling badly
Sitting in your room

Someone’s gonna get back to you Mary
Someone’s gonna get back to you soon
I’m sorry if you are feeling badly
Sitting in your room, crying in your room

Let It Go

This one has been a tough one for me. I sorta wrote the entire song in a silent testing room and then had to figure out the melodies, etc. I just knew I wanted the chorus to be a little sweet, and sour at the same time (if that makes any sense).

I actually JUST started feeling like I have a little idea of what the verse melody is, but it is definitely a work in progress.

This song has so perplexed me that I actually wrote a song that is partially about my frustration with this songwriting experience.

I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on this one. If anything sticks with you or rubs you the wrong way. Hopefully it does a little of both.

Sweet and sour baby!

Let It Go.mp3

Let It Go
words and music by Eric Shouse

You’re the light in my corridor
Don’t know what else you’re looking for
We’ve been having this conversation, and you’re nowhere to be sound

You collect and hold on
Your treasure is like a tomb
The vault’s become a grave and you’re becoming a slave

Let it go… (Let it go and fall with me)
Let it go… (Let it go and crawl with me)
Let it go… (Loose your grip and feel the wind)
Let it go… (… no more, it digging in your skin)
Let it go

They’ve been nothing but cold to you
Don’t know the traders (traitors) they sold you to
All because you see in dreams what is right before their skies

They can’t hear the truth through its clarity,
never been sick with fidelity
You give and you give and you give and give and give and give again

Let it go… (Let it go and fall with me)
Let it go… (Let it go and crawl with me)
Let it go… (Loose your grip and feel the wind)
Let it go… (… no more, it digging in your skin)
Let it go

You’re the light in my corridor
Don’t know what else you’re looking for
We’ve been having this conversation, don’t know any way around

I am the stop in your drain
But I just couldn’t make it rain
Guess my dance can’t measure up and all the water’s drying up

We’re the branch that I’ve clung to
After all that we’ve been through
Wish it never had to stop and I’m frightened of the drop
Hope the angels break your fall and I’ll miss you most of all

Let it go… (Let it go and fall with me)

Let it go… (Let it go and crawl with me)

Let it go… (Loose your grip and feel the wind)

Let it go… (… no more, it digging in your skin)

Let it go

A little somethin' somethin'

So that lady up there is my best gal pal. She's a singer/songwriter out in Denver, named Kate Laurel Smith. Yesterday a fan of hers emailed her an mp3 of a song he had "re-recorded" with a drum part he heard in his head, and she passed it on to me... what a huge compliment for an artist! Somebody she never met before spent time and attention on her music, and didn't do a bad job of it, I must admit.

So she and I got to talking, and figured something fun would be to open up her catalogue, so to speak, for others to mix and remix, and we'd post things on a new myspace page. I naturally thought of you apples and thought, maybe we could have some fun here, too- I don't know what ya'll have available, but I'm gonna try a few crappy attempts myself. If you're interested in her sound, her myspace is here, her webpage is here, and the newly designed repliKate is here. (heh heh, I thought it up all by myself.)

In my hiatus from writing, I'm trying to stay creative on other fronts; the juice doesn't leave, it just switches pipes.

You Find It...Garage Rock Masterpiece?

You Find It.mp3

Well...for the sake of continued vitality, and realizing that I must write to push through to even better songs, I offer my finest piece of butt-rockin', garage-tainted, bad drummin', white-stripes-rip-off tuneage.

I think I may also ripped Nirvana and Soundgarden as well. Name that influence!

I post because I want no one to ever feel shame at any song they ever post. Surely after posting "Don't Be Hatin'" and this song we'll all know it's ok to try ANYTHING. I'm busting out my kazoo for the next tune.


I think this is a classic women seeks revenge on cheating man blues song. Is that classic? Is this classic?

:)

You Find It
words and music by Steven Wesley Guiles

You find it, you find it
You find it oh so lovely.
You find it, you find it
You find it oh so lovely, don't you darlin'?

I'm not happy, that makes you glad (you find it, you find it)
Twist that knife, yeah it hurts real bad (you grind it, you grind it)
Hell hath no fury like a woman born,
to a cheatin' man, here comes the storm


repeat ad nausea (misspelling intentional)

It's About Time...

It's About Time.WMA [portable recorder demo]

This post title is appropriate for more than one reason. It's been too long since I posted a new one. This one came rather quickly, verses first then chorus. I was having trouble, struggling with writing. Nothing sounded right or good. Lyrics were a problem. A couple weeks ago I realized that so many musicians/artist have such easy/simple songs. So I just started singing repeating themes over and over. So much so that this song repeats the same three chords the entire song. We'll see if it works I guess.

[disclaimer: this is a very quick recording using my tiny olympus digital recorder. I'll post a more "proper" recording later... oh, and I'm sick. So there.]

It's About Time
words and music by John Natiw

VERSE
It ain't all about the money
Or the power and the fame
It ain't all about those fancy clothes and diamond rings
No, you don't need to play that game

It ain't all about the contacts
Or where you're seen on Friday night
It ain't all in who you know... or who knows you
There's more to you than neon light

CHORUS
It's about time
It's about time

VERSE
It ain't all about the image
Or the way you cut your hair
It ain't all about the makeup... and beauty queens
'Cause you can look good anywhere

It ain't all about the stories
That some people love to sell
It ain't all about the tv shows and magazines
Some silly game of show and tell

CHORUS
It's about time
It's about time
It ain't about how high you climb
Your credit line
Or the bottom line
It's about time

VERSE
[just me babbling at this point]

CHORUS
It's about time
It's about time
It ain't about the dollar signs
The overtime
Or being first in line

It ain't about how fast you go
The fashion shows
Or what you think you know

It ain't about no master plan
The upper hand
Or makin' one last stand

It's about time
It's about time
And I don't mind

It's about time
And I feel fine

Thanks for listening,
J

It's Alive!! Don't Give Up

So, one of those songs that wrote itself came to me the other day while my daughter was bouncing on a big ball in the studio next to me. I started by singing "Don't fall down". It evolved into "Don't give up" (I was thinking of a wonderful lady at work who has cancer and is currently going through treatment). The lyrics came out pretty much as they are, with a few half-time adjustments (the bridge and the chorus were written after).

when I started I really only had one long verse, which I really, really liked, even though it felt like cheating (because it seemed like something I'd stolen).

I revisited it a few days later and thought, What would John Natiw say?.
"Where's the chorus?" he might ask.
So I wrote a chorus.
"Is there a bridge?"
So I wrote a bridge.

This is a rough demo that I'm definitely going to develop into something more (production wise).

Don't Give Up.mp3

Here are the lyrics:

Don’t give up
Don’t give up
You might hit a wall but that’s to be expected
Don’t give up

Don’t run out
Don’t run out
You might have to face that monster in your closet
But don’t run out

Don’t forget
Don’t forget
Don’t forget that there are people who will help you
Please don’t forget (1 measure into chorus)

When you cannot find a friend
When you feel there’s no hope and
When you see no light at the end of the tunnel
End of the tunnel

I hope this finds you


Don’t let go
Don’t let go
You may find strength in unexpected places
Don’t let go

Give your heart
Give your heart
You might find out that you’ll get it back again if you
Give your heart (1 measure into chorus

When you cannot find a friend
When you feel there’s no hope and
When you see no light at the end of the tunnel
End of the tunnel
End of the tunnel

Bridge
Clouds will come, wind and rain
Sorrow and pain, yeah that’s for sure
Strong winds blow, that’s when you’ll know
That’s when you’ll know from where you’ve come

I hope this finds you
I hope this finds you
A hope that finds you
This hope that finds you
I hope it finds you

New Wilco Song

Here's another songwriter that I really, really dig, Jeff Tweedy.
Wilco is a great band and they have a new CD coming out.

Here's Jeff live with another song (not necessarily on the new album).


Here's a new song from that album. It has a little country twang to it (as did the whole last album).

Speaking Of Songs

Anyone here the new U2 song?
Just wondering. They were a huge influence on me that will probably always slip through somewhere in my writing. Something about those first years when you latch onto a band and they become your own. U2 was one of those bands for me.

I liked the new song. I only heard the end of it, but I knew it was them as soon as I heard it.

I'll Take A Fifth and Thirty Useful Tips For $100, Alex

Here's a short explanation on the Circle of Fifths. Even if it STILL doesn't make sense when you're done reading it, you'll come away with at least two or three new chord progressions to stick in your quiver.

After reading that I started reading the blog I found it in. Great ideas here! This guy has a blog chock full o' ideas. I found myself just reading straight down the page and getting more and more inspiration.

He posted an article about playing live here.

That lead me to the site it was hosted on, Muse's Muse.

I feel like Alice In Wonderland here, but THAT lead me to THIS site, which was highly suspect because of the random pop-up ads, but I stayed and surfed anyways and found a list of programs for creating loops. (I've been messing with a pretty fun online loopmaking program called Splice that I really enjoy, but that's another rabbit hole to wander down at another date.)

Which naturally lead me to I Am The Mighty Jungulator, a band AND an educational software for looping music used in schools in the UK. Yeah. I took the blue pill.


Too many links? Sucker, you ain't seen nothin' yet. I need to write/finish a song now. As is obvious, the computer used its evil tentacles of coolness to wrap me up and suck me in.

(Read Jeff's Songwriting Blog if you do anything, but if you feel like chasing the rabbit, start with the first link and work your way down...)