Crunch Time!

March is a busy, busy month.

March involved three term papers, two midterms, a couple other tests, multiple homework assignments, March Madness, an unexpected visit from my dad, and a lot of exhaustion. School really had to take priority this month over the Marshall project; it is impressive in and of itself that I managed to finish Vroom's Dumb Like That this weekend!

In spite of this general locura, I will still meet my goal of two songs a month. The last day of March is this Thursday and I will have another song done by then.

I am very happy with how 'Dumb Like That' turned out. The song was written by the now defunct Virginia indie rock band, Vroom. I discovered the song back in my old, illegal downloading days, circa 2002. I was probably trying to download Simple Plan or Good Charlotte, as was my wont at the time. Though my interest in those bands dissipated no long after, I managed to find this gem. Someone had disguised this song as being by one of the two aforementioned bands, but I managed to figure that out pretty quick. I loved this songs' slow crescendo from an acoustic moper to a kicking, over-distorted finish.

It wasn't long after I recorded 'Hit That' that I shuffled the iPod, choosing song number 8, and started thinking of how I could write this song. I did not know how I would use it, but I knew I wanted a piano part in the song. I asked on Facebook, and my first roommate from freshman year, Bryan Gwilliam, provided me with a Yamaha portable digital grand piano. It is so big, I have to keep it stored under my bed.

It was just last week that I could finally start recording; I did the acoustic guitar and piano parts at the beginning. I spent most of my day last Saturday rounding out the rest. I was excited to be able to add an organ part after the rock-build-up and a string part at the end of the song. I tried to make the string part as close to an actual orchestral arrangement as I could, writing a 1st and 2nd violin part, a viola part, and a cello and bass part; I then split them to different speakers to make it feel as if the orchestra was there in the recording studio (AKA: my bedroom).

The moral of the story is: I have a lot of fun with a keyboard and I need to get my own.

The next song I will record is "My Friends and My Guitar". It is the second original I will record with this project and I am excited to finally have it recorded!

Until then, enjoy 'Dumb Like That'!

http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_7926638

Hit That: Rise of the Banjo

So, it turns out my father-in-law owns a banjo. It sat unused in the basement. Once I discovered this, I seized the opportunity to bring it home. I had only "played" a banjo a couple of times before and I knew almost nothing of its tuning. But when I discovered that the next song I was to cover was The Offspring's Hit That, I knew that the song's lead keyboard riff would make a perfect banjo part.

Not to brag, but almost as soon as I figured out the tuning, and almost by chance, I plucked out the very riff. After teaching myself a few chords, I think the banjo plays a very nice role in my rendition. I am going for a folk/dance-rock feel here.

Now, I am sure I am the only one who cares about this next detail. The next six songs will be "The Numbers" from LOST. That is, 'Hit That' was song #4 on my shuffled playlist. My next cover is song #8: Dumb Like That by Vroom. The other covers will be 15, 16, 23, and 42, with a couple originals tossed in there.

So there you have it! I present "Hit That"!

http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_7497182