Latest Song - Nothing Takes The Place Of You (Blues Cover)
Monday September 07 2009
I have several projects going right now. I am trying to remaster or remix most of the ballads I have recorded since 2000 into one "album" called: Mix And Chill. Very early going on that project, and it will take many months to clean up all 12 songs. I may post some of the best songs here as I get them finished.
I am also trying to teach myself to write a robust task management iPhone app in one year - inspired by the movie Julie and Julia on her one year quest to learn French cooking. I am blogging about the process at an alternate site of mine: http://www.whatis42.net.
And I am trying to save all the 80's custom "Party Mixes" I made onto cassettes and convert them into MP3's. It has been a little work to recover the sound quality, but they are coming out surprisingly well.
On top of all that, last weekend I had a new microphone and was testing it out in my studio. I started singing over a wonderful original instrumental by Pepper (Peter Schober in Berlin, Germany) titled "Then". He and I collaborate on songs occassionally over the Internet. I worked out a version of the old blues standard "Nothing Takes The Place Of You" over the top of his song. Since I was just messing around, the vocals are a little rough and "pitchy" in places. But Pepper convinced me to post it on iCompositions as a "Demo" so I figured I would post it here too.
You can find it at the bottom of the page on the MUSIC tab.
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New Song! The Way We Spend Our Time
Monday May 25 2009
I’m home over Memorial Day weekend, but battling my allergies. Figured I would use the down time to finish mixing a song. This one is with a new collaborator, Johan Olofsson of Umea, Sweden. I have followed his work for years, and I think he is a brilliant musician. Was thrilled he wanted to work with me.
The song is very retro-80’s synth-pop. He wrote the lyrics and instrumentals. I just added my vocals, and made a few small tweaks to the arrangment. It is posted on the MUSIC tab above. Hope you enjoy it!
THE VOICE - My First Music Video
Sunday March 08 2009
I just finished my first music video! I had written a song last Christmas for Brian called “The Voice” but I never really created a final version. Last weekend, I finished the new arrangement. This weekend, I created a short music video.
I also put an MP3 version of just the song that can be downloaded on the MUSIC tab above.
In the meantime, enjoy the video!
New "Wedding" Mixes of "How To Fall In Love"
Sunday October 12 2008
I just posted two mixes of a new song on the Music page of this site. It is a song I wrote for Brian in 2004, combined with another song for him I also started years ago but never completed. It is a new recording and arrangement of “How To Fall In Love.”
The first version is a piano ballad and is more like the original song I wrote when I met Brian. I tried to arrange it this time like a wedding song, so the first version is called The Wedding Rehearsal Mix.
Then I speeded up the song using my high tech tools and wrote a new over-the-top dance arrangement to the same vocals. Think of the fast and slow versions of Un-Break My Heart by Toni Braxton or How Do I Live by LeAnne Rimes. My dance mix is called The Wedding Reception Mix
You can play or download the mixes on the MUSIC tab or click on the picture of the RINGS above.
Did I mention we are in iTunes now?
Saturday July 05 2008
It has been a while since I posted. Am getting settled in with my new job at Sephora, and just got back from a week of vacation in Chicago.
Did I mention we finally got the new EP posted in iTunes? If you go to the iTunes Music store and search (upper right corner search box) for Digital Grey Orchestra (Grey with an “e”) you can see and hear samples from the Monumental EP. Or click on the album art above and it will open iTunes and take you directly to the page.
It seems to be available in every iTunes store around the world including all of the European Union countries, Canada, Australia and Japan. Kind of cool.
The really odd thing is now it appears you can convert the songs into ringtones. Haven’t tried it yet and I wouldn’t recommend it for you, but it is another funny symbol of getting “distribution” for the songs.
I Love Moisturizer!
Sunday April 27 2008
Got some news! I have changed jobs. I am now running the Analytics department at Sephora. While I miss my friends from the bank, I am very, very excited to be at Sephora. As some of you know, I have gotten into skincare in the last few years. And I really enjoy doing work more similar to when I was at Williams-Sonoma and IRI. The role is very broad and includes analyzing customer purchasing and market research. My team will also support analyzing traffic to the sephora.com web site, email targeting, catalog planning and mailing, what types of product are being purchased, measuring the loyalty/rewards program, sales tracking and forecasting for internet/catalog. I have been so impressed with everyone I have met and I have completely lucked out by gaining a fantastic team. We are going to do great work. (The picture above of my personal favorite product and favorite product line at Sephora is also a link to our website.)
In other news, John A. and I have finished up the "Monumental" EP and have submitted it to be posted on iTunes. That may take 6 to 8 more weeks to get posted. We have also printed a limited run of CDs and posted it for sale on CD Baby as "Digital Grey Orchestra". I will ship copies of the CD to my "regulars" when I can get my hands on them. They have arrived at my condo building, but are locked in a security area for packages that is only accessible while I am at work. I hope to find a way to get them some time next week.
He's B-A-A-A-C-K! (And with NEW songs!)
Friday February 15 2008
That's right. After hiding from view for months while finishing a big new music project, enjoying the holidays, being very busy at work, and of course, doing some shopping at the Apple Store... I'm back! And the web site is back up with a new design.
I've got a lot to catch everyone up on (I'll rave about my new black MacBook later), but the big news is that my friend John from Seattle and I have finished a six song EP of newly recorded songs called Monumental by Digital Grey Orchestra. We are going to print some CDs and even make them available in the iTunes music store. But you can get your preview by downloading the MP3s from the MUSIC page on this site. More details there...
Here, There and Everywhere
Tuesday October 16 2007
Sorry it has been a while since I updated. It does feel like I have been here, there and everywhere. And a song title seems fitting, since I have been squeezing in some music time on the side.
Have been doing a lot of travel for work. I've been to Sioux Falls, LA, Denver and Minneapolis in the last few weeks. Next up is Austin and then back to LA.
Brian and I also made a separate vacation trip to LA and had a wonderful time. Great mix of shopping, nice meals, Disneyland rides and a tour of Hearst Castle. In San Simeon, we stayed in a beautiful small hotel with a balcony literally on the ocean beach. We could see whales swimming from our balcony while having a beer. We are looking forward to going back next year.
I've also made some progress on the "new album" I'm working on with John in Seattle. We now have a tentative working title of "Monumental" based on the name of one of the tracks we have started writing. And of course we are recording under his established band name of Digital Grey Orchestra.
Besides being a great musician, he is also a very talented graphic designer, so he came up with a placeholder album cover while we work on the project. He often uses fractal patterns and this one includes fractal "flames". It has a very modern feel and a distinctive look that I love. I put a copy on the PHOTO page. Can't guarantee this will be the final artwork, but it is fun to have a cover to associate with all of our new musical work.
The new tunes so far have hints of Erasure, Roxy Music, Savage Garden, George Michael - - everything from synth pop to blue-eyed soul. Should be a fun mix. We may post some of the mixes when we complete them. We may also save some surprises for when the whole project is complete. We are mostly in writing and rough draft mode right now. I am having a blast.
After making a big deal about my "new studio" in an earlier post, I went out and bought a new computer. After doing some initial work with the new set up, I discovered my existing 15" PowerBook ran too hot and created too much fan noise when I had the big external monitor hooked up. The noise was being picked up when I recorded vocals. When Brian and I were in LA, I bought a new 17" MacBook Pro with an extra high resolution screen. It is the equivalent of the screen on a 24" iMac, so I have plenty of screen real estate to use the new version of Logic (Apple's music production software). It makes the studio even simpler, and portable when I travel. I actually edited a new song in the airport when I was waiting for a delayed flight last week. I am writing this somewhere over the MidWest.
So I will try to post more from the road. And hopefully sneak preview some new tunes soon. Maybe I will even catch up and re-post some of the old blog entries at the bottom of the page.