Sidestep (2010)
Sidestep is a demo I worked up in the latter end of the Persona non Grata sessions recorded in my home studio but never actually got off the ground. I really like the groove and main riff of the song but never felt like the chorus piece and verses match up properly. There are parts of the song I may end up dissecting for later use. On this track I played a Martin D15 acoustic guitar for the rhythm parts, Washburn P2 for the electric parts. Drum tracks were programmed with EZ Drummer and there are some other things going on such as a Native Instruments organ plugin. Features good friend and collaborator Walter Yurgel on the bass track, through a Martin acoustic bass.
Starling and the Thistle (2009)
Starling and the Thistle came about after arranging some very folk-inspired patterns in DADGAD tuning. It is a Celtic piece based around the main melody on acoustic guitar. I used a fantastic plugin by Native Instruments to play the Uilleann Pipes sound; this is a difficult instrument to replicate on a keyboard! Recorded in my home studio as a project piece.
The Day I Rued (2008)
This song was captured on a whim one day in 2008. I had a simple melody in my head and wanted to sketch it out before it was gone. This demo is the result. Recorded live on a Yamaha PF500.
Overrated (2008)
This is an early demo of Overrated. The full version of this song eventually found its way to the band and is currently in rotation.
Matter in Motion (2007)
Matter in Motion is a song I sketched up which was initially intended to use with my band; I later scrapped the idea. I would later grab some of the playing ideas I came up with on this demo (though not the actual music) to write other songs such the band performs to this day. The song is played in Drop D tuning and has a very King’s X vibe to it. I recorded all guitar and bass tracks in my home studio, as well as programming the drum tracks using EZ Drummer.
Theme for Epilogue.net Gallery Distribution, 2005 (2005)
My good friends at Epilogue.net, a premier fantasy and sci-fi art site, approached me again in 2005 to compose a piece for the gallery presentation discs which were distributed to their supporting members and used as a promotional tool. They needed something a little unorthodox, with many different textures, and it needed to be long enough as to not lose the interest of the listened as they browsed the galleries. I had a few ideas up front but really wanted to do a weaved theme on many different instruments. I used my Line 6 Variax electric guitar heavily on this track to get different world instrument sounds such as the sitar. The main piano meter introduces the song and then comes back around towards the end to bring the song full circle. Because the track would play on a repeated loop on the distributed disc, the song would seamlessly feed into itself again every ten minutes. It took me a little while to get the actual flow to the point where I was happy. The song is very minimalistic in its approach but really does have the feel of changing scenes, much like the galleries themselves.
SA Folk (2005)
SA Folk is a live demo recorded in my home studio when inspiration struck. Played in drop D tuning and heavily inspired by Nuno Bettencourt’s excellent acoustic piece Midnight Express, this track was recorded completely live and in one take. There are a few bum notes and some timing issues as I recorded the two tracks completely live and separately and with no prior rehearsal. This was a good way to practice creating on the fly; a skill that continues to come in very handy. On this track I am using my now long-gone Washburn EA-20 acoustic guitar and my trusty Yamaha PF-500 piano.
Sketch in Drop D (2005)
This song demo is a live sketch recorded in my home studio for a musicians forum I used to be heavily involved with. For this song, fellow forum members were talking about how they crafted song demos and ideas that eventually turned into full songs. My method was simple: turn on the recorder and go! For this song, I did just that. I played my Variax 500 electric guitar in altered tuning mode through a POD XT Live for guitar tones, and played Fender Jazz bass and Clavia dDrums on this song.
Theme for Epilogue.net Gallery Distribution, 2004 (2004)
This was my first collaboration with the Epilogue.net team. They were interested in having me score their art gallery distribution project. I worked with friend and Senior Editor Chad Lockwood on this track: we aimed for something very ambient and spacy. This song is great to “study” along with as it creates a welcoming atmosphere without being too intrusive. We ended up using a lot of ambient sound effects in this track, including audio clips from old sci-fi television shows, thunderstorm and wind sounds, electronic static and maritime radio signal broadcasts from around the world.
Amazing (2002)
Amazing is a song demo I pieced together while working in a friend’s home studio. Played in “sandbox” tuning (a tuning I came up with), it is a haunting arrangement and something I will eventually record properly. I have always wanted to play around with classic drum machine/bit samples like in this demo.
Everlasting (2002)
Everlasting came about around the same time as Amazing. While working in a friend’s studio, we decided to plot out some of my demos along to a drum track. This song utilizes my Washburn P2 electric throughout. I always liked the main riff of this song and may return to it one day.
Sons of Sceva (1999)
Sons of Sceva is one of the earliest recordings I have. I have always been fascinated with lush, ambient pad textures ever since being exposed to Giles Reaves’ 1986 new age masterpiece Wunjo. This is a very early attempt to recreate some of those soundscapes using guitar and synth pads. I am using a Washburn electric in a tuning invented by Jeremy Post of the band “Black Eyed Sceva”, hence the homage in the song title. The tuning is comprised entirely of E-flat and B-flat notes across the scale.
Reversal (1999)
This is a quick experimental piece using a Yamaha SY85 to lay down synth and piano sounds. Then, as the title implies, they are reversed.
Genesis (1999)
A simple, ambient platform which I captured using a Korg M1 and a few layered sounds.