New Music: "Never Talk Back"

Here's a track I recorded last week. I'm not entirely sure of what it's about, but there are two characters (possibly three), and one of them ends up dead. They may actually be robots. I say this because in the middle of the song, I do some weird things with phrase "rock star" and that part ends with a drawn-out, mechanical sigh. Is the hotrod kitten robot trying to talk the rock star robot out of killing her? At the end of the song, I do some more weird stuff with the phrase "never talk back." If you figure out what it all means, let me know.

Why I Write "If You Like It, Buy It"

If you've read any of my music reviews, you've probably noticed that I tend to end by saying "If you like it, buy it." A friend of mine recently said that this sounds a little glib, or like I'm trying to tell people what to do and how to spend their money. To an extent, I suppose my friend is right. But the main thing I'm trying to do is to remind anyone who reads my blog that musicians are people who put a lot of time, effort, and, yes, money into recording songs. Sure, we do it because we love making music. In fact, a lot of us have day jobs that help pay for our musical habits, and very few of us expect to make a fortune selling our music, but I think it's important to let artists we like know that we appreciate what they're doing. It's the online equivalent of dropping a dollar (or more!) in a tip jar.

Personally, I'm always flattered when I get a message stating that someone just paid for one of my songs, and I know that other musicians probably feel the same way. It means we've connected with a listener -- and that our music was more than just something playing in the background while they were busy doing something else. So when I end each post with "If you like it, buy it," I mean just that: If you hear a song that you like, show the artist that you appreciate what they've done and drop a dollar or two in their virtual tip jar. You just might make someone's day!

New Music: "Juzz"

Here's a track I recorded this afternoon. The title comes from one of my favorite Simpsons lines: Bart says to Lisa, "I need you to teach me all about the world of juzz." (He means jazz, of course, and Lisa is livid that all of her jazz heroes want to play with Bart and not with her.) Anyway, the track is fairly short, so I've made it free for anyone who wants to download it. Just click "download," and when they ask how much you want to pay, enter zero.  Of course, if you really like the song, feel free to pay whatever you think it's worth...

In the Light

Sometimes the people we love keep us at a distance for one reason or another. This song is about giving them their space but also letting them know that we're here if they want to let us in. The chorus may sound like a downer, but it's my attempt at pointing out the obvious thing that we all have in common, and that we only have so much time to make the connections we need to make.