**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 5
Written Thursday 10th February 2022
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What can I say? Mrs R likes it.
I knew she would.
Scheduling-wise, songs per day, I've now caught up with having missed the first 5 days of…
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 3
Written Tuesday 8th February 2022
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So, here's today's little ditty.
(I don't know whether folks outside the UK would know what a Chelsea Bun is. I love them, they are extremely yum…
Great story line - has a true troubadour feel about it! Love it - kind of dark.
I have had the pleasure of a Chelsea bun here in Canada - yup, extremely yummy.
Very creative song. I'm listening to a great concert of all your songs ...loving it.
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 2
Written Monday 7th February 2022
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I wrote this one a couple of hours ago.
I set up for recording, and busted a string on the Martin... GAH!!!
I tried a big ole dreadnought thing…
holy cow......I hadn't heard this one before! Gorgeous!!! That Fender did it's job well. Absolutely love this. I think this one is perfect as an acoustic version.
As If It Really Matters - A A J Russe
Written 16th January 1999
Recorded 12th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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Crumbs, even this is 23 years old!
We used it as a set-opener in the last band I was in.
I've been trying to make…
Wow!!! This song did not age ....it is gorgeous. Truly beautiful and I love the complexity of the melody and how it moves about. I imagined hearing it live at a concert (I'd be in the front row!).
No-one To Blame - A A J Russe
Written 1st January 1988
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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Nearly forgot to post this one! (it's been a busy week at work)
I was 24 when I wrote it. What more can I say…
The Feast - A A J Russe
Written 26th September 1985
Recorded 3rd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This one's been sticking out of the shoebox for a long long while. It always shows up in a list of maybes. And it did this time…
Just To Make It What You Want - A A J Russe
Written 1st October 2016
Recorded 4th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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I was going to choose a more uptempo one next, then this one jumped out of the shoebox at us, shouting "me me ME…
Gates Of Heaven - A A J Russe
Written 15th January 1988
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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This is about as naked as I can get.
This is how I wrote it. It's never had any accompaniment.
I was a bit young to sing…
Isn't This Fun - A A J Russe
Written 1980 (Completed 16th June 1991)
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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I wrote most of this in my first year at university.
But the Shoebox says I completed it 16/06/1991 - and the…
I Want You To Know - A A J Russe
Written 21st June 1987
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
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This was to the same lady who inspired Foolishness. There's a couple of others from the same period, related to her, that will…
I Want You To Know - A A J Russe
Written 21st June 1987
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This was to the same lady who inspired Foolishness. There's a couple of others from the same period, related to her, that will…
Gates Of Heaven - A A J Russe
Written 15th January 1988
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This is about as naked as I can get.
This is how I wrote it. It's never had any accompaniment.
I was a bit young to sing…
I Hope I Love Them - A A J Russe
Written sometime in 1989
Recorded 2nd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This one has tugged at me for many many years.
I absolutely adored it from the moment I wrote it in 1989... But I thought…
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 1
Written Sunday 6th February 2022
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OK, this is a bit of a departure for me - posting songwriting demos.
This is a one mic recording made this morning in the living room, touch of reverbs…
First time hearing your stuff. After the first song, I love your writing. I'll be listening through what you have posted for the rest of the day!
Completely agree with RPM. I do enjoy it, however this year, my focus was more on songwriting and having fun. Production took a back seat.
I Want You To Know - A A J Russe
Written 21st June 1987
Recorded 6th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This was to the same lady who inspired Foolishness. There's a couple of others from the same period, related to her, that will…
I Hope I Love Them - A A J Russe
Written sometime in 1989
Recorded 2nd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This one has tugged at me for many many years.
I absolutely adored it from the moment I wrote it in 1989... But I thought…
The Feast - A A J Russe
Written 26th September 1985
Recorded 3rd March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
This one's been sticking out of the shoebox for a long long while. It always shows up in a list of maybes. And it did this time…
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 13
Written Saturday 19th February 2022
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UPDATE: 8 Hours after posting I just spotted that I listened to and favourited a song called... um... "We're Done" by oldfolks2 - check it out…
I had your FAWM playlist going and sort of forgot I was supposed to be active listening, but this one pulled me right back into it... then I saw your liner notes. I know the feeling of not being happy with something but needing to get it out, but this is great. I'm curious to see what you do with it, because I think it works far better than you it seems.
You better close the stadium with this one, because all those lighters and voices in unison are going to violate some sort of by-law.
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 3
Written Tuesday 8th February 2022
****
So, here's today's little ditty.
(I don't know whether folks outside the UK would know what a Chelsea Bun is. I love them, they are extremely yum…
I'm a little perplexed at the narrative, but oh what a great narrative it is. That second verse paints a pretty vivid picture, although I'm a little unsure that being denied pastries is an apt consequence, but then Ive never had a Chelsea Bun.
**Song-writing Demo for FAWM 2022**
Song number 1
Written Sunday 6th February 2022
****
OK, this is a bit of a departure for me - posting songwriting demos.
This is a one mic recording made this morning in the living room, touch of reverbs…
Congratulations on the FAWM "win", especially with only 23 days to do it. A great start as well.
I share the sentiment on production. Part of me wants to do RPM next year because I wonder if I had too, could I move fast on production? It sounds a lot more exhausting than FAWM, that's for sure.
Didn't know the name Lalo Schifrin... but I knew the song... oh of course! (Dean Martin, I have his version)... Anyways, cool version for us rockers :)
Last weekend we did this oldie
Hans Nooitgedagt Jr - drums
Erwin B - bass, recording
Bingsolex - lead guitar
KC - vocals, guitar, keys & mix
--------------------------------------------
Saturday nightlife, hot and swell
In the lower…
Here is my contribution to the Minnesota Association of Songwriters challenge: Write a song titled "Mississippi Moon" and use this chord progression somewhere in the song (adjust for the Key you are in) "C, G, Am, C, Dm"
You will find D…
My latest Soundscape hopefully evokes an atmospheric evening in the desert, as outside the tent the girls make their mournful cries before the local musicians strike up a dance beat.....
Yep... didn't comment, did I? "Cool sounds" :) But now I've heard the lap-steel addition on Kavin's remix, I appreciate this one more than I did at first... very cool sounds. Raises an interesting thought for me... how we can see/hear through others eyes/ears, we can have ours "opened" by someone else's re-expression of a thing... when I first listened to this, it was "OK" for me, I saw Newbold's comment and thought "yeh, well" ... but hearing Kavin's addition gave me an "in" to this track... listening now I can hear/experience what he and Newbold heard first up.
That works. Nice one. I like the sounds on Casting Ballots (might not have commented?) the lap steel adds a really effective contrast... the two together - very nice
A bit of a 'kitchen sink' one... It's another one I play beginner's guitar on tentatively (the lead break & rhythm)
The are no vocals (I'm amassing a large amount of songs needing vocals!) but it does feature some more epic 80s synths…
Nice one. Yep, we bought some of ours from one of my wife's favourite Cornish clothes shops... and much to my surprise they said "Made in China" on them when they arrived... The instructions had some interesting phrases too (or was that some other product from someone else? Everything seems to be a bit of a blur nowadays)
I acquired some amazing 80s synth plug-ins for this one - the Prophet 5, ARP2600 and Yamaha DX-7 are all over this track.
It started life as a 90 second instrumental for a video I'd produced to promote my business; my wife hated it so I wrote…
Yep, when the bass kicks in at 0:40 or so, it's a really cool bass line, but it's possibly a bit sinister sounding for a business promo (mebbe depends what business you're in?!! lol)
FIREFLIES. capo @ 2
F walk down
We (C) spoke of them as (C/B) sweethearts
There (Am) in the Southern (F) sky
(C) Saturn, just a (G) twinkle, bold (F) Jupiter near (G) by
I (Am) guess we didn't (Am/G) notice
as they (Am/F)drifted a…
For no. 3 in this soundscape compilation, I have imagined strolling along the waters edge, contemplating life on a blissful calm day with the relaxing shoreline sounds all around me....!
Yeah, nice one. We were meant to have a holiday in St Ives at the end of March. Luckily, the timing of everything worked out (just) that we got all our money back, trains and everything. But we didn't get our shore reflections... and watching on a Cam at the time, some buggers keep sitting in "our" seat! LOL
Here's the band version of this song
Hans Nooitgedagt Jr - drums
Bingsolex - lead guitar
Erwin b - bass, recording
KC - guitar, vocals & mix
The moon comes up
The sun goes down
The circle of life
Going 'round and 'round
Living…
How's that for some word salad, eh? Throw a little Italian dressing on this one and you've got yourself a healthy meal!
I've been trying to challenge myself vocally with more complicated melodies and lots of lyrics and things like that, even…
This is another that benefited from a second listen. What I've got to do is STOP reading your blurb on the first listen! Anyways, that's actually a really clever vocal melody. Keep challenging, don't actually kill yerself, obviously, but falling down after the vocal take is a good sign!! (ish!) LOL
A couple of months ago I came up with a couple of things that used polyrhythms. The drums were in one time signature and everything else was in another. I had some fun with it then and tried it again and... well, I got pretty bored with it really…
I wasn't sure about this one on first listen (your stuff about polyrhythms was making me think too much... then I remembered I'd forgotten something with work, so I had to deal with that while the track carried on)... when I got back I couldn't think of anything to say... so I hit play again and, woah!, it really grabbed me... then I realised I wasn't counting trying to figure out the funny rhythm - I'd just accepted it and it sounds really cool. Sounds like the hand's recovered too?
I'm really tired right now so this mix might sound awful and I won't know. Also, 50/90 might be hitting a snag in that I have a bit of an injury to my left hand. It's not getting better and while recording the leads on this puppy it was affecting…
A couple of unusual things with this one. There's an overdrive pedal in there that I've never used before. Meaning, I had never even plugged it in before. I bought it like six months ago and it sat on my dresser just waiting for me to play…
A song that I wrote this week
So much suffering in the world
I did this one on my own
KC
------------------------------------------------------
River of tears – I see people in need
River of tears – They're all victims of greed
River…
Written Last Century....Every Word Holds It's Own Today.
Always someone out there judging shit they know nothing about. As it will be till the end of time. In the meantime, my simple response has always been, "Who Asked You"
Lyrics…
Comments on Andrew Russe's stuff
Absolutely beautiful! Warm and an interesting narrative :). Loving it!
Great story line - has a true troubadour feel about it! Love it - kind of dark. I have had the pleasure of a Chelsea bun here in Canada - yup, extremely yummy. Very creative song. I'm listening to a great concert of all your songs ...loving it.
holy cow......I hadn't heard this one before! Gorgeous!!! That Fender did it's job well. Absolutely love this. I think this one is perfect as an acoustic version.
Wow!!! This song did not age ....it is gorgeous. Truly beautiful and I love the complexity of the melody and how it moves about. I imagined hearing it live at a concert (I'd be in the front row!).
I think I dated this one. I like the guitar lick. The song really moves along well.
I can feel that being a great Rockin' song .....
That's a great song in the making ......
A little bit of magic ...
Very good ..... afraid the 80's are so far away for me ..... old age ;)
Top notch my friend ....
An enjoyable listen, and a little different.
This is beautiful.
Poignant, affecting. Something everyone can relate to. I'm glad you were able to revisit this old song, and I also hope recording it was cathartic.
First time hearing your stuff. After the first song, I love your writing. I'll be listening through what you have posted for the rest of the day! Completely agree with RPM. I do enjoy it, however this year, my focus was more on songwriting and having fun. Production took a back seat.
Funny I don’t get stalker vibes but I can see if one knew the backstory that might be the outcome. Another great piece of writing!!
Sparse and beautiful
This is a good listen.
I had your FAWM playlist going and sort of forgot I was supposed to be active listening, but this one pulled me right back into it... then I saw your liner notes. I know the feeling of not being happy with something but needing to get it out, but this is great. I'm curious to see what you do with it, because I think it works far better than you it seems. You better close the stadium with this one, because all those lighters and voices in unison are going to violate some sort of by-law.
I'm a little perplexed at the narrative, but oh what a great narrative it is. That second verse paints a pretty vivid picture, although I'm a little unsure that being denied pastries is an apt consequence, but then Ive never had a Chelsea Bun.
Congratulations on the FAWM "win", especially with only 23 days to do it. A great start as well. I share the sentiment on production. Part of me wants to do RPM next year because I wonder if I had too, could I move fast on production? It sounds a lot more exhausting than FAWM, that's for sure.
Comments made by Andrew Russe
Didn't know the name Lalo Schifrin... but I knew the song... oh of course! (Dean Martin, I have his version)... Anyways, cool version for us rockers :)
Wowsers. Yes, the band's killing it... but the vox - and those harmony vox - take it to another level
LOVE the sound you guys are making together. You were all in the same room? If not, even more wow. Cool song, and what a groove.
Awww... fabulous. This has got the dulcimer on it too? I love the textures you create with this and the guitar. And the song... gorgeous.
Playing catch-up here... Oh yes, this was the right place to start. Cool sounds.
Wow. Liking this a lot.
Very cool guitaring on a very cool song. Nice one guys.
Yep... didn't comment, did I? "Cool sounds" :) But now I've heard the lap-steel addition on Kavin's remix, I appreciate this one more than I did at first... very cool sounds. Raises an interesting thought for me... how we can see/hear through others eyes/ears, we can have ours "opened" by someone else's re-expression of a thing... when I first listened to this, it was "OK" for me, I saw Newbold's comment and thought "yeh, well" ... but hearing Kavin's addition gave me an "in" to this track... listening now I can hear/experience what he and Newbold heard first up.
That works. Nice one. I like the sounds on Casting Ballots (might not have commented?) the lap steel adds a really effective contrast... the two together - very nice
Nice one. Yep, we bought some of ours from one of my wife's favourite Cornish clothes shops... and much to my surprise they said "Made in China" on them when they arrived... The instructions had some interesting phrases too (or was that some other product from someone else? Everything seems to be a bit of a blur nowadays)
Yep, when the bass kicks in at 0:40 or so, it's a really cool bass line, but it's possibly a bit sinister sounding for a business promo (mebbe depends what business you're in?!! lol)
Short but very sweet. I love these short ones with the almost throw-away lyrics that are SO full of meaning to the listener.
Yeah, nice one. We were meant to have a holiday in St Ives at the end of March. Luckily, the timing of everything worked out (just) that we got all our money back, trains and everything. But we didn't get our shore reflections... and watching on a Cam at the time, some buggers keep sitting in "our" seat! LOL
Yep. Classy stuff. What a groove you guys generate.
This is another that benefited from a second listen. What I've got to do is STOP reading your blurb on the first listen! Anyways, that's actually a really clever vocal melody. Keep challenging, don't actually kill yerself, obviously, but falling down after the vocal take is a good sign!! (ish!) LOL
I wasn't sure about this one on first listen (your stuff about polyrhythms was making me think too much... then I remembered I'd forgotten something with work, so I had to deal with that while the track carried on)... when I got back I couldn't think of anything to say... so I hit play again and, woah!, it really grabbed me... then I realised I wasn't counting trying to figure out the funny rhythm - I'd just accepted it and it sounds really cool. Sounds like the hand's recovered too?
Wooo! Another fab chorus.... oh crumbs, hand problem?? It's two days later now... hopefully it's healing.
You're creating songs faster than I can keep up with them!! Loving the rhythm of the vocal line on the chorus ("Nothing like a...")
Gorgeous sounds and groove.
Hehe - another "big smile on my face" track. I nearly choked on my sandwich when it went "Now Listen To The Angels"