**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
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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.
Midday field. I watch the lark, which serenely rises in circles up to dissolve there, forever. He sees no danger around. Why [should] I care?
---
I recall that in childhood we all watch adventure films (or performances), and here the children…
There is almost no snow this year, it appears for some time from nowhere and immediately disappears. I look at this all out the window, and found myself looking more and more often back at the past experience. Is this a sign of age? Hmm, I certainly…
A worship song for the times you feel hopelessly lost.
V i
Oh Lord I don't know what to do
When I find myself, far away from you
and every prayer always comes back to this
I don't know what to do please pull me through
and I 'm so tired…
I listened on Friday, and I've been trying to figure out what happened so fast... and then seeing jimgoodinmusic's comment "...reflective of the street", on this relisten I ended up stood there with the same "hey what happened?" ... but a passer-by said "I don't really know - it all happened so fast" ...
As the title suggests mixing 4 spontaneous played violin parts with sample CNN newsreel and the poem Egrets by Mary Oliver www.poetseers.org/contemporary-poets/mary-oliver/mary-oliver-poems/egrets/
Created under Creative Commons for Sound-In…
I hadn't realised Colleen was listening same time... I was off checking out Mary Oliver... but yes, after the initial scratchiness that I got used too, I agree, very quickly the cacophony did seem "normal" to me and even commonplace... and the poem Egrets (I had to look up what an Egret was, I didn't know! I knew the word, but not that it was a white bird) ... that kinda emphasised it... there was magical, but normal, and natural, stuff going on, and even the cacophony itself was natural - as in not necessarily man-made - the thorns and mosquitos...
As the title suggests mixing 4 spontaneous played violin parts with sample CNN newsreel and the poem Egrets by Mary Oliver www.poetseers.org/contemporary-poets/mary-oliver/mary-oliver-poems/egrets/
Created under Creative Commons for Sound-In…
I wrote this song as a way to process some of the feelings of sadness, dismay, anger, fear and love that were brewing inside my heart this past week. I live in Minneapolis, where the terrible killing of George Floyd occurred, and the subsequent…
I think I remember it? Mighty cool anyways. I'm kinda jealous, though - all my old ones aren't that easy to post here... they're all recorded on pieces of A4 paper, in the metaphorical "shoe-box" (actually, it's not not that metaphorical, it is a box, several actually, they've just never held any shoes)
Instead of chlorine dioxide treatment try sanding you tongue with full grit sand paper.
"Fight Club" effect.
Wanted to keep this as dirty as possible.
Keep safe from the 2nd wave.
I'm liking the kinda sparse but cluttered vibe I'm getting from this. Yep, dirty, that describes it well. And that ominous but bouncy synth motif... Yeah, nice one.
Millions of years ago... Before the dawn of history... I was a in a school band. I couldn't play an instrument then so I was the vocalist. This tune was one of the band's originals.
Now, bear in mind this was the 'Ay-deees' so it was mullets…
Summery - check, Duran Duran - check, Cow Bell- check, all present and correct :) Cool sounds. I was at university, in a rock/metal band, writing songs with titles like "Daughter Of The Pharoahs" ("You've got the looks of your motherrr... Stained with the blood of your brotherrrr") .... I liked Duran Duran, but the dudes I was with would not be convinced that "catchy" was a good thing... Funnily enough, I found a photo a while back - I was the only one who would have looked out of place in a Duran Duran photoshoot!!
Antoinette plays keys, Anonymous plays drums, Evan is guitar left, Chris is guitar right (sorry I was a jerk and too loud) - This dates from 1977 when I was a classical major and Antoinette a piano major. Even though this improvisation was from…
Antoinette plays keys, Anonymous plays drums, Evan is guitar left, Chris is guitar right (sorry I was a jerk and too loud) - This dates from 1977 when I was a classical major and Antoinette a piano major. Even though this improvisation was from…
I've always imagined you younger than me. But if you were doing this in 77 (I was 14 and in a choir, and writing songs about Garden Gnomes), then obviously not! This is mighty cool stuff for back then... wow
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
It's like there are voices... and I can't quite reach out to hear them.
I'd forgotten what it was like listening to your pieces. Magical.
Wow
That's pretty powerful.
Wow. Haunting sounds.
I listened on Friday, and I've been trying to figure out what happened so fast... and then seeing jimgoodinmusic's comment "...reflective of the street", on this relisten I ended up stood there with the same "hey what happened?" ... but a passer-by said "I don't really know - it all happened so fast" ...
I hadn't realised Colleen was listening same time... I was off checking out Mary Oliver... but yes, after the initial scratchiness that I got used too, I agree, very quickly the cacophony did seem "normal" to me and even commonplace... and the poem Egrets (I had to look up what an Egret was, I didn't know! I knew the word, but not that it was a white bird) ... that kinda emphasised it... there was magical, but normal, and natural, stuff going on, and even the cacophony itself was natural - as in not necessarily man-made - the thorns and mosquitos...
I read the description and thought "ummmm, ok"... and, indeed, it did start like that for me. But then it was strangely compelling.
I was looking for a word to describe the feel... and Colleen's already got it - "slinky cool".
Very refreshing sound - but the heavy breathing reminds of someone... not sure it's Colleen though! lol
This is still making me tingle. Those first two lines... I want everyone to feel it.
I think I remember it? Mighty cool anyways. I'm kinda jealous, though - all my old ones aren't that easy to post here... they're all recorded on pieces of A4 paper, in the metaphorical "shoe-box" (actually, it's not not that metaphorical, it is a box, several actually, they've just never held any shoes)
Wow, yes. It's a gorgeous song.
I like both. This one sounds more summery though!
Sounds summery to me.... off to find the other one
I'm liking the kinda sparse but cluttered vibe I'm getting from this. Yep, dirty, that describes it well. And that ominous but bouncy synth motif... Yeah, nice one.
Summery - check, Duran Duran - check, Cow Bell- check, all present and correct :) Cool sounds. I was at university, in a rock/metal band, writing songs with titles like "Daughter Of The Pharoahs" ("You've got the looks of your motherrr... Stained with the blood of your brotherrrr") .... I liked Duran Duran, but the dudes I was with would not be convinced that "catchy" was a good thing... Funnily enough, I found a photo a while back - I was the only one who would have looked out of place in a Duran Duran photoshoot!!
I'm about to get called into a zoom meeting for work... I'll be back for the rest after
I've always imagined you younger than me. But if you were doing this in 77 (I was 14 and in a choir, and writing songs about Garden Gnomes), then obviously not! This is mighty cool stuff for back then... wow
Oh yes. I'm liking this big time. A: Sweet song. B: That guitar... whoa... Luther Perkins lives on...