DEMO 10.10.2006 10:07am

There was no folder for Prague 05 and I've no idea why. I'm pretty sure I just skipped it numerically by accident, but perhaps something was actually recorded and is out there in the ether never to be heard again. Maybe that's for the best. Regardless, here's Prague 06. I started this in October 2006, but the version below with lyrics didn't happen until March of 2007 actually. Just an awful vocal performance here by the way.

I eventually transposed this to the acoustic guitar and began to play it out at open mic nights in New York after we moved there in 2007. This song was an early entry in an ongoing series of songs I wrote about terrible people doing terrible things. I don't know why I felt called to write this, but I did nonetheless. I don't think I would now. Looking back it seems so juvenile, something for shock and maybe an amused chuckle. And that's a big maybe. Anyway, thanks for listening, I guess...

DEMO 10.10.2006 4:53am

Prague 02 didn't contain any audio, so here's Prague 03. I probably set up Prague 02 to record one day, then left and forgot about it for whatever reason. Guess I wasn't as organized as I thought! Many of the Prague ideas were fairly short in nature, this being one of them. I remember not focusing as much on traditional song structure during this period, which was a welcome departure from the whole intro verse prechorus chorus verse prechorus chorus solo verse prechorus chorus outro type deal. No matter I reckon. Thanks for listening.

DEMO 10.9.2006 3:33pm

Here’s Prague 01. This idea eventually evolved more fully a couple years later in New York City to become The Golden Ratio, the first track from By The Numbers. It's amusing to listen to this now, remembering just how much was added and improved upon at The Gallery in Brooklyn through the mindful guidance of Brian Forbes. The lyrics were written in a tiny room over a smoky bar during a trip to Krakow & Auschwitz. Thanks for listening...

THE GOLDEN RATIO

SOUND SOUND
GIVE ME THAT SOUND
MELODY SWEET & RHYTHM PROFOUND
WORDS WORDS
ALL OF THESE, WORDS
WRITE THEM DOWN AS THE BEAT DESERVES
PHI, PHI
COULD IT BE PHI?
THE RATIO’S GOLD AND THE TIME IS NIGH
WHEN I WILL LEARN HOW TO ABIDE
LET THE MUSIC BE MY GUIDE
WHEN THE YINS AND YANGS COLLIDE
I’M GOING TO SEE HOW I’M DEFINED

SO I’M GETTING PREPARED
I’M BUILDING WALLS
I’M GATHERING FOOD
I’M WORKING HARD
I’M WETTING MY LIPS
I’M COUNTING CHIPS
I’M LOOKING AHEAD
I’M PLAYING DEAD
I’M CLEANING IT UP
I’M TALKING SHOP
I’M TAKING VOWS
AND MAKING LIFE
SO WHY SHOULD I APOLOGIZE
FOR AN ACTION THAT WAS NEVER MINE?
SHOULD I HAVE BEEN SURPRISED
WHEN I LEARNED I WAS PAST MY PRIME?

NOW THERE’S NOTHING LEFT HERE TO BEGRUDGE
BECAUSE I PLAYED BASS FOR FILBOYD STUDGE
I NEVER WANT TO, BUT I JUDGE
IT’S INVOLUNTARY SLUDGE
I BREAK IT INTO FRAMES
BECAUSE I WANT TO DISCERN
WHAT THE POINT OF THIS IS
BEFORE THE MEETING’S ADJOURNED
SO TEACH ME TO FORGIVE
OR FATHOM A SIGH
IF YOU CAN’T SHOW ME HOW TO LIVE
THEN SHOW ME HOW TO DIE
SHOW ME HOW TO DIE!

DEMO 10.8.2006 7:44am

We moved to Prague during the summer of 2006 and immediately loved it. At the dawn of my creative efforts in the Czech Republic, I finally decided that a system of numbering made more sense to keep things organized. My tools also began to shift toward virtual instruments, writing primarily on my computer for the first time. Finding new ways to compose has always been appealing to me. Picking up a new instrument can open one's mind to different methods of writing, with varied results of course, but all toward creating something new and exciting. Anyway, I'll attempt to write more eloquently about all this as we move through my time overseas. For now, let's begin at the beginning. Thanks for listening.

DEMO 5.31.2006 2:37am

As you can see, about six months went by between the last idea of 2005 and this first one from 2006. What was I doing that whole time? I reckon it's natural to experience lulls in one's creative output at times. Thanks for listening.

FAKEUPHORIA

SAY THE THINGS I WANT TO HEAR
SPEAK IT PLAIN AND KEEP IT SLOW
MAKE MY DISTRACTIONS DISAPPEAR
GUARD MY PRECIOUS STATUS QUO

THOUGH THE LATERN'S BURNING
YOU CAN ALMOST FEEL THE WIND
CREEPING UP TO CLAIM THE NIGHT
WHEN YOUR RHAPSODY BEGINS
AS YOU'RE FINALLY WAKING UP
FROM YOUR FAKEUPHORIA

WHEN THE WORLD IS TURNING
IS THE MOTION WASTED?
WHEN YOUR FAITH IS BURNING
DOES YOUR ID EMBRACE IT?
IS YOUR FUNCTION SOMETHING MORE
THAN JUST MOVING THINGS AROUND?

TELL ME THINGS I NEED TO HEAR
KEEP IT DETAILED AND APROPOS
COME TEACH ME HOW TO PERSEVERE
TO RAZE THIS DATED STATUS QUO

THOUGH THE LATERN'S BURNING
YOU CAN ALMOST FEEL THE WIND
CREEPING UP TO CLAIM THE NIGHT
WHEN YOUR RHAPSODY BEGINS
AS YOU'RE FINALLY WAKING UP
FROM YOUR FAKEUPHORIA
EUPHORIA!
EUPHORIA!

DEMO 12.17.05 3:37pm

Here's Song 9 from the end of 2005. The last idea from that year actually. The audio doesn't start until about 9 seconds in just in case you're wondering where the hell the music is (if anyone is even listening). The track is also about 10 minutes long because I guess I didn't feel like editing it at the time (or now for that matter). Another layer appears about 40 seconds in, after which it basically stays the same for the next 9 minutes, so just stop when you get bored obviously. All the parts were written on the DR-880 drum machine and bounced in together to ProTools because I'm an idiot like I've mentioned at least once before. At the very least once. Thanks for listening.

DEMO 12.6.05 1:17pm

This was titled Song 10, an indication that things had moved on past ascribing words or phrases to new ideas. My songwriting process has almost always consisted of music first, words later. I guess this was near the beginning of my realization that assigning words to new ideas imbued those ideas with an inherent meaning that I hadn't chosen yet. Numbering is also a much easier way to keep track of everything obviously. Anyway, below is the initial bass/drums idea from 12.6.05, plus the same idea plus guitar from 12.20.05. I still enjoy this idea and would like to flesh it out someday under the right circumstances. Thanks for listening.

DEMO 12.6.05 12:04pm

Just bass and drums on this one, but the semblance of a song is in there somewhere. Not sure why I toss out ideas like this and never revisit them. At some point I thought this was interesting enough to record though. What was happening in my life that caused a lack of followup? Maybe the holidays in this case? Guess it doesn't matter. Here it is regardless.

DEMO 10.16.2005 11:53am

I recall this idea coming about later in the cycle of A Forest Through The Trees, before heading in to work with Glenn at the studio, but after the home programming phase had time to marinate. It seems songs like this are in my DNA. Acoustic guitar was among the first instruments I learned to play, which makes my familiarity with it conducive to composition if I feel like using that particular tool.

I recorded this right before our wedding. One could read into that (as one could be inclined). Reading the words now is an adjective I don't know yet unfortunately, especially amid our recent decision to move to Louisville.
Thanks for listening.

SMOKE SIGNALS

I AM LIVING IN A WORLD OF PLAIN
BORN BY WAVES OF LIGHT AND SOUND
FAITH IN THE WORDS THAT I PROCLAIM
AIDS A METHOD THAT YOU ASTOUND
SO I'M BREAKING THESE SOUVENIRS
I'M SEARCHING FOR NEW FRONTIERS
I'M ESCAPING THIS ATROPHY
RIVER CITY WILL SET ME FREE

I WAS LIVING IN A WORLD OF PLAIN
WITH NOTHING NEW TO FEEL ABOUT
EVERYDAY TURNED OUT ALL THE SAME
BUT ONE DAY I COULD DO WITHOUT
ALL I COULD TAKE PLEASURE FROM
OH THEN WHAT HAD I BECOME?
NO MISTAKING THIS APOGEE
RIVER CITY HAS SET ME FREE

DEMO 7.25.05 1:27pm

Here are the demos for The Ideal Citizen, the third track from A Forest Through The Trees. After listening to all these again, it's possible that some or all of this might have made it onto the final master. The first file from 7.25.05 presents the basic form through bass/drum/keys. By 7.29 I 'd added electric guitar, percussion, scratch vocals, and more keys. On 9.13 I made a couple minor melody changes on keys and a slight different mix it seems. The next two mixes from 10.10 and 10.16 sound pretty similar to me, but there's probably something I'm missing. I titled the folder 'wah wah wah' - doesn't sound like I'm using a wah pedal though. Whatever. Thanks for listening.

DEMO 5.26.05 11:29 AM

Here's an idea from 5.26.05, just a straightforward chord progression (and slightly out of tune at that). I think the bridge needs to be longer. Or does it? Depends on the lyrics I reckon, which I didn't bother to write it seems. Here's another version from 5.28.05. It's essentially the same song, shorter form, different key. No major objections I guess. Maybe it will evolve someday.

Thanks for listening.