DEMO 10.13.2006 1:48am

Here's Prague 15.

The folder says this idea originated in October 2006, but the earliest file I have is from February 2009. There's no way of knowing what changes may have happened between that time since I was still dumb enough not to number my sessions. As I may have mentioned, the dates and times listed above in the titles for each post refer to the moment when the file was first created, even though the files are always from a later date when I had made some actual progress.

Blah Blah Blah.

This was the idea that led to Weights & Measures, the second track off By The Numbers.

Thanks for listening.


DEMO 10.12.2006 5:43am

Here's Prague 12. This idea began in October 2006 but didn't get bounced out until later for whatever reason. Although I think the first version is fairly similar to the original idea, there's unfortunately no way of knowing for certain since I still wasn't numbering sessions at this point.

Thanks for listening.

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.