Song #23: Have I Loved You

This song is actually the very first song that I wrote with words! (I wrote a few piano instrumentals before then). It dates 15 years ago back to July of 1997 (according to my notes) when I had just turned 14 - and now I FINALLY recorded it! At the time, the song was much slower. I thought of it as a ballad patterned after the Beatles "In My Life" (where I not-so-subtly lifted the line from). The lyrics also very lovey-dovey like the early Beatles. Later on when my high school band was taking a break, I jammed with may buddy, Jeff, on sax and picked up the tempo, giving it the Jack Johnson meets Dave Matthews feel. Unfortunately, my friend was not in town to play sax so for purposes of this project, I decided to whistle the solo parts. I also added jembe, snaps, maracas, and bass guitar to fill it out. I think it works. It's not the best lyrics I've written but it's a snappy, catchy tune that I'm still proud of.

Song #22: I Get By

This one is influenced by both John Vanderslice and Pinback. I started writing it back in 2005 and it stayed half written until this month. The arrangement was a beast to figure out; I tried lots of things out that didn't seem to work but I think I got it now. The arrangement features drum programming, guitars (including ebow guitar parts), synthesizers, a noise pad (using my ipad), and beat boxing.... yes, beat boxing! There's a first for everything. I think this is another one of my favorites of the project. What do you think?

Song #21: I Don't Know

This one is yet another oldie from the high school days; one of my first. Although this is far from reggae, I'm going to go ahead and site Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" as inspiration. I love the sound of the organ in that song so I tried to maintain a little of that feel. Also, the jembe (sort of like a congo drum) adds to the "island ambiance". The lyrics are a little bit of a downer so hopefully the production elements help balance it out.