So this week I opted for the infamous (ambitious?) “Snuff” by Slipknot.  I did so as a request by a friend, but I really like the song, and it’s pretty much right along my style.

Of course, that’s where the simplicity for this week ends.  I broke a string trying various tunings for the guitar, ended up putting on new ones and playing tuned way down in standard tuning.  The temperature is well over 90F, so I was getting hot and aggravated.

Then of course, I practiced and practiced, and regardless of how well I thought I could do it, it never came out very good.  Finally, I just got a good take and stuck with it.  Problem?  Yeeeeees, of course.  The battery on my guitar’s pickup was dying, so the guitar has this fuzz … it almost sounds intentional, but I’ll admit that it’s not.

To cap it all off, listening back, I realized the vocals are pretty hot in the mix (loud compared to the guitar), but in my dumb-ness I didn’t save the session tracks, so there’s no fixing it.  lol

Anyway, it is OK, but not my favorite podcast.

Oh and that little  “whooooaaaa” part toward the end … just pretend I’m Tarzan or something. 

Direct link to podcast video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV0VVjmmJg8

Wow, somehow I’ve hit Episode 20?

Well to celebrate, I’m doing another cover of a [wiki]Symphony of Science[/wiki] song. Although I have wanted to do another for some time (and would eventually like to cover them all), but, the remaining ones were much more difficult to transition to my type of music.

At any rate, the choice this week was between “A Glorious Dawn” and “Our Place In The Cosmos.” Ultimately, I settled on “A Glorious Dawn” (obviously).

Like the last one I grew very impatient during recording, and thought it wasn’t working at all, but after hearing the final recording (which I managed to record in a higher quality — even do some light audio editing!), the biggest problem was, as I imagined, trying to fit all those words in.

But here is my rendition … I hope you enjoy it!!

Oh, I had done a little acoustic picking thing at the end, but I messed it up, and rather than try to splice video or whatever and make it go all wonky, I just cut it. It wasn’t bad as it was, but it was too weird for my tastes.

Please share this if you like it! This project deserves all the attention it can get.

Direct link to podcast video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7WPxcUI98I

This week I picked the infamous “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor, because, you know, I play it so much better than he does!  lol  Or not.  Anyway, we have the same initials … that works right?

Ok so I learned this song long ago … probably one of the first more complex guitar songs I learned, back in my finger picking phase.  Then I was playing live one night, and someone requested a James Taylor song, and this is the only one I recalled.  I got a lot of compliments on it, so I thought I would try it here.

I think it’s a fair version … there are a few mistakes/weak spots, but I’m not gonna tell you where if they’re not blatantly obvious (which they are!)  And … I think I’m going to stick to my new way of recording, even though it does kind of make the videos seem lip sync’d.

So let me know what you think!

Direct link to podcast video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elNQjXWlwzw

I’ve been really all over the place with my song selections lately, but this week I settled on the new song “Your Decision” by [wiki]Alice In Chains[/wiki].  It just seems to fit well with my style, and I thought it would do well.

I had planned for the first time in a podcast to record multiple track/layers, and do some video effects, but I ran out of time.  Additionally, I forgot to bring my voice recorder (Sony ICD-SX700 that I always use for podcasts) home, so I ended up having to use Audition on my recording machine anyway.

Given that, I decided to go ahead and tweak the audio (EQ, reverb, compressor) and add a lead.  Somehow, whatever I did makes the entire video seem dubbed (the guitar solo and one little vocal part are, of course, dubbed, but the rest is not!!)  And yes, I had to extend the lead a little, because I left too many measures with the rhythm.  lol  I typically like leads anyway, so it gave me a chance to use the old lead and add a little of my own flair.

Anyway, I originally (after recording) wouldn’t have said it is my best performance ever, but the quality overall seemed better the more I listen.  The tweaks on the vocals definitely highlight my voice way more than typical.  This new recording style may be here to stay, given that it’s really no more difficult than the voice recorder, and it lets me add additional layers.  This in turn gives me more time to play around with studio equipment and try out and perfect techniques for future albums.  Let me know what you think!

Direct link to podcast video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc9YDp4b6j4

This week’s song pulls from way back in my musical history.  I remember going to see Mel McDaniel at the Frederick County (Virginia) Fair sometime in the mid 1980s (I couldn’t have been much older than 6 or 7).  I absolutely LOVED his music, and that was the first concert I remember going to (And I still remember being there!).

Anyway, “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On” is the song I picked for this week because it really was a brand new song about then.  I worried it would be a little outside my style, but it actually worked really well!  I rockified it a little, but I think the original soul of the song still rings out.

Oddly enough, as simple as this song as, and as well as I should know it (after all I’ve known the song for 25+ years), it took me so many takes to get it right.  Even once I finally thought I was finished, I listened back, and it just wasn’t good enough.  So, I went back to my studio, sat down and in one single take, I got this version which is almost perfect.  (Brownie points to anyone who can point out the missed chord that still made it into the recording!  )

Also, I find it very appropriate to mention that I requested earlier in the week for suggestions for this week’s podcast, and it was my mom that reminded me about those good ole days, and her suggestion was perfect.  It brought back a lot of memories for me, and renewed my appreciation for this music.  I think it’s no irony that this all happened only a few days before Mother’s Day, so for that reason, I dedicate this podcast to her.

Happy Mother’s Day!! 

Direct link to podcast video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKkPQ4lJZKg

This week’s podcast is the pseudo-countryish-rap ditty from my Two Sides Of The Same Soul album called “Hope (The Nightmare).”  It’s a catchy tune, but overall, quite simple.  The subject matter is sacrificing to get what you want even given that constant, nagging caveat that nothing is for certain.

You will also notice this is my first week back to the acoustic in a while.  It is a Yamaha APX-500 thin profile E/A cutaway, and I really like it.  You’ll also notice the audio quality sucks.  That is because I accidentally deleted the file from my voice recorder, so I had no choice (unless I rerecorded the whole thing).  I think it is still tolerable though.

Direct link to video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAw_64UPvjQ

This week’s podcast is the awesome new song by Shaman’s Harvest called “Dragonfly.” I have to admit I really don’t understand the lyrics (it’s hard enough just to find a good transcription of the lyrics), but the song rocks hardcore.  I see it as either a dying person wavering on lucidity or a prediction of the end of the world.

At any rate, I’m noticing my podcasts become more and more challenging, so I find myself pressed for time to record them.  (I give myself about an hour or so on Wednesday evenings).  Anymore, this includes time to learn the song.  That being said, this week, I compromised and did my own arrangement, because, while I know the song pretty well, the faster parts take a little rehearsing to sing along with.

And wouldn’t you know it, I kept screwing up, take after take, and finally I got a pretty good one, and I left out the bridge!  D’oh!  Oh well … here it is.  There are more “so-so” parts than usual, but there are some of my finer musical moments too.  That’s why I decided not to risk another take (even without the bridge.)  Enjoy!

Direct link to podcast video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go11eRUM-Q4

One of my  new favorite songs is “Odd One” by Sick Puppies, and I had to do it as a podcast.  I really didn’t get the time to rehearse it like I wanted to, but it turned out pretty well despite that!

This makes the third week now using my Ibanez MMM-1 baritone guitar (which I love!), and the second week doing video but using the Sony ICD-SX700 to record the audio.  The new format is here to stay (merging of the old style with actual video of me playing) if I can get the video mixing process down to where it doesn’t take me hours … (Using Cinelerra, and am still learning the nuances).

Direct link to podcast video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_6iGR7CjGk

Not long after I first heard this song (by Alter Bridge) I decided I wanted to do it as a podcast.  Biggest problem?  It’s very rangy, so it was hard for me to sing.  Luckily I got new strings for my baritone guitar, so I was able to get it low enough to be just perfect.

This week you’ll notice that I finally got the hybrid down for the video — I have the intro screen, but I also videoed myself.  The recording was done separately (once again on my Sony ICD-SX700 voice recorder) and I linked them later.  The problem was it was quite difficult to the the audio and video to sync in rendering … but it’s fairly close (the program I used was Cinelerra).

Anyway, here it is.  It’s about as good as I have ever performed this song. Enjoy!

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vLW0CC6OOo

That’s right!  I am a nerd … I COVERED the Symphony of Science

So there’s a lot to mention this week.  First and foremost, I recorded this on my baritone guitar (Ibanez Mike Mushok MMM-1) which is electric, so I can no longer call the podcast the “Weekly Acoustic Podcast.”

Secondly, I actually recorded the video!  Yeah, aren’t I sexy?    So the upside is the podcast is a lot cooler.  The downside is the audio quality on my camera sucks, so I’ll have to work to improve that somehow over time.

Oh yeah, last, but not least, GO MOUNTAINEERS!

I hope you like this one … definitely my most creative selection to date, and I am particularly fond of it.    And if nothing else, check out the real Symphony of Science, because it is an awesome project.

Direct link to podcast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuReUScjeNk

Original “We Are All Connected”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGK84Poeynk