Hi Russ,
Thanks for the message and so sorry to learn of your family's loss.

I think the 2 songs you refer to are Dreaming My dreams of Christmastime and Can't Stop Me From Having Fun.
You had my email address but if you need it again, it's on my FAWM page. Please let me know how things progress and all the best with the project.
Cheers!
Gwyn

Hey @thetau, thanks for the lovely comment on Final Friday. @chrismyth02 certainly changes vocal styles with apparent ease.

Stoked that you dug "The Riddler," Russ! Fab comment--cool that you believe. Ditto, Gordon did a killer job on the song!
🤔Heard/seen the lyric vid for "Puppet Master"? Seen the latest "Forest Through the Trees"? 🤘

Thanks for checking out "Who's The Bear" and "Final Friday". I love that FAWM let's me explore lots of genres and express all of my multiple personalities 😆

Hi Russ. We may not have crossed paths in FAWm because though my first toes dipped in the pool a good while back, I didn't really get immersed until much more recently. I think last year was my first where I made it to the goal (with a few extras). With so many people participating, it's not too surprising to me to miss a few folks. 😀

Anyway, regarding writing sequence, our discussion reminded me of one perspective I read, which suggested that one should first create the part (lyrics or music) that you find hardest since your stronger skill can probably find something appropriate to mesh with starting part. That only helps so much if (like me) you're not sure which part (lyrics or music) is the better one. I agree that the collaboration approach works well, which I've done with different people in many different ways. That's fun and often fruitful, though I've had a few instances where we were just not "equally yoked"....not to say either was without talent but we just couldn't find common ground OR complementary differences. But no worries...no rings or promises are involved 😀 and ya' just move on.

Interesting story about the song you highlighted. It seemed it was one of those situations where you two were just destined to put your parts together in a way that seemed very appropriate, as if you started with a master plan and then just executed it well. The lyrics kept the familiar style and changes interesting and the music allowed the repetition in the lyrics to "work" and stay engaging. Nice job!

Okay...it's on to my next project. I've got about 6 lined up and waiting for me and/or a few collaborators. Nice chatting with you and I'll keep an eye out for more from you.

Thanks for your encouraging remarks about “…plan.” Yes, it’s a challenge to keep it simple but have enough going to keep it interesting…ahh, the joys of songwriting! I appreciate your observations.

Thanks for your comments on "...Second Maid", Russ! I enjoyed the collab and the Dylan/Arlo reference is most welcome.

Thanks for the feedback on Haunted... I love the skirmishes as they force me to not be a perfectionist and just let the lyric come through. Sometimes surprises happen that way.

Hey thank you, Russ. I can tell you are more to into Darko than I am, I only read about him a few weeks ago. What I can tell from listening to him is basically: be true to nature and open up. That's why he's attacking everyone who's talking baloney. And the way he does that is cool. He's a kind soul.

If I have time and urge I will look into the 4th state of matter too. Thank you for bringing that up.

Have a good one!

Thanks! The song is probably a minute too long. It's tough when you don't have a vocalist. I've tried with more recent songs to make them a little shorter

You asked if I was primarily a lyricist or also a vocalist, Definitely a lyricist. I have sung only one song publicly and I'll maybe try another, but I'm no Sumi. I'll EM you a copy of the one I sang, and I think you'll understand why I say that! :)

Russ, Thanks so much for your comments on Love Doesn't End Till It's Over. So glad you liked our collab. I've just been on Spotify listening to a number of your songs with Sumi. All very accomplished. I particularly liked Land By the Sea and Bring the Sunshine Back Again.

im pretty sure i can make this work. ill finish it up over the weekend.

i have another song that may fit your style better. it is in the do wop mode and can be built on a standard C Am F G structure.
A LITTLE BIT OF LONELY

every tingle, every ache
contains a lttle bit of lonely
every love and every hate
brings us deeper into lonely

inside every kiss
resides a little bit of lonely
the people who we miss
send us a little bit of lonely

lonely is the lover
reading down the book of names
lonely are the loved ones
on the highway, changing lanes

in the baby's pleading cry
i hear a little bit of lonely
the swan song of the bird who flies
drifts across the skies of lonely

a little bit of lonely
turns a lie into belief
a little bit of lonely
makes the truth hard to receive

now the living and the lost
divide the spoils of lonely
picking diamonds from the frost
collecting bits of lonely

a little bit of lonely
through the nights so very long
a little bit of lonely
every time i write a song

every note, every phrase
contains a lttle bit of lonely
from inspiration to malaise
falling deeper into lonely

Thanks for stopping by, and spinning a few of mine - I appreciate your time, and comments. Happy FAWM!

Thanks for your kind comment on "Average Joe". You mentioned that you sent an email. If it was about lyrics, then hopefully you reached @andrea. If it was to do with the music, the email didn't get to me.

Thanks for the kind words... And now I kinda wanna write a song about a Cleptozoologist, just to see if I can!

Hi Russ
Nice tune.
Is there a way you can send I to me without the lead?
Then I could see if I could add lyrics and melodic changes with my vocals

Thanks for your kind words on creativity and arrangement. "Backwards" is still in a demo stage fully focussing on songwriting and arrangement. Proper EQing, dynamics and room is pointless, cause we will rerecord nearly everything here. The organ will be replaced by the vocals. The final version will take some months and be uploaded onto YouTube.

i wasnt suggesting she reform the democatic party, but that she starts a new party and names it Reformed Democrats. My fear is that her numerous FOX appearances are going to brand her as a closet republican. but a new party might bring both democrats and republicans who are disgusted with their parties together and win the vote away from the harris / cheney alternatives. As for music, Dylans style doesnt interest me. The only thing i feel i have in common with him is our record collections. i do have a lyric i havent use or parceled out yet. perhaps you will like it and it will inspire some music. if not, we can keep looking.

SMALL EYES

you see it...you see it all
but you see it all through small eyes

a pretty face in the street
a pretty voice on the web
how little you know about them
about anybody
as you fall perilously in love

we see it...we see it all
but we aee it all through small eyes

we want to know
who is the scum
who started this war
that is killing our sons

i see it.....i see it all
but i see it all through small eyes

i want a bigger picture
i want a better view
dont send me a headshot
i want to see the whole of you

it coccured to me that if dylan had been singing the times they are a changin at that jan 6 fiasco, he would have been imprisoned for treason
(Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin' Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin' )

perhaps the shit will hit the fan during the next election, because there is nobody in sight from either party who represents the people. I would like to see a new party, Reformed Democrats, created with a Gabbard/Sanders ticket.

anyway, what kind of ideas do you have for a collab? i cpould tell the true story of what is happening in Peru....or we could go in another direction. Im up for anything.

Thanks for your kind comments on 'These Haunted Dreams' - @andrea's lyrics are fabulous! :-)

Thanks for your comment on Princess. Yes, thus song is mainly a rage against hierarchy. I thought the image of a princess fits very well...

I'd love to collab on something. Late to start has some potential. I'm not quite in the mood for writing a Christmas song right now so I'll leave those crazy people alone. I won't be able to work on anything until next week so if there's something new you'd really like me to take a stab just send me the track via email.

I'm crazy inspired right now, I'm hoping to get the ROMCOM album "If I'm Blue" released by 2/23. (4 more tracks, the next should be up in a few hours) and then I've got a number of other tracks lined up to work on outside that theme. Thanks for all the love and support my friend. Looking forward to hearing more from you this month! Hugs.

Thanks for your kind comments on Can't Resist. Much appreciated :)

Ehh jazz/brushes arnt really my thing unfortunately

I would say I am an advanced beginner in picking out tunes on the fly, like at a jam. If I am at home, with all the notes on tab, I can practice and get up to speed on intermediate mandolin songs. As far as the guitalele, I just bought it in October, and am still learning the chord structures and where notes are located. I just keep on practicing.

Hey there. To answer your question, I can do everything. It all depends on the person I'm collaborating with. My only limitation is in the production aspect of things. That's why most of the music recordings I do are very simple and very raw just easy piano work. Are you interested in collaborating on something?

I can't figure it out either, Russ!! A mystery.

Must be marimba or xylophone you're referring to, sometimes doubling each other.

Glad The Movie in My Mind touched the melody in your mind. Thanks for listening and letting us know you liked it. I, too, have had the pleasure of working with Sumi. She has a lovely voice.

You comments are pretty awesome, Russ :) THANK U!!

Thanks for the kind words on Glimpse, high praise to leave one speechless 😆

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the Blackout Blues. Im teaming up with a rock vocalist!

Hi Russ, sorry to hear about your computer problems, and I hope you manage to get them resolved. I thought you'd been a bit quiet of late. Good to hear from you as ever and thanks for busting my Zong.

Thanks for your comment on Glimpse! I had to smile a bit, so you're a ghost 😀 ?

Hi, thanks for such a lovely comment on Mama dang left us. I had a lot of fun recording that one, @chrismyth02 did (as always) an amazing vocal on it.

Happy fishy birthday to you, too, then! I really appreciated your comment. :)

Hey Russ! I'll check out your email and respond for sure. In the meantime definitely go ahead with Hey Minnesota, I know you'll come up with some great music for it! I'll shoot you the mp3.

And thanks for checking out T.P. I love your take - stare into the abyss and it stares back. A little madness is always appropriate in music.

Thank you so much for the feedback on my song!

Send you an email my friend! Happy FAWM

I'd love a metal take on "The Final Friday" - though vocals must still have a strong melody imo. Thanks for checking out the lyrics!

Thanks for visiting my Groundhog Day song.

I hear you on those inner atomic bombs! Thanks for listening.

Hee hee, I don't tout myself as a mind reader, but clearly touched on a topic near and not so "dear" to many of us! Thanks for taking a listen to "Voices." Much appreciated.

:)

thanks so much for listening and commenting on albatross. i hope you have a fun & fruitful fawm!

Thanks for the listen! <3

Hey Russ looking forward to your new songs!

Hey Russ, thanks for the greeting. I hope you have a great FAWM. 😄

Hi Russ. Happy Fawming. I’m looking forward to hearing some great new music from you! :)

Hi Russ
Happy FAWMing!

Yup, we're getting to be "old timers" here. Ha!

Hey hey hey Russ! Cheers and may your FAWMing be FAWMtastic!

Hey Russ! Thanks for dropping by, look forward to working with you more!

Howdy! Happy FAWM, and thanks for the warm welcome!

How-do, Mr. Russ. We’ll see what this little jelly factory can crank out! Happy FAWMing!

Hi Russ, thanks for the warm welcome :-)

Hi Russ
Good to see you here!

Helloooo excited to see you again, looking forward to your music! Have a great FAWM!

Hi, Russ! Happy FAWM 2023! Good to see you here again. Looking forward to hearing what you do this year! 😄

Looking forward to your whetted whistle!

Howdy! Good to see you!

Hey to you too! Have an awesome FAWM. :)

Hi Russ, thanks for the greeting. I hope you have a great FAWM.

Thanks I'm hoping to do something this year, good luck enjoy

Aw, thanks!

Hey there! Great to see you again...and looking forward to hearing you again, too! Happy FAWM!

Thanks for stopping by, Russ. See ya in a few days!

Hey great to see you back and I will be listening as well!

Hi Russ, always good to see you, and hear you! Hope you have a good FAWM this year.

FAWMseason greetings Russ. We're going to do this again - with bells on!

Thank you very much, my friend! I also wish you a wonderful FAWM-time!

Hey hey! Hope you have a great FAWM too. Let's rock this thing!

Hi, Russ! Great to see you here again. Have a wonderful FAWM!

Hi Russ,
Thanks for popping in! Wishing you a fantastically creative month, with new favorites to add to your repertoire. See you out there! 😊

Thanks, Russ, looking forward to it!

Hiya Russ! Nice to "see" you back here again! Happy FAWM!

...and "hi!" back! This FAWM regrettably will not be off to a great start as I'm away the first week. Still, I remember 2009, one of the best, where I didn't get back from Europe till 1/2 way through!

Thank you for the note! Happy FAWM, Russ.

Hey thanks for the note!! I'll be listening back :)

Btw, “My Favorite Christmas” is pretty awesome!

It's great to collaborate on projects. Looking forward to hearing your finishing result.
Have a great FAWM, Russ.

"My Favorite Christmas" sounds happy, jazzy and smooth. Very nice listen. I like your collaborator's lyrics and vocals. Did she write her lyrics to your music? Everything sounds organic and enjoyable. Very nice music, Russ and very good demo and mixing. I like the video too. This could be a lovely movie song.

Ha! Yes, I’m the “FAWM” girl - lol!

You are very welcome, Russ. I always find this question hard to answer but perhaps
https://nadiacripps.bandcamp.com/track/my-rainy-day
It is a piece I composed during playing the piano for my very poorly husband. This music was helping him relax and fall asleep without the use of the sleeping pills. Sadly I lost Tony. He was only 59.
Do you have your favourite piece?

Dig in, do the work and you will succeed <-- love it!!
Good luck for 2023

Happy FAWMing Russ!

Hi Russ! 👋
Not long now... the anticipation is getting intense.

Let’s do it, Russ!! Fawm fun :)

Happy happy FAWM FAWM !!!!

Hello friend. Hope you're well. Happy Fawm!

good to see you back,

Thank you Russ, you too.

Thanks for the encouraging words, Russ. I really appreciate it.
So you're the solitary real human being who's been listening to my stuff on youtube! :)
Hugs, my friend. Your note made my day.

Hello, I might be able to do something for that. I don't usually play that way, I approach guitar more aggressively, but it's not outside of what I can do, I'm up for the challenge! I'll see what I can do.