From the vaults, here is a demo of a tune I wrote some years back called Blue Bells. I think this might be the only recording I have of this song, and although it’s not fully finished there’s something I love about this take that made me want to stop working on it for a while. Sometimes you capture a feeling – for yourself alone even – well enough to leave a song be – to come back to it later, or not at all.
Recorded in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, 6/18/06.
From the vaults, here is a cover of George Harrison’s wonderful song Something that I performed on ukulele. What can I say, Pattie Boyd Boyd must have been quite the muse. Something is arguably George’s greatest song with the Beatles or even his entire career, which is saying something. Hope you enjoy.
Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 3/5/08.
Here is a rendition of Pua Lililehua from the vaults. I always enjoyed this song because it is mostly sweet and mellow, but still has a bit of tension that creates a sense of yearning in it. I recorded this while living in an ohana unit with a large, tiled room that I kept mostly empty because I enjoyed the acoustics. (Plus, I don’t own a lot of furniture.) Hope you enjoy.
Recorded in Holualoa, Hawai’i, 2/27/08.
Iris has a lot of harmonics, which creates a light, chimey atmosphere. A thunderstorm rolled in while I was recording and gave some interesting punctuation to the take. I’ll probably try to record another version of this song, but thought the lightness of the song coupled with the thunderstorm left an interesting contrast. Hope you enjoy.
Morning and Night started out as a fingerpicking study I wrote for one of my students way back when. I added a little to the study to perform it as a slow, relaxing solo piece and it has stayed in my repertoire ever since.
A few years back I decided to write a harmony part for the song, which I almost forgot about until I found a demo take while combing through some old files. I think it’s interesting to hear the song both with and without the harmony. Hope you enjoy both versions.
Lágrima is one of my all time favorite songs on guitar. Written by one of the premiere composers for classical guitar, Francisco Tárrega, it plays to the guitar’s strengths and offers many possible interpretations. The song is simple, yet profound, saying a lot in a short amount of time. I also think Lágrima translates well to the steel string guitar – the ringing sustain brings an added brilliance to the song.
Bron-Yr-Aur is probably my favorite Led Zeppelin acoustic song. Written about a tranquil cottage in the Welsh countryside, the song is meditative and bucolic; it always puts me in a different place whenever I hear it or play it. This is a relatively straight forward read on the song… The original version is a bit shorter, but I usually take a few extra passes through. Hope you enjoy.
Here is a rough cut of my original song Ohio River Rag. My normal preamp setup has a software bug, so recording with just my phone in the meanwhile. Sometimes you have to push through.
Here is my arrangement of Little Martha by Duane Allman. Hope you enjoy.
Here is a song I wrote a while back called “Magic Sands.” Hope you enjoy.