In case you missed 'em (or you're new here, in which case, yay!), here are the new MP3s I've released in the past few months:
(There are also tons more songs on the music and demos pages, don'tcha know.)
It's Thanksgiving month. My thanks to you, for listening and enabling my pseudo-rock star habit with your attention, encouragement and occasional hard-earned dollars. I'm working on another new song for this month, so don't wander too far.
Posted November 3, 2008
I intended to write a spooky tune for Halloween, but failed utterly. And given the global financial-ocalypse and the upcoming election, there's already plenty to be creeped out about. And also this song has "ghost" in the title so I guess that'll have to do.
Instead of spooky, I bring you angry. I wrote this tune back in February and although I meant it to be a mostly acoustic number, I was heavily under the influence of Bob Mould's latest and convinced that the world could really use more electric guitars going BWA-NA-NA-NA-NA over everything.
(As for the lyrics: open to interpretation. Feel free to superimpose your favorite psychosocial meatgrinder experience.)
As is the new tradition here, the 128k file is free when you log in. You can also get a high-quality 320k file, along with bonus solo acoustic and instrumental versions and artwork in a handy ZIP file for one thin US dollar.
[audio:misc/Scott Andrew - Gold Star (Feel Like A Ghost) (128k).mp3]
Buy MP3 bundle for $1 (ZIP file, 320k, includes bonus solo acoustic and instrumental versions)
This audio work by Scott Andrew is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.so you've come to set me straight an irresistible disaster so hold me up against the others maybe we'll both find what we're after
'cause it doesn't take much it hardly takes anything to make me feel like a ghost these days invisible — ethereal — and just a gold star by my name
so say you want to keep me safe 'cause I want to be someone worth saving but I'm always leaving one door open for whenever you get tired of waiting
'cause it doesn't take much it hardly takes anything to make me feel like a ghost these days invisible — ethereal — and just a gold star by my name
cut away the ropes and skin that tie us down and hem us in did you think I'd fall for that again?
and all the things I've ever wanted were things that needed to be given another house been doused for burnin' just blame it on another bad decision
'cause it doesn't take much it hardly takes anything to make me feel like a ghost these days invisible — ethereal — and just a gold star by my name it doesn't take much it hardly takes anything to make me feel like a ghost these days invisible — ethereal — and just a gold star by my name
Posted October 20, 2008
My pal Jim Santanella, who helped me record Save You From Yourself in his home studio, has released a new album of his own: Cold Rain. Congrats Jim!
The songs on Cold Rain are appropriately dark without being overtly morose, evocative of those bright days in winter that punctuate the endless weeks of drizzle. I sing the harmonies on "Wonder" and "Sketches" and contributed the David Gilmour-sound-alike solo at the tail end of "She." But my favorite track is the sparse closer "Last Show." Do give it a spin.
Jim Santanella - Cold Rain at Amazon.com
Posted October 10, 2008
Here's one of the brighter moments from my CD release show in July: Dennis came out from behind the drum kit to play the conga and sing with Laurie K. and I on Holding Back. It's pretty awesome how the occasional three-part harmonies carry the song along. Definitely a high point of the evening!
[audio:live/Scott Andrew - Holding Back (live at Egans).mp3]
Unfortunately, most of the live audio I got from the show was not great quality. I've salvaged a few tunes but I'm still working my way through it all.
By the way, there are less than ten free copies of Love My Way left. Grab 'em while you can.
Posted October 5, 2008
UPDATE: the September contest is over, and Holding Back finished at #5 out over 550 entries, which should hopefully put me in serious contention for that opening act slot. Mission accomplished! Thanks again for your help.
Mongol General: Conan! What is best in life? Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women.
As a rule I don't enter song contests or "battle of the bands" anymore, because 1) most of them are outright scams, and 2) I don't like begging people to vote for me. You and I, we have better things to do.
So it's with some squirming trepidation that I refer you to Ourstage.com and my song, Holding Back, which at the time of this writing is #3 out of over 500 entries.
Why am I telling you this? Here's why:
I don't really care about winning the contest. All I care about is keeping Holding Back in the Top 10 or so.
Why? Because I'm in the running for a chance to open for Matt Nathanson when he comes to Seattle in November. They're basically going to look at the top ranked singer-songwriters and pick the most suitable artist for the gig. Being the only Seattle-based guy in the Top 20, I think I have a really good chance.
So yeah, I'm asking for your help. The catch is, Ourstage is righteously, outrageously fair and doesn't allow mob rule. You can't just vote for my song and then skedaddle away. Instead, Ourstage will randomly serve you two songs, and you "judge" the best of the two.
Lucky for you, it's the quarterfinals! Which means there are only 20 songs to vote for. So the chances of Holding Back popping up for you are very very high. But even if it doesn't, it's important that you still judge fairly, the idea being that Democracy In Action will float the best songs to the top.
So here's what you do. Go here, sign up, then go here and start judging songs. It's actually kind of addicting (I've done it a bit myself). If you see Holding Back, vote it up, yay! If not, just keep judging until you're bored, hungry or your boss comes wandering by.
Or, don't.
Thanks.
Posted September 24, 2008
It's become a joke that any cover song I perform will be scooped up by a more famous artist. When Laurie and I were performing as the Walkingbirds, we used to play Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes," which was cool until people started asking if I'd heard of this Jeffrey Gaines fellow, and wow his version of "In Your Eyes" is just awesome, so we must be like total fans or something, right?
Anyway, I'm not sure what the brothers Butler had in mind when they wrote this tune. All I know is it's been stuck in my brain for months, and it's my moral imperative to appall hardcore fans with my baby-soft treatment of the best pop tune of '82, and I must do it before Death Cab For Cutie does.
Yeah, about that. This is a cover song, which means I had to buy a license, and that license only allows downloads, not streams.The license also limits the number of downloads, so at some point the links below will stop working. Sorry, gotta play by the book on this one.
Just like the last tune, the 128k version is free to Demo Clubbers, and the 320k version can be had along with acoustic and instrumental versions for one US dollar.
[audio:misc/Scott Andrew - Love My Way (30 sec clip 128k).mp3|no_dl=1]
[mp3:/misc/Scott Andrew - Love My Way (128k).mp3|100]
Buy MP3 bundle for $1 (17MB ZIP file, 320k, includes bonus acoustic and instrumental versions)
"Love My Way" by R. Butler, T. Butler, J. Aston, & V. Ely © EMI Blackwood Music Inc.
Posted September 9, 2008
Congrats to my internet pal Brad Sucks who released his new album Out Of It today. I'm rocking out to it this very moment. "Bad Sign" alone is worth whatever price you're willing to pay (and you can name your price).
I've taken a lot of inspiration (as well as stolen ideas) from Brad over the past few years and we've had email conversations about the ups and downs of being a DIY musician. I consider him part of my virtual peer/support group, so to see him charging out of the gate with Out Of It makes me wanna cheer and jump around.
Posted September 8, 2008
So hey, I'm releasing new songs on the web again. Yay! Here's one I wrote early this year, and in an uncharacteristic display of patience, even played live a few times before I recorded it.
I've had the chorus lying around for years, but it never became a song. One day I was noodling around and came up with the opening guitar riff, and the rest of it came out in a day or so. I recorded most of it in an evening, and then walked away from it for two weeks so that when I came back I'd forgotten all the awkward performance details, and all the layered guitars had melded together like the flavors of a really good lasagna left in the fridge for a night. Lasagna made with noodles of bittersweet clarity and tomato sauce of quiet resolve.
I'm also trying something new here: besides the free 128k MP3 download, you can also get a ZIP file containing a higher-quality 320k version of the song, an acoustic version, and an instrumental version, all for a measly dollar.
Think of it as a single with bonus tracks. BOOM, I just blew your mind.
There's even some artwork to go along with this track. Click the image above on the right to download it to your desktop, then throw it into iTunes or whatever. (Here's a tutorial I found.)
Lyrics after the jump. Enjoy!
[audio:misc/Scott Andrew - You Promised (128k).mp3] Buy MP3 bundle for $1 (17MB ZIP file, includes acoustic and instrumental versions)
This audio work by Scott Andrew is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.You've got a jealous heart you don't wanna be a part of anything you didn't have from the start 'cause you said so And we are a broken toy unfit for a girl or boy refusing anything that could bring you joy 'cause you say so
and you and I are working through something yeah, you and I are working through something here
you promised me that things would change but you and I, merely more of the same yeah but I can learn to stand without you now (but I still fall down sometimes)
I'm learning to hold my tongue don't wanna be outdone you see it in the faces of everyone I suppose so a sky full of winter gray I've been underneath for days but you could feel it coming from miles away with your eyes closed
and you and I are working through something yeah, you and I are working through something here
you promised me that things would change but you and I, merely more of the same yeah but I can learn to stand without you now (but I still fall down sometimes)
You've got a jealous heart...
you promised me that things would change but you and I, merely more of the same yeah but I can learn to stand without you now (but I still fall down sometimes) you promised me that things would change now you're up in the air now I'm out of your way yeah and now I've learned to stand without you now (but I still fall down)
Posted August 11, 2008
A number of music-related threads I have bookmarked over at Ask Metafilter. Some are a few years old but still informative:
Why is it so hard to get the B string in tune? I have this problem all the time.
Controlling your peaks. I always wondered why my mixes didn't distort at levels over 0db. Here's why.
How do home musicians keep organized/productive?
Help me let the muse in! Suggestions on coping with your inner critic.
Simple home studio. Suggestions for bare-bones home setups.
How to reduce/eliminate RF noise in my home studio? This question was mine. My studio is still noisy, but less so these days.
Feeding the starving artists - effective ways to monetarily support your favorite bands.
Come join the Youth and Beauty Brigade Tips on band promotion and booking. See also here and here.
Major laymen meet major label. Band gets approached by a major label, should they talk or walk?
Posted August 8, 2008
Last Saturday I went to a friend's benefit show at the Sunset Tavern, and among the bands playing was Duff McKagan's band Loaded. Duff played a Les Paul goldtop, which I covet and continue to covet.
Fame is weird. The band was actually pretty great, straight up rock. But I have to admit that part of the reason I squeezed in closer was just to be within ten feet of That Guy Who Played Bass on Appetite. I've never been a huge GN'R fan, but geez, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the uncontacted tribes of the Amazon basin have heard "Paradise City" at least once.
It's weird seeing someone so famous so close up, doing something totally different in a different context. When I used to go to SXSW, this kind of thing happened a lot. Already-famous people would debut their pet projects at SXSW, and sometimes you wouldn't know until they took the stage. (Here's a tip: look for too-wacky-to-be-real band names in the program guide.)
Anyway, I guess it's a unique kind of cognitive dissonance.
Posted August 7, 2008