At various times over the last 20 years I've put musical ideas down on tape (and later, to hard drive). Here is a sampling of some of those efforts with details as best I remember them. Feel free to Email me with any questions/comments.
Fallen Idols 1995, 2003, 2021
Written in the mid 1990s, recorded in 2003, and finally mixed in 2021! There's also a simple video on YouTube.
Lyrics →
Is there something I've forgotten
words once sung by Johnny Rotten
meant the world to me at one time
not a second thought the other
day I heard a sad song play
through static on the radio
and all the snapshots that I saved...
and I still can't remember after all
Just a thought before I have to go
There is something I would like to know
Maybe if I took the time to listen
and read between the lines
and think about the messages written in the signs
For many years I played the fool
I thought that one day I might rule
the world or at least my own life
reality can be unkind
at times I felt invincible
I argued higher principle
the words I never understood
was I supposed to know them after all?
Half (Barefoot & Young) 2018
An attempt to complete a song I'd worked on in 2018 resulted in something completely new, written and recorded (with some help from Gavin Kirk on second guitar) in December, 2018.
Lyrics →
Barefoot and young... the whole world ahead of him.
Wonderful son, though grown a bit thin.
Can't stop himself from all of the memories'
tragic embrace nearly left him for dead
I'll take half of whatever you've got for me but
leave the rest for someone more deserving.
I'll take half of whatever you've got for me but
leave the rest for someone more deserving than me...
Lost in his thoughts with no one to look for him.
Hidden so deep, where no one could swim.
Carefully worded apologies given.
Unfortunately it fell on deaf ears
It Makes No Sense 2003/2016
This was an old favorite, recorded in 2003 in the suburbs of Detroit, MI on ProTools with an acoustic (no idea which one) and my Tele Thinline (yes, I wish I still had that guitar). Recently (2/2016) I realized I had made some horrible decisions on the voice EQ and the overall mastering sound so I took another shot. It's still a case of knowing just enough to get myself into trouble but I like it a lot more and decided to share it here.
Lyrics →
Narrowly escaping from the past.
Running from the things I thought weren't supposed to last.
Hiding from the very people that I needed next to me.
Losing all significance, slipping into history.
It makes no sense, we are who we are.
There are no rules for just how far we can go.
It makes no difference what they say.
Tomorrow's still another day as... far as we know.
Waking up to find myself alone.
Chasing distant memories. Taking me so far from home.
Hiding from the very people that I needed next to me.
Losing all significance, slipping into history.
It makes no sense, we are who we are.
There are no rules for just how far we can go.
It makes no difference what they say.
Tomorrow's still another day as... far as we know.
A Ghost In My House 1/2015
I recorded it just as soon as I finished writing it, then added programmed drums and bass in Garageband. Then I went back and recorded the guitar again as my part developed a bit through practice.
Lyrics →
There's a ghost in my house and I don't know what to do
and all of my fears seem to be coming true.
And every step forward is back two steps more
and it feels like I've been here before.
There's a ghost in my house and I see it in the mirror.
Through the fog and the haze his reflection growing clearer.
I wake up at midnight and then again at two.
Can someone please tell me what to do?
I don't like the sounds that he makes...
and all of the energy it takes...
I feel like I've aged ten years in the span of one.
I've come undone...
There's a ghost in my house and he's quiet as a mouse.
He's afraid... of being seen...
He sleeps in the daytime and haunts me at night
and it's obvious that something's not right...
yes it's obvious that something isn't right.
Inevitable 2/2013
I wrote this two winters ago, performed it once or twice, and then put it on the back burner, knowing that if I was going to record it I would want a great lead player to fill the empty spaces between the verses and on the ending. I put the word out to a few of my talented guitarist friends and one of them came over and spent some time with me helping me get it just right.
Lyrics →
Cold Hands, cold heart.
I don't know where else to start.
I wait alone.
My only hope to postpone the inevitable.
Memories of another life when time was more accessible
Struggling for every meal I ate.
Now it seems impossible to find what kept us going.
The luxury of healthy debate.
Will surly be the end of me.
My destiny is catching up to me.
The still of night.
Trying to stay out of site
Away too long.
The words that come out sounding wrong.
Will surly be the end of me.
My destiny is catching up to me.
All Of Our Memories 10/2007
With my former collaborator settled in Seattle with a new wife, new job, and a baby on the way, I needed to learn to write music for 1 voice and 1 guitar again... especially now that I was running a monthly Open Mic that I often opened with a few songs of my own. This song was somewhat inspired by a Kings Of Convenience song that I was listening to a lot. It was recorded and mixed using only Apple's GarageBand.
Lyrics →
Alone at last though time is passing us by.
I meant to call you though I can't remember why.
And all of our memories were wrong.
As if we waited too long.
Hope is obscured by the world we've created in lies.
The truth is much harder to face face than it is to disguise.
And all of our memories were wrong.
As if we waited too long.
The places have long since gone.
No matter how hard we try to hold on.
In His Sleep 11/2003
Recorded on Thanksgiving Day. Had to break for dinner... and laid down the vocals just after.
Lyrics →
I don't think it's funny anymore so let's be honest 'cause we
never seem to find the time to speak our mind.
A witness to this kind of mercy killing in disguise.
But I'm alright. Everyone survived.
Hoping for a better life or something on the side.
Living for our families 'cause nature can't decide.
I suppose that I'm to blame for everything that you can name.
The basic premise stays the same. I read it in your eyes.
Time is standing still but it never stays the same.
I Could Be Home (live) 8/2006
Gavin Kirk & Thomas Cray, 2006, B.L.U.E. Snowball attached to a Powerbook on a coffee table in Rogers Park (NE Chicago neighborhood). Solo was made up on the spot and we switched vocal parts just before performing. Fake audience added afterwards... just having fun.
Lyrics →
I could be home if I
left it alone and I
worried less about the things that you do.
But I lost my way now I
have much less to say and I
struggle to find the words to make things okay.
If it seems a waste of time
Making sense out of my rhyme
Then I've got some words for you...
I've never been anything less than true.
