Week 6: "Nightmares", "Helplessness Blues"

I have reached the end of one long, exhausting week, and I thought that I might look into my archives instead of making a new video from my dorm (besides, if variety is the spice of life then it’s high time I add a little cayenne to my blogs). So, in searching through my past video collection I came upon a video I forgot I had even made; one that I should not ever forget: my first song!

This is the product of me fiddling around on the bass one weekend about a year ago and what I had initially come up with as a catchy bassline/guitar riff. The song is called “Nightmares” and I have since built off of the bassline and guitar part for the verse, written lyrics, and established a melody. Although this is certainly not the finished product it is today (granted, it technically is not “finished” until my band manages to get into the studio and record it), it demonstrates a solid bassline and it stands out in the song (especially considering the wattage on the bass amp was significantly higher than the guitar’s).

So, after I put together the bassline I grabbed my little brother Tyler and taught him the basic notes for his guitar and he built off of them for the guitar piece. Since we did not have drums available to us I provided the bass drum hits by hitting my muted strings during the opening guitar riff and Tyler set up a beat on the electronic drum machine for the rest of the song. It was simple, but I was pleased that it was nearly flawless in delivery from both ends. It makes me smile to see my brother’s talent shine through in this video knowing I was the inspiration for the song while his improvised solo was extremely well done.

I hope you enjoy this peek at my songwriting ability, and please check out (and ‘like’) my band’s facebook page, Jekkyl ‘N’ Hyde; we have a video up and we plan to put an EP together in the near future.

Free Song of the Week Review

I could be wrong, but I believe it was my LA101H classmate Emma Gregory who introduced me to the Fleet Foxes in name alone, so it was to my surprise that I found them among the free songs of the week on iTunes. Their single, “Helplessness Blues” is truly a standout among the freebies as the indie spotlight free song of the week. I enjoy how the song builds from the vocals to the guitar to the bass and then closes each one off to finish the track. Also, the lyrics are well-thought out and this folksy tune is certainly a keeper! So please check this song out and the numerous others on iTunes for free this week; what do you have to lose?