This Time (Bonus Cover Tune Edition)

I got a letter in the mail today (not from my muse this time) with some song ideas in it.

I leafed through and some of the content reminded me of this cover tune I used to play with a project I had in college.

So I thought I'd throw down a quick version of that tune for this edition. It's a little higher for my range than I remember it being. Oh well.

Take it easy,

Seth

Try to Be

This is called Try to Be.

It's a tune we've had in the set list a while but haven't managed to record yet.

It was inspired shortly after I moved to New York. I was waiting for the L train at the Bedford stop, and noticed this girl, probably my age, dressed in a fashion that was, shall-we-say, "eccentric." And like a lot of people, it looked like she was trying very hard to be something that she didn't seem to be.

And I remember wondering where she had come from that made her feel like she had to try so hard. In striving to be something new and different, what was she trying to leave behind?

So, like most things in life, this was heavily influenced by completely unfounded assumptions that were made about somebody I didn't even know.

Enjoy!

Take it easy,

Seth

Rhymes and Reasons

So. 20 songs, huh.

As you may have guessed by the slowing of this once-weekly blog, inspiration is a little harder to come by lately. I enjoy the busy-ness of a full life, and not only a distinct lack of drama, which is not a bad thing unless you need songwriting material. ;-)

Heck the lives of my friends and family are even fairly drama-free so there's no vicarious craziness to channel into song.

So here's this song.

I won't pretend it was written recently - but it seems appropriate for the overall lack of inspiration I've been feeling in the songwriting department.

It requires that you know what a Muse is.

May it bring you inspiration in your own works of creativity.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Take it easy,

Seth

When I Come Down

So I've been in Ohio visiting family since last week.

Normally anything extra-curricular would be curtailed somewhat as not only was I visiting family and attempting to cook several traditional family baked goods, but also trying to keep two small children on a somewhat livable nap schedule.

However.

My little sister Kendra has an amazing voice and is a talented musician herself. We've been kicking around some ideas about doing a song together, and so we spent some late nights putting this duet together.

And it's a bit late, but it's #19 in the Fifty Rough Drafts Project.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making some music with my little sister (who totally needs to move to Tucson and join the band proper).

Take it easy,

Seth

The Stray

Here's song #18

I confess, this is not a new song.

However, it's one you've likely never heard because I don't have any decent recordings of it.

This is partially because it's hard to sing and partially because Brian and I haven't taken the time to properly arrange it.

Hence, this still qualifies as a rough draft.

Enjoy.

It's called The Stray and was inspired by a Robert Frost poem the name of which escapes me at the moment. It's like a 4-page poem and the part that stuck with me was almost at the end where one character says "Home is where they can't turn you away" - so I took that and sort of ran with it.

Drop me a note and let me know what you think.

Take it easy,

Seth

What Kind of Love

This song has been delayed for a bit.

I won't go into details but you'd be amazed how much time and attention a sick toddler demands.

At any rate, here's the latest and greatest. It's got a similar feel to the previous entry, and it's also a Song Fight entry. So if you want, meander over to SongFight.org and vote for me.

I love writing on a prompt (as long as it's the right prompt). It really makes me think a little differently and gets me past the most difficult hurdle, which is the "what the heck do I write about when I'm 18 or 19 weeks into a songwriting project and I've already written more songs in the last 5 months than in the last 5 years" hurdle.

Boo ya.

Hope you dig it.

Take it easy,

Seth

Down for a While

Greetings.

Another songfight-inspired piece, I'm quite pleased with this one. It's got a little bit of a Tom Petty flavor to it, if I do say so myself.

Have an un-influenced listen (well, except for the Tom Petty remark) and I'll blather more underneath the video down there.

This song came together over the last few days. Trying to change things or people that don't want to change has sort of been a theme in my life.

Sometimes all you can do is change yourself in order to either cope or grow (or both; growth is a product of coping if you do it right), and move on. Lead a horse to water but don't expect the damn stupid thing to drink, and all that.

The chorus came together in about 5 minutes almost as an afterthought (hey this song kind of needs a chorus, what should I do...) and it fit like clockwork. In a second draft I might strengthen the third verse a little, but I dig this as a rough draft.

Take it easy,

Seth