About the songs
Night Walk
Night Walk
is a piece that I started working on sometime in 2000. I
had the idea for the climbing guitar line at the
beginning but could not think of where to take it. One
night last year, I went for a walk with my black
Labrador Retriever Pharaoh.
While I was walking the song was playing in my head and
the structure just came to me. So many of the songs I
have written have happened in similar ways.
Song for Carlos
I wrote this song a while back as a personal tribute to
a guitar player who over the years has been an influence
on me. That guitar player of course is Carlos Santana. I
hope he gets to hear it one day! Thank you Carlos for
all you've done to inspire so many of us, both musically
and personally.
On
The Deck
This song
was written while sitting on the deck of one of the
new British Columbia Ferries on my way back from a business trip. The
song just kind of happened. I sat there with my eyes
closed and let it come out .. completely oblivious to my
surroundings. When I opened my eyes, much to my
surprise, I was surrounded by tourists with video
cameras beckoning me to keep playing.
Kamba
The flute was achieved using a Roland Guitar Synth and
the nylon strung guitar I used was an amazing Godin
Multiac. Kamba was arranged using Win Jammer Pro and
Band In A Box. I used elements from both programs to get
the feel I wanted. Kamba is dedicated to my friend Karen M. who
really enjoys a good samba.
First Dibs
This song was the first song I ever arranged using Win Jammer Pro. I was
looking to write a gentle ballad and it just happened so
easily. The nylon string was again the Godin. I used my
Strat for the overdriven parts. First Dibs is dedicated
to my friend Joy W.
Fruits of Rarotonga
Bruce and I had been playing with this groove for quite
a while but I could never find an ending for it that I
was happy with. After a trip to Rarotonga, Bruce had the
idea for the birds and the waves at the beginning and
ending of the song. He also laid down a great solo which
gave the song the ending I just could not come up with.
Of course, he also named the tune!
The Arousal
This one was totally groove driven. I came up with a
groove that I thought was very seductive and then wrote
the head (melody .. hook line) for it. The rest just flowed out.
Hamnjam
Hamnjam is another one of those songs that just
happened really quickly. I was going through a dry spell
.. actually .. to be honest .. I was going through a
lazy spell. It was suggested to me that I would in fact
dry up if I didn't get back to writing and I proclaimed
that I could write a song anytime I wanted (I was of
course exaggerating profusely) and went about writing
this song. It happened in one evening and much like the
Arousal, it started as a grove over which I found a hook
I liked. Let me be clear .. this is NOT a challenge I
would want to undertake again. I got lucky that night
and my muse was very kind to me. I dedicated this song
to my friend Glenn M. AKA Uncle Hammy!
Not Mine
Around 1979, I met a bass player by the name of Brian
Quinn. At the time, I had a small music school. Brian
and I jammed a few times between lessons and one day he
played a bass line I fell in love with. Many years
later, I remembered the bass line one night when Bruce
and I were jamming. I had him play it and what you hear
is basically what came out of that jam. Brian, if you
are out there, please contact me! I'd love to know if I
am even close to how you played this. More than that, it
would be great to hear your voice again!
Which Root is Witch
As I was working on Old Dog New
Tricks, I met Michael R. (The Rootwitch) in a chat room.
He and I shared so much in common musically it was
almost spooky .. as if we had somehow had the same
musical experiences but separated by time (he is 10
years younger than I am) and distance. Together, we met
others in the online jazz chat rooms and Michael
eventually started our own small chat group. In time,
strong friendships were formed and he decided to invite
all of us .. from all over the world .. to spend time
with him and his wife in Florida. We had some incredible
jam sessions there and forged memories that will last a
lifetime. I will forever be grateful for the time we
spent that summer. This song is dedicated to Michael.
SensCZ
I wanted to write a song that
had a smooth
and happy groove .. you know .. that LA groove. This
song took a while to complete as I kept messing around
with different feels and chord progressions. Eventually,
as so often happens, I went back to where it had started
at which point the whole thing happened in a few days.
This song is dedicated to Sheila (Sens) and Cziana.
