“ I was walking down the street (Beale), and I heard this voice being piped out of this place, (Mr. Handy’s Blues Hall). I had to come in and see who it was, and it was you1” Of all the years I’ve been here in this club (Mr. Handy’s), I’ve never, ever heard it this quiet! They were all listening to every note you sang!”
My Own Man
My Own Man (My Own Man 2008)
This was an assignment song from the first J D Lamb Songwriter's Retreat I attended. Each participant follows a theme and is given an assignment, usually a paragrah's length of information, and the rest is up to the song writer. Assignments are given Friday morning and presentations are Sunday morning. The song actually came together very quickly, and while other's were burning the midnight oils on their assignments, I was jamming and having fun. Two of the presenters, Josh Davis & May Erlewine, were pleased to accept my invitation to join me in my presentation.. Read more »
Singin' the Blues (My Own Man 2008)
Singin' the Blues came about after a concert by my friends Samuel Seth Bernard, and May Erlewine at Short's in Bellaire. It was a great night for me with the exceptional music, but more to the point, the fact that I'm surrounded by such wonderfully creative artists. More then that, it compelled me to think about where I fit in to all of this creativity. In the last couple years, I've been virtually thrust into the Blues genre, something I never really tried to do on my own, but have, by course of events, become recognized for that portio Read more »
Broke My Heart Again (dirty white blues 2011)
When adoration of an individual allows for a one-sided love.
Released June 2011: dirty white blues
Mississippi Blues
They say, "Write about what you know". Read more »
Ballad of Sarah & Simon (My Own Man 2008)
I never know where a song comes from. Sometimes they just compell me to write them, through no intention on my part. The Balled of Sarah and Simon is such a song. Driving past farms and fields the memory-feeling of my Grandfather and family pressed itself into my consiousness. A photo of my Grand parents seated in the yard, surrounded by their children and their spouce,s sparked the visualization of where this was coming from.
Out of Town (My Own Man 2008)
The backline to the song, Out of Town, is based on a longstanding freindship. A sharing with another person in the same struggle of singularity, not wanting to be alone (relationship wise) and finding like mindedness in each other. One summer that person went out west for a week to vacation with family and the realization of that loss resulted in this song. Hopefully it touches on the heart felt, soul-wrenching lonliness of the experience.
Sweet Boyne (My Own Man 2008)
Sweet Boyne, was a "Challenge" song. My song-writing friends pestered me about submitting a song to the "Boyne City Song-Writing Contest". They (Boyne City) desired a song that could be used to promote the city for adverising purposes and tapped into the creative artists of the area. I personaly baulked at the whole Idea. I don't write jingles, and had no desire to start, but after constant queries from my friends I sat down and tried to put into words what "Boyne" really meant to me. Boyne, being of an Irish background, I approac Read more »
Dirty White Blues (Title cut: dirty white blues 2011)
When Spring nears and the snow begins to melt, the hidden dirt of winter starts to reveal itself, as do broken relationships...
Changing Times (My Own Man 2008)
Changing Times was a fun song to write. In October 2007, just prior to attending a J. D. Lamb's Songwriter's Retreat, I ran around the house changing, what I thought, were all the clocks. Invariably there would always be one or two missed until the moment I needed to use them. With this tumbling around in the back of my mind, a spark ignited during the whimsical song writing workshop by Dick Siegel. The premis was born, and within a week of returning home from the retreat this song was born.
It's Hard to Sing the Blues (new arrangement 2011)
The initial song was written with a bluegrass feel. The song was based on the premis that it was hard to write and sing songs in the Blues genre when everything in my life seemed to be going so well. It was a fun, light and airy piece, and was recorded as such on the My Own Man CD. Somehow it felt unfinished. Some songs are that way, they take time to develope themselves into what they were truely meant to be. After returning from Memphis in the spring of 2009, my senses were exploding from all of the Blues I'd been innundated with over the Read more »
Mighty River (dirty white blues 2011)
Mighty River is a tribute to the Mississippi River, written after a trip to Memphis TN to perform on Beale St.
Photo shot from window of car, crossing the Mississippi, leaving Memphis.
In the Boyne (My Own Man 2008)
The song In the Boyne was fun to write. It's premis stems from a sign, written by Vollie Fox, in 1947, that hangs in a local tavern overlooking the Boyne River. I've fished bothe the boyne River and Horton's Creek and have to say the sign's a bunch of Hooey! The song says the rest!
All Over now (dirty white blues 2011)
All Over Now was brought to life from a poem by Sarah Bishop about the terrible pain of a 15 year old with a broken heart.
Muddy Water (dirty white blues 2011)
Michigan's resources are continually being abused through the devestation of pristine forests, lakes and streams. Muddy Water cries out to stop this abuse before it's too late sighting areas of note in Northern Michigan.