The Final Blog: We’re in the Endgame Now

 

Since I believe this is the final passion blog of the semester… its time to talk about endings. Not just any sort of endings. While explosions at the end of movies or emotional speeches at the end of a chapter of a life are fine and all, how artists choose to end their albums can sometimes make or break the whole album. So we are going to take a look at the endings to some of my favorite albums, and see if they hold up to the beginnings.

 

 

For the sake of this blog, I am going to say the last one to two songs can be considered the ending. Only because that second to last song is sometimes too much of a bop to leave out.

 

 

Since I haven’t brought up JETHRO TULL in a while, I feel obligated to talk about Heavy Horses. I’ve spoken about the first song to this album before, And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps, and how the energizing drums and guitar part make for an amazing song that really encapsulates a chase between a cat and a mouse. But this song does not compare to the majestic masterpiece that is the title track, Heavy Horses. The second to last track is an epic that tells the story of how industrialization made the horses obsolete, with amazing guitar work by Sir Martin Barre as usual. My favorite line is when Ian is singing about the world running out of fossil fuels and then asking the horses for forgiveness to come back and help tend the fields and support society as they used to.

 

 

The last song on this album, Weathercock, sounds like something a Scandinavian rock band would write but in the best possible way. The Mandolin, electric guitar, large drums, a wild bass line, and the flute come together to tell the story of a wise weather vane (sounds dumb but is actually amazing if you like medieval sounding music with distorted guitar solos). It wraps up the folk rock album perfectly, encapsulating everything I love about Jethro Tull. Luckily, Ian Anderson’s modern singing is nowhere to be found in this album. Please don’t look up any live videos past the 80’s. It’s just no goo in terms of vocals. That man will rock a good flute solo till his deathbed.  

 

 

Traveling one year later to 1979, we stumble upon an album I’ve been listening to since 2014 when I was part of a show that performed the entire album at School of Rock.

 

Pink Floyd’s The Wall ends like no other rock album but exactly the way you would expect a rock opera to end. The second to last song, The Trial, finds the main character being charged with the freedom of thought and expression. This song finds many of the characters met in previous songs, such as the “how can you eat your pudding before you eat your meat” Scotsman and Pink’s mother. It’s a Broadway style song that builds up to the eventual tearing down of the wall to expose the person, Pink, behind it. The use of orchestral instruments with the heavy rock riff at the end, not to mention to the wall being torn down at the end, allow this song to be an epic yet fitting end for this great album.

 

 

It then transitions to a quiet piece, with children singing along with a man narrating the lyrics like a poem. This last song, Outside the Wall, I find ingenious for one specific reason. If you restarted the album immediately after it ended, it seamlessly restarts, as if Roger Waters and the rest of Floyd intended for the story to be circular. I find this crazy, as I interpret this to mean that the Wall can be put right back up while it is so difficult to take it down. For context Roger Waters felt disconnected from the crowds when performing, as if there was a large wall separating the audience from him and his playing. This served as the context for the Wall album and makes the restart at the ending feel like a constant struggle to escape certain feelings like Waters was.

 

 

Anyway, it was a fun time being able to write this blog about the musical experiences that shaped my life and tastes along with other crazy songs I wanted to talk about.

 

Thanks for sticking around if you did, through all the niche facts and information stored within my crazy head. If you ever want any wild music suggestions, I am here to offer them. If you have cool music, I would love for it to be shared with me. Let me know. Music exchanges are wild.

 

– JF

Synthesizing My Dreams

 

Whether it is the later verses of the Beatles Here Comes the Sun, the Who’s Baba O’Riley, or literally any Tame Impala song- everyone has at some point in their life been mesmerized by the grace, majesty or pure awesomeness of a synthesizer.

 

 

These instruments, built more from electrical signals than strings or brass, are so malleable. They can be used to skyrocket the listener out of their seat and through an amazing solo, they can be used to calm the listener into a state of bliss, or any other reason under the sun.

 

Speaking of the sun, one of the first songs that made me realize how truly crazy these keyboard computers are is Terry Riley’s A Rainbow in Curved Air. Being one of the artists that inspired Pete Townsend, guitarist of the Who, to write the synthesizer introduction to Baba O’Riley (so much that his name is half the song…), he is not to be taken lightly. This song that simulates a flight through the sky has many moving parts, all programmable by the artist. While being supported by a fast paced low melody, the higher lead notes literally sound like the synthesizer is trying to calculate what the mind is processing as it transcends into the clouds.

 

 

I would highly check it out here. It’s not for everyone, but I personally find it a joy just to close my eyes and see if I can follow every part. Every time I listen to this almost twenty minute beast I find some new aspect of it to appreciate.

 

The next song I would like to point out is Deep Purple’s Burn. Besides for the killer harmonies, guitar and organ solo, at around the 4:25 mark, out of NOWHERE, comes this crazy synth that makes me feel as if I’m in a spaceship, boosting the engines and flying into the stars. If anyone has ever played the 80’s Namco arcade game Galaga, this solo reminds me of this game if it’s music was not 8-bit.

 

 

Check it out here.

 

If anyone has ever played a video game, unless it is a triple A title where the studio could afford to hire an actual orchestra, it will most likely have a soundtrack recorded by a few number of people on softsynths, or synthesizers that are completely software. Back in the late 60’s and 70’s, when many artists such as the Beatles and King Crimson began experimenting with the Moog, their synths were hardware- keyboards with complicated circuitry that modeled filters which then allowed the keyboard to make their unique sound. Today, with our fancy computers that have all this fun time software on it, we are able to code our way past needed physical instruments.

 

 

 

Songs such as The Battle of Lil’ Slugger from the game Super Meat Boy are made completely on softsynths, and especially this song is nasty as a can of worms (in the best way possible). The solo portion kicks every time I hear it, and it works perfectly as the soundtrack to the first boss battle in the extremely-really-not-kidding-this-game-will-make-a-person-die-because-its-so-hard platformer.

 

 

The same can be said for Sacrificial from the Binding of Isaac soundtrack. It does not have a killer solo section like Burn or Meat Boy, but this song works really well in showing how you can make excellent percussive sounds out of synthesizers and portray a mysterious, creepy setting. Basically at this point there is nothing synths cannot do. Maybe they will be running the government one day. Okay maybe not that far. But in case they become some of our robot overlords, I love all the noises you make very much.

 

 

You can check out either the Super Meat Boy or Binding of Isaac songs here.

 

If we get back in our time machine and go back to the 70’s, we can see that there were many bands who basically consider a synth to be a primary instrument. One of these bands was Styx, which I would highly recommend seeing live even today. I saw them last summer in Toronto and they put on a really good show. If you want a giant confetti cannon to go off just before they perform on of their best songs, Renegade, go see STYX!!!

 

Anyway, their song Fooling Yourself has some amazing synth work in it. Not just for the wild solo, but also just as a rhythm instrument. Most people know Come Sail Away, which has a really amazing soundscape portion near the end of this epic. Seriously, if you listen to any of the songs I post today, listen to Come Sail Away. Styx really knows how to tell a story through their music.

 

Check out the album both the songs are on, The Grand Illusion, here.

 

Obviously if I could talk about every cool synth part I could find we would be here for a very very, very, very long time, but just keep this as a note in the back of your head. If you every hear a really cool part in a song, but you cannot quite pinpoint what instrument is making that sound, keep listening until you find out if it’s a synth or not. Odds are, if its mind-blowingly cool, it might be. I know anytime I hear a crazy solo I get inspired to run around and be my best self. Have fun synthing!

 

– JF

Monkee’n Around

 

In high school, the girlfriend I was currently was with had grown up watching an odd group of four men from the 70’s who got into shenanigans while also writing and performing some of the most catchiest tunes anyone has ever heard. So, the first time she asked me to watch an episode of these monkees, I reluctantly said yes. Little did I know how much appreciation I would have now for their music and story.

 

 

The show was called the Monkees, and they were basically the first Naked Brothers Band, Big Time Rush, Hannah Montana, or any show that comedically followed the life of a fictional musician. Everyone knows their biggest hit, I’m A Believer, but you probably are more familiar with the bastard version created by everyone’s favorite early 2000’s punching meme bag Smash Mouth from the ending of the first Shrek.

 

 

The Monkees only ran for two seasons, and was composed of four actors with some members having more musical experience than others. Mike Nesmith, trained in bass and a little guitar, ended up being the show’s “guitarist”. Peter Tork, trained in guitar and a little drums, became the show’s “bassist”. The producers of the show really knew how to optimize their actors (sarcasm)… The other two, Mickey Dolenz and Davy Jones, are a previous child actor and English broadway star respectively.

 

 

Their first two albums were created by some of the best song writers of the time, such as Bobby Heart, Neil Diamond and Carole King, under the supervision of Donny Kirshner. Diamond wrote “I’m a Believer”, and many of their bops like Last Train to Clarksville, Theme (From the Monkees), and I Wanna Be Free were performed mostly by studio musicians and only the vocals were done by what the audience saw as The Monkees. This later caused seriously controversy, as the media slandered them for being phony musicians.

 

 

The reason I have so much respect for these four is not because they were not afraid to be fools on television, but because they stood up for their artistic integrity. Nesmith and Tork especially, being the actual musicians wanted to perform the music on their own albums. They fought the network executives on multiple occasions, and Nesmith even punched a hole in a wall and told Kirshner that “it could’ve been his head.” I am a firm believer in standing up for what you believe in, as long as it is not some undermining evil plot to take over society or racist. In the case of artistic freedom, it is completely valid and encouraged.

 

 

Whenever there is any opportunity to fight the “man” and stand up for what I believe in for the greater good, I always feel this burst of energy and need to speak my mind. Freedom of Speech is an amazing tool to fuel passion, especially in the world of music.

 

 

Another reason I respect this group is because after two seasons, when the formula for the show was getting dull, when the network told them to keep to the formula or be cancelled, they let the show get cancelled. They did not want to drag on the same ideas over and over again without any creative changes, which many shows today are notorious for doing. Their last album to come out during the show’s life, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones is one of my favorites. Salesman, Cuddly Toy, The Door Into Summer, and especially Words are amazing pieces. Pleasant Valley Sunday was written by Carole King, but the fact that the band was actually performing their own instruments and no longer being forced to be phonies by the network was an amazing accomplishment.

 

 

I performed in a School of Rock show surrounding the music of the Monkees, most due to the same girlfriend pressuring me to do it with her because of her love for the music. It was mostly composed of younger students, which gave me the opportunity to perform on the harder songs such as Valleri and What Am I Doin’ Hangin Round, and I think that last song is the one that really got me hooked on wanting to listen to more old country/bluegrass music.

(Who is that girl-haired nerd wearing a Monkees hat? Oh shit that’s me…)

 

Overall the experience was more amazing than I expected it to be, and I hope to soon watch the Jack Nicholson Acid Trip movie the Monkees made in 1968 called Head. I recently watched the somewhat-mediocre biopic of the Monkees called Daydream Believer. It’s available on Youtube (both movies are) if anyone is really interested. Until then, I will be inspired to be a child at heart by this show and continue to realize that so much of this show’s music is some of the best music to come out of the 60s.

 

• JF

 

(PS I wrote this post while listening to ABBA, because ABBA is absolutely killer)

 

(PPS Please enjoy this crossover episode moment of Frank Zappa and Mike Nesmith dressed as one another)

 

Attention! I need all of your help!

 

Sometime within the next week, I am going to be starting my own radio show at the Lion 90.7!

 

 

You probably all unknowingly pass by the station as you drool at Chick-Fil-A and Jamba Juice, and think “hey I know music” and that’s the most time you think about radio in a given month. But indulge your FM wavelength side of your brain for just a bit more, as we explore what the possibilities of the dying medium are for my weekly schedule.

 

 

My high school had a radio station that almost always began it’s show with Good Morning Baltimore from Downingtown PA, and featured many ridiculous conversations between me and some of my best high school friends. This inspired me to seek out the radio station here at Penn State, and hopefully extend my life of radio music and insanity.

 

The reason I asked for help is because I need help deciding on a show NAME. I plan on playing a variety of music, all of which I lovingly listen to: rock, metal, jazz, bluegrass and some others. I was thinking of a name that has the same effect (but is not this name because it’s horrid) as “Scrapple”. Just like this dish that I am personally disgusted by, my show would be a mix of different aspects of the music world. We’d listen to some pig feet, some random animal’s intestines, and maybe even a foot!

 

 

Scrapping the scrapple jokes (haha), I really do need a name that has an eclectic meaning to it. Maybe trail mix, mixed bag, hodge podge, something along those lines. Get your creative juices flowing people!

 

Anyway, during my radio training they were discussing how some shows were taken off of the air for spreading “false statistics”. I understand that the FCC has a goal to protect the good of public airwaves, but at the same time does this not violate people’s freedom of free speech? I have always thought about this while I was in high school or anywhere else where someone would be punished for speaking their mind freely. I understand the public good that comes from limiting kids from cursing in school or from “false information” from being spread on open broadcasts, I never truly understood how the government could circumvent people’s right to the freedom of speech.

 

 

This is why I have so much for respect for Frank Zappa, the Tom Robinson Band, and other artists who used their artistic platforms to express what they believed was wrong in the world. The government should not have the authority nor the power to tell the people what they can and cannot say, and in most situations it does not. Our society has built unwritten rules for this issue: we can say whatever we wish, but there are some words that over time have been phased out as socially acceptable and for good reason.

 

(Killing in the Name of by Rage Against the Machine is a great song by a band well-known for protesting)

 

Back to my radio show, I really hope to have people on and have ridiculous conversations. I hope to find news articles that blow people’s minds, like the man who tried to turn himself into a parrot or anything involving Florida Man

 

(Bask in the glory of parrot man)

 

I love the feeling of doing something that destroys any persons’ perception of expectations, which is why I love pulling out Zappa’s Weasels Ripped My Flesh whenever someone suggests putting on a new hip beat (the joke is that it’s chaos and not at all a popular song).

 

So, at the end of the day, I hope my radio show has a cool and unique name, blows people’s minds during the talk show-esque parts, and expose people to a song or two they have never heard before.

 

Let me know what you think and stay amazing!

 

– JF

 

 

My Inspiration to Work with Digital Audio

 

When I first entered my high school, the Downingtown STEM Academy, there were a couple of aspects about the school that made me excited to attend. The small couches lining the basement hallways, the excitement behind the eyes of the teachers I met that day, and most importantly the recording studio.

 

 

The recording studio made me the most jittery ninth grader the word had ever seen: The guitars hung on the wall, the cabinets full of a variety of not-tangled-and-actually-neatly-wrapped cables, and the one of the nicest people I have ever met, my music teacher Mr. Lloyd. He welcomes anyone into his classroom/studio with open arms, and supported any student’s musical endeavors. When myself and a couple of other students wanted to start a radio show, he jumped at the chance to not only run the show but also bring us donuts at 6:30 AM every Thursday at the ungodly hour we all dragged ourselves out of bed just for the four people that would listen to the show. The show was more about the time we spent with our friends and the talkshow bits we had on air, as well as listening to Good Morning Baltimore almost every morning in Downingtown, PA.  

 

 

When my band wanted to perform at our school’s mini-thon, Cam-A-Thon, Mr. Lloyd dedicated his time to haul the school’s mixer, speakers, and equipment to the events location, do our sound, and pack it all up again and take it home late in the night. Without the support of this man, my dreams of being a musician may not have become fulfilled to the extent that they did. I highly recommend just sitting back and remembering the amazing people you have encountered in your life. Life sometimes moves so fast that as soon as we are finished with one task or life event we immediately jump to the next one, instead of taking the time to soak in what is currently happening around us. Appreciate those who do so much for you, even if you’re busily caught up in the hecticness of life.

 

 

Anyway, I took Mr. Lloyd’s recording studio class in my freshmen and sophomore year. While it did not make me a recording master, I was able to learn the basics. I left those two years knowing how to wrap a cable as well as a cowboy would his lasso, I knew how to work the soundboard in the most basic sense (volume sliders, mute), and I got extensive experience with GarageBand. While most of the time I felt like any kid who “wants to make music for the first time” in that I really did not know what I was doing, while completing a couple assignments I discovered how to add in crazy effects such as a pitch shifter that made my voice sound as rich and deep as James Earl Jones’, and I learned the basics of how to manipulate sound with the EQ settings.

 

 

This initial work got me passionate about learning how to work with sound. I had been playing music for a couple years at this point, but going through a very trial-by-fire-see-if-this-works type of recording process showed me that I was really interested with how sound was captured and changed. This interest grew intensely once my band started recording our first album at School of Rock. Brian, my guitar teacher, also worked at a recording studio and professionally knew how to set up a recording session and produce a quality track.

 

This is the most unflattering picture of Brian. What a guy.

 

Seeing him fly through the program Pro Tools, or “Pro Fools” when it inevitably crashes on the older computer housed in Rock School, excited something within the “creative wishes and dreams” portions of my brain. Watching him activate different reverb and delay plugins, set up the microphone in just the right place, and having him contribute creatively to the sound of our music inspired/inspires me to learn how these different functions work and become trained in the practice of music production.

 

 

This is why I am now taking INART 258A here at Penn State and hoping to get a Music Technology minor. Being able to work in the studio and learning how all the different pre-amps, microphones, effects, software, and musicians come together to create the masterpieces that we as a society have almost unlimited access to would be a literal dream come true.

 

Moral of this maybe-not-so-interesting story: do not be afraid to follow your dreams. I was very grateful to have some amazing musical and life mentors, and while they drove me to be what I am today musically, it is mostly chalked up to self-interest. I sought after my passions and while they are not my major (Computer Engineering), they are still involved in my life. Never lose time for what excites you, because that’s when life gets boring.

 

–        JF

 

Illuminating Hope

 

While I have written multiple songs/parts-of-songs as part of my band Elastic Blur, there is one I am most proud of. There is one that I always go back to, one that I prioritize during emotional moments of my life (or just when I want to hear a beautifully relaxing song). Flames and Bright Lights.

 

 

Usually I am not this confident in my musical abilities, especially in songwriting, so let me spread my completely-totally-humble wings and talk about how much I love my own song.

 

 

The beginning of the song is very simplistic, as the only instrument present is my fingers on my high school music teacher’s brilliant yet expensive Martin acoustic guitar. These amazing guitars are made in Nazareth , PA and if you ever get the chance to tour their factory I highly recommend it.

 

Anyway, I started the song only playing two strings, one of them changing pitch while the other’s pitch stayed consistent. I got the idea to play in this manner from the song My God by Jethro Tull. While Ian Anderson uses this in a more complicated way in his song that contradicts organized religion, I used these intervals much more simplistically.

 

Then, our vocalist Remy begins to sing the opening lines of the song:

 

Flames and Bright Lights blinding

Ash and smoke and smothering

Seeing is not a necessity

See what’s never obvious, see true

 

 

Remy wrote the majority of the lyrics of this song, but author’s intent usually gets thrown out of the window for everyone’s personal interpretation of art. Everyone’s individual experiences make them see aspects of the world from their particular lens, and I highly encourage everyone to listen to mostly any song and write about how you interpret the song. It’s a very freeing experience, and makes one feel a more intimate connection with a tune.

 

I never sat down to really interpret these lyrics before, and I honestly don’t think I want to. Now, I know what you’re thinking, JACK you just told us you said you think we should interpret lyrics?! Are you seriously contradicting yourself?

 

Yes. Yes I am.

 

 

There are some songs that I do not want to think about the exact meaning of the lyrics or think too much about it. I would rather just close my eyes and let the atmosphere of the song transport me to a new level of existence. While I can probably recite all the lyrics, and trying to perform some sort of literary analysis on them would reveal overarching emotional themes, like a hammock drifting in the summer wind sometimes its nice to not have your mind busy and analyzing the moment. Its best just to sit back and relax for some songs.

 

 

I feel the same way about the Allman Brothers song Melissa. I can probably sing all the words to this masterpiece of an acoustic song, but the electric guitar licks, bass riffs, and vocals are (in my mind) better experienced while not trying to overthink the song or situation.

 

 

But there are obviously many songs, such as every song on Abbey Road, that can be highly elevated by reading the pure poetic genius of the lyrics. You Never Give Me Your Money is a prime example of how amazing lyrics can be. I am not saying my band’s lyrics or the Allman Brother’s lyrics are below those of the Beatles (although the Beatles songwriting is above almost all), but I am saying that some songs cater better to an emotion or atmosphere rather than analyzation.

 

 

Getting a bit off topic here. The reason I appreciate my song Flames and Bright Lights so much is because of a certain music theory tool I did not even realize I used: Progressive Layering. This is an arranging technique which involves slowly adding different parts of the song slowly over time. The first chorus includes acoustic guitar and violin. The second chorus includes violin, cello and acoustic guitar. The third chorus includes a violin harmony, violin, cello and acoustic guitar. The final chorus adds piano into this amazing blend of stringed sound until the song ends like it started: just with acoustic guitar. It’s the idea of taking one musical idea and slowly building upon it in an epic fashion so the ending feels more meaningful.

 

 

I know this was a longer post, so if you made it to this point I’ll be very surprised. The point I am trying to make, and if you take a listen to the song HERE you’ll see the song makes this point too, is that everyone should be able to be proud of who they are, what they’ve done and what they have contributed to this world. Whether it is music, art, volunteering, just being a good friend to one person and improving their lives, any impact you have made is important and amazing. See what’s never obvious, and recognize the good in the world. But also see true, remain realistic in your views as well.

 

Stay passionate

 

–        JF

 

 

 

Brass to Blow You Away

 

Have you ever listened to a song that had such mind-blowing properties that you couldn’t walk straight during the height of it’s epic amazingness? I’m not expecting much of a resonant response, as I assume listening to music does not control most people’s physical ability to walk in a straight line, but there are some tunes that cause me to subconsciously become so overwhelmed by the awesomeness of the song that I just can’t think straight.

 

 

As I was walking back from the HUB a couple weeks ago after navigating the Spring Involvement fair, I heard a song called Get it On by a band I had never heard of before named Chase. I had no idea what to expect. By the album cover and initial audio quality I could guess it was from the 70s or late 60s, and I really enjoyed the way the horns were mixed into the song.

 

 

While I love bands like Earth, Wind and Fire, Tower of Power and Kool and the Gang, their horns mixes arguably are not as unique as Chase’s. I LOVE horn sections; I’m a sucker for Chicago’s first album and all the previously mentioned bands. I guess what I like so much about Chase is how forward the horns are in the mix. They are the highlight of multiple songs on their self-titled album; they give so much energy to the song and provide a timbre (tone color) that would otherwise be underappreciated if they were lower in the mix.

 

Here’s “Open Up Wide” if you want to know what I’m talking about…

 

 

Anyway, getting back to my uncontrollable excitement, the bridge of Get it On has many of the instruments staying stagnant to their parts. The vocalist starts a new line of lyrics that builds suspense and the guitar is gradually increasing the pitch of the note its player is picking very quickly. Then it just hits me: the vocalist ends his love-filled lines with “In ecstasy”, ringing out a high note to call in the massive parade of trumpets whose harmonies and strength turned my brain to literal mush.

 

 

Just as I think I’ll never recover from how amazing my experience just was, the vocalist screams and a funky organ solo reigns me back into the groove of the verses. I think this ability to get overly excited about something is linked to the topic of my “This I Believe” podcast. I many times can get bogged down by the social pressures of the world around me or from other stressful situations, and forget that deep down I’m a child at heart. I find no greater happiness than in discovering new aspects of this world that I had not even stopped to consider if they existed. Finding this song, this delicious horns part and Chase as an artist has helped reinvigorate my taste for unexpected happenings or wild things.

 

 

Stay kids at heart if you can, life’s more fun that way.

 

–        JF

Empowerment

 

Since it’s near the end of the semester, and many of us got a taste of home on Thanksgiving break and have no motivation to work during these last two weeks, I felt it appropriate to do a post about the music that empowers me to keep pushing, keep moving, and always do my best.

 

 

One of these songs is from an amazing show called RWBY, made by my favorite people over at Roosterteeth Productions.

 

 

The song is called Let’s Just Live, and it explores main themes of dealing with a major loss. Even though it tackles a fairly emotional topic, most of the song is an uplifting anime-rock tune.

Let’s just live day by day and not be conquered by our sorrows
The past can’t hold us down, we must break free
Inside we’re torn apart, but time will mend out hearts
Move onward, not there yet, so let’s just live

 

The part of the song that really gets me every time is when the song moves away from its tone. Far too often songs that become popular today are what I’m going to call monoeliciters: songs that only express one emotion throughout. While there is nothing wrong with this, songs that take the listener on an emotional journey that symbolizes some sort of change or adventure are ones that really excite me.

 

 

Anyway, around 2:30 in the song, all the rock instruments drop out and its left with minimal strings and vocals. Jeff Williams, the writer of the song, also adds in some tasteful guitar work during this part. It then slowly builds up in both instrumentation and volume until the drums come back in with one of the most epic pieces I’ve ever listened to. The strings kick back in at firing speed after playing slowly and Casey Lee Williams who sings on the track screams her heart out. Every time I listen to this section of the song until the end I feel as if I’m ready to run around and conquer anything I put my mind.

 

Let’s just live, just one day, let’s forget our problems
Let’s fall in love with life and just be free
The sun will never fade, the night won’t steal our day
Let’s laugh and dance and love and let’s just live.

 

 

Another song that really gets me going, and I’m convinced it’s because of the drums, is …And the Mouse Police Never Sleeps by Jethro Tull.

 

 

The song itself is about Ian Anderson’s cat, but the song expresses feelings of hunting, searching and always keeping an eye out for what’s around you. This is mostly done through the drumbeat mimicking a fast walking tempo and the acoustic guitar having a very circular and repetitive melody.

 

 

My favorite aspect of this song is how the music will abruptly stop, almost as if the cat thinks it has found its prey, and then it starts again. This is helpful for me while I’m working, because it gives me a moment of silence to consider what I’m doing before the music sucks me back in to a rushed feeling of constant movement.

 

One more song I’ll talk about is a song that I hold very close to my heart: Ants Marching by Dave Matthews. The studio version is not much to knock your socks off, but many of the hundreds of live recordings of this song are energizing enough to make someone want to lose their mind.

 

 

The talented drumming of Carter Beauford along with the amazing strings and horns makes me want to get up and move around every time. It motivates me to sing and be passionate about whatever I may be doing.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful winter break. Whether you are going home or somewhere else, make the best of whatever time you have and spend it with those who care about you.

 

Stay amazing.

 

–          JF

A Compilation Album of Impactful Songs

 

While I usually devote one post to a song, band or performance, this week I thought I would write about multiple artists and songs that have affected who I am as a performer and as a person.

 

The first of these is Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, specifically the songs Walk Like a Man, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Sherry.

 

 

 

These fine men all in tuxedo attire were my introduction to the music of the early 1960s, and they gave me an outlet to stretch my vocal capabilities. I have a powerful low vocal range, and my high voice can be used successfully in niche situations. One of these special situations was discovered through Sherry, as I was able to very well imitate Frankie Valli’s high nasally singing to my own and others satisfaction. So, if anyone is getting a barbershop quartet together to sing some Four Seasons, let me know.

 

 

The next more modern song, All I Want by Kodaline, has had a larger impact on me as a person rather than me on stage. I first heard this song when preparing for my high school’s LINK weekend.

 

 

For context, LINK is a program my school had where students and teachers would go on a retreat to a camp where team building activities supported the breaking down of social barriers and bringing out the best versions of people. Many personal stories and experiences get shared on the trip, and many songs are used to help facilitate these emotions.

 

 

One of these songs was All I Want, and it always reminds me of what I miss from my past. People come and go from our lives, many times with little warning, but all we can do is move on and find new people to appreciate just as much as the people we used to be able to spend time with. While sad, the song reminds me what I’ve been through and to always keep a positive perspective moving forward.

 

 

 

The final song I’ll talk about is Rocky Top by the Osborne Brothers. If you ever want to visit Tennessee about 3 to 4 decades ago, listen to this song.

 

 

During the past year of my life I’ve developed an extreme appreciation for old-timey country music. Not the Zach Brown Band, but a bunch of white dudes playing banjos, mandolins, and singing harmonies as high as the mountains. One of these groups, the Osborne Brothers, kick off one of their albums with this song Rocky Top.

 

 

 

I love this song because it places me within a culture, environment and space where I have never been or existed, and yet I can still imagine what it feels like to inhabit that place. Also because its really catchy and because every time I listen to it I lose my mind with happiness. Who knew a song about corn-based alcohol would be so sweet.

 

Whether its from the magical blending of the voices of the Jersey Boys or banjo wielding angels, or an emotional cut that reminds you of your life experiences, any song has the potential to change you no matter where it was written.

 

Stay safe out there kids

 

–          JF

Love Zappa, Meet Zappa, Play Zappa

 

Whenever I would be asked what my favorite School of Rock moment was, I would always say the Frank Zappa show. Besides for my love for Zappa’s humorous and complex music, we had a special guest attend the show that blew everyones’ minds away.

 

 

One of my friends Matt Whoriskey, who is an amazing musician who currently goes to Columbia for music, got DWEEZIL ZAPPA, the son of the FRANK ZAPPA, to come to the school for our show dedicated to his father’s music.

 

 

 

Upon announcement I was blown away. I had seen Dweezil play his dad’s music on his “Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F%#& He Wants” tour, but now he was going to come and see ME play his dad’s music?!

 

 

The pressure was enormous, but I was honored all the same to play for a professional musician whom I looked up to.

 

 

The night of the Saturday show, he arrived and started with a Q&A with the students in the show. The first question he was asked, was “how can we succeed in the modern music industry?”

 

Dweezil immediately began to cry, and told the student who asked “you probably won’t.”

 

…

 

This is the moment when I realized how extremely difficult it was to become successful as a musician.

 

When one of your idols breaks down into tears, at the idea that young people’s dreams of being a performer will probably be broken by the brutal industry, you know it’s not easy.

 

While very real and eye-opening, this personal moment did not set the tone for the night.

 

 

Since Dweezil was only staying for the first set, he picked certain songs from the 2^nd set he wanted to hear us play. One of those songs was “Outside Now” from Frank’s rock opera “Joe’s Garage”. I was on lead vocals on this song, and I was beyond excited. I thought because he was leaving early, he wouldn’t get to hear me sing this amazing song. Luckily, he wanted to hear how we did it.

 

 

The song itself is not too complicated, as it is just a repeating part in 11/4 the entire time, but the lyrics are particularly interesting. Outside Now is part of Zappa’s discography that attacks a part of society through offensive language, and so I was more than excited to make fun of corporate executives for Dweezil and the entire crowd.

 

 

“These executives have plooked the fuck out of me …”

 

And we were off.

 

 

I got to play a couple of other songs for Dweezil to witness, but the most exciting moment of the night is when Dweezil said he would PLAY with us.

 

Not just attend, not just offer his wisdom, but actually PLAY with us. I never thought he would play with me, since I was not on any particularly prominent of difficult songs.

 

But then our School’s director and Dweezil decided on a moment’s notice that Dweezil would play on the song I had a long guitar solo for, Apostrophe!

 

 

(you can check out the video of me playing with him here: I’m a little bad in it but it’s okay)

 

I was transformed on that stage. With my ponytail, my crazy suit jacket, and my somewhat competent soloing skills, I got to play with a legend.

 

The idea that he could be so supportive that he would take time out of his busy touring life to come to some School of Rock to hear us play inspires me everyday to be as charitable and amazing as he is.

 

Have a good day everyone! Be as amazing as Dweezil, everyday.

 

 

–  JF