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Pretty Rock's name came from my lack of ability to name it something else. It starts off pretty, and then rocks out... there you have it: that's how it got it's name.Now, this piece is probably the best guitar solo work I have every managed to get on tape so to speak.
I mean, I've played out a lot when I was in bands and performing solo... but often the real cool stuff I've done simply never got recorded... it was live improvisation. Not the case with this piece. Shoot, when I recorded this piece I must of played the solo a million times ... it seemed like it anyways to get it right.
The truth is, there are really two solos. The first half of the composition and the latter half. I actually recorded them separately on different takes when I was trying to get this right. I had a cool "beginning solo" and a cool "ending solo" but I was determined to get them both in one take. So, being improvisation on both counts, I had to glue them together and practice playing them straight through from beginning to end so I could do the whole composition in one take... This recording is the result of that arduous effort... I love this piece. I actually still have to practice it for a day or two in order to play it note for note it is full glory... I'm quite proud of this one. Especially the run right after the 2:00 (2 minute mark)
Kick Rocks is a song that sings to the drunk guy who is obnoxious and thinks they are god's gift to women. The song was recorded while I lived with a now ex-girlfriend but the cool thing is Leigh-Ann, her father and mom's voices are all on the recording. We had a lot of fun recording this song.
This song sounds great on acoustic but when I compiled this together and brought it to the realm of bar room rock-n-roll blues, I was quite pleased... I love how it explodes in the beginning and how there are some really tough to play timing changes (most drummers who've played it tell me it's hard as hell) LOL ... it's not nearly that hard to play it on guitar... so I don't envy them! LOL - I used a computer to do my drums, but I'll have you know I composed each hit. I didn't download loops or some such nonsense... I composed it all :)
For those not in the know, kick rocks is a slang term for GET LOST!
Again - this song is Rated-R due to some swearing in it from the "heckler" calling me names during the song. Don't worry, I get him back at the end of the song.. if you listen carefully you'll here me pick a fight with him... if you listen even closer you can hear me punching him... you know what a good hard punch sounds like in the face? Me too... but sadly it's hard to hear with all the music going but it's in there!
I just hope she's alright is actually based on a real woman I met with a peculiar, and somewhat sad, story. To start, I must admit I've long since forgotten her Korean name, but I never forgot her face nor her plight. She was a very beautiful woman without question, and she had a visa or something that was only a temporary pass to be here in the United States.
She was looking for citizenship in the U.S. via romance and marriage. Well, time and again she would go with guys, get close, move in and was celebate... eventually the guy's would get frustrated and sh'ed get kicked to the curb again and again. Part of me always respected her denial of relations to every fella she met yet the green card or whatever bit was still quite sad. I don't know what her homeland was / is like but I do know she didn't want to leave the USA!
Now I was friends with her for some time and when I first met her, she tried to make the moves on me. I wasn't having it because I could see through the facade... and this point makes it into the song with the line "she almost dug her claws in me"...
so without further adieu, check this out!
Great Day is probably the happiest song I've ever written! It was inspired by a day where I had my guitar in hand, I was at the park while it was still early and the sun was out. I was surrounded by friends, and there was a line of folks waiting to get into the Manchester CT library for a book sell off happening that day.
Well, I was just in a great mmod, got a coffee and had a nice ego boosting moment with a women at the conveniance store.. nothing big... but her eyes were quite warm to me, and I thought she was all that and a cup of tea so...
So... I broke out my trusty notebook and pen, grabbed a guitar pick and went to it. I'll never regret writing this song. Granted, I still recorded it with poor a microphone and recording equipment... but I still like how this one came out... It's almost a motivational song of sorts!
What do you think?