So here are a few songs I've recorded.  They are either with my buddies Goof Don't Approve or just me.  GDA was this odd collection of guys who lived together at a house in Santa Cruz called the Goof Shack.  The origin of the name is a complete mystery for all involved.  I swear.  Anyway, we were all friends who liked to jam then and again, play open mikes, busk on Pacific Avenue for spare change, and whatnot.  Playing with them was an interesting experience because we all had such different musical backgrounds.  I play guitar and harmonica, and learned to play listening to the likes of Bukka White, Jimmy Reed, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan.  I also really like Zappa.  Brian plays cello, and has an actual musical edu-mication.  He likes Bach, but has a soft spot for Jimi Hendrix.  Johnny also plays guitar, and digs the Beatles, Paul Simon, and 311.  Nick drums, and is in to lots of things.  He introduced me to Sabbath, Iggy, a lot of rap and punk, and all sorts of stuff.  He can also sing most of Dylan's catalogue.  Liz (my wife, hee, hee) likes Poison and all those freakish longhairs.  She's got a great voice.  Add to this that we can't afford electric instruments...

    And what results?  Probably not what you'd expect.  But if you do expect something, email me and tell me what it is because I'd love to know.  We recorded a CD, goose, which was actually a tribute to a good friend of ours, Nick Summers, who died in a car accident a few years ago.  Goose was our cat.  A few of the songs on that CD are here.  The rest of the songs are things I did on my own.  Enjoy!

One More Time (6.6MB)  -    This is Nick Summers' song.  Johnny wrote it, plays guitar and tin whistle, and sings with Liz.  I play guitar, Brian cello, Nick drums.

The Charge of the Light Brigade (3.5MB) -    This is an adaptation I did of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem about the Crimean war.  I play guitar, harmonica, and sing lead, Johnny and Nick both drum, with Johnny providing backup vocals, and Brian plays cello.

Little Diddle (5.7MB) -    This one kicks ass.  It's mostly Brian and Johnny's creation, and is our epic instrumental.  All sorts of tasty treats and time signature changes.  Brian plays cello, Johnny guitar, I play slide guitar, and Nick drums.

Jimi (3.4MB) -    Everyone says this song is way different from our other stuff.  It's true, yes, but from the inside it doesn't look that way.  Anyhow, Nick and I used to go down to the athletic field at UCSC, play drums, and tell stories.  Nick created this song from one of my stories about Ireland.  He sings, I blow a mean harp and mutter insanities, Johnny drums, and Brian plays cello.

Cocaine Blues (3.3MB) -    This one is just me.  It's a Rev. Gary Davis song about hard work and getting ahead in life.

Fixin' To Die (3.0MB) -    Another of me.  This is a loose amalgamation of Bukka White influences.

Electic Cap (0.5MB) -    Not really a song.  I borrowed an electric guitar and bass one day, and never really having played either, decided to record whatever happened.  I think it's rather enjoyable.

    For those curious... all this stuff was recorded on an analog 4-track under the worst conditions imaginable (firestorms, plagues of frogs, demonic possession) with a total lack of experience.  Most of it happened in the bathroom.  Seriously.  It was then recorded onto my computer using some crappy Creative Labs software, and 'mastered' using Acoustica, a rather nice program actually.  Conversion to MP3 was accomplished using the creatively named "WAV to MP3 Encoder", another a nice program that I found on tucows.

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