Odds & Ends |
Back in the 70's and through a better part of the 80's I was a struggling singer-songwriter who did whatever I could to stay involved and connected to the music and studio scene. From writing songs and playing out live as a solo artist and in bands, to working as a studio musician, doing jingles and remote engineering for radio, and even writing a score for a movie, I ensconced myself in as many things as possible related to music and studio work.
*New Brunswick Savings Bank Jingle
In the mid to late 70s I was called upon by a talented friend, Brian Morris, to perform the vocals for a commercial he was working on. He was producing a jingle for the New Brunswick Savings Bank of New Jersey. I remember taking the train up to the Big Apple to record the vocals, with Brian producing the session. I've lost track of Brian, but I hope he's still writing and producing music.
New Brunswick Saving Bank
*Record Museum Jingle
My memory is a bit hazy on how this jingle came to be recorded. I worked for a record shop (remember those?) back in the 70s called The Record Museum. I don't remember if I was asked to write and submit this audio clip or if I took it upon myself to do it in hopes that it would be used as a radio jingle. It was recorded at Veritable Studios and produced by D.W Fearn. I believe I played all the instruments on the track save the drums, which I'm guessing were played by my long time friend Jim Gaudiello, who I had used on many of my previous recording projects. And yes that's me doing the voice over. If I have left out anyone involved in the project or remembered the aforementioned personnel incorrectly, my apologies.
The Record Museum
*My first venture into digital music.
Below are several audio clips of my first experiments with digital music, done sometime in the early 80s. I remember excitedly buying my first keyboard controller, a sound card, and software called Ballade that was capable of producing polyphonic music that could be recorded and stored on a PC. A marvel at the time! It was quite expensive considering what one can buy today, or in the case of software, can even get for free.
Indian Daybreak
Hanjo's Theme
This next audio clip is one of the few times I collaborated on a musical composition. I wrote this with Corrine Corcoran who is a very talented songwriter in her own right. She can be heard playing the organ-like keyboard part, after which I added the additional parts. I've lost touch with Corrine, but through a YouTube video I was happy to find that she's still writing music. Her song Elements can be heard by clicking here.
Magic MarCor
*The masters of these recordings were either unavailable to me or lost over the years, and only the less than stellar medium of cassette copies remain. So Rosemill Studio audio engineer Leo Valentino and I cleaned up these copies as best we could, using digital audio software and the least amount of processing possible, in order to retain the flavor of the original recordings.
