George Winston - “Graceful Ghost”
One of the music websites where music2work2’s CDs are available is Last.fm. A feature of Last.fm is that they give you the names of other musicians whose music is similar to your own.
George Winston is listed as a musician similar to music2work2. I really like his music, and I agree that it reminds me of music2work2 sessions. One of George Winston’s songs that is my favorite is “Graceful Ghost.” In fact, I like it so much I had to buy it.
The tempo of this piece is sort of medium/fast; to me it almost has a “ragtime” feel. In light of the tempo, when I first listened to it, I expected it to conjure up feelings of happiness and lightness. However, the image that comes to my mind while listening to this song is of saying goodbye, perhaps to a good friend. It is sort of a bittersweet goodbye, not final in that two friends will never see each other again, but just the sadness that comes from separation from someone you care about and enjoy being with.
It is a lovely melody, and of course, is beautifully performed by George Winston. I really like it a lot. In spite of my above statement as to the image it evokes, it doesn’t leave me with feelings of sadness, more a state of mellowness and contemplation. I definitely recommend checking it out.
Abbey Road
I used to live on Abbey Road - had an apartment just up from the Beatle’s studio’s – it was a groovy time.
Having been through an intense period of musical turmoil - here’s my new band:
Rockband with Abbey Road on 12seconds.tv
Day 2 - More Frustration but that’s a good thing…
So - I almost hit yesterday’s target of having my resume finished. It is close and I reckon I’ll have it by mid-morning. I am going to apply to Fanscape for their Social Media Marketing Manager position- it looks right up my alley - we’ll see - at this point it all comes down to fit.
I still need to get through the list - I was working on a background image for andrewmccluskey.com the other day - still working on getting a groovy looking texture that conveys the idea of music but yet enables clean delivery of text - not there yet but here’s where I’m at:
Musically I took another crack at Frustration today - this time at 173 bpm - pace wise it is subjectively a little slower than the 61 bpm and 199 bpm that I was playing with earlier in the week - I like this string pass too - I’m still working on the middle section and this one comes out a little short - but I’m liking the direction.
No post tomorrow morning as I’m off to write with Kelli - but back on it Thursday.
music2work2 - it had better work…
So, after more than 2 years working full time on the Kelli project - I’m looking for a new challenge.
Spent the back end of last week looking at me, my life, what I have done, my skills, experiences etc and found it to be a very illuminating experience and one that actually made me feel pretty good. Of course - my resume doesn’t look terribly “normal” - I don’t know many other people who dropped a corporate career at the age of 30 to join a rock band in Los Angeles - but hey - I’ve been exposed to so much that I would never have experienced - I wouldn’t change a thing.
I have managed to distill myself down into three key areas: Music, People and Technology - I’m going to build my resume and job search around these constructs. I will be using this blog as a tool to help me with the process - I reckon that the more open I am - the easier it is for a future employer to see whether I am a good fit. Here are the plans for this week:
1/ Finish Resume - target end of play Monday
2/ Finish http://andrewmccluskey.com - target Tuesday
3/ New Front Page for http://music2work2.com - target Thursday
4/ Update layout of music2work2 Blog - target Friday
5/ Finish editing new piece of music: Frustration - target Friday
6/ Add CD/Album pages to music2work2 plus direct purchase links to iTunes etc - target Friday
7/ Research and possibly apply to http://fanscape.com - target Tuesday
So - let’s see how far I get - oh - and music2work2 does work - I was listening to frustration while writing this and it did block everything else out - 
Sunday Frustration - 199
It’s been a good day - much achieved in all the right areas. I’m playing with this B minor theme - here it is developed again at 199 bpm - two string passes that need a bit of editing but you get the idea…
Frustration - 61 - Strings
First Edit - two string parts - gonna live with this for a while - make final edits over the weekend.
Frustration - 61 - Core
I am having the most surreal week - this is what is coming out:
Easy On My Heart
First piece in what seems like ages. Got up this morning at 6:00 AM - was behind the board by 6:30 and this is what came out. It is a development of a track that Kelli and I are working on called, “Take it Easy on my Heart.” I’ve been playing with the tune for a while - it was written straight from kelli’s chorus melody that appeared in the room during the Drummer Auditions.
This is the core piano piece - I eventually played another three strings parts but they need a little more editing.
Love The Wifer
Everlasting by Oslo Swan
If you like fun, pop music, you may want to check out Oslo Swan, a MySpace friend of music2work2.
All of their music that I have heard is melodic, catchy, and upbeat. One song in particular that I have listened to many times is “Everlasting.” It is my favorite but I like “It Doesn’t Matter What You Say” and all the others on their MySpace page also.
Oslo Swan is made up of two band members, stefan & guyrOOts. I don’t know much more about them than that. The voice of the main vocalist is soft and pleasant. The harmony is terrific as are the melodies of the songs themselves.
This is the kind of music that makes it impossible for you to listen to it and not move some part of your body with the beat. It makes you feel good. It’s fun!
The Oubliette
The whole point of this project is that having music on in the background helps you focus on what it is you’re doing…except that is - if what you’re doing is editing music - and then of course its really completely and utterly NOT music2work2.
Right now I’m editing a video of the development of the song “One More Time” - and I’d love to have some music2work2 playing - it would calm me - focus me and allow me to concentrate on the task in hand - instead - here I am writing on music2work2 - ah well - … After this round of video editing on www.kelli.com - I’m going to start development of a piece called “Easy On my Heart” - it’s a piece that Kelli and I are developing and I love the groove - has a very Celtic feel to it and I can’t wait to produce it - of course - whenever I write words like that the universe laughs at me and makes it practically impossible to produce the music - I hope that it doesn’t do that this time around.
We’re looking to work with an LA outfit called The Oubliette - you can find out more about them at The Oubliette MySpace page - I’m listening to The Slope right now and I’m digging the tech, the groove the Industrial sounds - etc - its cool. I worked with Phadestar and Jeddrah when we held a session on Music and Pain with the Marfan kids at their conference in LA a few years back. They are both very cool people and it shows in their music - I think. If you like your ambient music a little tougher with more of a distinctive beat than the typical music2work2 fare - then check them out.
