I've always been a writer, and though the titles might come from stuff other people say, or the TV, or from other sources, its the music that matters the most to me. So, here are a few of the titles I have currently on RN, and some background on the song.
Forsaken Zombie – I’m a huge zombie fan! All kinds of zombies, slow ones, fast ones, doesn’t matter. After watching The Walking Dead, and a bunch of other zombie films, I put myself in the shoes of a zombie, and thought, “what would it be like to be a zombie…?” The name came from a random character generator program and that inspired me to write the words and music.
Jealousy – We love to fly fish, and my wife, who did not fish when we got married, has taken up my hobby, with amazing results. I wrote this song, kind of tongue in cheek, about being jealous of her success at catching fish, when the little bastards are skunking me…
If Only – Watching the Boston Marathon bombing coverage on TV, I was struck by this phrase. Someone said when interviewed by a reporter, “If I’d only not been by the finish line…” and the song flowed from that one line.
Steamboat Graveyard – I am from Shreveport, LA where the Red River flows between Shreveport and Bossier City. The river was clogged with stumps and debris until it was cleared by steamboat Captain Henry Shreve. I just returned from a trip to Shreveport, with a history of the city in my hands. On reading the book, I thought Shreve’s clearing of the river should have a song.
Social Butterfly – A friend used the same generator mentioned above and and came up with "demented social butterfly." I thought it would be fun to write a song about someone who has to be happy and friendly (not demented perhaps...) and hang out with friends all the time…not meant to represent anyone I know…really…
Pure Corn Whiskey – we live in the foothills of the Shenandoah River now, and, well, this song resulted from an overheard conversation at a local diner, I inserted the getting busted part…
Tree of Liberty – We need more liberty, not fewer liberties.
Use to be a Man – funny song I wrote about how I used to be a man looking for something, and now I’m not looking anymore…
CCM Music
Masters Touch – This song is about how at times we all need the help of a higher power.
Do It Now – just a song about not sitting around and talking about doing something. This song is dedicated to my nephew Will.
The Colt – I look at things differently than most I think, the last Easter, I sat around listening to the usual Easter stories, and thought, what did the colt, that brought Jesus into the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, think about all that was happening…
As always, thanks for listening to my music, and thank you for reading (if you got this far…you my friend are the kind of people I’d hang with…).
Peace.
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James McLean / Blog
Update - new songs coming soon...
So, I've recorded a new song called "Dark and Lonely"...but, you know when something just doesn't sound right? A piece in the lead bothers me, so I'll go back into the studio to try and correct it this weekend (I hope)...Look for it Sunday or Monday.
On the plus side, I wrote a fun new song this morning and will try to get it laid down this weekend too...
Going to Joe Bonamassa in Richmond on 11-9; which will be a totally freaking great time. tickets still available, so get them while you can!
Thank you for listening to my music!
Keep writing, keep playing, keep the faith.
Peace - JAD
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Ever Since
This is a song about loss, growth and how it's kinda true that time helps heal all wounds. A good friend suggested that perhaps it was too personal for Reverb, but, in my opinion, all music is emotional. It comes from somewhere; emotion, experiences, loss, love, needs, etc., and that's how I write - from all those, and more. I expect every writer, even someone who just writes for a personal journal no one will ever see, uses all these and more to capture their thoughts and emotions. Plus - I write "story" songs, I always like a good story!
I hope you enjoy my music, thank you for listening, and if you made it to this blog, thanks for reading as well.
Peace...JAD
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Good Morning
So, I've been both sick (pneumonia) and busy with my "other" job...but now that I actually have a voice again and feel "somewhat" human (there's a school of thought that perhaps this is as human as I'll ever be...), I have two songs in the pipe that I hope to record this weekend. I'd also like to encourage everyone out there to hug someone you love, to keep writing, playing, listening or all three, and to enjoy life, cause it's too short and we spend far too much time with shit that isn't about having fun and enjoying life.
More this weekend. JAD
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words of wisdom from a great story telling songwriter, keep 'em coming
My Country Strings
Hello! This song is partly due to my good friend, Larry Gershon, of Rose Recording in PG County Maryland. One day, we were sitting around with an adult beverage, talking trash about how much fun it would be to get a group together and hit the circuit. I don't remember exactly what we were talking about when he said, "hey, you could even write a song and call it 'country strings' and then we could sing it."
Well, a few days later, I thought "that name is a pretty good name" and starting writing the song.
I decided to use the string theme throughout in as many ways as possible.
I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for listening. If you are a performer, promoter, etc., and hear something you like here, consider them for your own use...these are all "scratch demo's" as I am not a performer per se, but a songwriter who loves to play my guitars...please feel free to contact me if you'd like, and thanks for being a fan!
JAD
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Triple B
Hey. So this is a totally true story...we did travel to a cousins house in Lenoir, NC, where I was offered what I call "Triple B - Bullets (and a gun), Bourbon and BBQ."
The bullets and gun were literally wrapped in a blanket in a closet...I of course, as a kind hearted soul, relieved them of the burden of caring for and hiding such a horrible instrument...squirrels - WATCH OUT - daddy's got a new gun!!
Being from the DEEP south (Louisiana) I have a decided lack of appreciation for NC BBQ and all things vinegar related (Once, on travel to Vancouver BC, was given Vinegar when I asked for hot sauce to put on my fried halibut...REALLY???? who would do that to perfectly good fried food!!!).
Anyway, I was less than enthusiastic about the NC BBQ, and I was surprised that it wasn't as vinegar-ie (is that a new word...?) and unpleasant as I had anticipated...
The Bourbon was an entire gallon of Jim Beam...apparently, a friend of my cousins gives her one every month, which is more than she can drink...(right...). Soooo.....I said "yes" when asked if I wanted a bottle) I use it to cook and marinade...really...).
As we drove off, the words to this song started forming in my head, and bingo, three days later, here it is.
Thank you for listening, I hope you enjoy the music. If you ever want to play any of my tunes live, just shoot me a message.
Peace - JAD
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A Simple Lad (My Greatest Generation)
The song I posted today is called “A Simple Lad (My Greatest Generation)” and it speaks to the pain from losing my dad almost exactly two years ago (this month) to lung cancer, and no, he wasn’t a smoker…
Just prior to his death, he traveled from Louisiana to DC with a group called Honor Air (please, look them up, donate to them, support them). This group provides free airfare and one day in DC to WWII veterans who have never seen the WWII Memorial. The also travel to Arlington Cemetery and see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown.
I miss my dad, and have wanted to write him a song since leaving his graveside. As the two-year mark of his death approached, I started humming this tune, and the words spilled out of me. He was part of the “greatest generation” (if you don’t know the reference, look it up…) and as time marches on, the WWII veterans are leaving us for a more peaceful existence…So, though it’s a sad song, I also use the music to celebrate his life…I could very easily have made the song 26 minutes long…you songwriters know what I mean, but it seemed good at five minutes…
Thank you for listening. If your parents are still living, give them a call or a hug, cause no one lives forever (except Duncan McLeod of course…).
JAD
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Preppers Dream
OK, so this song was really fun to write and play. If you listen to my music, you will notice that I like to tell stories with songs. This one is about the prepper community, they are all ready for the "pokalipse" with food, weapons, shelter, and a "to hell with everyone else" attitude...part of the prepper community actually should be about saving as many as possible from the coming (!) calamities...but I digress, so, I wrote this song as a dream sequence for a prepper worried about whether his significant other will make it to the shelter when the SHTF, and that's all there is to it. Thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoyed the song. Come back soon. JAD
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Critter Eyes and Fireflies
So, we travel a great deal, and one evening driving home we both commented that the number of critter eyes and fireflies (not the SciFi show - which, BTW, was superb...) on that night was pretty high. I said, "hey, that's a great name for a song..." and when I started writing later the next day, it just sort of fell out of me. The music the same way, which just seemed to write itself. Thanks for listening, and have a wonderful day!! JAD
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How do I come up with titles, content and music?
I've always been a writer, and though the titles might come from stuff other people say, or the TV, or from other sources, its the music that matters the most to me. So, here are a few of the titles I have currently on RN, and some background on the song.
Forsaken Zombie – I’m a huge zombie fan! All kinds of zombies, slow ones, fast ones, doesn’t matter. After watching The Walking Dead, and a bunch of other zombie films, I put myself in the shoes of a zombie, and thought, “what would it be like to be a zombie…?” The name came from a random character generator program and that inspired me to write the words and music.
Jealousy – We love to fly fish, and my wife, who did not fish when we got married, has taken up my hobby, with amazing results. I wrote this song, kind of tongue in cheek, about being jealous of her success at catching fish, when the little bastards are skunking me…
If Only – Watching the Boston Marathon bombing coverage on TV, I was struck by this phrase. Someone said when interviewed by a reporter, “If I’d only not been by the finish line…” and the song flowed from that one line.
Steamboat Graveyard – I am from Shreveport, LA where the Red River flows between Shreveport and Bossier City. The river was clogged with stumps and debris until it was cleared by steamboat Captain Henry Shreve. I just returned from a trip to Shreveport, with a history of the city in my hands. On reading the book, I thought Shreve’s clearing of the river should have a song.
Social Butterfly – A friend used the same generator mentioned above and and came up with "demented social butterfly." I thought it would be fun to write a song about someone who has to be happy and friendly (not demented perhaps...) and hang out with friends all the time…not meant to represent anyone I know…really…
Pure Corn Whiskey – we live in the foothills of the Shenandoah River now, and, well, this song resulted from an overheard conversation at a local diner, I inserted the getting busted part…
Tree of Liberty – We need more liberty, not fewer liberties.
Use to be a Man – funny song I wrote about how I used to be a man looking for something, and now I’m not looking anymore…
CCM Music
Masters Touch – This song is about how at times we all need the help of a higher power.
Do It Now – just a song about not sitting around and talking about doing something. This song is dedicated to my nephew Will.
The Colt – I look at things differently than most I think, the last Easter, I sat around listening to the usual Easter stories, and thought, what did the colt, that brought Jesus into the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, think about all that was happening…
As always, thanks for listening to my music, and thank you for reading (if you got this far…you my friend are the kind of people I’d hang with…).
Peace.
Reply
Amazing Music
So, today, I started surfing around Reverbnation.com, there is some AMAZING music on here. Why am I not hearing it out there on terrestrial or satellite radio? I'll use this space to talk music, guitars, fishing, whatever is happening at the time I sit down at the MAC. If you are reading this, thanks for reading, and thanks for listening to my music. JAD
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