Flickr photo attribution (clockwise from top left)…
Snow on the trees by Justin Russell
Happy Holidays!
New song in the works
So I finally got around to writing and recording a new song this past weekend. Well, it’s really more like a sketch of a song, but it creates a foundation for something that should be one of my better works.
The drum/percussion parts will be changed and I’m not sure the bridge is going to stay the same. But the verse and chorus parts are pretty much established, although I might make an adjustment in the verse parts to make them a bit different from the intro.
Basically, it still needs a lot of work…and, as is often the case with my stuff, lyrics/vocals. However, this is the first thing I have written and managed to record in about a year. And, except for the faux acoustic version of the “Technology and the Arts” theme I recorded for that podcast, this is the first time I have recorded on my MacBook (using GarageBand, of course).
So, here you go…enjoy my latest musical creation (but keep in mind this is a work in progress).
“Alliel (Rough Demo Mix #1)” (4:42 / 6.5 MB)
First “Technology & the Arts” podcast is up!
There are a few technical issues we need to work out and some production improvements we need to make, but the first “Technology & the Arts” podcast is up over at the Technology & the Arts blog.
I think it’s pretty good for a first crack at podcasting. It will only get better as John LeMansey and I get the hang of being podcasters/show hosts.
Please take a listen. Yes, it’s a bit long at nearly 34 minutes in length, but I won’t mind if you skip through it and cut it down to 10 (we’re going to try to get future installments down to a more manageable 25 minutes). Just give it a shot.
Thanks!
Expect big news from me shortly
Well, an idea for a podcast I have had in my head for quite some time has taken a huge step forward in coming to fruition. John LeMasney, my friend and former colleague at Rider who is also a very talented artist and instructional technologist, and I have arranged to collaborate on this podcast, which I think is going to be very engaging and informative for all those who work with technology and art in all its forms.
Once we are ready to launch, I’ll put an official announcement up on the ol’ blog. For now, enjoy what might be the theme song for the new endeavor. It’s a short, instrumental number…sorry about the closing sound cutting out like it does. The final version will have a cleaner fade out, but I didn’t get a chance to fix it yet.
Enjoy…
TechArts (Theme #1)
Written, arranged, performed and recorded by Brian Kelley.
© 2006 Brian J. Kelley. All rights reserved.
Sort of new songs and other things
Well, here’s an update on things.
First…I am no longer working at Rider…and I don’t plan on going through the whole thing again here.
Second…this was a very bad sports weekend for me…Rutgers football loses at Cincinnati, ending the Scarlet Knights’ perfect season and national championship dream…and the Eagles lose to the terrible Tennessee Titans while Donovan McNabb suffers a torn anterior cruciate ligament and will be sidelined eight months to a year.
However, the free time has allowed me to work on a couple of musical ideas…
Never Too Far (demo w/ partial vocals)
This is an update of a song I originally wrote when I was 18 or 19 years old. The first version was a synth-based, “new age” piece featuring pan flute and calliope sounds. This new version features piano, but I included a more traditional flute sound in a nod to the original. The bridge section has also been changed…hopefully for the better. I tried my best to remember the lyrics. The first verse and the choruses are intact, but I couldn’t remember the words to the second verse so those are still incomplete. The lyrics in the bridge are obviously improvised and will be changed at some point.
The other musical idea (from post above)
Here’s the second of the two somewhat new songs I mentioned in the post above (I decided to split up the songs in individual posts for podcasting purposes)…
This is an extended version of what was “Happy Birthday, Katie.” Even though I wrote that little song in a few minutes, I kept on listening to it and thinking that I could do something more with it. So I added a bridge the other day and came up with this. I don’t have any lyrics for it yet…and I’m obviously not going to keep the “Happy Birthday, Katie” lyrics.
Brian Kelley 