Week #19: WIN THANKSGIVING!!!

This week I felt that I absolutely had to write a song about Thanksgiving. It's been such a wonderful week, full of amazing news, that I want to write tons of songs about, but I have to wait to share all the different news I got, because most of it isn't even my news. lol. Oh well.... but I'm super thankful for the health of my friends and family, and the future so bright. So.... randomly, and in celebration of being thankful, here's a song about conquering Thanksgiving!

Check it out:

INSPIRATION:
So, I told my brother Gerry I wanted to write a song about Thanksgiving, and he said something about eating 3 inches of food. I said Yeah! but let's make it 6 inches..... and I said... We're gonna WIN thanksgiving. We decided to make it really really really TEXAN.

Week #18: THE BALLAD OF CONRADA, MARIA, & ME

Tomorrow is my mother's birthday, and next week is her mother's 90th birthday. Pretty awesome if you ask me. I have been wanting to write a song for my mom for quite some time, but hadn't gotten around to it yet. But I knew that for my grandmother's 90th birthday I definitely wanted to write something. Fast forward to last night. I went to see Hugh Jackman's big "BACK ON BROADWAY" show at the Broadhurst theatre on 44th st, and it was one of the most inspiring and entertaining nights of my life. The most inspiring part was the time that Hugh played tribute to Peter Allen, and also to his homeland of Australia. It was quite inspiring. He sang a song that Allen wrote about his grandfather, and his father, and then himself and it was mind blowing. I decided last night that I would wake up this morning and write one of those for my mother and her mother, and me.

check it out:

INSPIRATION:
Well, the inspiration is pretty self explanatory. The song is about my grandma Conrada, and my mom, and her sisters, and my brothers and the whole family tree that leads to me. It's kind of egotistical I guess, writing a song for someone else that ends up being about you, but it's also a big THANK YOU, to show I appreciate everyone giving of themselves to get me where I am in life today. So Thank you MOM, and DAD, and ROSIE, and GRANDMA, and everyone else!!! I love you!!!! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Week #17: THERE YOU ARE

This week's song started as an assignment from my song-writing teacher, Adam Gwon. I had to write lyrics to an existing melody, which was a lot harder than I thought. For this week's song I use those lyrics but altar the melody of the song while keeping some of the chordal structure to make the song my own. I'm not sure who wrote the original melody.

I also tried a new strum pattern this week which I have definitely NOT mastered yet.

Check it out:

INSPIRATION:
The idea from the song came from hearing the original tune that I wrote lyrics to. It just sounded like "there you are," so I wrote lyrics around that idea. My friend Michael said the tune sounded anthemic and I wanted to write a song about someone who has a partner that actually inspires and supports them. The idea sounds too wonderful to be possible, but who knows...

Week #16: AFIA part 2

Last week I completed my song about a friend named Afia, but a second friend named Afia said she wanted a song too. So I was met with the daunting task of writing a sequel to my Afia song, called AFIA part 2. I knew I wanted the song to say "Afia too" in the lyrics which was the biggest challenge of all. After the other Afia's boyfriend told me I better not write a song about his girlfriend or he'd kill me, I suddenly had an idea for this song... and so the "stay away from my girl" chorus popped into my head....

Check it out:

AFIA part 2

INSPIRATION:
Well, like I already said, the idea comes from Afia's boyfriend jokingly threatening my life, however to keep with the theme of AFIA part 1, I had to make her boyfriend a girl. lol. Hope he doesn't mind.