Cover Song

[Excerpted from our Once and Future Songs column in newsletter.]

“Do you know any cover songs?”

Emily asked me that question at a point when I thought we had the set list for the Transplant House Benefit all set.  She knew the answer.  Yes.  Two songs.

When I was co-manager of The Songsmith (an extinct singer-songwriter venue in Scottsdale), more than once I lamented how this or that singer-songwriter needed to mix it up and do some covers.  For the diversity.

Now confronted as the singer-songwriter, I bristled.  “Why?  These songs aren’t good enough?" 

But she was right and I knew it.  Ideally, we should find a very familiar sing-along, but neither of our two cover choices is of that ilk.

Emily remembers me singing her to sleep with Jackson Browne’s, “Song for Adam.”  She likes my version better than Jackson Browne’s.  She also likes Kraft macaroni and cheese better than gourmet truffle mac and cheese. It’s what she’s used to.  I rarely sing that song, but have never forgotten it because it reminds me of my best friend growing up.  But not a good song for next week’s set.

The other choice is “Hope for Morning” by Christopher Williams, a singer-songwriter I met in my “Songsmith” days, and a great guy.  Emily and I have performed this song in the past and I have recently re-learned it, I think in anticipation of just this scenario. Not a mainstream song by any means, but I penciled it in on the set list. It is a song that (not oddly) seems to mean different things to different people.  In a strictly literary sense, it is vague, but, unlike a short story or memoir, a song can get by with vague, as long as it carries a feeling.  Often performed at weddings, according to Christopher, “Hope for Morning” is actually about his grandfather.  Go figure.   Killer first verse:

When the orange glow of the sky

Turns from sunset to city light

And the moon slowly rises through the trees.

When the clenched hands of the day

Have released the stars to play

And night rides on a gentle breeze.

Hold my hand and whisper my name.

I promise you that I will always love you the same.

Close your eyes and look for nothing more.

Let my gentle spirit give you the wind to soar.

Upcoming Performances

This Saturday, January 16th, we will perform at Fiddlers Dream.  Our 8 pm set will be followed by Brad Colerick, a very fine singer-songwriter who lives in Pasedena.  Besides an outstanding singer-songwriter, Brad is also a Music Supervisor/Producer for television commercials.  Follow the link and listen to his music.  You will not want to miss this show.  Bring a friend or two. Scott will perform a couple of songs solo at The Mayo Talent Show…

Read the rest of this entry »

New Project Update

Work has begun in earnest on the new album.  I am thrilled to announce that Kyle Harris, PlayR Recording, will be producing the album.  More information on Kyle will be forthcoming, as I plan to spotlight him in a future newsletter/blog entry.  Suffice it to say, Kyle, Emily, and I are very excited about the project. The tentative goal is to have the album ready in April 2010.

The “old” album (From the Dining Room) is just now receiving a small surge of activity over the pond, with a review expected soon from The Netherlands and one from Leicester, UK.  (Hopefully, glowing reviews– I supply the CD, they supply the opinion.) The recent availability on CD Baby apparently has brought us more attention overseas.

Once and Future Songs

Just so nobody misses out, I post entries from the popular “Once and Future Songs” column that appears in our newsletter on a separate blog: http://the15thfloor.wordpress.com/.  The column’s entries are guided by one strict criterium: anything goes as long as it has to do with a song.  Kriegs

WRRW FM in Williamsburg, VA

They like The 15th Floor and we like them  Besides playing our songs, they posted info about us and our album, From the Dining Room, on their site!  Yay, WRRW!   You can listen online. Link to WRRW.

Americana Music Festival notes

including Sherry and me.) One of his songs, “Angel of the Morning”, in various forms, has sold 13 million records! This trip, I heard him a couple of times, teamed up with his new young protégé/discovery, Kendall Carson. WOW!  If you are a connoisseur of good songs, check out his new album, “Yonkers, NY”, coming out in October.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Yes, they are reincarnated, in a new/old configuration (very pure) with

Read the rest of this entry »

Video Alert!

For what it’s worth (I know, I know—not much), here is a YouTube video using our song, “Listen to Me Breathe.” From what I can tell this song has become one of our most played-on-the-radio songs (neck and neck with, “A World Without Your Face.”) Not having the talent or access (or cash) to do more, I used Animoto, which has great potential in the right hands and did a fine job in spite of me.

Kriegs

Finally Finding Flipper

The 15th Floor, and the rest of the family, recently spent a week on the big island of Hawaii.  As most family trips go, we had our ups and downs.  One child inevitably becomes ill; on this trip it was Emily’s brother, Zach.  Ten years ago, on our first family trip to the big island, it had been Emily’s turn to be ill.  Didn’t get to see the volcano, oh well.  Didn’t get to swim with the dolphins… OOHHH NOOOO! On that trip ten years ago, Emily’s main goal for the trip was to swim with the dolphins.  Her little brother, whose only illness that trip was a four-inch square severe sunburn where we had missed with the sunscreen, was able to go… and, gosh darnit, he wasn’t even all that excited about it.

So, this year’s trip it was finally Emily’s turn to swim with the dolphins.  Here she is, holding the dolphin’s chin– not to keep him quiet, but to give him a big kiss, which she did. (Yuck!)  ________________________________________  How about dolphin (and whale) songs?—

Read the rest of this entry »

“Where is The 15th Floor on the radio?” you ask.

Yes, a fan of The 15th Floor really asked this question and fortunately I have an answer, but it is a long list (29 so far) of radio stations all over the country.  (And, I believe there is a station in The Netherlands and one in Poland playing our music- not to mention internet radio, e.g. Jango and The Sound Machine radio- at least by request.) Some stations only play us on certain programs, so find programs in the Americana, Folk, or occasionally even AAA genre.

Go to the next page to see the list, with links and find a station near you, or one you would like to “stream”…

Read the rest of this entry »

When You Fall Out of the Boat

When Emily was eight-years-old, we traveled to Colorado for a family reunion. (Incidentally, during that trip I finished the song, Listen to Me Breathe, which is on The 15th Floor’s album, From the Dining Room.) My father was undergoing chemotherapy for advanced colon cancer and this was his last hurrah. One of the highlights of the reunion was a river rafting trip. Because of the chemo, my father was not feeling particularly well, but stoically managed to participate fully and enjoy himself—I am sure well entertained by our bumbling rafting expertise. Emily, by far the youngest to participate, was a bit afraid and on the drive to Fort Collins from Estes Park took a lot of convincing it would be fun and very safe. At the rafting company headquarters, all decked out in wet suits and ready to go, we congregated outside for the final set of instructions. →

In the photo, Emily and I are in the back, my father is front right.  In front of me on the left, my daughter, Amy, my niece, Keli. Behind my father, my niece, Carolyn, sister, Lee Ann. __________________________________________ The speaker, one of the guides, started with these words: “When you fall out of the boat…” Emily heard no more. Totally freaked, she headed toward the changing rooms, feeling tricked and betrayed.

Read the rest of this entry »