My Music (PJ's Original Music)

I have been writing original songs since my Junior year of high school. Primitive and rudimentary as they were, I began to want to capture musical ideas as they occurred to me. I also wrote lyrics, though they were always secondary in importance to me, and surely the weakest component of the compositions

THE EARLY WORKS
Pre-Sequencer Technology (1979-1985)		 Children of the Can 2002
With Sequencer - HERE

THE EARLY WORKS
Pre-Sequencer Technology (1979-1985)
All songs recorded on a TASCAM 4 Track Cassette based Multi-Track recorder.  All tracks performed live except the drums tracks, programmed on one of the most primitive drum machines there was, when they first came on the market.
TRACK DESCRIPTION
01-KatieDon'tLoseHeart.mp3 Katie was my first of two daughters born with a condition called Craniosynostosis. This basically means that there was no soft spot in her skull at birth. They recommend surgery at 6 months to go in and with a saw, cut away an area from ear to ear across the width of the skull that would allow the brain to grow to it's normal size as the child matured. The night before she went in to surgery I was so afraid for her and how she would be in so much pain but not have any context for what she was experiencing. So I sat down and within an hour wrote a very emotional and perhaps even melodramatic interpretation of what I was feeling. To this day, the song can bring me to tears because of how it brings back that emotion I felt that night.
02-NotMarkingTime.mp3 Spinet Piano, acoustic guitar, bass, elec. guitar (lead). drum machine, volcals. Song inspired from my philosophy, loosely based on Karma
03-JesusPlantandRootInMe.mp3 Music Co-written by Jim Pedderson and me. Lyrics stolen directly from a hymnal at our church. Written in 1973.
04-BehindtheLines.mp3 Lyrics: John Spalione, music: me. JH: Organ, bass, lead guitar, drum machine. Vocals by 
05-MeanGreenSea1st.mp3 Lyrics: Spalione, Music: Harrel. One of my favorite compositions from this time period. This song would later be re-recorded with a much more elaborate/orchestrated music track. Loosely based on an LSD trip that Johnny took.
06-It'sAllAbout.mp3 A peppy optimistic tune about a long close circle of friends and their friendship, and about taking life one moment at a time.
07-RockyRidgeBlues.mp3 There is a family condo on the north shore of lake Tahoe called Rocky Ridge  that has served as a cathartic retreat for me musically. This instrumental was composed entirely on the baby grand in the living room, then recorded on my PC,  using a mini-midi controller and a couple of synth modules. Bass was added back at the studio. 
08-IMissYourCompany.mp3 Lyrics: Spalione, Music: Harrel. Sharon (the daughter of a guy I worked with)   supplies the lead vocals in this song about love lost.
09-ToWar.mp3 Written in 1973 entirely on acoustic guitar (rare for me) and recorded without much else.
10-IShouldn'tWorry.mp3 Typical song of an insecure adolescent in love.
11-InTheBalance.mp3 Sharon on vocals. Another song inspired by my fascination with philosophy. Lyrics inspired by a passage from Immanuel Kantt.
12-Dr.SynthandtheElectricWormhole.mp3 This song starts off with the demo track that came with my Roland Dr. Rhythm which then morphs into a progression I wrote.
14-HowLong.mp3 Lyrics: Spalione, Music: Harrel, Written about the verdict and events that transpired following the Rodney King trial.