Monthly Archives: March 2009

“On For Miles” (Jim Fusco Original Song)

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By Jim Fusco:

Why doesn’t anyone post Original Wednesdays anymore?  Well, I’ll just chalk it up to the fact that my brand-new album is coming out in less than two weeks- “Halfway There”!  If you’ve been to the music video blog before, you’ve probably seen advertisements for it.  You may have even heard a bit.  I hope you’re liking it so far- it’s a loooooong time in the making!  If you’ve been here before, you’ve probably also noticed that we cover almost 200 bands- a new video three times a week.  You may not know that on a weekly basis, we post original songs, as well!

Tonight, I bring you track 3 from the upcoming “Halfway There” LP.  On the album, you’ll notice that this song is much punchier and has a more modern sound to it.  Okay, so maybe it doesn’t have a modern sound, but it’s as modern as you’re gonna get from me! 🙂  The song has some cool effects and features a very intricate five part harmony on the chorus- it’s so cool to listen to it in the car because the chorus seems to “widen” the speakers as soon as it kicks in.  It does that on the first chorus of the song “Halfway There”, as well- I’d love to hear reactions when the album comes out!  I got this effect because of the new mastering techniques I learned.  No longer does it sound like a wet burlap sack is draped over the speakers when listening to a recording of mine.  I’ve actually even remastered my last album, “What About Today?”, in the same way- you should HEAR how much better it sounds!  One of these days, I’ll get a digital copy up on the FMP Store.

Anyway, “On For Miles” is supposed to be “single-worthy” in the sense that it’s the third song on the album, but it does follow two superb ones (if I do say so myself) in “Go Back To Him” and “Our Love Doesn’t Translate”.  I knew I needed to follow-up those songs with something really catchy, as well, but that also got you into the feel of the whole album, rather than listening to a collection of singles.  It’s tough to describe.

So, this version, which is only me and an acoustic guitar, has a much different vibe- but that’s when a cover song on acoustic guitar is really interesting.  It’s never interesting to take a song that was done acoustically in the first place and just do it live in front of the camera.  It’s fun to take a fully-produced song and pare it down to the bare bones and play it just as a “song” and not a production.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s original song and I hope you’re as excited as I am about the release of “Halfway There”.  I just got the UPS tracking number for the shipment- looks like I’ll be getting them a week earlier than expected, but you’re still going to have to wait until the 7th to get your copy! 🙂  I live for anticipation.

Have a great rest of the week and I’ll be back with only my second Beach Boys tune for the year on Tuesday.  I figure once a quarter is good to keep the loyal fans happy!  The only question is, “Which one?”  You’ll have to wait and see for that, too!  Geesh, I’m just teasing everyone tonight, huh?  Oh, wait, I guess I did just post two videos in a row…so, you can afford to wait a few days!  See you then.

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (Elton John Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Two for the price of one sale today on Jim Fusco videos, as our internet was down on Tuesday, preventing me from posting my all-new acoustic cover song video!  Tonight, I bring you another new artist to the music blog in Elton John.  INCREDIBLE that we haven’t done a song by him yet- ten Pearl Jam songs and not one from EJ?  Yikes!

Anyway, tonight’s song is one that I knew only a certain section of before I truly learned it for my acoustic video.  I knew the “Ah…” part in the song because it’s so catchy.  I must’ve heard it on the radio a bunch of times and that’s what I took away from it.  Listening to the entire song and really paying attention, I noticed that this is truly a great recording.  I LOVE the guitar that come in on the chorus, playing these electric guitar arpeggiated notes.  Heaven!

There’s also some great backing vocals going on during the song- it creates such a lush sound and everyone knows how I love a good backing vocal choir!  My roommate Dana helped me out tonight, as this turned out to be one of his favorite songs- he knew every word and helped me out a TON when it came to the inflection on the singing, especially on the choruses.

This song wasn’t an easy one to play or sing.  But then again, isn’t that what the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog is all about?  We don’t take the easy way out, folks- we challenge ourselves on a daily basis.  Chris, Jeff, and I have held-off playing certain songs for months because we wanted to perfect them.   I still have to hear it from my father every week that I haven’t done “Here Comes the Sun” or “God Only Knows” yet.  But, for those songs, you need to perfect them before debuting them to the world.  And that’s what I plan on doing.

You should’ve seen Dana’s eyes when I told him I was covering this song on acoustic guitar.  I proceeded to tell him, however, that the videos I get the most views on are the ones where people go, “Wait, someone did that song on GUITAR?  I gotta see this.”  Everyone always goes in so skeptical (I get a lot of messages saying, “I thought this would suck, but I was pleasantly surprised!”) and I can understand why- I mean, look at the 99.999% of YouTube cover videos out there that truly do STINK.  But, as we said a long time ago here on the music blog, the goal of the Laptop Sessions is to put an end to bad YouTube covers forever!

I hope you enjoy my rendition- I practiced it about twenty times and made sure everything was correct.  I’m happy to debut Elton John’s music here on the music video blog and hope that Chris and Jeff will decide to tackle some of his songs in the future.  But if I hear Chris singing “Candle in the Wind”, I may have to break his acoustic guitar. 🙂  Until…well…next post…a couple minutes from now…have a great one!

Jim Fusco’s “Halfway There”, due out April 7th from Fusco-Moore Productions

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An amazing album cover painting by Ben Quesnel

An amazing album cover painting by Ben Quesnel!

After a four-year stint trying new projects, such as the successful band, MoU, Jim Fusco decided to record an album using all the recording techniques he learned over the years.

Using the latest in recording technology coupled with top-notch musical equipment (including new all-tube amplifiers and organic effects), Jim recorded his most professional and mature album to date in “Halfway There”.

From top to bottom, this album features songs that came to Jim as inspirations- some from analyzing his early-life decisions and some even from his incredible trip to Italy.  The range of instruments (which includes a mandolin) on this album surpasses all previous efforts, as does Jim’s attention to detail in both the musicianship and vocal work.

The album is completely mastered to top studio standards, so the mix sounds clear and loud over any stereo system.  The vocals stand out in the mix (which is definitely a benefit, considering that some songs contain double-tracked five-part harmonies!), as does the bass guitar, which has always been tough to hear in previous Jim Fusco albums.  Somehow, though, the album still retains a warm sound- there’s virtually no way to tell if this album was recorded at a multimillion dollar recording studio or in Jim’s home studio.  We’ll never tell…

So, what is “Halfway There” all about?  Well, in a nutshell, “Halfway There” is really a feeling.  You know- that feeling you get when you sit back and think about where you ended up in life.  You may be perfectly happy, but no matter what, for most people, you never really end up realizing your full potential.  This is a constant for 99% of people, so it wasn’t necessary to point this fact out- moreover, Jim decided he wanted to explore what he felt were the reasons why he ended up feeling “halfway there” in life.  Is it because he settled-down early in life?   Is it because of bad luck?  Is it laziness?  Jim talks about it all and brings it all back around, realizing that maybe feeling “halfway there” was what he really wanted after all.

“Halfway There” may just be the best piece of music you purchase this year- give an up-and-coming artist’s music a chance and we guarantee you’ll be glad you did, or your money back.

Purchase the album at the FMP Store by clicking HERE!

“Carry On” (Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Yes, the dream is still alive with me here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog.  I’ve said it a thousand times- we are simply the best music video blog ever created and I intend to keep it that way.  That’s why, tonight, I bring to you yet another new artist to the blog.

I can’t believe it’s taken this long to get to an amazing and popular acoustic act in Crosby, Stills, Nash, and (sometimes) Young.  Talk about a supergroup- not only did they amass a ton of hit singles and albums over the years, but they are comprised of some of rock music’s most popular and influential singers and songwriters: David Crosby (formerly of the Byrds), Stephen Stills (formerly of Manassas), Graham Nash, and Neil Young.

This band is credited with some of the most innovative and great songs of the seventies- they were keeping rock alive and doing it while playing their own instruments and singing in great, tight harmonies.  I don’t know why I don’t love this band more than I have in the past- think about it- they have four songwriting members, sing harmonies, and play their own instruments.  Those are all qualities of my favorite bands!  I have to get my hands on a “Best of” to get me started.

Truthfully, though, I remember not getting into their albums too much because of the extended jams and such.  I’m more of a 3-minute catchy song kinda guy.  But, when learning tonight’s song on acoustic guitar, I realized that it’s really three separate songs wrapped-up into one neat 4-minute masterpiece.

“Carry On” kicks off an amazing album in “Deja Vu”, which some consider to be one of (if not THE) best albums of all time.  Personally, I don’t think so, but I see where they’re coming from.  You have this supergroup of stars and they come out with fresh new music that rocks and they start this whole revolution of Seventies acoustic rock that some of my favorite acts, like America, modeled themselves after.  As recently as 2003, you had the Thorns, a “supergroup” of sorts in itself (with 90s acts Shawn Mullins, Matthew Sweet, and Pete Droge), who sounded EXACTLY like CSNY.

Of course the chords for “Carry On” that you find online are correct…to a certain degree.  I had to work some magic to find out that it’s actually on a first fret capo.  Also, on the bridge during the first three verses, they had the chords wrong, mostly because the bass guitar in the recording is playing a different note than what matches the chord the acoustic guitars are doing.  So, I improvised and came up with an interesting chord progression for that part that I thought both fit and sounded cool.  It may not be exactly correct, but it’s my little interpretation.

On a personal note, every day seems to get shorter and shorter.  I have so much to do on a daily basis, between working on four websites, work, and (helping to) plan a wedding.  I found out that I’m going to get my discs for “Halfway There” during the first week of April, so I’m aiming for an April 7th release date.  I need to do many updates to our site here and add pages to my site, too.  What a project- that’s why I only do one once every two…three…four…years.

Have a great night, and I’ll catch you tomorrow to re-attempt posting my Original Wednesday from last week that was inadvertently erased!