Author Archives: Jim Fusco

About Jim Fusco

Jim Fusco is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and all-around musician. Learn all about him and his creative works at http://jimfusco.com!

“Those Around Us” by Jim Fusco is now available on iTunes & CD!

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By Jim Fusco:

Hello everyone to another special edition of the Laptop Sessions music video blog!  I’m happy to officially announce that my new album, “Those Around Us” is now available on iTunes and on CD!  If you’d like the album on CD, you can purchase it on my website at http://jimfusco.com/albums/those-around-us.html.  If you’d prefer to download the album on iTunes, you can get that by clicking here!

“Those Around Us” features twelve new original songs.  I hope you’ll go and check out my website for the full write-up on the new album.  I honestly believe it’s my best effort to date and I’m proud to bring this new album to you.

Jim Fusco's "Those Around Us"

As you see from the album cover above (which looks AMAZING, by the way), I was able to secure Ben Quesnel (at http://bqartstudio.com) to paint the cover for me.  As you may know, Ben painted the “Halfway There” cover.  I couldn’t be happier with the results of both album covers!

On January 13th, 2012, I had a big CD Release Party with my closest friends, family, and co-workers.  Words cannot describe how honored and humbled I was by the great turnout.  The crowd loved the seven new songs I played acoustically for them and everyone had a great time.  I even got to play a special encore cover song of “Two of Us” by the Beatles with my fellow Traveling Acai Berries member, Steve.

I recorded the entire show in multi-track audio and mixed and mastered it for all to hear.  You can listen to the entire CD Release Party concert for free on my website!  That’s right, just go to http://jimfusco.com/albums/those-around-us.html and click on the music player in the middle of the screen.  I’m really happy I had the opportunity to record it with my multi-track recorder because I was able to mix and tweak it after the fact.  I tried to record the show on video, as well.  But, something went wrong with the tape and I was only able to salvage the last song I played, “Good Enough”.  But, I made the most of that short video and put it on YouTube to show (even for just a few minutes) what a good time we all had at the CD Release Party.  I’m presenting that video for you here on the Laptop Sessions music blog, too.

I sincerely hope you’ll go and at least listen to “Those Around Us” on my website and on iTunes.  I know you’ll love the album, especially if you’re a fan of the cover songs I play here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs blog.  I think you’ll notice the influence of the bands I love and the music that inspires me.  As always, I’d love to hear what you think!  Write a comment here on the blog, tweet me @jimfuscomusic, or visit my Facebook page at http://facebook.com/jimfuscomusic!


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“Don’t Give Up” (Jim Fusco Original Acoustic Rock Song)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome everyone to a very special edition of the Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco!  Today, I bring you a brand-new song off of my forthcoming album, “Those Around Us”!  The album was released Friday, January 13th and today’s acoustic music video is your first taste of the album.  The album will be available on CD for purchase on my website at http://jimfusco.com, so make sure to go over and check it out.  As with all of my albums, you can hear the entire disc online for free before you buy!  The album later became available for download on iTunes.

“Those Around Us” is a collection of my latest songs- I’m extremely happy with the way it came out.  I utilized some new instruments and techniques that really took my sound to next level. I even got the album professionally mastered!  So, now when you put the CD into your player, it’ll be the same volume as the rest of the CDs you purchase.  Plus, the sound is crystal clear with plenty of bass.  It’s how I’ve always imagined my albums would sound if I had the technology and means to do it.  Realizing this goal was a big accomplishment for me.

Like I mentioned, I used some new instruments on this album, including a lap steel guitar and a 12-string electric guitar.  With the 12-string, I was able to get the Byrds/Beatles sound I love so much.  It also opened up a new way of playing for me.  The 12-string forces you to play riffs and finger-pick instead of just strumming chords.  To me, this new technique makes each song sound more interesting with a lot more “hooks” that get stuck in your head!   The other big musical addition to the album is the Wurlitzer 200A electric piano (sampled) I integrated into most songs.  This classic sound filled-out my mixes without having to add an extra rhythm guitar.  Again, it makes the songs all sound unique- you don’t hear the same instruments in every single song.  And that’s why I’m so happy with the variety of instruments and techniques I now have at my fingertips.  Of course, my new home studio (completed last February) is the perfect place to craft music.  It’s comfortable and has everything I need…organized just the way I like it!

I’m trying my hardest to make “Those Around Us” my most successful album.  But, that requires the help of my friends, family, and fans online.  I need help getting the word out about the album.  So, please send a link to your friends and share today’s Laptop Sessions acoustic video on Twitter and Facebook.  Speaking of those, did you know you can follow me on Twitter @jimfuscomusic?  You can also like my Facebook page.  I really hope “Those Around Us” will be heard by a ton of people.  That’s one of the reasons why I record my music- to share it with as many people as I can.  But, it’s a tough job for one person (with a full-time job, a house, a wife, etc.) to do.  So, please get in contact with me if you’re willing to help!

“Don’t Give Up”, tonight’s music video, is an original song I wrote a little while back.  It was instantly one of my favorite ones to play and sing.  I feel as if I’ve had this song in me for quite a while now.  But, “Don’t Give Up” has a more mature sound to it, plus it’s sung in a slightly different (more confident) style.  Now that I feel so confident with my instrumentation and vocals, I feel I can expand my songwriting more and take on more challenging subjects and vocal parts.  You know, I never thought much about people who sing with “soul”, but honestly, that takes a lot of guts.  It’s so much more comfortable to sing songs in your normal range.  On songs like “Don’t Give Up”, I had to sing with a lot of passion to get my message across.  I hope it worked!

And I hope you’ll check out “Those Around Us”- I’m sure you’ll love the album upon first listen and agree that it’s by far my best effort yet.

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“On Christmas Day” (Brian Wilson Christmas Cover)

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Welcome everyone to a special holiday edition of the Laptop Sessions cover songs music video blog with me, Jim Fusco!  It’s become a Laptop Sessions music blog tradition to do at least one Christmas song every year.  This is my fourth Christmas doing the blog and I’ve amassed a great collection of my favorite Christmas songs in acoustic guitar and piano cover video form.    In fact, if you go to my YouTube page at http://youtube.com/jimfusco, you’ll see I’ve made a video playlist of all my Christmas song videos.  So, if you’re in the holiday spirit (in December, or any other time you need some Christmas cheer), you can click on that playlist and go through every cover song video I’ve done for Christmastime!

Before I get started with tonight’s music blog post, allow me to wish you a great Christmas (or any other holiday you may be celebrating this time of year).  It’s been a crazy year for me and I’m glad I’m back doing the Laptop Sessions videos on a regular basis.  I really do get a lot of joy doing these cover song videos.  Getting to a million views was a big deal for me, as it seemed to reinvigorate my efforts to make the Laptop Sessions the best music blog on the internet.  Next year promises to be another banner year, as my new album, “Those Around Us” is released in January.  For more details on “Those Around Us”, please visit my website at http://jimfusco.com.

Onto tonight’s cover song video.  You know, it’s rare to find a new Christmas song that isn’t overly cheesy and especially over-produced.  The problem with Christmas songs is that there’s only a finite amount of things to write about.  And, believe me, every single one of those things has been written about.  So, after a while, every new Christmas song starts to sound the same with very, very similar lyrics.   Every artist these days has to have a Christmas album.  I guess I can’t blame them- it’s a built-in excuse to have people play your music at least once a year.  Look at the older artists like Bing Crosby.  I honestly don’t know one Bing Crosby song that isn’t Christmas-related.  To me, in pop music, Christmas songs make you somewhat immortal.  I mean, who listens to Perry Como anymore?  But, come the day after Christmas, “Home for the Holidays” plays on every radio station across the country.  Even Elvis Presley’s music is now considered too “old” for even our local “oldies” station, as they only play music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.  But, they break their own rule and play “Blue Christmas” about ten times a day.  Christmas songs, if they’re popular enough, are the great musical equalizer.

Maybe that’s why I love Christmas music so much- my favorite artists, like the Beach Boys, are brought back into the public’s consciousness every Christmas with song like “The Little Saint Nick”.  Speaking of the Beach Boys, I was given an early Christmas present this year with the announcement of the Beach Boys’ 50th anniversary reunion tour and album.  I cannot even begin to express how excited I am about this.  It’s a dream come true.

Tonight’s video also has to do with the Beach Boys because it’s one of Brian Wilson’s original Christmas songs!  I’ve loved this song ever since I first got a semi-bootleg copy off of his website a few years ago.  Brian used to come out with a Christmas song each year and put it on his site for his fans.  So, I recorded it off of the site.  Thankfully, though, it came out as a bonus track on his recent Christmas album, “What I Really Want For Christmas”.  “On Christmas Day” is a great tune and has a nice chord progression to it.  I’m not sure if I’m the only one who notices this, but to me, it sounds an awful lot like “Belles of Paris” from the Beach Boys’ “MIU Album” in 1978.  Anyway, “On Christmas Day” is a better arrangement and is in a better key- Brian sounds great on his recording.

I chose to do this song on piano because I thought it would translate better than on acoustic guitar.  Plus, it felt more Christmasey (to quote another Brian Wilson Christmas song) to sit at the piano and sing a Christmas song.  I hope you enjoy my rendition!

I hope everyone has a healthy and happy New Year, too.  I’ll be back after the first of the year with an original song from my forthcoming album, “Those Around Us”.  Then, we’ll all celebrate the release of this new album on January 13th!  Take care and see you in 2012!

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“I Need You” (America Cover)

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By Jim Fusco:

Welcome everyone to another edition of the Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco!  It feels like these two-week spans between my acoustic cover song music videos fly-by each time.  It’s already the second week of December and Christmastime is going by like a shot.  This year, I’ll be bringing you one Christmas song music video that I recorded on piano.  But, that will have to wait until next time.

Tonight, I bring you the second in my two-part series of songs titled, “I Need You”. 🙂  The first was the cover video I did two weeks ago, “I Need You” by the Beatles.  I’ve always loved that George Harrison song and it’s about time I got to make an acoustic video version of it here for the music blog.  As I mentioned on that post, I think the band America, and specifically Gerry Beckley- the writer of today’s song- were heavily influenced by the Beatles.  In fact, in each concert performance (and I’ve seen them about 15 times now) they play a Beatles song.  They say that it was the music that made them want to become rock musicians and songwriters.

Now, I’ve also hypothesized that Gerry Beckley made a nod to George Harrison’s “I Need You” in his song by the same title.  I can hear a similarity in the chord progression, especially at the end of the song when it goes to that minor chord.  It’s such an interesting change and both songs feature it (though Harrison’s goes to an F#m and Beckley’s goes to an Em7).  It would be such an honor if Gerry Beckley himself ever read this blog post and commented on my theory.

America’s “I Need You”, off of their first (self-titled) album, was one of the songs that got me into the group’s music.  Other Beckley songs like “To Each His Own” and “Only In Your Heart” are personal favorites, as well.  I always gravitated to Beckley’s songwriting, as I can tell the clear Beatles and Beach Boys influences.  After a show of theirs I attended, the band signed autographs.  I brought in my copy of Beckley, Lamm, and Wilson’s “Like A Brother” CD and Gerry was surprised that I had it.  I loved that album, especially because we got to hear some great Carl Wilson songs.  He told me that he spoke at Carl’s funeral and that he was a very, very close friend.  To me, that’s amazing- growing up and listening to your favorite group…and then becoming a musician and eventually friends with one of the members.  To me, this made sense, as Carl Wilson was the youngest Beach Boy, more Beckley’s age.

In the studio version of “I Need You”, you hear a great acoustic 12-string guitar over the piano.  For my Laptop Sessions cover version, I took a rare seat at the piano and stripped this song down to its basic elements.  And when you just sit back and listen to the words, you realize how great of a song it really is.  Beckley wrote this song right out of high school and you can tell- going away from all of your friends (like he talked about in “To Each His Own”) is really tough, and the emotions that you feel for people in high school feel like they’re SO important.  I remember feeling that I’d be alone forever if a relationship didn’t work out back in high school.  If only I could give myself some late-20s wisdom. 🙂

I hope you enjoy tonight’s “I Need You” piano cover song music video.  I hope you’ll stay tuned!  In the meantime, get that shopping done (without getting too stressed) and we’ll see you back here on the music blog!

More Laptop Sessions covers