“Only A Dream” – an MoU Original Acoustic Rock Song

By Jim Fusco:

For my first trick…

Welcome to my first Original Wednesday original acoustic song music video for the year 2009!  It’s Jim Fusco here with a great song that we chose to kick-off our (and by “our”, I mean the band Masters of the Universe, or MoU) second album, “Homestead’s Revenge”.  The song is “Only A Dream” and it’s a chorus I wrote the tune to, but never did anything else with.

I remember the day very vividly.  It was one of our band songwriting sessions and I remember finally fleshing-out the chorus with the help of Chris, Mike,  Becky, and Cliff.  Then, I ran over to the piano and started to work out chord progressions for the verses.  I came up with the very interesting Em7 to Bm chord progression and I really love the tune that goes along with it.  I remember sitting there working and hearing Becky and Chris deciding on words to go into the chorus of the song.

I took my ideas over to the rest of the band and we worked out the words.  We came up with this image of a man in a jail cell.  The conversation went something like this: “How about a man locked in a jail cell that’s dreaming about getting out?”  “Oh yeah- like he’s locked in there!” “Okay, let’s see- ‘Locked in solitary confinement…'”  “No, that doesn’t work with the tune…” “Locked in solidarity…” “That doesn’t make sense, though.” “Oh, but it does!  The guy is locked up AND he’s all alone!” “Perfect!”

And that’s how the writing session went- we scrutinized everything but were able to paint a very realistic image of the idea we were getting across.  Why don’t you just listen and find out what that message is?

I also remember Mike returning from the back room, playing his middle-8.  I love that part of the song and it leads right back into the chorus very well.  He did that on “These Streets” from the same album.  The lyrics are great on the middle-8 to “These Streets”- we were thinking about that kind of great fast-paced life you think you have in high school  and threw in, “Live like it’s 1999,” because I was a freshman/sophomore in 1999.

Also, I was very excited when we all did the vocals.  On the original (which you can hear by going to MoU’s Official Website), you’ll hear double-tracked vocals from each of the five members of the band on the choruses and backgrounds, PLUS the lead vocals.

Some fun facts: Chris, Cliff, Mike, and I recorded our vocals together and we dubbed Becky’s much softer voice later on two other tracks so I could handle it better in the mix.  It isn’t easy blending a female voice into four other male voices.  But, my voice must not be too far off from a female’s voice, which made it easier to mix.  Why do I say that?  Well, on the middle-8, you’ll hear the backing vocals come in.  I love that part.  Well, on that section, Becky doesn’t sing- it’s just Mike’s lead, then Mike, Chris, Cliff, and I on backing vocals.  I sang the high part (doing my best Becky impression) because we seamlessly wove the backing vocals around Mike’s lead, allowing us to use only four other backing vocal harmony parts.  I remember doing those backing vocals that night with the boys and we were all so incredibly excited.  After we finished each good take, we’d get so stoked about it.  The greatest backing vocals I think I’ve ever heard are during the second half of the second verse.  The way that some of the vocals move around and some stay the same…it’s really a stroke of genius on my part! 🙂  Want to hear just the vocals-only section?  Click HERE and you’ll go to the Albums page on the MoU website.  The clip of only the vocals from that section will play in the background.  Click around to the other pages on the site and you’ll hear more rare vocals-only clips from the album!

Well, I hope you enjoy this great original song.  It was truly a collaborative effort- a great, catchy song- that was the perfect album-starter.  Until next Tuesday, I hope you have a great week.  Make sure to come back tomorrow for your Jeff Copperthite Thumpin’ Thursday acoustic cover song music video!

“Maybe Katie” (Barenaked Ladies Cover)

Welcome to your Terrific Tuesday edition of the Laptop Sessions!  Tonight, I’m the first person to post using our brand new WordPress 2.6.1 version of the blog.  Of course, on your end, you shouldn’t see any difference, but on our end, the difference is vast…and great.  For one thing, our visual editor won’t mess with our code anymore, so we’ll be able to post chords to our cover songs more often than before.

Okay, on to tonight’s video.  Tonight is a classic one in terms of my live performances.  The “band” of Chris, Jim, and Becky (see Chris’ post a few days ago) was formed in 2004 and we loved to sing this Barenaked Ladies song, “Maybe Katie” in concert.  Then, we didn’t realize we were singing it in the wrong key- a half step below the original key.  Rest assured that for this video, we fixed the error, as all the Laptop Sessions songs are always in the original key- the ONLY way it should be!  Listen up, cover song musicians on YouTube and elsewhere: YOU REALLY STINK IF YOU DO IT IN THE WRONG KEY!!!  There’s no exception to this- if it’s out of your range and you change the key, then you don’t deserve to do the song.  I sang “Baby Please Come Home” by Darlene Love at our Christmas party in the original key and that song is ridiculously high.  You didn’t see me take the easy way out.  And this is why our motto is “Putting an end to bad YouTube covers FOREVER!”  Wow, the tangents tonight…

Moving on, this song is off of one of my favorite albums, “Everything To Everyone”.  I do believe that it’s probably their fourth best album behind “Gordon”, “Barenaked Ladies Are Men” (the almost 30-track version), and “Maroon”.  This album has some input from the other band members, which if you’ve read some of my past rants, means a lot to me in a band.

We do “Maybe Katie” a bit differently than the album’s version in the sense that the BNL version has some heavy electric guitars on the chorus and middle sections.  Our version is completely acoustic and has more of a “folk” feel to it.  That’s what happens when you don’t have a drummer handy…that isn’t already reserved to play the solo like I am.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s Laptop Session.  Thanks again and see you tomorrow!

“Sober” (Original Song by Indie Music Songwriter Jim Fusco)

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to Original Wednesday here on the Laptop Sessions! Tonight, I bring you the first ever video starring Jim, Chris, and Becky for my original song from the new MoU album, “Homestead’s Revenge”.

“Sober” is a song I wrote a couple years ago and has become a live favorite whenever we play it. I wrote it during the recording of the first MoU album, but didn’t get to record it until recently, so it remains a “new” song.

I had Chris and Becky help me out for two reasons- first, the harmonies. Second, the fact that my voice kinda gave out tonight right before I went to record another original song called “The Game”. And, for anyone that’s heard that song before, you know it’s not one to sing with a bad vocal range! I guess that will have to wait three weeks.

I hope you enjoy this edition of Original Wednesday and I hope you’ll come back tomorrow for the continuation of “#1 Week” here at guitarbucketlist.com!

Music Review: Indie Music Songwriter Jeff Copperthite’s New Album “Greenlight”

RATING:  3.5 / 5 stars

By Chris Moore:

Typically, when an artist releases his first solo album, it lacks the polished sound that a more experienced artist would offer. However, this is certainly not the case with Greenlight, as Jeff Copperthite has been recording albums with his band Quilt since 2002. Although collaborator Scott Poglitsch wrote the majority of the songs on their first album, Patchwork, Copperthite wrote all the tracks for Expressions, their subsequent 2003 release. A solo record has been inevitable for some time.
Now, five years later, the aptly titled Greenlight has arrived.

The opening track, “Shadows of Your Dreams,” fades in to unveil Copperthite’s careful balance of guitar riffs, characteristic double-tracked lead vocals, subtle backing vocals, guitar solos, and drum fills. This is an excellent opener, setting the tone and laying the groundwork for what he is capable of.

Track two turns it up a notch, kicking off with a snare shot reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s infamous 1966 live version of “Like a Rolling Stone,” which was preceded by a taunt from a crowd member and Dylan’s command for the band to “play f***ing loud!” “Home” is far from angry, but it has all the energy of the aforementioned Dylan tune and is clearly the single of the album. Here, the vocals are even more honed and the guitar solos blend even more smoothly into the veneer of the track, providing accents and filling out the song.

As “Home” fades out, the title track begins tentatively with a minimalist arrangement, putting emphasis on the lyrics and eventually building up to include more prominent drums and acoustic guitars. The song details Copperthite’s journey, which can be taken either literally as a drive home (which is a nice follow-up to the previous track) or more symbolically. Each verse follows the progression of a traffic light—first red, then yellow, and finally green. In between he explains his journey, progressing from “Standing still in my life” to relating how “Inspired by the life I hold, I took the wheel and drove. I feel invincible; everything is manageable.” He seals the deal with another well-executed guitar solo.

“Jam Session” gives Copperthite the opportunity to focus on his instrumental skills, highlighting the piano and, as if he hadn’t already demonstrated his devotion to them, guitar solos.

The fifth track, “What Not To Do,” begins with bass, minimal drums, and then acoustic guitar, soon followed by the most prominent backing vocals of the album. This is not a surprising choice of arrangement, considering that this is a cover of a song penned by labelmate Jim Fusco, who is known for his Brian Wilson-esque devotion to harmonies, and his girlfriend, Becky Daly. (The song was specifically written to be given to him and was part of a musical swap that the two participated in.) An acoustic guitar solo continues the trend to good effect.

Copperthite gets angry for “$500,” directing his distortion guitars and biting lyrics at his former landlady, as he explains in the digital booklet. This is a great placement for this song, as it infuses new energy into the track listing. It is the oldest of the songs—recorded in 2004 when he had first considered a solo project—but adds a new, emotional dimension to the album that is further explored in “Aware.” The seventh track is not angry; rather, his concern is, “Oh I’m not able to see what goes on without me; here I can only be aware of what is around me.” While he concedes that “Perhaps I am scared of something that’s not there,” he is still concerned and can’t quite get the thought out of his mind. In a sense, this song focuses on his acute awareness that he simply cannot always be aware of what is happening.

“Searcher,” the eighth track, is Copperthite’s arrangement of a song originally composed by Yasuaki Fujita for “an old Nintendo game.” He writes in the liner notes that this was the first song he recorded before beginning to write new material for Greenlight—perhaps it was this song’s driving beat or combination of distortion-heavy guitars and piano riffs that inspired Copperthite to continue to write.

The final song is a healthy blend between slow ballad and upbeat rocker, opening with subdued electric guitar and vocals and gradually building up with drums, bass, and distorted guitars to the chorus, which can in and of itself be connected thematically to many of the album’s other tracks.

It is apparent that Copperthite put his heart, soul, and sweat into the creation of Greenlight, and for that reason, it is one of those rare albums that authentically exposes the songwriter, for better and for worse. In a year filled with superstar releases—Ringo Starr, R.E.M., and Sheryl Crow, among others—this is an essential album, if only for its celebration of honesty and of all the components of great rock’n roll.