“Congratulations” (The Traveling Wilburys cover)

By Jim Fusco: Well, it’s my day again already, huh? 🙂

Seems we’ve bee doing so much promotion between the friend requests, SEO work, and such that it really is getting harder and harder to keep on the “every third day” schedule. And now, we have a Members-Only section on the blog, which will have exclusive, not-on-YouTube, videos. So, that’s even more to do!

I’m hoping with the long weekend that I can record a bunch of Sessions and then focus on promoting what we already have for awhile.

Now, getting on to today’s Laptop Session:

“Congratulations” is a Traveling Wilburys song that my brother Mike and I would always kinda make fun of when we were younger. I mean, the album came out when I was four and my family loved it, so we always listened to it. Plus, when you’re a little kid, Bob Dylan’s incredibly raspy voice is pretty funny.

But, years later, after my 1000th listen, I began to realize that this really is a good song. I think the whole band contributed and the actual tune of the song (stripped of Dylan’s raspiness or not) is great.

The song is sad and emotional, which is probably why they chose Dylan to sing it in the first place, but I thought I would give it a more “pure” treatment.

This was done in one take, so you know I was dead-on. Jeff, Chris, and I are doing a lot more of that lately- partially because of time constraints, but partially because we’re just getting so good at doing this. My skills have been increasing steadily with my view count and subscriber numbers, which are nearing 200 now!

I will meet my goal of 55,000 views by the end of the month and now the only question is: how many more will I get? The Laptop Sessions site is poised for a BOOM in popularity, so stay tuned, as you may have already stumbled upon the Next Big Thing in music!

“For Real” (Indie Music by Songwriter Jim Fusco)

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to yet another “Original Wednesday” Session here with me, Jim Fusco!

This one kinda crept up on me today, and for the second time, Chris and I tried to do “The Game” off of my band MoU’s new album, “Homestead’s Revenge”. But, again, my voice wouldn’t hold out—for my own song! It’s been like this for about a month now and I don’t know how to make it better.

So, I reached way back into Jim Fusco lore to get this song off of my album, “Formula” from early 2003. You can listen to the entire album and purchase it here: http://jimfusco.com/albums/formula.html  I tell ya, it sure seems like a lot longer ago than that- a lot has happened in only five years. I expect a whole lot more is coming in the next five years, as well.

I always remember my father pointing out that this was a good song- something about it caught his ear and I took note of his reaction.

I changed one line just for curiosity’s sake. If you’re an official Jim Fusco fan (no, not you Jeff, Chris, or Becky), then you’ll know which one. and if someone other than those three asks me, I will be happy to answer why I changed it for this version.

From an otherwise “okay” album that I don’t think has worn too well over five years, this song has always been a standout track for me, and I hope you agree.

Make sure to stay tuned as the Session a Day rolls on here in 2008!

“These Apples” (Barenaked Ladies Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to another edition of The Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco!

Of course, The Laptop Sessions started partially because I loved Ed Robertson’s “Bathroom Sessions” so much. He’s so great on the guitar, it makes me feel very inferior.

But, I still love his music and I love to play it! This song, “These Apples”, is infectious and I was so happy I finally got a chance to play it.

Next week, we’ll be doing “Title Track Week”, but this week is anything-goes! Make sure to come back tomorrow for another great Session from Chris and check out the Blog at https://guitarbucketlist.com for Jeff’s most recent video, as well!

Video Blog Milestone: Songwriter Jim Fusco at 50,000 views in record time!

By Jim Fusco:

Yes, that’s right folks- I’m at 50,000 views and counting! It only took about 20 days to get there and it puts me on pace to match my goal of 55,000 by the end of the month. We have plenty of things in store for you in the coming weeks and I truly expect this number to skyrocket in the very near future.

Again, thanks for your support of my videos and ALL of the videos here at guitarbucketlist.com!