Recently, Jim Fusco of the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog reached 1,000 subscribers on the popular video site YouTube.
Jim has been recording videos for the Laptop Sessions series for over three years and has amassed over 200 videos. He has almost 700,000 video views and is happy to reach this goal of 1,000 subscribers.
His new season of cover song music videos begins in September, 2010. Jim’s next goal is to reach 1,000,000 video views. Stay tuned!
By Jim Fusco:
Welcome to another edition of the Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco!
I’m back again tonight after a short sabbatical. I’m glad to present a great song, “San Francisco” off of Brett Dennen’s 2009 album “Hope for the Hopeless”.
I’ve been in love with this album ever since my friend (and boss) Bill gave me the album to listen to. I’ve since purchased it on vinyl- you’ll see my copy behind me in the video.
I’ve also been purchasing a lot of new albums on vinyl, including Jack Johnson’s “To the Sea” and “Stone Temple Pilots”, both of which I haven’t listened to yet. I’m getting myself ready for the STP album by listening to their previous effort, “Shangri-La-Dee-Dah”. Jeff always used to talk about that album, so I asked for it for my birthday and I’m loving the album. I’m so excited about the new disc! Actually, I did listen to it once while transferring my vinyl copy over to the computer using my brother’s ION USB turntable. Mine’s on the fritz…of course…
I’ve been taking it a bit easier lately, which is good because it’s been BUSY. I’ve gotten a lot more done around the house and have been watching my Mets, who’ve been on a big roll lately.
I hope to keep up with this light Laptop Sessions schedule- I’ll definitely make it a point to.
Anyway, I’ve wanted to record “San Francisco” for a very long time now and was happy to get the opportunity now. What’s cool is that Brett Dennen himself used his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar to record this album. Hearing his great sound and great songs was a factor in my choosing a Martin, too. Even though mine cost about half the price of his, mine’s still all solid wood and (in my opinion) sounds just as good! Remember all the research I did? Well, I truly believe I got the best I could for the money.
Over the next few weeks, I plan on covering songs from Ringo Starr, Scissor Sisters, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Jack Johnson, and Stone Temple Pilots- ALL of whom have albums out this summer! So, the cover song list keeps on growing. So, have a great Tuesday and be sure to come back again for another Laptop Session with Jim Fusco soon!
By Jim Fusco:
On tonight’s edition of “Ask the Musician”, I have a YouTube email from Todd:
Hi, Could you please send me the tabs of “San Francisco”? Thanks a lot, you are a great musician.
Thanks, Todd- with me, flattery gets you everywhere! I don’t have the tabs (don’t really need them for this song), but here are the chords and lyrics:
Start on G
Em C G D
If you're going to San Francisco,
Em C G D
be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.
Em G C G
If you're going to San Francisco,
G Bm Em D
you're gonna meet some gentle people there.
Em C G D
For those who come to San Francisco
Em C G D
Summer-time will be a love-in there.
Em G C G
In the streets of San Francisco,
G Bm Em D
gentle people with flowers in their hair.
F
All across the nation,
F G
such a strange vibration, People in motion...
F
There's a whole generation,
F G D
with a new explanation, People in motion, people in motion.
Em Am C G D
For those who come to San Francisco,
Em C G D
be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.
Em G C G
If you come to San Francisco,
G Bm Em G
Summer-time will be a love-in there.
Em F#m A D A
If you come to San Francisco
A C#m F#m A F#m A
Summertime will be a love-in there
______________________________________
Thanks again for the comment, Todd, and happy playing!
By Jim Fusco:
So, can you tell I’m on a George Harrison kick? 🙂 It’s another edition of the Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco!
One small piece of business before we get started: From now on, I’m going to try to post my videos at midnight on Thursday morning so you can wake up on Thursdays and see a new cover song music video or read an article. Lately, I’ve been staying up late on Thursdays and posting at like 1 am on Friday…that’s not really what I was going for with Jim Fusco Thursdays! So, make sure to grab a cup of coffee every Thursday morning and head on over to the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog for a great post each week. Now, onto tonight’s video!
On my way back from the Mets game I went to two Fridays ago, my friend John was flipping around to different radio stations in the car. He came across one station and I said, “Wow, I really think that’s George Harrison singing, but I’ve never heard this song before!” So, I whipped-out the Shazam app on my iPhone and it found the song: “It’s What You Value” from George Harrison’s solo album, 33 1/3. The song sounded great, so I decided to listen to the album. Well, I loved it and now I’m going to listen to all of his solo albums! I’m onto “George Harrison” (self-titled) now and I’m enjoying that one very much, as well.
“33 1/3” is not only an interesting title because of the RPMs of a vinyl LP on the turntable, but (as my father informed me) is also how old George was when he released the album! How cool! I guess I’ll have to come out with a vinyl single when I turn 45… 🙂
I’ve known “Crackerbox Palace’ since I was little. Back in the early 90s, I believe, they came out with George Harrison’s “Best of the Dark Horse Years” CD, which chronicled his greatest solo hits while on the Dark Horse label he created. So my father played it in the car all the time. That’s probably why I love George’s “Cloud 9” album more than any person should love an album: it’s embedded in my mind from when I was four! Getting back to the “Best Of” album, songs like “Crackerbox Palace” have been with me for a long time and it feels great to finally perform it.
I was surprised to learn that “Crackerbox Palace” is one of my brother Mike’s favorite George Harrison songs, as well. Plus, Becky seems to really love it, too. If you haven’t seen the original music video (that he did with the help of the folks from Monty Python), then you should really check it out. I think that’s why Becky likes the song so much now- it’s so lighthearted and fun.
On that note, I always look so serious when recording these songs- I just want them to sound right, so I forget to smile a lot of the time. On a lighthearted song like this, I hope it doesn’t detract from the general mood.
Okay, that’s all for me this week- make sure to stop back for a great Moody Blues “Best Albums Ranked In Order” list my father came up with. Which album is the best? Or, maybe even more importantly, which album is the WORST? Find out here on the music blog. Have a great week and see you then!