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:
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 next Thursday 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 next Thursday here on the music blog. Have a great week and see you then!
By Jim Fusco:
Welcome, everyone, to another Thursday edition of the Laptop Sessions with me, Jim Fusco! I’m back for my bi-weekly video and I’m in a great mood tonight. I have tomorrow off (going to a Mets game with my good friend, John) and tonight, I had a great dinner over the in-laws house, where I was fed all of my favorite dishes! I also got a cool new gadget for the guitar called the Voice Capo and basically, it allows you to pick any chord and then all you need to do is strum. At that point, you can experiment with other notes and “voicings” that let you expand on your guitar playing! Pair that with my new Martin guitar and you’ve got some major creativity happening over here!
Speaking of creativity, this past weekend, I had my first writing session with a new collaborator. He helped me try some new things and we worked on two songs. One of them, I’m still working out, but the first one we did is AWESOME! If I finish the lyrics to it, I’ll make sure to do an Original Wednesday Laptop Session for you!
Regarding the Laptop Sessions, I’m sure by now that you’ve noticed some changes. Well, I got to thinking- why did I do over 200 cover song music videos here on the blog just to have them get “old” and fall off the face of the Earth? So, I found a great way to refresh the old posts and bring them back to the front page again. The best part is that, according to the search engines, these posts seem “new” and thus get back in the search engine results! I have to say- this site has more traffic than New York City on a weekday morning now! Honestly, on my birthday, April 29th, the Laptop Sessions music video blog had close to 10,000 views! Now that’s what I call progress!
And, speaking of my birthday, boy, did I make out good. I got more than I could’ve hoped for, mostly due to my father’s incredible bargain-hunting skills. I’m now enjoying a new TV for our kitchen, a surround-sound bar for the living room, and even a new lawnmower! Now, all I need is the lawn… Anyway, my brother Mike got me Hulk Hogan’s autograph and MLB 2010 for PS3, which I’m really enjoying playing online with my new friend Mike from work. Add to that the gifts that my wife got me (Dumb and Dumber on Blu-Ray, a George Harrison record set- see below), my new extended family (on Becky’s side), and my cousin, I’d say it was a great 26th! We also went out to two great dinners- one on my actual birthday with my family, and the other the next night to my favorite restaurant, Jimmie’s in West Haven with my friends from college.
Now, back to that George Harrison album… Well, as you might have read previously here on the music blog, I’ve been buying record albums (LPs) lately. I love them- they’re collectible and are fun to find in stores and flea markets. I just completed my Moody Blues collection last weekend! Anyway, Becky went on eBay and got me an original copy of George Harrison’s 3-record set of his first solo album, “All Things Must Pass”. It’s such a cool collector’s item and I’m proud to own a copy. Becky’s always very perceptive on stuff like that. She saw me drooling over a new vinyl copy of the remastered version and thought it would be cool to get a vintage one for me. What a girl! 🙂
So, I decided to record my first Laptop Session acoustic cover song music video using my new Martin MMV acoustic guitar tonight! The vocals are a bit muted in this version, but that’s because I wanted to focus on the sound of this new guitar. The harmonics are just great- they sing themselves! The guitar is bright and loud, but maintains such a clear bass that I can’t stop playing once I pick it up! It just looks like a normal guitar, but you can see the logo on the headstock- it’s a Martin for sure. I’d love to hear what you think of the new sound!
George Harrison, like most famous guitar players, owned a Martin acoustic, and I wanted to play “I’d Have You Anytime”, which is the first cut off of “All Things Must Pass”. He co-wrote “I’d Have You Anytime” with Bob Dylan, too. It’s a short song, but has such a cool sound. George was so laid-back and made everything sound effortless. “I’d Have You Anytime” is a perfect example of a fairly simple song that’s stood the test of time because of its sound and its style.
Okay, that’s enough from me tonight- I hope you all have a great week and I’ll catch you next Thursday for another update. Make sure to check back in two weeks for another cover song music video from yours-truly!