Well, it’s been months since the show, but I’ve finally gotten around to posting the photos from our amazing “trip” (five minutes down the road) to see TNA wrestling live in Wallingford, CT at the Chevrolet (formerly Oakdale) Theater.
Obviously, my favorite part of the night was climbing in the actual six-sided ring and getting a photo taken with Kurt Angle. He was a nice guy and I even made him laugh! And, no, he wasn’t just laughing at how weak I look…I think…
Well, here are some great photos from that night:
Jim Fusco and Jeremy Borash
Tomko vs. Samoa Joe
Rhino and Traci Brooks vs. James Storm and Jacqueline
Welcome to an event so awesome, it can only come once a week – Original Wednesday! Today, I bring you the first Laptop Sessions edition that is covering something from a great album from FMP’s own Masters of the Universe. Their new album is called “Homestead’s Revenge”, available at MoU’s Website.
The song I have chosen to cover is “Evil Disappointment”, written by Mike Fusco. I got the chance to hear the song before the release of the album (well, only two days before), and I get to play drums when we play it live (or better yet, I “let” Jim play the bass!). This song has a great guitar progression, and the strumming style fits the songs’ lyrics and Mike’s writing style to the tee.
Just as Jim and Chris have reviewed my album “Greenlight”, I will be writing a review of this album as well in the near future.
Meanwhile, enjoy this addition to the growing Original Wednesday library here at FMP’s The Laptop Sessions! Stay tuned for another great song from Jim tomorrow, and come back Saturday for another video from America!
Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, Jeff’s acoustic cover song music videos are no longer on YouTube, but we decided to keep his cover song blog posts up. We figured these music blog entries would be good for posterity’s sake and because Jeff always gave such insightful posts each Session. We hope to see Jeff’s impressive catalog of acoustic rock songs here on the Laptop Sessions cover songs and original music blog again in the future. But, for now, please make sure to check-out hundreds of other acoustic cover songs from all of your favorite bands here on the Laptop Sessions music blog!
Hey there! So I haven’t posted in awhile and I wanted to put on a great tune that I’d been meaning to learn how to play for awhile (and I did, and it’s easy!) This Tommy James and The Shondells song is a classic, and when you listen to the actual recording, you can see how ahead of its time the production is.
And to me, the message is simple and in which I can easily relate. You have two people in love, running around together, almost as if they’re trying to escape getting old and time itself. And that’s what love makes you feel…like you’ll always be young and always be happy. Ive had conversations even with family where people have said how rare it is for two people to have that… seem like they get each other so well, and the rest of the world is left out of whatever inside joke is going on between them. That’s what this song, to me, is about…When you’re with the one you’re meant to be with, you are the BEST version of yourself. You are stronger because of them, more creative, and in the busy world, you sometimes can’t remember who you truly are unless you get back there again.
And then you find yourself saying with a sigh of relief…”I think we’re alone now”.. =)
And for those guitar players out there, without going into the full layout of the song, the chords are A, C#m, f#m, E for the verse, c#m and A G E for the bridge, and the chorus is A, E, D, A. So go try it out!
Or just listen and enjoy my version instead! And as a birthday present to me, (this coming monday!), you should leave me some good ratings/comment
Tonight was, hands down, the absolute most fun I’ve had writing a song and/or recording a Laptop Session!
And I’ve got lots of songs and videos for this one to stand up against…
It all began when I left school late tonight, and headed home to gather my guitar and Macbook, as well as Jim’s Macbook. Then, I met Jim and our friend Dana Camp at Dana’s office for pizza and songwriting. They were gracious enough to help me write a song that I had started — a song that I needed to record and post for tonight’s video. Actually, interestingly enough, I had planned on finishing a piece I have called “There’s One Thing.” It’s an upbeat song, and as I explained to Mike when he came by tonight, I haven’t written all that many love songs. I felt I could definitely use the help to put it over the top!
Then, Jim brought up another fragment that I had recorded as a thirty-second demo for him. All he or I knew was the verse I had written (i.e. “You said goodbye so long ago; I should’ve said something before I just let you go…”). We decided to work on that instead, and after much fiddling on the keyboard, Jim worked out a progression for the bridge that we could both agree on. When we started to write words for the bridge, we realized that we were both singing the tune to yet another fragment I had included on a demo tape. As we continued to work, that third fragment, transcribed into a different key, became the chorus of the song (i.e. “I wouldn’t want you to think I forgot about you, girl…”).
Still, there was something missing in terms of the chords. Jim asked Mike to step in and the team of Fusc and Fusc worked some magic in polishing up the tune and progression — for instance, I have Mike to thank for the flourishes at the ends of the verses.
Finally, I needed to work out a complete set of lyrics. So, Dana pulled up a chair (and an overturned computer monitor as an ottoman) and began writing in his creative writing binder. Thus, I have him to thank for putting words to the bridge (i.e. “Remember those summer days that we wished would never end…”).
A true collaboration.
Truly, I have Jim to thank for arranging and bringing the concept for the song together. You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the awesome outro of harmonies has his trademark on it. Among other aspects he contributed, I love the riffs he plays on the piano throughout.
So, after a while of writing and feeding spiders to the Dana’s fish (and, by spiders, I mean mutant arachnids — just so we’re clear here!), we recorded the session. It took a few takes for me to get the words down, but then we did a full take and I’m very happy with the way it came out. Remember that it’s a first recording, made only minutes after the final touches were applied. By the time it makes it to the album, there will most likely be some more substance to it and the rough edges will be smoothed out to perfection. On the heels of tonight’s collaboration, I’m even more excited about my first album — I plan to bill it as a debut album — with a bona fide producer!
Other notable moments tonight were Jim’s live performance of “Winning You Over” (such a great song; I don’t understand how it can be written off as a pro-Obama song) and Mike’s live take of “I Don’t Love You Anymore.” Now, Mike’s song I wish I had recorded. After all, as his lengthy list of songs-to-record proves, he writes so prolifically that there’s no telling when an incredible new song will be pushed aside for yet a newer one. I’m just glad we got to hear it tonight. Hopefully, he’ll record another session soon!…
And, with that, I’m off to bed. I hope you enjoy this third offering toward my upcoming new album. As always, I’ll keep you posted on all developments. And thanks so much to the boys for a truly fabulous night of pepperoni pizza and good ol’ American rock songwriting. Now, don’t forget to come around tomorrow and Friday for two more great sessions by Jeff and Jim.
