“Just A Dream” (Nelly Cover)

By Pat Noonan:

My first impression of “Just A Dream” by Nelly was how big and full the hook sounded for such a ballad-ish song, so I wanted to try to really strip it down to just two tracks for an acoustic version, pretty much the opposite approach to covering “Just The Way You Are” last week (see YouTube). I ended up cutting some of the song out, slightly altering the melody/lyrics in some places, writing a fitting acoustic guitar part and changing some of the chords. The ending I did seemed appropriate because that’s actually the song that gets stuck in my head whenever I hear the Nelly song haha so I hope you like it; let me know what you think!

** EDITOR’S NOTE: **

It’s not every day that I check my inbox and find a link to an acoustic cover version of a Nelly song.

Well, it apparently happens sometimes, because I’m here to welcome back Pat Noonan for his second featured video on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover song music video blog.  He’s chosen an interesting track to cover, and his performance highlights his impressive vocals. I have the strong suspicion that you’ll enjoy this as much as I did.

Happy Friday, and check back soon for new material here at the blog!

“Roll Up” (Wiz Khalifa Cover) [Ep 6, Fall 2011]

By Pat Noonan:

Acoustic version of the hip hop song “Roll Up” by Wiz Khalifa, experimented with the picture in picture style that seems to be the trend of the century haha.

[Editor’s Note: As we’ve done in the past, we’re bending the rules for this Pat Noonan performance.  While it doesn’t strictly adhere to the live performance standard set and followed by the hundreds of acoustic cover song music videos on this site, this arrangement of Wiz Khalifa’s “Roll Up” is unique and even startling for its qualities as an interpretation.  And that has always been at the heart of the Laptop Sessions: featuring a performer’s ability to take a song that may be over-produced or lost in layers and break it down to its most basic core.]

New Web Series: The Open Mic Sessions with Jim Fusco!

By Jim Fusco:

Hello everyone- It’s been quite a while since I’ve gotten to sit down and record more Laptop  Sessions cover song music videos for you.  I have a bunch of great ideas saved-up, but my focus lately has been more on my original music.  I have a newfound passion for guitar tone, so I’ve learned to rewire my collection of electric guitars and put new pickups in almost all of them.  I want to get as many great sounds as possible for the recording of my next batch of songs.

I also realized that I have more than 250 videos on YouTube- mostly cover songs from bands like the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Moody Blues, the Monkees, and many, many more.  Instead of increasing that number even more, I’ll be promoting all of my older videos to give them new life!

While I’m doing that, I’ll be driving around Connecticut playing at various Open Mic Nights.  I have my great Seagull acoustic-electric Entourage Rustic guitar, and I’ll even bring my electric guitars (and future small tube-amps) around with me.  My goal is to record videos of a different original song each time I go out.  I’ve already done a few.

Sure, the quality is so-so (iPhone video), the crowds are small and/or non-existent, and some of the videos are only part of the song (for instance, when my phone ran out of storage space on “Halfway There” a couple weeks ago).  But, I think these videos will be a valuable addition to the work I’ve done here for the Laptop Sessions music blog.  After all, we recorded all of these cover song videos in an attempt to make people curious about our original music, too.  So, now it’s finally time to implement phase two!

So, stay tuned in the coming weeks, as I’ll debut new videos as I record them.  I’ll put them on the music blog on Wednesdays, like our old “Original Wednesday” posts from back in the cover-song-heyday.  I hoe you enjoy the videos and will share them with your friends!

Jim Fusco’s Rock’n’Roll Christmas LIVE on December 5th, 2015!

By Jim Fusco:

Hello Laptop Sessions fans and happy holidays.

I’m performing LIVE on Saturday, December 5th at 4:00pm at Christmas In the Village, a yearly festival in South Meriden, CT that’s totally FREE!  That means free parking, free food, and free entertainment!  It’s a great day for the whole family.

I’ll be performing all of my favorite rock’n’roll Christmas songs starting at 4:00pm.

For more details, please visit Christmas in the Village’s Facebook page by clicking here!

If you live in CT, I’d love to see you there!