“Good Enough” (Original song by Jim Fusco) – The Open Mic Sessions

By Jim Fusco:

And now, another edition of The Open Mic Sessions with me, Jim Fusco!

Today is “Good Enough”, a rockin’ track from my 2012 album, “Those Around Us”.  The recording of this original song has some pretty tight harmonies on the bridge- I’ve always been proud of those.  Plus, I got to add in some clever electric piano to fill-out the sound.  Bet a lot of people didn’t even know there was an electric piano in there!  Though I’m sure my good buddy (and Laptop Sessions songwriter) Jeff Copperthite would notice- that’s kind of his thing. 🙂

I recorded this at Sam Ash music store in New Haven, CT in September, 2013.  There’s never many people at the store during open mic night (it’s just a nice place to get some practice in, really), but the staff really seemed to like this song.  It’s always fun paying attention to their reactions to see what songs they like.  I keep that in the back of my mind and use it to make setlists for other gigs in the future.

I came up with the line, “I’ve never been good enough to be your man, I’ve always been better than that,” and the song just kind of followed.  I like that idea- saying that you’re “good enough” for someone kind of says that your ONLY “good enough”.  I never wanted to feel like the things I’ve done are just “good enough”, though maybe in some of my older albums, I didn’t strive for total perfection.  At some point, you have to say, “Yes, this is good enough and I won’t really get it much better,” or you’ll never get anything done.  It’s been a life learning experience to balance “good enough” and “the best it can be”.

On that note, I’ll leave you with this performance of “Good Enough”, which, ironically, is not my best performance of the song.  But it’s a new take on this original song and I hope you enjoy it!  Stay tuned for more original music here on the Open Mic Sessions!



“Tuning In” (Original song by Jim Fusco) – The Open Mic Sessions

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome to another edition of The Open Mic Sessions with Jim Fusco!  Today is the final video from my April 3rd, 2013 stop at Sam Ash music store in New Haven, CT.  I played my original song, “Tuning In” from my 2009 album, “Halfway There”.  I’ve always loved to play this song.  Something about the beat always sticks with me.

The chorus is one of my favorites, as well.  The words fit really well and the tune really resonates with me.  If you haven’t heard the studio version yet, you should head on over to my website and check it out- click HERE to learn more about the album, “Halfway There”.

I hope these original songs are translating well solo acoustically.  In my head, I hear the whole produced version.  It’s funny that way- when I write the song, it’s usually just me and a guitar.  But, after I record it, I kind of lose that original sound.  Then, it’s tough for me to cut it back to its original solo acoustic roots.  With the cover songs I do, that’s always been a fun exercise, but as a songwriter basically “covering” his own songs, it’s much more difficult.  I always think I’m not doing the song justice or that I’m leaving something out that will detract from people’s enjoyment.

So, let me know what you think!  I’ll be interested and appreciative to hear any feedback, especially if you’ve also heard the studio version.  I hope you enjoy the video either way, and will come back for more original songs on my solo acoustic and electric live performances here on The Open Mic Sessions!  And you’ll only find them here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!


“Opportunities” (Original song by Jim Fusco) – The Open Mic Sessions

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome everyone to another installment of the Open Mic Sessions with Jim Fusco!  Today, I bring you another session from my gig at Sam Ash Music Store in New Haven, CT back on April 3rd, 2013.  I went with my brother Mike while he was visiting home for his birthday.  I remember wanting to go to another venue, but chose Sam Ash because they gave me a $10 gift card just for playing!  Yeah, I go where the “money” is…

Anyway, it gave me an opportunity to play another original song from my 2012 album, “Those Around Us”.  This is one of the faster tracks on the album, “Opportunities”, which features a great drum track from my brother Mike.  As we know, tracks like that are great for pairing-down into the famous “Laptop Sessions” style of performing- just me and an acoustic guitar!

So, I hope you enjoy my original song, “Opportunities”.  Stay tuned as I bring you more of the “Open Mic Sessions” here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs and original music video blog!



“Choose Your Words (Carefully)” (Original song by Jim Fusco) – The Open Mic Sessions

By Jim Fusco:

Welcome, everyone, to the first installment of the Open Mic Sessions, where I’ll bring you my performances of my original songs from various open mic nights.  The video will be a bit choppy, the sound won’t be perfect, and there usually aren’t too many people in the crowd, but it’s been a lot of fun for me to do these, so I wanted to share my original song performances with the world!

Today’s video is of my song, “Choose Your Words (Carefully)” from my 2012 album, “Those Around Us”.  I think I’ve received a great response to this song every time I play it live.  People either relate to the words…or just find the chorus catchy. 🙂  Either way, it’s been one of my favorites to play and is always the standby song for when someone says, “Play one more!”

This video was taken by my brother Mike at Sam Ash music store in New Haven, CT on April 3rd, 2013.  As you can probably tell, there wasn’t much of a crowd…but the staff sure seemed to like it!  Sometimes, even if there isn’t a big audience, it’s still cool to hear your original song amplified like that.  There’s something empowering about that.

I hope you enjoy tonight’s video and stay tuned each week for more videos from the Open Mic Sessions!