Music was something I abandoned for a couple of years while in college.
It was my wife, Christine, who encouraged me to dust off my guitar abilities and begin recording again, which I eventually did, but only after considerable groaning. It was a difficult thing, especially since once you get out of the creative routine, it’s hard to hop back in again. The Juice has run dry. Or, at least it did for me. That said, I’ve found if you keep showing up at some appointed, regular time (for me: around 1-2pm, with a cup of chamomile tea), the muse will sooner or later arrive.
All this is merely to introduce one of the new songs I’ve been working on:
“More Than This” is a collaboration with a Japanese singer named Yo Zi, and it reminds me of everything that was perfect about the 90s, like Chumbawumba and Pog, with a little infusion of Zakk Wylde on the guitar solo.
My approach was to compose a guitar line that resembled what I imagined a cello player might do when accompanying a soloist, outlining, in various ways, a basic major chord for someone to sing over.
From there, a bouncy AC/DC-like chorus, giving the vocalist plenty of room to develop an attractive melody, which I think she did – almost annoying so, since I can’t seem to get it out of my head. The guitar solo, which is hidden beneath the vocals in the second chorus, starts in a somewhat exotic mode, then switches to a few speedy licks through e minor. Bridge, verse, chorus, out.
This is a rough mix and so there’s polish needed with respect to production, but posting the song here makes me feel as if I’ve made good on the promise to honor my love of music again, and, because of that, like I’ve fulfilled something of a deep, spiritual commitment.