FrazierTunes: Recent Episodes
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As promised (a bit late)… the backing track for Hebrews 16:9 (500 Miles). Hebrew 16:9 (500 Miles) Chord Sheet Track with Vocals Backing Track
It just hit me that I never posted the last two songs I did for FAWM back in February, so I’m posting them now. This second one is incomplete – it needs lyrics. It’s really just an 8 bar jam … Continue reading →
It just hit me that I never posted the last two songs I did for FAWM back in February, so I’m posting them now. The first one is Baby Bug, for my little girl. I’m channeling the spirit of the … Continue reading →
Song number seven for February Album Writing Month (FAWM) is yet another electronic piece focusing on production and technique more than melody. This time I’m heading in more of a Tribute direction with French-House meeting Prog-Rock. We’ve got sidechain compression … Continue reading →
Just to keep things fresh and interesting, I decided to push out a bit and write some french-house inspired trance for my fifth February Album Writing Month (FAWM) track. This uses the Westminster Quarters tune (permutations 4 and 5) in … Continue reading →
Number four for FAWM 2012, this one is for Amy. Originally written on guitar (in that incarnation, it’s a country tune), this ended up more like a song from the second act of a musical. I can sort of hear … Continue reading →
I was having problems with my Les Paul style Hamer electric, so I hopped on to YouTube to hunt down some videos on how to adjust a fixed bridge guitar so that it didn’t suck. While playing around with the … Continue reading →
Wasted, my second song for FAWM, follows along with my theme I’m working on and is an attempt to nail down both the lyrical style and the studio structure so that writing the next 12 songs will just flow. I … Continue reading →
Somehow my posts database got corrupted (like… really corrupted) so I ended up needing to do a complete database restore to get the site back up and running. Fortunately, I only lost one post, and that text is available somewhere … Continue reading →
The first song of February Album Writing Month (FAWM) is written and a demo recorded. It’s called “Hello, Boy” and is my first run at fleshing out this theme I have going on in my head. It’s a little sad … Continue reading →
Great session this week at SOFA! Now that we’ve settled down a bit with new students, we’re off and running. Make sure to grab your recital audio files and PDFs so that you can practice. Also, you’ll want to review … Continue reading →
Notes My father was a Quaker pacifist who worked in the defense industry and once went to jail for beating up a guy. I was taught from an early age that true power meant never having to fight, but I … Continue reading →
Notes I’ve always thought it odd that so many 60s soul groups did latin and western style songs. I guess you play what your audience wants to hear. This is an attempt to capture some of the lounge and western … Continue reading →
Notes I love when Rebecca sings this song. It’s a pretty simple little break-up song with lyrics I know I’ve stolen from other places, but the way Rebecca sings it makes the song very fresh and very real to me. … Continue reading →
Notes The lyrics are taken directly from a walk I took one day near my work. As I walked, I hummed tunes into my phone and came up with stanzas based on what I saw and heard. It’s interesting to … Continue reading →
Notes Midway through February Album Writing Month (FAWM) we ended up with a deluge of rain. It was Friday night, just before the rain really broke loose, and Amy and I had been enjoying a wonderful evening of dinner and … Continue reading →
Notes The first song written and the first song on the album, Little Bird is an homage to our dog, Sarah, who has this funny little bird call she does when she wants to go out for a walk. One … Continue reading →
Get ready for it! You’ve waited months for some new material, and finally, it’s coming this week. Each day this week – Monday through Saturday – we’re releasing full-band versions of songs from our album “28 Days” for free. That’s … Continue reading →
It’s finally arrived! The new single from Rebecca Best and Christopher Frazier, “Second Street Blues,” is now available for download on iTunes. We’re excited about the sound and energy in the song, a soulful track that harkens back to some … Continue reading →
Thanks so much to everyone who came tonight. It was a blast to get to sing through our album for a group that was so into it and willing to be part of what was happening... Continue reading →
Here's one last track from our practice sessions: Los Caballeros. It's a song about the horsemen who run their horses down in the dry bed of the San Gabriel River, east of Los Angeles. It's also about a changing Los Angeles that often has little connection to its past. Continue reading →
I'm doing some prep for the show on Saturday, getting together some details about the summer of 1966 - the summer when "You Can't Hurry Love" was released by The Supremes and became an international hit. What do you remember about the summer of 1966? Continue reading →
Rebecca and I have been practicing for weeks, now, getting ready to play Honolulu Harry's on Saturday night (June 5), and during practice I keep turning on the recorder on my phone to give us an idea of how we're sounding. This is one of those recordings - "Walk on By" - and it shines a light on the creative process as Rebecca and I play with different vocal lines and harmonies. Continue reading →
In preparation for the gig, Rebecca and I knocked together the vocals for Second Street Blues - our first single! Continue reading →
For Memorial Day, here's a practice recording Rebecca and I did of "Shine Out Bright for You," a song about the very personal wars going on in the hearts and homes of the families of servicemen and women throughout the country. Continue reading →
The FAWM Over Party was over a month ago (April 17th) and I'm finally getting this great video from JD up here for everyone to check out. I'm accompanying Rebecca Best on "A Little Wine," a new song from our upcoming album. Continue reading →
It looks like the venue where the Songwriter Showcase happens has shut down… for good. Unless I hear something different, it looks like there will be no showcase tonight. If something does come together, I’ll post here.
Last weekend I holed myself up for two days (about 20 hours) and recorded 11 of 13 tracks for the new album, finishing out the instrumental work. Continue reading →
Wow! This has been a month. While I've written literally hundreds of songs throughout my life, I've never taken the time to write a complete, coherent album on my own. Not only that, I've never written this much music in a single month. So far I've got 12 songs written (about 45 minutes of music), two fairly complete ideas to use still, and three studio tests which I'm really proud of. Continue reading →
Due to double booking at Homebrew Coffee, the Showcase was moved to steve Guiles' (the organizer) home studio where a room full of musicians and songwriters packed in for a night of both originals and covers. I spent a good chunk of the evening sitting on the floor. Others were on fold-out chairs, footstools, drum thrones, and futons. It felt very punk rock. Continue reading →
Here we go again, friends! Come join me at the Songwriter Showcase at Homebrew Coffee in San Dimas, February 20th at 7:20pm to see local singer / songwriters perform original material. I'll be singing two of my brand new songs written for February Album Writing Month. If you can make it, make sure to grab of the new FrazierTunes postcards! Continue reading →
So I woke up this morning and sat down to finish out song number 8 for February Album Writing Month and noticed that something was rattling around inside my guitar. After fishing around in it for a minute I pulled out a wad of Bendaroos. Also, updates on FAWM. Continue reading →
This song is sort of a departure from the genre and feel I've been going for, but it's fun enough that I'm not worrying about being 100% period accurate. It's the story of a musician who, upon looking out in the crowd, sees a girl that catches his eye. He ends up playing his heart out just so that the girl will notice him, but in the end... well... you'll just have to listen to find out what happens. Continue reading →
While planning for February Album Writing Month (FAWM), I came up with a bunch of strategies to help me keep up with writing a new song every other day. I researched genres (deciding to go with soul / mid-60s Motown), studied album structure, song titles and topics, collected links to rhyming and famous quote sites... yes, I geeked out hard on the prep. But I always had this niggling sense that when it came time to write, nothing would happen. I'd sit down with my guitar and the laptop and... nothing. Nada. Zip. No ideas. Amazingly, the opposite has happened. Continue reading →
This is song number two for FAWM 2010 and I'm working again on that Motown sound. This is your classic break-up song - guy done wrong by his woman and trying to get over it. Continue reading →
Song number one of the 2010 FAWM is here! Other than Summertime, this is my first attempt to get a recognizable Motown sound and generally I'm happy with the product. It's a happy song about finding joy in the song of the world around you. Continue reading →
My first song for February Album Writing Month (FAWM) is written! I was worried that all of my prep and planning would go to waste when I sat down to write for the first time, but the song just came. What I didn't expect was how I'd go about writing the song... Continue reading →
The first song I ever performed competitively was "Summertime" by George Gershwin from the opera Porgy and Bess. Continue reading →
This weekend ended up being a blast as far as music goes. On Saturday a big box of microphones came in the mail, which made for an evening of testing and tweaking in the studio. I’ve got a pretty good … Continue reading →
So I've been working on getting a new studio setup in place for FAWM and it's coming together really well. Continue reading →
When we started recording I had planned to play the guitar in a Django Rhinehart style but the whole thing ended up feeling more Irish (Pogues specifically) than French, so Doug sang more "drunk" and we went with it. Continue reading →
Some of my favorite songs of all time are from the Irish band The Pogues and "Lullaby of London" is my favorite of those songs. Continue reading →
Written in 2001, Recalling You is a hook turned into a song. The chorus is one I often find myself humming when I'm not thinking about anything. The lyrics are throw-away, but the tune sticks with me almost 10 years later. Continue reading →
I wrote Close My Eyes to sing to Amy during our wedding. This is the fourth, completely rewritten version of the song - the country version. I was a little nervous about getting it right, making sure it sounded like how I felt and conveyed what I meant. When we played it during the wedding, I sang to her and amazingly didn't forget any of the words. Continue reading →
In an attempt to simplify my recording setup, I’m selling my MOTU 2408 MKII 24 channel computer-based recording system. This single owner breakout box and interface card are a great way to start a live or studio recording rig. I'm selling this unit for $225 - a steal when you consider similar hardware costs around $900. Includes interface card, cables (optical and firewire) and manual. Local pickup only. Continue reading →
In an attempt to simplify my recording setup, I'm selling my Yamaha 01v 24 channel digital mixer. This single owner digital mixer is perfect for live sound and digital recording. Originally purchased for $2500, I'm selling it for $600 which includes the 8/8 ADAT Lightpipe interface card. Continue reading →
Yep - I wrote this one for mom. I know... my mom's not really into house or ambient electronic music, but she does love me, so I like to think of this like when I would make her paintings out of paint blown around a piece of paper using a straw. Maybe not her favorite kind of art, but she still put it on the refrigerator. Continue reading →
Check out the video Amy shot of the Songwriter Showcase where I lead the group in a rousing chorus of Jingle Bells and then finish with the first public performance of "Sing Hallelujah." Continue reading →
The Mixsub2 version of Pearl's Wedding is meant for the dance floor - preferably a very tiny one packed with people looking to lose themselves for a few hours on a Sunday night. Continue reading →
Pearl is a wonderful friend who’s known me mostly through music. We met at church, singing in the choir as kids. When she asked me to be in her wedding (I seem to remember there were 24 people on the … Continue reading →
While working on a Christmas song for the San Dimas Songwriter Showcase this week, Amy mentioned that I should write something somber and serious. This is not that song, but it's a song for her. Continue reading →
Want to come see some amazing songwriters perform for free? Come check out the Songwriting Showcase and Open Mic at Homebrew Coffee in San Dimas and, assuming there's a slot, you'll also get to hear some new FrazierTunes live. Continue reading →
While pastoring at Foothill Community Church, I put together a youth band that proved if you give kids a chance to be excellent, they'll amaze you. "Last Seven Words" was the name of the band (based on the old joke that asks, "Know what the last seven words of the church are?") and it was made up of a 7th grade drummer, an 8th grade vocalist, two 9th grade guitarists and the old-man bass player who was a Junior in HS. By the time I left the church they were able to play anything I threw at them... as long as it sounded like punk. Continue reading →
Originally written to sound like a the La's song, "In The End" struggles with its identity and has ended up with a Portishead / Aimee Mann treatment as well. It's not exactly about anything - I just wanted to play with the no-chorus-simple-refrain structure. Continue reading →
I heard an interview with Robert Downey Jr. where he talked about his drug abuse saying along the lines of, "It's like I have a loaded gun in my mouth, and I like the taste of metal." There something of that in this song, but I think the self-destruction here is a little more active instead of waiting for the trigger to be pulled. Continue reading →
My foray into big beat, Vicious owes much of its existence to artists like Fat Boy Slim and BT. Musically, it's pretty loud and obnoxious, hence the name, but it was written around 1999, so it makes sense historically. Continue reading →
Although I wrote this song for my wedding to Amy, it's really more of a worship song to be used in a service. After we used it at our wedding it was used in two more weddings immediately after, which is pretty cool. It's a song about letting go and becoming part of something bigger.
When You Are Near Continue reading →
When I started leading music at Glendora Friends Church, there was this kid who played drums for me named Andres Estrada. He was only in high school at the time but even then he was playing out on Saturday nights … Continue reading →
So I think the plan right now is to unveil one old or new song per day throughout advent – sort of like an advent calendar, minus the chocolates. Right now I’ve only got old songs and need to figure … Continue reading →
After Confidence found a home on college radio back in 2000, I decided to rerecord the song in a more acoustic style with a simple 808 drum kit knocking out the rhythm in the background and a simple electric piano filling out the rest. This is the canonical version of a very sappy but sort of sweet song about love. Continue reading →
Written sometime in 1998, Confidence was something of an homage to Pet Shop Boys complete with Neil Tennant-esque "Aaaaah" ending. This got some college radio play back in 2000 and ended up on a compilation disc. This lead to me rerecording a new version on guitar that's become the canonical version of the song. Continue reading →
Written and sung by Greg Veen, I played most of the backing instrumentation on this track. It’s got a fairly loose feel to it and was recorded in an evening sometime around 2003. Broken Down in Tulsa
It hit me that it was sort of silly to have my music files hosted on someone else’s website, so I’ve decided to set up a WordPress setup with some plugins that should help people find, download and subscribe to … Continue reading →