The B-sides are a collection of songs who have yet to find a home. They are songs that I have always enjoyed or have always been confused by. A Break in the Clouds -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This song was recorded at Communion 2003. Communion is an annual Communications conference at NCSU. The purpose of Communion was to "create a space where (the students) could gain experience and confidence by presenting research at a professional, formal academic conference." This was my second time at a Communion event. At my first Communion, the year earlier, I ate a sandwich awkwardly. For this Communion, my band (Jacket Weather) played a 5 song set for maybe 100 Communcation majors. ---------------------------- The sun warms my face It reminds me Of a break in the clouds When you were still here ---------------------------- Blue -=-=- I wrote this song for my Oceanography class at ECU in the Spring of 2000. I enjoyed the class and I spent about 60 hours on this project (this was a fairly early recording for me). I later realized that nobody took this assignment seriously. We were supposed to do something creative and ideas were suggested along the lines of a poem, short story, etc. When the project was due, I overheard a student in front of me who had copied a poem off the internet. ----------------------------- Blue Blue The sand in my hair never felt better Jellyfish don't scare me quite as much All self-conscious thoughts were left at home It's the moon and me from here 'til sunrise I look up at the sky and wonder why I'm here I look at the stars and why can't I be there I'll just sleep these thoughts out of my head Hopefully when I wake I feel like me again The octopus is coming for you The octopus is coming for you ----------------------------- Dirty Leaves -=-=-=-=-=-=- This song was recorded the same semester as Blue. I had a few dirt cheap micrphones from Radioshack that I had been using up to this point. For this song, I managed to borrow a decent Schure mic for a couple days. I don't think this song really illustrates the niceness of the mic, but I was very happy with the sound of the acoustic. ----------------------------- Dirty leaves like to leave Happy birds like to fly Let me ask do you believe You cannot lie to the sky Pick a punch, take a kick I never knew that you loved him Have some fun 'til I get back Breaking up was such a shock Dirty leaves got you down on your knees Oak trees are just trying to please Green tea and traffic lights are a breeze My sleeves are a slice of the cheese Dirty leaves My dirty leaves ----------------------------- Inconsistency -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I had many revelations during my first literature class with Halpern at N.C. State University. I wrote this song on a piece of paper in his class during the discussion of Dante's Inferno. ----------------------------- A diet Coke in one hand A cigarette in the other I'm inconsistent and I'm stable I like to play guitar And write these songs And lay around and sleep all day I want to be me Or a cat Or have a cat like me Make up your mind I'll make up mine Then we'll change and do it again Why do we always have to leave? So Julia answer me You're the only one I need Oh inconsistencies Why do you anger me? ----------------------------- Light Years -=-=-=-=-=-=- Light Years would have been written around my third (and last) semester at ECU. I played it in public a few times, most notably at the BSU Coffeehouse. Later, it was played very sparingly at Global Village Coffee in Raleigh on Hillsborough St. ----------------------------- Will I get another chance? Will I feel just as before? I'm living in a world of questions And no one knows the truth I'm living in a world of conflict Where doubt replaces truth So run away from all your fears You don't have to stay here Are you tired of hearing my songs? What if these two chords were all I knew? So run away from all your fears You don't have to stay here Run away with your peers I'm dreaming of a world that's timeless Where youth replaces youth I'm hoping for a world that's light years Away from all of this Everything is going to be fine I can see I see it in my mind Everything is going to be fine I can see I see it in your eyes ----------------------------- Mermaid Street -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Mermaid Street was my first recording adventure, Weighing in with well over 60 tracks of audio in Acid. This first full song was to set the path to an recording/songwriting process. I would write the music as I recorded it. The main disadvantage of this approach, obviously, is the lack of a broad song/album perspective during the writing process. But I later discovered the positive effect of this approach - which is to explore spontaneous songwriting (improv). My friend Nathan McAnally from high school actually came up with the rhythm guitar part in the beginning riff. He is an amazing drummer and songwriter. ----------------------------- If you look to your right you'll see a door A door that I wish I had seen before Moving on to the left you'll see where I used to stay And just beyond those hills is where I loved to play I look across the street and see some kids outside One of them is counting while the others hide The ice cream truck pulls up to my front door Everyone keeps asking why I'm so withdrawn Living alone in the darkness of my mind Security in isolation is a happiness I find Today, I just want to be me Tomorrow, Solar Powered Sorrow Uh oh it's time to go I can't look back ----------------------------- Reappearance (w/Jacket Weather) -=-=-=-=-=-=- This was recorded in my dorm room in Turlington Hall along with Eternity Chaos at NCSU. This song in some ways was an anti-song followup to Disappearance, but with the same theme. It features Allison on drums and harmony vocal and Thor on lead guitar and vibe, both members of Jacket Weather. This song also features an 80's Krumar electric organ (at the end) sold to us by The Radio Silence who also were attending NCSU at the time. I shot a documentary about their band that played at the Pinwheel Film Festival in 2003 on NCSU's campus. ----------------------------- There's nothing wrong with wanting to feel again There's nothing you could do She died Monday You are a mess If I close my eyes then would you reappear? If I close my eyes would you appear? Believe me, it hurts ----------------------------- Space Delay -=-=-=-=-=-=- After having my Digitech RP6 pedal for 7 years, I finally tried my hand at the delay effect. It is such an old pedal though that I think the longest delay it could do was the half second or so you hear in this song. Storm -=-=-=- Storm is certainly a one of a kind song for me. It's the first song I ever played bass on. Thor let me borrow his bass and the song idea is his as well. I was trying to write music, but I had no ideas. Eager to record something, I asked Thor if he had any good song ideas. This ridiculously emotional song ensued. Enjoy the sampled violin at the end...it's from FT2 (an old DOS tracking program). ----------------------------- There's a storm that passed here yesterday And I wish I had some food But the kitchen is bare from the blowing winds So find a place to hide The tree crashed down at 2 AM And the gas line leaked all night My cat is scared but I am not Find a place to die The sky was dark but the birds were out And people were walking around I felt some comfort 'til I went back in And I found my cat was gone He's gone now There's nothing I can do My rain soaked clothes weigh heavy on me As I walk to the basement alone I found my blanket all covered in mud And I walked outside to see He's gone now There's nothing I can do ----------------------------- Sun -=-=- What can you say about a song like Sun. There's a reason this is a b-side. My friend Jesse said it sounded like it would loop forever when he heard it. I had the idea one time to put it in my car CD player and put it on repeat whenever anyone was in the car with me. Of course, that would be inhumane so I never did it. For the drums, I sampled my own trash kit and put the wav files into Fruity Loops. So, technically the drums are a loop. ----------------------------- I see the sunlight in your eyes In your eyes I feel the warmth coming from your smile From your smile Feel the heat as you stare at the sun And you won't look back 'til it's gone away Is it gone away? ----------------------------- The Unicorn Dreams -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In high school, I recorded a song called "The Unicorn Dances", which was very bright with sleepy harmonics layered over clean electric leads. Again, we hear Fruity Loops for the drum track. This is a more somber Unicorn in a dream state and/or a dance pop music video. Waves of Fear -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thor and I would jam on this song our first semester at NCSU. We discovered that there were some outdoor power outlets by the dumpsters behind the tower dorms where we could plug in Thor's bass amp. Despite the rancid smell and the surprising population of rats near the dumpsters, we had some great times jamming with them rats. ----------------------------- People don't change too much these days They like to stay the same It makes them feel alright I know I don't do too much these days I like to sit around and watch the time go by It makes you wonder why You wonder why do things end up this way The waves of fear hit land today You better take control Before you lose your life You're not quite sure what you should do You better make up your mind And make it up right now I'm tired of being scared I'm tired of losing sight of what I love It makes me wonder why I wonder why do things end up this way -----------------------------