Virtual Open Mic - The VOM Archives

Compostela (A Field Of Stars)

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://vom.infocusreviews.com/index.php?p=play&id=Stackabones/Ice_Cream_Man.mp3

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Comments

Since I changed the bridge a bit and added a verse, I guess the songwriting credit should be John Brim/Chris Baker.

VOM1T.

One voice, two Jim Dunlop Egg Shakers, one two-drawer metal filing cabinet (empty). Recorded on a Zoom H4.

Posted: 07-11-2010, 01:14 AM

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaoTEUhgTTE

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Comments

I wrote this song for some parishioners and our parochial vicar, Fr. Jason Cargo, all of whom went on a five-day walking pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. This performance is at a church event, the Fra Angelico CoffeeHaus, which features artists and musicians from the parish.

That's my Morgan Monroe MV-01 and I'm using some PA that was provided -- a Fender iirc and the mics are Shure SM58ish of some kind.

Compostela means 'field of stars'. If you wish, you may check out the 'studio' version on my blog.

Compostela (A Field Of Stars)

Walk through a field of stars
Leave your dust behind
Keep your staff moving
Let the road clear your mind

Walk through a field of stars
The path can't be changed
The way ahead is worn
The way back ain't the same

Compostela
Compostela
Compostela

Walk through a field of stars
Picking up some shells
Just over that hill
You can hear bells

Walk through a field of stars
Below the Milky Way
Flashing flowers above
Shining on St James

Posted: 06-13-2010, 01:08 AM

Old Crow

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO9I2W3_LcA

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Comments

Old Crow

Five little children
Sitting in a room
Watch for old crow
He'll be round soon
Keep the curtains closed
Don't open that door
Or five little children
Will soon be four

Don't say I didn't warn you
Don't say I left you out
The old crow will getcha
If you don't watch out

Four little children
Sitting in a kitchen
Won't mind nothing
And just won't listen
Two get up to leave
And one follows, too
Think about old crow
Coming after you

One little child
Lost her golden toy
So much sadness
Out of so much joy
Hide those shiny things
Lock them in your chest
Old crow will steal them
To use in his nest

*

Uke chords, F Bb C
Guitar chords capo 5, C F G

Posted: 05-09-2010, 01:06 AM

Leave This Room

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://vom.infocusreviews.com/index.php?p=play&id=Stackabones/Leave_This_Room.mp3

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Comments

Original tune. VOMM1T. Four tracks, 1-take on each one: uke & vox, lead git, harmony vox, pandeiro. Uke is Kala Archtop Mahogany Tenor. Guitar is Yamaha FS720S. Recorded on Zoom H4n.

Posted: 04-11-2010, 12:23 AM

Mysterious

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://vom.infocusreviews.com/index.php?p=play&id=Stackabones/Mysterious.mp3

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Comments

MelodyVine

Mysterious

Kala Mahagony Archtop Tenor Uke recorded on a Zoom H4n.

*

She's a lingering breeze
On an August afternoon
Brushing past the wind chimes
Hear that ephemeral tune

And you lean a little closer
And you get a little curious
But she leans a little further away
And stays mysterious.

She's the sudden shower
On a prairie in spring
All the little flowers open
What a fresh smell they bring

And you dance a little closer
And get a little delirious
But she leans a little further away
And stays mysterious.

She's a lilting laughter
On el dia de mi santo
Though nobody knows
You should go light a candle

And you speak so softly
And try to get so serious
But she leans a little further away
And stays mysterious.

Posted: 03-14-2010, 01:03 AM

Losers Live Longer

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://vom.infocusreviews.com/index.php?p=play&id=Stackabones/Losers_Live_Longer.mp3

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Comments

Losers Live Longer

Lovers live longer
That's what they say
Well, maybe that's true
When you count each & every day
But if you ask the heart
It'll have this to say
Losers live longer
It sure feels that way.

Lovers live longer
Read it in the headlines
Well, it really depends
On how you count time
Just look into the soul
And it'll have this to say
Losers live longer
It sure feels that way.

Till death do you part
As a man and a wife
But so very few do
Most don't and cling to life
But ask those hearts
Who have been betrayed
Losers live longer
It sure feels that way

Losers live longer
Broken bones grow stronger

drop-D capo 4
A G/D D

*

Original tune. Three tracks: trk 1, vox & git; trk 2, harmony vox; trk 3, lead git. Recorded on a Zoom H4n and all tracks were bounced down to one track while inside the Zoom and then put online. There's no spot checking the levels -- just set and go and try to blend while playing (though you can adjust the overall volume of each track afterwards). Each track is a 1-take.

There have been a few 1-take multitracks in the past. I propose that we start calling such entries Virtual Open Mic Multitrack 1-Take, aka VOMM1T.

Posted: 02-14-2010, 01:07 AM

Blame

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://vom.infocusreviews.com/index.php?p=play&id=Stackabones/Blame.mp3

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Comments

Blame

Blame California
With her bleached blonde hair
Her forty foot distractions
Spewing smog everywhere.
It was her and what she became
I'm not the one to blame.

Blame February
With her black ice heart
You feel like she's finished
Before she even starts.
How could I know she'd snuff out my flame
I'm not the one to blame

Blame the moon and stars
And their ever changing ways
If you catch them in the daylight
They won't have much to say.
I took a shot but had bad aim
And I'm not the one to blame.

Blame Tristan
And the poets' lies
Their passions and rhymes
Are just suffering in diguise
Who really knows love's real name?
I'm not the one to blame.

*

Original tune. Morgan Monroe MV-01 recorded with a Zoom H4n. I wrote this on Tuesday of this week and recorded it yesterday.

Posted: 01-10-2010, 01:07 AM

Cal Oroville

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8588935

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Comments

hypcollector suggested I submit this one.

Original tune & based on a true story. Fingerpicked on my Morgan Monroe MV-01. I wrote the lyrics about a decade ago and wrote the music Dec 31, 2009. VOM1T.

Posted: 12-20-2009, 01:10 AM

Waitin'

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8501419

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Comments

Original tune. Fingerpicked Morgan Monroe MV-01. Recorded on a Zoom H4n. Special guest appearance by my cell phone at 1:59 -- in tune and on the beat.

Posted: 11-08-2009, 01:03 AM

Be Still

#10

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8323321

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Comments

I wrote and recorded this song this afternoon. Gitane D500 in drop-D tuning. Zoom H4n. I think this may be the first tune I've ever recorded while standing up. This took two or three takes to get down, for I was writing it as I was recording it.

Posted: 10-11-2009, 03:14 AM

Don't Look Now

#11

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8203059

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Comments

I wrote and recorded this around 2am on Sept 30, 2009. Morgan Monroe MV-01 and Zoom H4n. Because of the time, I had to sit close to the mic and not really belt it out. You can hear my voice going from left to right (or is it the other way around), but it's not studio hijinks. That's just me moving around and getting out of the sweet spot of the X/Y mics on the Zoom.

I'd actually forgotten about this tune till yesterday. VOM1T.

Posted: 09-13-2009, 01:08 AM

Not Afraid To Sing

#12

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8058731

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Comments

Not Afraid To Sing

This song was inspired by a post over at the North Texas Guitar Club. The guitar is my Morgan Monroe MV-01 capo'd on the 10th fret. Recorded with a Zoom H4n. It was written and recorded in under an hour. VOM1T.

Not Afraid To Sing

On a humid August night
A man came up to me
His beard was full of knots
His eyes swam in whisky
He asked me for a dollar
And I gave him everything
He asked if I was afraid
I said, 'I'm not afraid to sing.'

On a fresh April morning
A woman caught my eye
Her hair tumbled down her back
Her eyes were a little spry
She asked me for a kiss
And I gave her everything
She asked if I was afraid
I said, 'I'm not afraid to sing.'

On a New Year's morning
A child stood by my side
His skin was bright as dawn
His eyes looked into mine
He asked me for the truth
And I told him everything
I said I'd been afraid
But never afraid to sing.

Posted: 08-09-2009, 01:16 AM

Do I Love My Baby?

#13

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7886241

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Comments

Original tune. That's me on electric and vox, Paul Gorman (hypcollector) on acoustic, Mark Ball on bass. We recorded this little session a week or so ago at Paul's Foyer Studio. I can't recall if this was the first or second take. I submitted this tune with just me and a gutbox way back at the 1st VOM.

This is the VOM debut of pg stackabones.

Posted: 07-12-2009, 01:07 AM

Home

#14

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7819318

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Comments

Just before going to bed a couple of weeks ago, I wrote this song and knocked out a demo. Time from initial inspiration to recording is about thirty minutes.

Yamaha FS720S, Zoom H4n, fingerstyle. VOM1T.

Posted: 06-14-2009, 01:06 AM

Kicked Out Of Eden

#15

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7706225

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Comments

This original tune features my new Yamaha FS720S. I got the guitar a few days ago on Thursday and wrote this tune the same day. Recorded it yesterday. VOMIT.

The chorus is a translation I made many years ago of a German proverb: Das Essen, nicht das Trinken bracht' uns aus'm Paradies.

Kicked Out Of Eden

Posted: 04-12-2009, 01:05 AM

Sallie Mae

#16

Stackabones

Toaster too short, Bread too tall

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qDlKYxTQbQ

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Comments

Original tune I wrote about a girl I met in college.

Sallie Mae

I met her back when I started college.
Her name was Sallie Mae.
She gave me something to remember her by,
And it's still with me today.

CHORUS
The future is unclear
There are so many unknowns
But I'm certain that I'll never
Pay off my school loans.

Take a pound of flesh
And take a couple of bones
Cause I'll never, no I'll never,
Pay off my school loans.

I finished college and left Sallie Mae.
Later on she sent me a letter
Reminding me that I'd borrowed something
And I'd better give it back. Yes, I'd better.

CHORUS

So I applied for graduate school.
She took me back, but she didn't forget.
All that I have will always be hers.
I'll forever be in her debt.

CHORUS

*

Happy Easter!

Get well soon, Joe!

Posted: 03-08-2009, 02:04 AM

#17

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CH5a2N4yNI

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Comments

Original tune. Kala Archtop Tenor Uke. VOM1T.

Chords: G C

TOASTER TOO SHORT, BREAD TOO TALL

My friends call me up and they are worried
But they can't understand, oh no!
Though my toaster's still under warranty
It doesn't toast from head to toe

CHORUS
Toaster too short, bread too tall
Toaster too short, bread too tall
Why I bother getting out of bed at all
When my toaster's too short and my bread's too tall.

There needs to be a standard bread size
To avoid this calamity
The government needs to legislate
This threat to national security

CHORUS

I can overlook the big things in life
But the little things have so many details
If they could only be fixed right now
Every day wouldn't be a living hell.

CHORUS

Posted: 02-08-2009, 01:08 PM

Home Cookin'

#18

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7316855

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Comments

Original tune. Scroll down on the linked page for the lyrics. Two-chord song, A & E!

All four tracks are one-take on my Zoom H4:

Track 1, vox and gutbox git
Track 2, harmony vox
Track 3, rubbing hands percussion
Track 4, lead guitar (Gitane D500)

The tempo increase during and after the second verse, as well as other features, marks this recording as an authentic VOM1T.

Posted: 02-08-2009, 10:08 PM

Bread & Wine

#19

Stackabones

Credit to:	Chris Baker / Paul Gorman
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7320170

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Comments

--- Collaboration effort between ---

��

That's me on vox/uke and hypcollector (Paul Gorman) on git/vox.

I wrote this tune this afternoon just before Mass, and Paul added a verse just before I dropped by the Hypnotist Collector Studios for a ... um ... session.

We ran through this a couple of times and then did a couple of takes. This is the third take ... after a little wine.

Posted: 01-11-2009, 01:04 AM

Mind your Own Business

#20

Stackabones

When I Think Of Christmas

Credit to:	Hank Williams
URL is:	http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=803247&content=songinfo&songID=7226192

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Comments

Hank Williams! I used my Peavey Reactor (telecopy) with Joe Barden in the neck and Seymour Duncan Lil 59 in the bridge, ran it through a Pignose, and recorded it using my Zoom H4. VOM1T.

Posted: 12-14-2008, 01:34 AM

#21

Stackabones

Meditiation on Au Claire De La Lune

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=803247&content=songinfo&songID=7146705

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Comments

An original Christmas tune.

Posted: 10-11-2008, 10:07 PM

#22

Stackabones

Credit to:	Jean-Baptiste Lully
URL is:	http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=803247&content=songinfo&songID=6966142

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Comments

Old French tune, some sources claim Jean-Baptiste Lully wrote it and some claim that it's traditional.

Recorded earlier this week on Tuesday on my Gitane D-500 with a Zoom H4. I was messing around with this tune and thought that I'd record something for VOM.

One take, first take. VOMIT.

Posted: 07-13-2008, 01:11 PM

Parable

#23

Stackabones

I'm Just A Lucky So And So

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=803247&content=songinfo&songID=6715001

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Comments

Original Instrumental - Parable - Gutbox recorded by a Zoom H4.

Posted: 06-08-2008, 02:23 AM

#24

Stackabones

Credit to:	Written by Mack David and Duke Ellington
URL is:	http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6613816

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Comments

VOM1T via Zoom H4.

Posted: 05-11-2008, 6:39 PM

LOW EXPECTATIONS

#25

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=803247&content=songinfo&songID=6536447

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Comments

Original acoustic blues about keeping the proper perspective. Recorded on the Zoom H4 (mic setting high) straight to mp3 in a living room while sitting on a couch about fifteen minutes ago; Zoom was about a yard a away or less. I used my Takamine C132S gutbox. VOM1T ... one take, first take, one pass, hit record and then dl'd.

Posted: 04-13-2008, 09:54 AM

Will There Be Love

#26

Stackabones

It's A Lot Of Work To Be Out Of Work

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbqa_qPZYdc

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Comments

An original tune. Well, maybe not original, but I wrote it. That's my Gitane D500 and I shot this on my new gadget, The Flip Ultra.

Posted: 03-09-2008, 02:07 AM

#27

Stackabones

Credit to:	Original
URL is:	http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=803247&content=songinfo&songID=6344073

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Comments

Original tune. My vox, Gitane D-500, Zoom H4 (with Zoom mics and some reverb). VOM1T while sitting on a couch.

Posted: 02-10-2008, 01:11 AM

Do I Love My Baby?

#28

Stackabones