Death By Hope Streaming Player

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Understand



And I can't understand as a man how this plan we've been handed
Is supposed to fix the place that we've landed
The hand we've been dealt, and the lives that we've played
Responsibilities forgotten, opportunities wasted away

And I can't understand as a man how this plan we've been handed
Is supposed to fix the place that we've landed
The hand we've been dealt, and the lives that we've played
Responsibilities forgotten, opportunities wasted away

What has America become except unloyal?
And yes, we can blame the cost of oil.
And yes, we can blame Iraq for our troubles.
And we can blame the Wall Street bubble.

And yes, we can blame Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and W;
and all the Republicans, for fighting a war instead of helping you.
We can blame everyone who stripped market regulation
and allowed corporations, speculators and banks

to rape America and run amok.
Never thought about stranded families, lost jobs,
workers sacrificed in their plight
cause they're too busy not giving a fuck.
We can blame everyone we want.

But it doesn't change the path we're on.
Instead of looking back, you could try moving on.
Looking ahead, using your head
finding solutions to the problems
instead whining about the lies you've been fed.

And I can't understand as a man how this plan we've been handed
Is supposed to fix the place that we've landed
The hand we've been dealt, and the lives that we've played
Responsibilities forgotten, opportunities wasted away

And I can't understand as a man how this plan we've been handed
Is supposed to fix the place that we've landed
The hand we've been dealt, and the lives that we've played
Responsibilities forgotten, opportunities wasted away

And yes, you can blame Pelosi, Carter, Clinton,
Rangle, Obama, Dodd and Frank;
and everyone who pushed for 'affordable' housing
for low-income families in the Democrat rank.

Knowing that, when approved, they couldn't pay the bills.
Leaving children starving in the streets in the name of goodwill.
Breaking marriages.  Destroying homes. 
And creating generations of welfare bums.

And then expecting everybody else to pick up the slack
for incompetent decisions, and bring them back on track
when 'Graceland' began to fall.
And we can blame for the programs that have shackled us all.

And yes, we can blame everyone else.
But when it comes down to it, we can only blame ourselves.
We let it happen.  Let it build, let it boom, let it bust.
But at the end of it, it was us.

And I can't understand as a man how this plan we've been handed
Is supposed to fix the place that we've landed
The hand we've been dealt, and the lives that we've played
Responsibilities forgotten, opportunities wasted away

And I can't understand as a man how this plan we've been handed
Is supposed to fix the place that we've landed
The hand we've been dealt, and the lives that we've played
Responsibilities forgotten, opportunities wasted away



*recording notes - cellos created in East West Colossus for a Zero Principle song called There Is A Way.  vocals recorded with Heil PR20.  The remaining music was created in Fruity Loops.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

A Peaceful Respite, Part 1



This is a song I made for my mom for Mother's Day in 2013.  However, before I could finish it, I was laid off and set everything aside to figure out what I was going to do.  A year later, I was able to get it mostly finished and to her.  My god daughter is on the song; her granddaughter.  The lyrics are from the first page of a poem written by my grandmother; her mom.

The lyrics seem to cover how my grandmother misses Colorado and the mountains.  A trait I apparently share.  She was raised there, but left to be with my grandfather after his time in the service in Missouri.  They raised children, ran a farm, but she always missed the mountains of her youth.



A Peaceful Respite

My body's tired and weary,
My heart is troubled, too.
I feel I need new courage
To face each day anew.

I'll go back to the mountains,
Feel their still quiet strength,
I yearn to be among them
And stay there for some length.

I'm finally on my way now,
There are long miles to face,
Yet after endless highway
I'm almost to the place.

My car moves on too slowly--
My heart runs on ahead--
I hear the red-winged blackbird
Down near old Grape Creek bed.

The magpies how they chatter
As they fly to their nest.
The meadowlarks are singing
Near where some cattle rest.

Wild roses!  Oh, how lovely;
They bloom along this hill--
Chokecherries right for picking--
Dare I just eat my fill?

Along a lane so shady
And through a barbed-wire gate,
O'er an old broken foot-bridge--
Oh, I can hardly wait!

The house is old and shabby,
Tall pines hide her disgrace,
But, feel the peace that lingers!
Out here there's no rat race.

No cattle in the barn now, 
No horses near the shed,
No early crowing rooster,
No pigs need to be fed.

In memory I see it,
I'd welcome back their sounds,
Forgot the noise of space age,
My head no longer pounds.

No car horns, no squeling tires,
No music playing loud,
No neighbors here to borrow,
No gossip is allowed.

*recording notes.  Used a Dillion Acoustic/Electric guitar.  Pro-Tools.  Fruity Loops.  Epiphone EB-0 Bass.  East West Symphony Samples.  Heil PR-20 Microphone.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Everything (Never) Changes


It seems like everything I know
Is always changing
But if there's one thing I know for sure
Nothing really changes

Those with power want more
All their talk is cheap
But they live on the fools
They've convinced to believe

It seems like everyone I know
Has become jaded
But if there's one thing I think for sure
The truth is obfuscated

Those with power want more
All their talk is cheap
But they live on the fools
They've convinced to believe

You've been betrayed
By your allegiance
Open your eyes
You're manipulated

It seems like every place I go
Gets more complicated
But if there's one thing I want for sure
It's to be vindicated

Those with power want more
All their talk is cheap
But they live on the fools
They've convinced to believe
 
You've been betrayed
By your allegiance
Open your eyes
You're manipulated

It seems like everything I know
Is always changing
But if there's one thing I know for sure
Nothing really changes

Nothing changes

**Recording Notes - I programmed the drums with my Zoom 234 drum machine and direct input recorded them.  For the distorted parts, I mic'd a Hughes & Kettner Warp 7 head and a generic cab with a Heil PR20 in Magix at my buddy Jeremy's.  I used a Schecter Diamond Series Damian 7-String.  I used the native distortion on the Warp 7 for one side, and Boss Metal Zone MT-2 for the other side.  For the acoustic parts I used Dillon Acoustic, direct line input into Pro Tools.  Recorded vocals with a Heil PR20 in Pro Tools.  For bass, I direct input an Epiphone EB-0 into Pro-Tools. 

Being that this was an early song of mine and I'm going back and recording all the music I've ever written on guitar, I decided to use the opportunity to develop other instruments and my voice.  I've never really sung, only screamed.  So, I figured, since this music is very basic because I was just learning guitar, it would be fitting to also start developing my voice and skills at drums and whatever other instruments I bring in as well. 

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

2nd For A Reason



One look at the statistics
Drives home one simple fact
So we could fucking fight back

The logic is extremely simple
Allow the people to arm themselves
The weapon acts as a deterrent
And allows them to protect their wealth

Banning assault weapons and tracking ammo
Is just a quiet, subversive first step
To door-to-door gun collection
And paves the way for dictatorship

State's Rights is one solution
Over federal government
And maintain control over an issue
Important enough to be the 2nd Amendment

Fight for our rights and freedoms
The Right to Bear Arms

Fight for our rights and freedoms
The Right to Bear Arms

The idea that taking guns away
From law abiding citizens
To stop crime and prevent violence
Is about as stupid as it can get

Criminals don't care about the law
They buy their guns on the streets
Not in stores with paper trails
And documented receipts

Fight for our rights and freedoms
The Right to Bear Arms

Fight for our rights and freedoms
The Right to Bear Arms

*This is the second song I ever wrote on guitar.  More punk-ish, and that was the direction I began heading early on because it's easier to play for a new guitarist. 

**Recording Notes - I purchased a midi keyboard from M-Audio that came with a cheap version of Pro-Tools that was locked down.  Not knowing much about Pro-Tools, I programmed the drums with my Zoom 234 drum machine and direct input recorded them.  Then I mic'd a Hughes & Kettner Warp 7 head and a generic cab with a Heil PR20 in Magix at my buddy Jeremy's.  I used a Schecter Diamond Series Damian 7-String.  I used the native distortion on the Warp 7 for one side, and Boss Metal Zone MT-2 for the other side.  Unfortunately, somehow I lost the doubles, so the guitars aren't as beefy as they probably could've been.  I used a doubler plugin to emulate a second guitar track on either side to make up the difference a little.  Recorded vocals with a Heil PR20 in Pro Tools.  I direct input an Epiphone EB-0 into Pro-Tools.