This week, I recorded a session after happening on a grand piano at a hotel this past week. I tried to play a bunch of Thirteenth Hour song riffs continuously, kind of like how old musicals used to do a medley as the credits rolled.
I stopped the recording in the middle since a gentleman stopped to ask what the song was and to say he’d liked it (thanks, mystery gentleman, it was The Thirteenth Hour theme!). I’m generally horrendous at self promotion in day to day life.But, I suppose I should probably work on it more consistently. So you’ll notice a few new things this episode – a standardized outro with reminders of social media and other presences as well as a virtual tip jar courtesy of www.ko-fi.com.
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished last winter, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m wrapping up the track from last week, “The Skipping Stone” as well as a few updates on the minifigures that I’ve been working on for the past year or so. All the nonpainted ones are packed up and ready to go. Here are a preliminary shots!
I’m still working on the painted ones:
The finalized track for “The Skipping Stone” will be up on bandcamp soon (once I make some cover art).
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished last winter, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m reading from a short excerpt from The Thirteenth Hour sent to a draft of a music track I just wrote to score this particular passage. It was done on the iOS app, Auxy, and was meant to be an ambient, introspective instrumental piece. Because skipping stones feature in the excerpt a few times, I tried to find synthesizer effects that sounded like splashes of water.
The man from the Army was already waiting at the doorway. The Army man looked a little surprised when he saw me, possibly because of my height. He stood outside in the hallway while I “got my things in order.” But there was really nothing more to do, and I was just stalling for time.
Aurora stood in front of me, waiting as I fumbled with the knot on the bundle that held my belongings: a spare set of underpants, a few pairs of (holey) socks, and my two best skipping stones. They were both smooth and flat, but one was sandy colored and the other dark blue. The sandy one I had found a long time ago on a shallow river bottom. It was just the right size and weight, and despite numerous throws and temporary losses, I had somehow always managed to recover it. The dark blue one had been Aurora’s. She made me take it. Like mine, it was of perfect shape and size except that there was even a little notch on one corner that you could fit your finger in to put more spin on the stone as you threw it. She had been delighted to find it, and we both knew it was special. Special things have a way of falling out of your hands when you least expect it, but she always found it again and said it brought good luck. When said she wanted me to have it, I protested relentlessly, saying that if she gave it away, what would bring her good luck now? She gently but firmly closed my hands over it, and that was the end of that.
When I was younger, one of my favorite storybooks in the orphanage library had a picture in it that I’ll always remember. It was about a little bear leaving home to go to school for the first time. Before the little bear left, the mama bear looked down, held her son’s shoulders with her paws, saying, “Be brave now,” and kissed his forehead. I had never seen a bear, had no idea whether they could talk, if they wore clothes, if went to school, or if they kissed like people did. But that’s what Aurora did just then. After Mrs. Brunscomb, she certainly didn’t need to straighten out my collar or comb my hair, but she did kiss my head, and said, “Well, time to go. You’ll be brave now, I know you will.”
It did kind of make me feel like a kid, but then, in many ways, I still was one. I’d even had to promise myself that I wouldn’t cry, that I’d make a good showing at least until I got outside. After that, all bets were off, but as long as I could make it till I was alone, everything would be alright. So over and over, I repeated to myself the line that the orphanage nurse always used when a boy came in with an injury. “Come on now. Be strong. Real men don’t cry.” And I really wanted to be a real man, but I’d had precious few role models to go by.
When I looked up at Aurora, there were big tears rolling down her cheeks. She gave me a sad little smile, and that was it for me; I couldn’t help it. I tried a trick that never really works–I opened my eyes really wide, looking around the room. I tried to smile back, failed, and turned around quickly.
“You all set there?” asked the Army recruiter. “Don’t look back. Say, what kinda place is this anyway? I didn’t pay any attention when I walked in. Seems kinda depressing. Too dark for me.”
“It’s an orphanage,” I said softly.
The man opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, then shut it. He was quiet for a minute, then said, “Then who were those people back there? I thought the old lady was your mom and that gal was your big si …”
“Just a friend,” I cut in quickly.
“Shit, sorry, kid, I didn’t realize. Well, we’ll make a big man outta you, don’t you worry,” he said, slapping my shoulder; I nearly took a tumble onto the stone floor.
We reached a big cart attached to four horses. He opened a door in the back. “Get in, and make yourself comfortable,” he said, shaking his head with a laugh.
I looked in the cart, jammed packed with men on wooden benches. They were all quiet, looking tired and depressed. A few of them waved a little and tried to make some room, but there wasn’t any to spare, so I sat on the dirty floor in between the legs of the men and their bags. The recruiter closed the door, locked it, and disappeared from sight. The cart had no windows except for a small one by the door, letting in a little sunlight.
From my seat on the floor, I could see our window–Aurora’s and mine–on the second floor. I strained to get up to see if she was there but could not move. Suddenly, just when the cart began to move slowly forward, I saw her. She opened the window, leaned her elbows on the sill, and looked out.
My hand closed over the skipping stone she had given me; it felt cool and solid against my hand, as if it would always stay the same. I pulled my knees in, wrapping my arms around, trying to hide my head like I had done on that day, so many years ago, when I’d met Aurora, sitting on my new bed, wondering where I was. But this time, she wasn’t there.
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished last winter, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m finishing a track I started several years ago. When a sibling of one of my friends got engaged, I said I’d make a music track for them to commemorate the occasion. And then … well, fast forward a few years. Still not done! All excuses aside, today is the day. I’m keeping my promise and finishing it. It’s made with Auxy, like the track I finished last week. The draft (90-95% done) plays at the end of the episode.
In the meantime, this page formerly had what I affectionately dubbed a “starving artist” section on little side hustles you could do (mostly on the internet, often with a phone) to make a few bucks here and there, often in gift cards. Well, now you can listen to this show (as well as other podcasts) and get paid to do so! Check out https://www.podcoin.com/ to listen to the show and start earning points that you can redeem for gift cards (Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc) or donations to a number of charities. Use the code “Thirteen” when you sign up to get 300 extra points. The Thirteen Hour Podcast is now on BONUS this week, so you can earn more than normal (1.5x).
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m adding to the track I started back in Episode 208. I think it will eventually be used as accompaniment for flying sequence music videos or a video game with a flying pixelart Logan:
For now, though, I’ve made a little pixelart still that I edited in Photoshop that will be the cover art for the track:
A game is a long term project. For now, I’ll probably just be making the musical tracks. In the episode, I also have a few updates on two other musical pieces I’ve been working on.
In the meantime, this page formerly had what I affectionately dubbed a “starving artist” section on little side hustles you could do (mostly on the internet, often with a phone) to make a few bucks here and there, often in gift cards. Well, now you can listen to this show (as well as other podcasts) and get paid to do so! Check out https://www.podcoin.com/ to listen to the show and start earning points that you can redeem for gift cards (Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc) or donations to a number of charities. Use the code “Thirteen” when you sign up to get 300 extra points. The Thirteen Hour Podcast is now on BONUS this week, so you can earn more than normal (1.5x).
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m using the iOS app Auxy to work on a variation of the synth track I started back in Episode 208. I think it will eventually be used as accompaniment for flying sequence music videos or a video game with a flying pixelart Logan:
That, however, is a long term project. For now, I’ll probably just be making the musical tracks. In the meantime, this page formerly had what I affectionately dubbed a “starving artist” section on little side hustles you could do (mostly on the internet, often with a phone) to make a few bucks here and there, often in gift cards. Well, now you can listen to this show (as well as other podcasts) and get paid to do so! Check out https://www.podcoin.com/ to listen to the show and start earning points that you can redeem for gift cards (Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc) or donations to a number of charities. Use the code “Thirteen” when you sign up to get 300 extra points. The Thirteen Hour Podcast is now on BONUS this week, so you can earn more than normal (1.5x).
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I finished “A Place of Our Own” and experiment with distilling it down to a few key notes to make a theme for Aurora, one of the main protagonists for The Thirteenth Hour books.
In other news, Empty Hands has an official launch date – 7/13/19! I’ll probably be doing a little pixel art music video to go along with the launch of the album as well.
In the meantime, this page formerly had what I affectionately dubbed a “starving artist” section on little side hustles you could do (mostly on the internet, often with a phone) to make a few bucks here and there, often in gift cards. Well, now you can listen to this show (as well as other podcasts) and get paid to do so! Check out https://www.podcoin.com/ to listen to the show and start earning points that you can redeem for gift cards (Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc) or donations to a number of charities. Use the code “Thirteen” when you sign up to get 300 extra points. The Thirteen Hour Podcast is now on BONUS this week, so you can earn more than normal (1.5x).
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m working on the musical piece I started last week, “A Place of Our Own.” I’m just playing through it, working out the kinks, mistakes and all. Typically, it takes many, many takes and a fair amount of practice to get a piece to a point where I can record it without mistakes (or, at least, minimal ones that I can adjust to or work around). So this week’s episode is a mostly unedited window into a little of that process. Stay tuned over the next few weeks for additional progress.
In other news, Empty Hands has an official launch date – 7/13/19! I’ll probably be doing a little pixel art music video to go along with the launch of the album as well.
In the meantime, this page formerly had what I affectionately dubbed a “starving artist” section on little side hustles you could do (mostly on the internet, often with a phone) to make a few bucks here and there, often in gift cards. Well, now you can listen to this show (as well as other podcasts) and get paid to do so! Check out https://www.podcoin.com/ to listen to the show and start earning points that you can redeem for gift cards (Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc) or donations to a number of charities. Use the code “Thirteen” when you sign up to get 300 extra points. The Thirteen Hour Podcast is now on BONUS this week, so you can earn more than normal (1.5x).
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
Ideas for songs sometimes come at the most random times and places. I think the idea for this little instrumental track came when I was cooking dinner or putting my kids to bed. I remember humming a voice recording to myself since I didn’t have time to work on it at the time and didn’t want to forget it (my phone is full of similar such recordings; I used to use a tape recorder but this is one area where modern tech has made life a lot easier). I’m tentatively calling it “A Place of Our Own.” It will go to the next Thirteenth Hour book where the main protagonists, Logan and Aurora, will be building a house for themselves on an island – a kind of sanctuary for themselves away from the turmoil of the world (at least temporarily). The essence of it will probably also form a theme for Aurora (like in Peter and the Wolf, how each character has a musical theme). Stay tuned over the next few weeks for additional progress.
In the meantime, this page formerly had what I affectionately dubbed a “starving artist” section on little side hustles you could do (mostly on the internet, often with a phone) to make a few bucks here and there, often in gift cards. Well, now you can listen to this show (as well as other podcasts) and get paid to do so! Check out https://www.podcoin.com/ to listen to the show and start earning points that you can redeem for gift cards (Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc) or donations to a number of charities. Use the code “Thirteen” when you sign up to get 300 extra points. The Thirteen Hour Podcast is now on BONUS this week, so you can earn more than normal (1.5x).
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I add the guitar, synth, and vocals to “And Now, We Are One,” the last track on the last Empty Hands track, which is an ode to the ending themes of 80s action movies as well as the intros (and sometimes closings) of 80s Saturday morning / after school cartoon shows. I don’t really possess the Sammy Hagar / Freddy Mercury / Stan Bush type pipes to do the vocals the way I envisioned them, so I just recorded myself several times singing the same vocals so it sounds like a chorus of men singing, which a lot of old cartoons (esp 70s and 80s anime) tends to do in their intros anyway. Aside from a few electric guitar bits and the solo, the track is basically done. That plus final Empty Hands edits mean that it should be out in a few weeks (hopefully)! The pixelart coverart for the song is below – 8 bit figures (I used the guys from the NES game Kung Fu as a sort of template), Tron grid, and pastel colors in all their 80s glory:
In the meantime, this page formerly had what I affectionately dubbed a “starving artist” section on little side hustles you could do (mostly on the internet, often with a phone) to make a few bucks here and there, often in gift cards. Well, now you can listen to this show (as well as other podcasts) and get paid to do so! Check out https://www.podcoin.com/ to listen to the show and start earning points that you can redeem for gift cards (Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc) or donations to a number of charities. Use the code “Thirteen” when you sign up to get 300 extra points. The Thirteen Hour Podcast is now on BONUS this week, so you can earn more than normal (1.5x).
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I continue working on the last track on the last Empty Hands track, which is an ode to the ending themes of 80s action movies as well as the intros (and sometimes closings) of 80s Saturday morning / after school cartoon shows.
Next week, stay tuned for episode 200!
In the meantime, this page formerly had what I affectionately dubbed a “starving artist” section on little side hustles you could do (mostly on the internet, often with a phone) to make a few bucks here and there, often in gift cards. Well, now you can listen to this show (as well as other podcasts) and get paid to do so! Check out https://www.podcoin.com/ to listen to the show and start earning points that you can redeem for gift cards (Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc) or donations to a number of charities. Use the code “Thirteen” when you sign up to get 300 extra points. The Thirteen Hour Podcast is now on BONUS this week, so you can earn more than normal (1.5x).
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, instead of focusing on “Many Miles,” which I’m still working on, I thought I’d do a little intro to the last Empty Hands track, which is an ode to the ending themes of 80s action movies as well as the intros (and sometimes closings) of 80s Saturday morning / after school cartoon shows. In other words, its cheesy as hell, but in the right spirit, hopefully it will be fun. The lyrics hark back to the elemental philosophy discussed in the book (earth, wind, water, fire, and void), itself taking inspiration from Japanese esoteric Buddhism.
NEW! This page formerly had what I affectionately dubbed a “starving artist” section on little side hustles you could do (mostly on the internet, often with a phone) to make a few bucks here and there, often in gift cards. Well, now you can listen to this show (as well as other podcasts) and get paid to do so! Check out https://www.podcoin.com/ to listen to the show and start earning points that you can redeem for gift cards (Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc) or donations to a number of charities.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m adding a synthesized accented track to the vocals and backing track of “Many Miles.” Inching closer towards completion!
I’m also basically done the instrumental melody of “Dragons’ Eyes” as a short (~2 min) fill for Empty Hands, which has a little scene referencing the song. There’s only one more track to be done for the soundtrack to be done.
Speaking of which, for those of you on the mailing list, check your inboxes for a message asking for volunteers to help with the finishing touches of the upcoming martial arts fantasy novella, Empty Hands. Your suggestions and critiques are most welcome, and not only will you get a free copy of the book and soundtrack, your name will be in the acknowledgements section of the book. If you’re not on the mailing list but are interested in joining and/or helping out, here’s a link or just email me directly, and I’ll be in touch with further instructions. Thank you!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’ve finally come to the point of having a rough initial draft of “Many Miles” that I started a long time ago. It will play at the end of the episode. While still a work in progress, it’s definitely farther along than last week. It’s been a tedious process indeed to get it to this point.
I’ve also included the second part of working on a long lost instrumental melody that would later become the folk ballad “Dragons’ Eyes” in The Thirteenth Hour. This is a tune that I would mess around with as a kid and in college, where there were pianos all over. I never had a name for it but wrote the first few verses of the song in the novel to its melody. I figured reworking to make a short fill for Empty Hands, which has a little scene referencing the song, would be a nice way to come full circle. This week, I’m doing it to a slow (~70 bpm) beat.
Speaking of which, for those of you on the mailing list, check your inboxes for a message asking for volunteers to help with the finishing touches of the upcoming martial arts fantasy novella, Empty Hands. Your suggestions and critiques are most welcome, and not only will you get a free copy of the book and soundtrack, your name will be in the acknowledgements section of the book. If you’re not on the mailing list but are interested in joining and/or helping out, here’s a link or just email me directly, and I’ll be in touch with further instructions. Thank you!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m continuing to work on the vocal part of a track called “Many Miles” that I started a long time ago … I’m a little farther along than last week, but it’s still slow going. Here’s the first part. There’s still some parts in the middle that don’t quite sound right with the timing, so I’ll keep working …
However, I’m starting to experiment with a long lost instrumental melody that would later become the folk ballad “Dragons’ Eyes” in The Thirteenth Hour. This is a tune that I would mess around with as a kid and in college, where there were pianos all over. I never had a name for it but wrote the first few verses of the song in the novel to its melody. I figured reworking to make a short fill for Empty Hands, which has a little scene referencing the song, would be a nice way to come full circle.
Speaking of which, for those of you on the mailing list, check your inboxes for a message asking for volunteers to help with the finishing touches of the upcoming martial arts fantasy novella, Empty Hands. Your suggestions and critiques are most welcome, and not only will you get a free copy of the book and soundtrack, your name will be in the acknowledgements section of the book. If you’re not on the mailing list but are interested in joining and/or helping out, here’s a link or just email me directly, and I’ll be in touch with further instructions. Thank you!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m continuing to work on the vocal part of a track called “Many Miles” that I started a long time ago … and this week, I’m in the process of editing the vocals that I’ve recorded so far, trying to figure out if I can salvage them or just keep practicing them until they are require less work! It’s the timing that I need work on, though that can be fixed with some surgery. It’s just tedious, and what I’ll be working on over the next week.
In other news, for those of you on the mailing list, check your inboxes for a message asking for volunteers to help with the finishing touches of the upcoming martial arts fantasy novella, Empty Hands. Your suggestions and critiques are most welcome, and not only will you get a free copy of the book and soundtrack, your name will be in the acknowledgements section of the book. If you’re not on the mailing list but are interested in joining and/or helping out, here’s a link or just email me directly, and I’ll be in touch with further instructions. Thank you!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m continuing to work on the vocal part of a track called “Many Miles” that I started a long time ago … and this week, I’m singing along with the backing arpeggiated chords. This will be a vocal template for when I record the real vocals (this upcoming week).
In other news, for those of you on the mailing list, check your inboxes for a message asking for volunteers to help with the finishing touches of the upcoming martial arts fantasy novella, Empty Hands. Your suggestions and critiques are most welcome, and not only will you get a free copy of the book and soundtrack, your name will be in the acknowledgements section of the book. If you’re not on the mailing list but are interested in joining and/or helping out, here’s a link or just email me directly, and I’ll be in touch with further instructions. Thank you!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m continuing to work on the vocal part of a track called “Many Miles” that I started a long time ago … and this week, I’m testing out playing the backing chords in arpeggiated form and with a slow backing beat. The song has gone through a number of iterations, like an acoustic version, a dance beat version (a few bits included here), and the one now, which I think will be a slower synth version. Over the course of this week, I’ll see if I can get it to the point of being recordable (i.e. I have to practice it).
In other news, for those of you on the mailing list, check your inboxes for a message asking for volunteers to help with the finishing touches of the upcoming martial arts fantasy novella, Empty Hands. Your suggestions and critiques are most welcome, and not only will you get a free copy of the book and soundtrack, your name will be in the acknowledgements section of the book. If you’re not on the mailing list but are interested in joining and/or helping out, here’s a link or just email me directly, and I’ll be in touch with further instructions. Thank you!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m working on the vocal part of a track called “Many Miles” that I started a long time ago but never finished. It’s gone through a number of iterations, like an acoustic version, a dance beat version, and the one now, which I think will be a slower synth version (not sure if it will have a backing beat). I’m recording a vocal placeholder this week and experimenting with how I want the arpeggiated part of the track to fit in (not sure yet).
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m working on a track called “Many Miles” that I started a long time ago but never finished. It’s gone through a number of iterations but I included the original acoustic guitar version I wrote a number of years ago as well as some ideas to turn it into a keyboard track. We’ll see what can be done with over the next few weeks. Here’s a clip showing some of the keyboard ideas:
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m finally finishing the last music track to accompany The Thirteenth Hour novella, Empty Hands, an introspective instrumental piece called “Memories of a Better Time.” I thought last week would be it, but after having listened to the outcome, thought there was still something missing, so this week, we’re adding a short whistled intro.
The novella the song will be embedded in is basically done in terms of its initial skeleton, though I’m putting the final edits on the first draft and working on the illustrations. This past week, I worked on more of the latter as well as the little blurb that accompanies the book when it’s listed online – arguably (for me) the hardest part to write since it’s typically what people use to decide if they want to invest the time to read something or not. The second draft, by the way, is typically where I send portions out to other people for critique, so if you’d like to be a part of that, I’ll be sending out an email to the advance readers group on the mailing list (link below) soon. Much appreciated!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m finishing the last music track to accompany The Thirteenth Hour novella, Empty Hands, an introspective instrumental piece called “Memories of a Better Time.” It fits in with a piece of the novella where the main character, Logan, is thinking back to his childhood friend, Aurora. It also has some similarities to the track “Empty Hands,” also for the novella, which we did in episode 175 and the same descending note progression that we used there as well as in the song “There’s a Wild Heart Beating.” Today, we are adding the flute section.
The novella the song will be embedded in is basically done in terms of its initial skeleton, though I’m putting the final edits on the first draft. The second draft is typically where I send portions out to other people for critique, so if you’d like to be a part of that, I’ll be sending out an email to the advance readers group on the mailing list (link below) soon. Much appreciated!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m working on the last music track to accompany The Thirteenth Hour novella, Empty Hands, an introspective instrumental piece called “Memories of a Better Time,” which harkens to the love theme we made back in episode #120. It fits in with a piece of the novella where the main character, Logan, is thinking back to his childhood friend, Aurora. It also has some similarities to the track “Empty Hands,” also for the novella, which we did in episode 175 and the same descending note progression that we used there as well as in the song “There’s a Wild Heart Beating.” Today, we are making the backing tack and attempting to add the flute section.
The novella the song will be embedded in is basically done in terms of its initial skeleton, though I’m putting the final edits on the first draft. The second draft is typically where I send portions out to other people for critique, so if you’d like to be a part of that, I’ll be sending out an email to the advance readers group on the mailing list (link below) soon. Much appreciated!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m working on the last music track to accompany The Thirteenth Hour novella, Empty Hands, an introspective instrumental piece called “Memories of a Better Time,” which harkens to the love theme we made back in episode #120. It fits in with a piece of the novella where the main character, Logan, is thinking back to his childhood friend, Aurora. He isn’t terribly happy at this point in his life, as he is a reluctant soldier at best, though his time in the military gives him a window into a life that, as an orphan from a sleepy hunting and farming town without any resources or land of his own would have access to. This coming of age angst and ambivalence is what I was hoping to capture in the theme.
The novella the song will be embedded in is basically done in terms of its initial skeleton, though I’m putting the final edits on the first draft. The second draft is typically where I send portions out to other people for critique, so if you’d like to be a part of that, I’ll be sending out an email to the advance readers group on the mailing list (link below) soon. Much appreciated!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re finishing the last part of a new track to accompany an upcoming Thirteenth Hour novella, Empty Hands. All that’s left to do now is add a flute and vocal lead in and mix the final track.
The novella the song will be embedded in is basically done in terms of its initial skeleton, though I’m putting the final edits on the first draft. The second draft is typically where I send portions out to other people for critique, so if you’d like to be a part of that, I’ll be sending out an email to the advance readers group on the mailing list (link below) soon. Much appreciated!
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify! Check it out.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re making the second part of a new track to accompany an upcoming Thirteenth Hour novella, Empty Hands. It’s a little different from most of the tracks I usually make since this one is a march. We added vocals to the backing track last week; today, we’re making it a chorus and experimenting with a lead in flute part (which I’m still practicing).
The novella the song will be embedded in is basically done in terms of its initial skeleton, though I’m putting the final edits on the first draft. The second draft is typically where I send portions out to other people for critique, so if you’d like to be a part of that, I’ll be sending out an email to the advance readers group on the mailing list (link below) soon. Much appreciated!
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify! Check it out.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re making the second part of a new track to accompany an upcoming Thirteenth Hour novella, Empty Hands. It’s a little different from most of the tracks I usually make since this one is a march. We made the backing track last week; today, we’e adding the vocals.
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Don’t forget that last week’s t-shirt contest to commemorate a new album from Starfarer, who was on the show back in episode 143. The winner has been picked as of today and will be announced on social media. Thank you all for entering and helping to support Starfarer.
Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify! Check it out.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re making the first part of a new track to accompany an upcoming Thirteenth Hour novella, Empty Hands. It’s a little different from most of the tracks I usually make since this one is a march. We’re making the backing track today.
Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify! Check it out.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re continuing work on an old track from episode 115 that I never really finished that we returned to last week. Entitled “There is Magic Inside,” it is supposed to be quiet yet hopeful, building in complexity as it progresses to reflect Aurora’s growing appreciation and understanding of magic in one of The Thirteenth Hour sequels. Today, we add a synth lead. I ended up shelving the guitar part I had originally.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify! Check it out.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
Perhaps by the time you’re listening to this show, “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year will be out (it releases 1/1/19 at 12:30 AM). Happy 2019!
Check out Jeff’s portfolio here. See the links below for more of his work. If you’d like one of his Starseed patches for your own, check out his etsy site.
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
I also started work on an old track from episode 115 that I never really finished. I’ve always been meaning to get back to it since it never quite sounded right. I did some retooling of it on Auxy as well as experimenting with a lead on the keyboard. Stay tuned for more next week as well.
Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify! Check it out.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
Way back in episode 101 and 102, writer and musician Jeff Finley came on the show, and today he returns to discuss a project we’ve been engaged in for the past year. It all started sometime after we last talked – when he, Brent Simon, and I decided to work on a music project together (see Episodes 109, 110, and 111 for Brent’s interviews on this show). Brent had sent us a bunch of old unfinished tracks, and we eventually took ideas he had started and created a song inspired by a few of the demo tracks. This podcast episode is mostly about that process, as well as the creation of the music video that accompanies the track. Both will be released 1/1/19 on Jeff’s Starbound Renegade profile (see links below). We also touch on a number of other topics besides music and the creative process, including the state of social media and finding oneself.
Check out Jeff’s portfolio here. See the links below for more of his work. If you’d like one of his Starseed patches for your own, check out his etsy site.
Here are some of the pictures making up the pixelart music video accompanying the song. Making these pictures actually turned out to be a lot of fun! I was influenced by a number of 80s films and cartoons, like The Last Starfighter, Voltron, and Robotech (more below in the credits section).
You can find more pictures and preview clips on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
Way back in episode 130, I took one part of the main Thirteenth Hour theme and created a short electric guitar part to accompany an introspective part of the book, and two weeks ago, I took the first verse of the theme and made it a slow guitar part. The last 2 weeks (eps 173 and 174), I slowed down the tempo and eliminated notes to get at what we have this week. These two IG posts show a little of the progression:
I imagined this track will eventually fit a contemplative scene in one of The Thirteenth Hour stories, especially an upcoming short storycalled “Empty Hands” set during the time of The Thirteenth Hour, so much so that that’s what I’m going to call this track. You can see little clips of past iterations on the soundtrack IG page as well as this podcast’s FB page.
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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
Way back in episode 130, I took one part of the main Thirteenth Hour theme and created a short electric guitar part to accompany an introspective part of the book, and two weeks ago, I took the first verse of the theme and made it a slow guitar part. Last week was a variation on those episodes where I took the same theme and reworked it on the piano to be even slower. This week is very similar, though it’s become kind of an exercise in minimalism – how many notes can I eliminate and still retain the essence of the theme’s melody? In addition, I’ve been making the tempo slower and slower to fit better with the introspective mood I imagine this track will eventually fit (I’m picturing a contemplative scene in one of The Thirteenth Hour stories, where one of the main characters is lonely or contemplates something weighty, like the state of the world, their place in the universe, etc). You can see little clips on the soundtrack IG page as well as this podcast’s FB page. Next week, I’ll have a better idea what the final thing will look like, and we’ll probably add the backing layer to give it more depth.
In this episode, I include two excerpts from instrumental tracks I was using as inspiration: “A Private Showing” by Stephen Hague and John Musser (from Some Kind of Wonderful, discussed in episode 154), and “Tommib” by Squarepusher (from Lost in Translation).
The track entitled “A Private Showing” scores the art museum scene above. It is found at around 6:29 in the first clip.
“Tommib” plays during this scene in Lost in Translation where the lonely main character, a neglected young wife accompanying her husband on a working trip to Japan, contemplates the state of her life (I guess) while the track fills in the gaps. Check out this page for more information on how the track may have been created,
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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
Way back in episode 130, I took one part of the main Thirteenth Hour theme and created a short electric guitar part to accompany an introspective part of the book, and last week, I took the first verse of the theme and made it a slow guitar part. This week is very similar, though I’m using a piano for the same effect. You can see little clips on the soundtrack IG page as well as this podcast’s FB page.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
Way back in episode 130, I took one part of the main Thirteenth Hour theme and created a short electric guitar part to accompany an introspective part of the book. Unlike the track we created then, the track uses a much more subdued effect – very little gain, more minimalistic, quieter – for a different feel, though the process was about the same. You can see little clips of the guitar part on the soundtrack IG page as well as this podcast’s FB page.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This past weekend, one of the early guests on this show (listen to parts 1 and 2 way back on episodes 47 and 48) and a good friend of mine, Justin, got married. About a year ago, before I knew of his plans, I said that I’d write him and his future wife a song as a wedding present. Well, fast forward about a year. When Justin told me the news, I figured it was time to make good on my promise.
There’s an expression, credited to Hans Christian Andersen, that goes “where words fails, music speaks.” Although it may seem odd given that the written and spoken word is key to what I do here and how I make my living, I don’t consider myself a terribly articulate person. But with a song, I figured I could put into words everything I wanted to convey to the bride and groom and let the music fill in the gaps.
Today’s episode is on the creation of this song. Although the actual version I ended up singing at the reception (with just an acoustic guitar) was quite different from this synthesizer rendition, the one showcased on this episode was how I originally intended the song to sound. Well, that’s kind of true. I initially heard it in my head as a Celtic tune with a much faster tempo like something the Pogues, Mumford and Sons, or the Dropkick Murphys might play, but given that I don’t play the banjo, fiddle, or bagpipes, the only aspect of that that remained was part of the instrumental break, which was done with a penny whistle. The rest of the solo was done with an electric guitar as an ode to the groom, who plays the guitar and was one of the first people to encourage me to learn how to play that instrument.
Congrats to the bride and groom on the start of the official life together!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we have one simple goal – adding a guitar parrt to the Terminator theme we started last week. I experimented with a few different electric guitar effects, and in the end chose two – a quiet one with an echo and one with distortion. Both are included in the podcast (in that order) – see which you like best!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
To piggyback off the last few weeks talking about 80s memories, this week (and probably next), we’ll be making a version of Brad Fiedel’sTerminator theme. Here’s three version of the main theme – the one from the first film, a slower piano version from the first film, and slow synth string version from T2 – a great example of how a central score can be voiced in different ways to fit different scenes.
I’m actually not sure which key the score is done in since I don’t usually use sheet music, but the version I figured out is in the key of Eb, I think. I’m not sure I’m using the same syncopated chunking drum beat that the movie theme uses, but the version I’m using in this track uses a low synth bass sound that I originally figured out by hitting a toy hand drum my son was playing with. Next week, I’ll try to add an electric guitar overlay. I can’t recall if there are official guitar versions of the theme, but I always thought it’d sound great electrified like that. Stay tuned for that coming next week!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, synthwave musician Miguel Iniguez, a.k.a. Starfarer, joins me on the show for a conversation all about music, the creative process, his influences, and his self-titled debut album (which reminded me of the soundtrack to a dark and fast space shoot’em up, like Gradius for the SNES:
Speaking of influences, the excerpt of the instrumental piece right before the interview called Crack of Doom was influenced by the Terminator theme. As you might imagine, Starfarer has an 80s sci-fi feel … so count down with me as we initiate the launch sequence. 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1. Engage!
Next week, stay tuned for more retro 80s, but this time, in action figure form – Adam from the Instragram account mom_gave_them_away joins us for a multi-part interview. Stay tuned!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This weekend, I took a bunch of my songs plus a number of (mostly) 80s songs and played at a local arts festival for about 4-5 hrs. I had about 26 songs ready for the keyboard and the guitar and ended up playing most of them at least twice, some more, during that time. I also had the chance to work out a few new songs (one of which you’ll hear a clip of) and polish old ones (since you can only play the same ones over and over for so long). I’ve just included a few snippets since the audio quality was especially bad even after a lot of editing, but here are two songs I did on the guitar from 80s movies (Sixteen Candles and Purple Rain) in their original form:
Next week, stay tuned for synthwave artist, Starfarer!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re making a lullaby that was partially written as something to help my children go to sleep. But it was also a little song that Aurora, from The Thirteenth Hour books, sings to help young children in the orphanage (where they are living as children) go to sleep. Later in the books, she learns to play the lute and she and her husband (see the cover art) will sometimes play it with him accompanying her on the flute. When Logan is alone later in the story, he will sometimes sing it to himself to remind himself of happier times.
Aurora’s Lullaby
C Am When the sun goes down and stars appear C G Comes a time when you shall hear Am F For now it’s time to close your eyes. G C And to you, I’ll sing this lullaby.
C Am Rest your soul, lay your head C G The hour’s come to go to bed Am F For now it’s time to close your eyes. G C And to you, I’ll sing this lullaby.
Solo E D E C C D E G G E D G F E F G C G F E F G C C E D C C
C Am And so the day is done. C G Your failures, your kingdoms are won Am F For now it’s time to close your eyes G C And to you, I’ll sing this lullaby.
Am F For now it’s time to close your eyes G C And to you, I’ll sing this lullaby. G C Yes, to you, I will sing this lullaby.
It took a few months to finish since I wanted ti try to learn to play the penny whistle for the little instrumental break in the middle. You can hear the final version at the end of the show and stream or download it from Bandcamp.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re making an electric guitar fill for future soundtracks to the Thirteenth Hour books using a part of the theme music. It runs about 30 seconds long and is intended to accentuate parts of the story where a little theme music is appropriate (future Kindle editions of the sequels will hopefully have external links to the soundtrack on Bandcamp or Youtube. Here’s some of the gear used this episode:
Coming soon, I’ll be posting about a little side work-in-progress. Remember when I talked in the past about Hero Forge, the site that allows you to create 3d printed miniatures of characters of your own creation for tabletop games? I’ve had an inkling to try casting little resin miniatures along the lines of those little pink M.U.S.C.L.E. (keshi) toys from the 80s. The first step is creating a sculpt, so here’s a wireframe skeleton of Logan on Lightning. Stay tuned!
Speaking of toys, check out the Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/mom_gave_them_away/ for some great 1980s movie and toy nostalgia. Haven’t seen some of those toys in years. I mostly never knew what many of them were called or had just vague memories of them from commercials or just bits and pieces from various yard sales. So it’s been cool finding out more about these artifacts from a few decades past.
Speaking of which, if you’re into new music that sounds like it could have been from an 80s movie soundtrack, check out the Spotify link in the bio of https://www.instagram.com/ironskullet_synthwave/ – there are thousands of songs there, and the list keeps growing.
Lastly, speaking of synths and pixels, this podcast now has a new logo for 2018. I figured that since fantasy, scifi, and electronic music collide so frequently here, why not showcase these things with background art for Long Ago Not So Far Away, and the pixelart dragon I made for that vaporware Thirteenth Hour game I worked on decades ago when I probably should have been studying for math tests or something 🙂
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube. This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
11/13/16 marked the official online release of Long Ago Not So Far Away, and to celebrate, you can listen to the full album these past two weeks. Side A of the cassette version was last week, and side B is this week. Both are about 24 minutes long.
Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to the new upcoming retro 80s soundtrack!
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and@the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books.
Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
The Thirteenth Hour