Songs

Introducing The Coastal Service

Now that I finished up my first solo cover song, I wanted to get it out in the world. As Steve Jobs said, “Real artists ship.” I’ve been working on that mindset for a while now and trying to show my work along the way.

To get my song out there where it can be streamed anywhere – via Siri, on the HomePod, in the car – I needed to pick an “artist” name to use on all the streaming services. It’s always fun to pick a band name, but I had set a rule for myself from experience messing around fruitlessly with friends in the past: first the music, then the name. You have to earn the name.

So I decided to go with The Coastal Service. 🙌 It’s sort of a play on The Postal Service, an amazing band with one of my favorite albums ever. I am not a Postal Service tribute band; their name just inspired an idea.

“The Coastal Service” is meant to invoke a sense of mystery and fog and awe and danger. It’s about meeting the ocean: like life, it’s big and dangerous and beautiful and meant to be explored.

I also like the idea that this fictional “coastal service” is there to serve humanity and is broader and more secretive and than, say, the US Coast Guard. It’s somewhat inspired by a Wes Anderson vibe, especially Moonrise Kingdom.

I also played around with some sketches on the iPad just for fun.

So there you go: The Coastal Service is born.

I still don’t know if I’m a real artist, but I did ship. 🚢

Songs

“I’m On Fire” – final cut! 🎸

Featured patmcg4 Comments

After vacillating a bit on the final arrangement for my I’m On Fire cover, I finally headed some advice from Teddy Roosevelt and picked a direction.

While I liked the extra guitar part on the previous take, I also felt like it was a bit too much. It sort of changed the song from a “singing” song into a “guitar” song.

After a fresh listen, my buddy Joel had a helpful suggestion.

I’m wondering if you could use the clean version but bring in the guitar at some point under the whistling to add a little depth there.

I tried it out and… bingo. 🎯 This was the best of both worlds. The guitar comes in at the bridge and mixes things up at just the right time. Thanks, Joel.

My kids say the vocals are pretty “echoey”, but I’m hoping that adds to some mysterious ambience. Believe me, you are not ready to hear me singing raw just yet. 😉

Coming soon to a streaming service near you. 😎

Songs

“I’m on Fire” (v2.5, Cosmic remaster)

17 December 202318 December 2023 patmcg1 Comment

A few things were bugging me about the second take of my I’m on Fire cover, so I decided to give it a touch up in a few places.

This version includes the following upgrades:

A slightly longer drum intro for better lead-in; added a high-hat 🥁
Adjusted the rhythm section volumes: quieter drums, more bass, more lead guitar 🎸
Consistent panning (guitar left ⬅, vocals right ➡)
Vocal improvements: less echo, more volume 🎤

I did this remix on a foray to Cosmic Coffee & Beer Garden on this lovely day, thus the version name.

Stay tuned for with one final pass on the vocals and guitar, with the goal of being streaming-ready with my first solo song by year’s end. 🤞

Songs

“I’m on Fire” (take 2) 🎸

2 December 202318 December 2023 patmcg1 Comment

My first cut at Bruce Springsteen’s song I’m on Fire was probably “good enough” for a first solo song done just for fun.

Before “officially” releasing it, I wanted to play around with a couple of other ideas.

Try adding some lead / fill guitar
Try whistling (yes, whistling!) for the “woohoo” parts
Redo the vocals with a wind guard to keep the spitting sounds down 😆

Here’s take #2.

I think the guitar is an interesting addition, although it’s a bit messy and still needs work. I like the whistling but might like the “woohoo” vocals better. It’s still experimental mode here haha.

What do you think?

My GarageBand file has lots of tracks now, with more than half disabled. Welcome to music production, I guess. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Songs

“I’m on Fire” (first attempt) 🎤

7 November 20232 December 2023 patmcg1 Comment

Since I posted about jumping in and trying to sing, I thought I’d post my first attempt. I got inspired to see what I actually sound like now that I’ve had… let’s see… one voice lesson. 😆

I thought Bruce Springsteen’s I’m on Fire would be a good first song since it’s short and simple. And most especially, the vocals (I now know!) are exactly in my natural range, aside from the really high “wooohoo hooo” stuff, which I pushed through and tried anyways.

I wanted to give this song my own sonic touch, with a more modern sound. I think Springsteen was basically trying to do a Johnny Cash song here, so this is me trying to sound like Bruce trying to sound like Johnny. 😆

Here’s Springsteen’s original for comparison.