Here’s the re-record of the song I released this week, last year. I think this one’s a vast improvement on the original (listen here for comparison).

Not only is the music a tad better, but this song is more in my own style (whatever that may be right now…), rather than a copy of some other style.

Anyway, that’s that.

So here’s the new re-recording of “Some Ordinary Troubles.” You can see from the description of the original (read and listen here) that this was kind of a throw-away song. So I knew going into the re-record I had to do right by it. Make it into something.

I think it’s a little more of a complete song now. Definitely something I might be persuaded to sing out from time to time.

I didn’t change too much, though. It’s in the same key. It’s still kind of a blues-type tune. (Although, it’s a little more folk-song-oriented, I’ll admit that.) All the words are the same, for the most part, except for the last verse, which is new. I needed one more to kinda round-out the layout of the song.

So there ya have it. I think this new one sounds very 2011, if ya know what I mean. And the one from last year sounds very last year. If you’ve been listening that long you probably picked that up, though.

Now, please remember that I have two shows this weekend….

On Friday I’m playing a benefit for the Building Stage called “Terror and Cowboy Songs.” Only 5 bucks to get in and cheap booze. I go on at 10pm (or soon after 10pm) and play for about an hour (or more). The facebook invite has some info for ya.

Then on Saturday afternoon from 2-3pm I’ll be at the Hideout as part of the Urban Folk Circuit. Here’s the facebook event with more on the market. This one is FREE.

See ya at one, or see ya at both.

And here’s the re-recorded version of the song, It’s Too Hard To Make You Agree, that I wrote and released this week, last year. You can go listen to the original here, for comparison.

I know they sound different, but I guess they’re fairly similar. Both have these guitar parts that kinda help the singing along, in a way. Now, the guitar parts are different, so they seem different, but the more I think about it, the more I think they’re exactly the same.

Anyway. I kinda dig this new one more than the original. It’s got a better feel to it. Plus it’s a little more unlike anything else I’ve been recording lately, with the finger picking and all. So that’s something.

Also, I think I was channeling, subconsciously, Bob Dylan’s “I Don’t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met) in the original version.” Go listen to that song and see for yourself. Pretty much the same, huh? So this updated version, today, is a little more my own, I guess. But, I’m sure it sounds exactly like some other song that someone else sang. Probably Ramblin’ Jack Elliott or someone like that.

I wrote, recorded, and released “John Wayne” this week, last year. So here’s the re-recording of it…as expected. I think I like this version a lot more than the original (which you can listen to here, for a comparison. And, also, read a long description of how the song came to be written.).

It’s not that I dislike the original, but, as I said in the description of the original, the words felt more like placeholders than part of the song. I was more into the music of the original.

So for this re-recording I tried to make the words more integrated with the music and I think I accomplished that. Of course, now the song feels too short, or something. Or, maybe, like it’s missing a couple verses to tie everything together because it hops right from talking about bums to being in the wild west.

But that’s how the movie that this song is based on felt (or at least that’s how I remember it feeling). So, maybe it is accurate.

Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Alright, alright…here’s the new version of the song I wrote and released this week, last year. This is one that I only sing out at Barehand Jugband shows (obviously). It’s our introduction tune. Everyone gets a little solo.

The original version was based on a tune by Woody Guthrie called “Put Your Finger in the Air.” It’s the same melody, just different words. Same idea, though.

You can listen to the original Jugband Song here (without all the solo parts because, well, I can’t play fiddle very well and don’t own a trombone). See how valuable everyone in the jugband is? When you compare my washboard, jug and banjo playing to everyone else, probably makes you lose your lunch, huh?

Anyway. This new version has a little bit more get up and go. And I added a chorus-type-a-thing, which I really like. It’s kinda catchy, don’t you think? It still allows for each instrument to have a featured section, I just didn’t put them in because I didn’t feel like it.

So, what do you think? Should I start singing the Jugband Song like this at jugband shows?

I guess it was somewhat appropriate that this song popped up for this week since the band’s got a show tonight at Double Door. Doors open at 7pm and we go on around 9pm. Come on out, it’s only 10 bucks to get in. Check out the facebook event for more details.

I also did some more mixing on the EP songs that I recorded last week. I might post one this week.

If you want to hear the songs I recorded, plus some new songs, come out next week on Wednesday the 10th to Honky Tonk BBQ down in Pilsen. I’m playing from 7pm-9pm.