Jonathan Thwaits EP #1 : American Idle

This is it! "American Idle" is the first of five JT EPs that we will be releasing over the next few months. I am so excited.

Frequently, music critics hail the efforts of extremely talented, overlooked artists as "greatest unknowns" and if ever there was such an artist, Jon Thwaits certainly is he. Jon and I have been playing music together for over 15 years and during that time, I've watched (and marveled) as he has developed as a songwriter. His music has a depth and range to it that you'll notice immediately in this first collection, but even more poignantly as we release each EP. Jon loves to rock, and you'll hear that here too--but his songwriting is tight and his stories have a remarkable color and intimacy. Most of all, these EPs establish Jon as a professional of his craft.

As you can probably tell, I am Jon's biggest fan. The first time we met, he had a guitar in his hand and our friendship has played out over the years around that instrument. It is now my pleasure to curate these EPs and to do what I can to share them with a larger audience. I know that you'll enjoy them as much as I do and hope that you'll share them with your friends.

Our aim is to, first and foremost, get these songs out so that you can enjoy them. However, we have a second agenda in mind and we need your help with it. We will be releasing a total of 25 songs over the next several months--one EP a month--and we'd like to get your opinion on your favorite songs. Once we have an idea of the 10 (or so) best/favorite songs, we hope to collect them (and possibly rerecord them) for an official album release--one that we can sell on iTunes and maybe even market to some indie labels.

To the right of the screen you'll notice a poll of songs on this EP release. Please listen to the songs and then vote on your two favorite songs (the poll will let you vote for more than two, but control yourselves, people). Then (and this is an important part) tell your friends! The songs are free and the poll is fun! It's just a tiny bit like American Idol. The poll will be available for about 30 days or until the next EP is released.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you American Idle by Jonathan Thwaits (right click, save link as).

(Each song has some additional information about its original recording date/purpose embedded in it as meta-data. When you have them in your iTunes, right click and select "more info" if you want to check that out.)

Only Anything in the Fall

Hey everybody,

We are all back in super-busy mode here at the beginning of the Fall semester. It seems that our lives continue to adhere to the school-time tradition and while my OA brothers will all someday escape its grasps, I'm afraid I am here for good.

Jon T. and I have been looking forward to the Fall, though, and have a very exciting announcement to make.

In a few days, we will begin releasing the complete back-catalog of Jon T's solo work. We are putting them into small, bite-sized EPs and I think you're really going to enjoy them. What's more, we are working on a special (and secret!) interactive feature to these EPs. All will be revealed soon.

In the meantime, please enjoy my own EP of songs written this last year. I just submitted them for consideration for a local gig. Keep in mind that the recordings are demos and far from perfect. But at least you can hear some stuff that I've been working on--and this time put the songs on your iPod and stuff.

Right click and "save link as" Jon Stone's Recital EP

the rest of the John-stash pictures are up.

Just sayin.

Some new old (and very treasured) pictures

While I didn't get quite as much done over the summer as I would have like in the archive this summer, I was able to delve into the treasure trove that was John Heidenreich's stash of pictures. I have been busy tonight slicing up the scans that we made in New Hampshire at the beginning of August and have posted the first batch here:

John's Stash

The rest will follow during the weekend sometime, so be sure to check back.

(JT, we can feed them into the chronology once folks have had a chance to see them)

-JS

Wasatch Front (lyrics)

Left my desert hometown when I was just a child
spent some time on the San Fran line
yeah I spent some time out in the wild
Flew out to Wyoming, singing home, home on the range
High mountain plains, yellow grass and sage
shouldn't have felt so strange

Arizona marriage and some Arizona kids
Under an old saguaro is where my wife's heart lives
Still spent every summer--and I guess we always will--
Out here in the shadow of the everlasting hills

Along the Wasatch Front, everything is easy
On the Wasatch Front I'm home

Walking down the canyon to the valley of my birth
I've never seen the grass so green
anywhere else on earth
Standing at the graveside now of David Ray and Bee
Grandpa was a thinker
Grandma taught me to sing

On the Wasatch Front, everything is easy
Along the Wasatch Front I'm home

Pappa used to say, "Cache valley is the most beautiful place in the world"
I'd agree, it's a sight
But seeing my dad with my two little boys
and my mom with my sweet little girl
It's like I said-- Everything's alright

Along the Wasatch Front, everything is easy
on the Wasatch Front, I'm home.

Summer songs

Summer is fading. Tomorrow I'll be traveling back to Illinois with my family and Wednesday I'll be back at work. But today I sit on the couch at my parents' house in American Fork trying to relish it.

I think Jon and I did pretty well on our summer challenge. Jon may not be done, but we have, right now, four songs each. Enough for a short album's worth of material--and EIGHT more than we might have had without a challenge.

This last song from me was written over the last 10 days here in Utah. The melody started one morning in the shower and I filled in words whenever I could--sitting at church, in the car on the way North, whenever...

The song, for me, is a sweet one. I haven't lived in the same town as my parents for 12 years, but whenever I'm in their home, I can't help but feel home. This is a song for them.

Wasatch Front from Only Anything on Vimeo.

Here's a YouTube link as well for those of you who have trouble with Vimeo: Wasatch Front

Amusing toddler cinematography

Here is the post as promised, but it's not what I thought it would be. Listen for "that's Sally's dress" and "what's going on?" as she puts her fingers over the lens.

Speak Your Mind from Only Anything on Vimeo.

It's hard to keep promises. I may have to adjust the goal to 10/2.

I haven't dissappeared totally

At the beginning of the summer I promised regular updates and even though most of you are probably not thinking too much about my lack of submissions I will give a brief update. It has been difficult to fit music into my busy summer schedule, but I'm not backing out. I have some great ideas going around in my head and a few partially recorded songs so don't give up on me. This weekend you will see some proof. Somehow I will present to you 7 more songs before the first day of Fall. I just figured out that although email and facebook are justifiably blocked at work, good old blogger is not! My lunch break is over now but check back by Monday for new songs!

imaginary break-ups

A few months back I tried to write an album in 30 days. It didn't happen, of course, but I did get several song ideas that have ended up working for summer.

Funny thing is, they are all wintery songs, and they're all about fading, troubled relationships. And though they are simple, 3 and 4 chord songs--I'm proud of them. I think the melodies are pretty strong, but mostly I'm proud of the stretch outside my own experience.

I'm a happily married man. But these songs--"My Last Mistake" "Old Psychosis," and "Don't Ask" (see below) are about people breaking up--or at least people who have encountered significant love-challenges. Tina and I are a normal couple--we have the occasional disagreement and even less occasional argument. I tried to take some of the feelings of those circumstances and put an exponent on them. The results were kind of sad songs (though "Old Psychosis" is actually more cynical and therefore kinda funny) about the prospect of going it alone.

When you listen to the song in this post and "My Last Mistake" of a few weeks ago try to think of the coldest February day you can summon up. You're in an empty house or a lonely cafe and you've just lost the love of your life.

Don't Ask from Only Anything on Vimeo.

For those of you with Vimeo problems, the video can be viewed on YouTube here.

I recorded this one in ONE take. Despite the few chord errors and words flubs, I decided to leave it. Tempo is also something that is in the air here--I tried to speed it up a bit, but maybe the tempo's a little too fast (I didn't want it to be a 6 minute song though). What do you think?

I should also say that when I first imagined these tunes, I was listening to a lot of Bon Iver.

Where all the stories go

Why do we love movies and books? because sometimes our lives are so boring or messed up or depressing that we need an easy temporary escape. That's the whole idea of this song, I was particularly thinking about books though. Most of my songs and most popular music aside from jazz has a straight eighth note pulse. There are many exceptions though, one that sticks out in my mind is "Lonely Place" by Goldfinger. It has that swung feel, some call it a shuffle. This song has that rhythm, I think it brings out the carefree feeling I'm going for. The recording is pretty loose, partly because I recorded it quickly and partly because my skills on the drums are not very precise. On all the tracks I used either the first or second take and I'm pretty happy with the end result. I have to be because summer is moving fast and with very limited recording time, I've got to make it productive.
Enjoy:
Stories
click to go.