music.colinmorris.net

Kenna Is In My Mind

colinmorrismusic — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:41:22 +0000

First Summer Show

colinmorrismusic — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:51:38 +0000

See “calendar” at right for more dates. Check out Leah Ashton on MySpace and Twitter. This is Musica.

Colin Morris: “I Think We’re Alone Now” (Tommy James & The Shondells)

colinmorrismusic — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:04:30 +0000

Written by Ritchie Cordell. More info on the original song: http://sn.im/itwan – I Think We’re Alone Now @ allmusic.com

Colin Morris: “Roxanne” (The Police)

colinmorrismusic — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:07:19 +0000

More info on the original song: http://sn.im/roxanne – “Roxanne” @ allmusic.com

Colin Morris: “Dream”

colinmorrismusic — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:51:04 +0000

As of this writing, this song is available for download here. Archive divers, ask for an .mp3 and I’ll hook you up somehow.

All I wanted was to breathe
To get up off my knees
But we sail a small sea
And everyday it seems

The only way to get away is to dream.

You’re a pretty little thing
But you gotta stop your lingering
You’re a clever little thing
You ought to know no good can come from this

The only way to get away is to dream.

Chava’s “Biggest Loss”

colinmorrismusic — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:19:16 +0000

From Chava Garcia, the singer/songwriter of Mellowtronic, the Chicago band in which I had some of the most fun I’ve ever had making music:

I had to leave to finish college affordably in Ohio; Esteban had to go back to Ecuador for citizenship/residency and family reasons. Leaving it behind was a serious bummer. We were just tightening up.

Chava is finishing the record we started in summer of 2007 on his own. My contributions to it have all been re-recorded by strangers, but I’m still proud of it. The mixes I’ve heard sound awesome, and I can’t wait until it’s finished.

Colin Morris: “Dream” (Demo)

colinmorrismusic — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:19:19 +0000

As of this writing, anyway.

http://purevolume.com/colinmorrisacoustic

Archive divers, ask for an .mp3 and I’ll hook you up somehow.

Watch the video.

Liveblogging An Explosion Of Creative Energy

colinmorrismusic — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:36:41 +0000

It’s fifteen minutes before four o’clock in the morning when I start writing this. I just woke up from a bad dream; I lay down around 23:30 with a stomachache from my heavy dinner of a big steak and too much pasta, half expecting a phone call to save me from spending the entire evening alone, and half hating resenting the very idea of waiting on that kind of phone call.

The following ideas, images and sensations entered my mind as follows, internal dialogue NOT edited for clarity:

&#@!, I hate waking up sweaty why do I sweat so much in my sleep lately oh man I’m still wearing my clothes from today too.
The image of knives with the blades bent back on themselves paired with the conclusion that I’m pretty sharp or was at one time but have become, in a fashion similar to the knives, useless.
Let’s urinate! This involves shoes…

Post-bathroom:

I left all my dirty dishes all over my desk I am never going to get that grease off that pan with this humble sponge.
My cousin Eben’s recent doodle of people with canons for heads seals the deal: I will approach him about album artwork as soon as I get into the late stages of making a pro-sounding record to peddle. I love his style, but what’s more, his creative voice, the little demon in his drawing hand, speaks the same language as the one that writes my songs these days.
I’m doing dishes and not getting much mileage out of this soap.
My bad dream was about a music class I guess I was taking at Kent State because I was playing the piano in my parents’ living room. I was noodling on a chord progression I had scribbled out on a piece of notebook paper as I usually do when writing songs. Chava was there, leaning on the side wall of the piano’s soundboard and bouncing philosophy off of me like usual. I think my mom might have been in and out of the room, too. There were a few things going on at once and several significant circumstances I’ve already forgotten. All I remember concretely was the feeling that I needed to leave soon to go to that class.The chord progression seemed incidental to the course, and the playing entirely extracurricular, until my mom came in with my syllabus and told me with some alarm that we had a composition due today. My body temperature flared with momentary panic, but I gestured to the chords I had jotted down and told her it was done. “No,” she said, “it has to be notated. On the staff. Sheet music.”Cue the sitcom dream-to-reality transition with a faded-in scream from the protagonist and laugh track when he wakes up.Sheet music is intimidating evidence that I am so afraid of what I don’t understand.
Hey, I’m not looking too bad. (I’m washing dishes in front of a mirror.)‘Cause that’s what narcissism is all about, is looking in the mirror and going, “God, I’d like to have sex with myself!”
-Eddie Izzard, Dressed to Kill
I have a sudden urge to draw things I can’t, probably inspired inadvertently by words of motivation from visual and musical artist extraordinaire Brandon Boyd I finally read today in SUBvert Magazine’s Creative Secrets mailer (very cool stuff, all creative people should check it out). I related all the advice to music, but now I’m imagining imagery I couldn’t squeeze out of my hands even if I did have a set of color Sharpies and a pad of thick paper. I’ll leave this stuff to Eben.
That mental image of bent knives and its corresponding metaphor for the way I felt when I woke up is a lyric for sure, I just haven’t pooped it out yet.

Back in the Basement

colinmorrismusic — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:02:16 +0000

Through a grand stroke of luck and parental generosity, I was able to come home to Akron, Ohio, USA from Bordeaux, France to spend eighteen days in the cave with all the loud instruments and proper(ish) recording gear.

Here are mp3′s of the first two songs to come out of today’s efforts. Download away!

Under Me

I Think We’re Alone Now

Cheers!

Colin Morris: “Beeswax on Your Pillow” live at Hol’ART 12.10.08 in Bordeaux, France

colinmorrismusic — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:13:41 +0000

Wednesday night’s show at Hol’ART was fun like its predecessor, but the unbeatable rule about great gigs held true: whenever you have a good one, the next is never as shiny. Still, the turnout was good, people clapped and sang along when they knew the words, and this head cold held out one more day so I could actually sing.

Of course now my head is full of cement, but that’s fine. Next show isn’t until 15 January (same place).

Here’s a sample from the show. It’s an original tune called “Beeswax on Your Pillow.” As of this writing, a non-live version is available as an .mp3 download on my acoustic Purevolume page, but that’s subject to change, so quitcher bitchin’.

I also did a non-live version of this song at the end of a pointless and otherwise uninteresting vlog on colinmorris.net.

She is from a little town back in Ohio,
Consistently muddy from kneeling in the grass.
She grew up in a library making friends with all the words.
She treats them well and they are hers.

She can’t stand wearing shoes when she’s outside.
And she only seems to sing when she’s alone.
She keeps a little book by the bed for writing big ideas
And to measure how she’s grown.

I am from a small town back in Ohio,
Consistently trying to be somewhere else.
I grew up in a music box making friends with all the notes,
And they are keeping me safely broke.

I can’t slowing down when I’m excited!
I run away from and into things.
I think that half explains our tried-and-true collision:
I may be reckless, but I’m yours.

Now if there’s anyone who I’ve ever been ahead of,
It’s usually been myself.
And everyone these days is saying, “God, you’re still so young.”
Well worry not, ’cause she’s the one.

I can’t slowing down when I’m excited!
I run away from and into things.
I think that half explains our tried-and-true collision:
I may be reckless, but I’m yours.