CONEY ISLAND ON THE BACK BURNER

Coney Island has always been a special place for me. Growing up, it was the place where us poor folk could have some fun with only 10 dollars. It was a place where you could wash away your demons and never see them again. A place to embrace your sweet heart and make memories that would eventually become stories your children's children would hear at bed time. Coney Island is like another planet; Coney Island is unlike any place you've ever imagined.

2 years ago I began writing about Coney Island in my sketch book. For some reason the spirit moved me in that direction. These words eventually became songs and the songs eventually became ideas for a Coney Island Tribute. I began recording these songs but at some point lost all focus on the project and stopped halfway through.

I'm writing this blog to share with you some roughly mixed tracks that provide a glimpse of what was in my head at the time. I'm also writing this in search of some inspiration to pick up where I left off and hopefully culminate the project. I would love some feedback.

Below are some tracks for you to listen to. Hope you enjoy them.

yours,
JD

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HERE COMES A. BOGS!!!!

A. Bogs a friend, an artist, a musician, and a brother. We painted Jody Sunshine's apartment in the summer of 95. We listened to the Beatles while we painted white walls and ate stale sandwiches till late in the night. A month went by and the work was finished; we parted ways not knowing that 3 years later we'd be reunited and play music that neither of us even dreamed of.
One day cleaning out my phone book, I discovered his number and gave him a call. Little did we know that we were neighbors living only a few blocks away from each other and were both making music. We got together to break bread and recorded music the first day we reunited. Ever since then A. Bogs and I have collaborated in music and shared life's joys and sadness.
Over the years we've played many shows under the name Swampbelly and then Bogs Visionary Orchestra, and also recorded several albums. A. Bogs enchanting music embraces hillbilly roots, Allen Ginsberg wit, mountain banjo twang, and humanitarian/political/apocalyptical and sometimes humorous lyrics. A. Bogs latest album Maladroits Union was a blast to record and holds some inspirational tunes and some very interesting instrumentals which did not exist in the earlier albums. Soon to be released, is yet another masterpiece by our junkyard, indie rocker that Im sure will inspire great things among mankind. Stay tuned for A. Bogs!
http://www.myspace.com/bogsvisionaryorchestra
Yours,
JD

PS
Ive uploaded "Down the Road", one of our first songs recorded. I'm playing a reverb drenched electric guitar. Maybe a little too drenched. :)

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Working the Fields

Looking through some boxes that I have yet to unpack from the move many moons ago, I found a cdr of a song that I recorded a long, long time ago and had completely forgotten about. "Working the Fields" was a spur of the moment song inspired by the movie "Cool Hand Luke", which Ive seen many times. Since Paul Newman RIP just passed away, I figured I'd let this one go in his name. I'm not a Paul Newman fan per say, but love the movie and think he has had some admirable roles in his career.
The song was not intended to be on an album, It was just for kicks. The mix is sort of terrible since at the time I did not have much experience mixing, but the spirit is strong. Either way, I hope you enjoy it. Nighty night.
Yours,
JD

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Sneak Peak

Here's a very short video I shot in my home studio, playing a snip of a track that will be on the anticipated album. You can hear my good friend Bliss Blood's saw playing, sweet!!!! You can also see some of my close friends who make sure everyone is quiet while I record.
There's a weird UFO type of effect when the camera points at the sun. I'm sure AV people will have a valid explanation for this strange occurrence, but nevertheless it looks really interesting and I'm trying to convince myself that UFO's are truly visiting me. Till next time dear friends.
Yours and yours only,
JD

DM STITH

DM Stith is a gentle soul. A keeper of beautifully crafted folk songs that I can only imagine existing in my most allegorical dreams. DM Stith is also a close friend with whom I've had the pleasure of collaborating with in our musical journeys.
His debut album will be released by the Asthmatic Kitty Record Label sometime in December. A song titled " Just Once" from this anticipated album was graciously reviewed by FADER. I had the honor of laying down some obscure lap steel on this gem of a song. My lap steel playing can be mainly heard towards the end of the song. It almost embodies a creature dangling from steel tightrope, scratching away at the surface of this dreamy song. Watch out, DM Stith is coming your way!


http://www.myspace.com/dmstith

Radiant Sun

Here's a song I recorded very quickly in my living room with the sounds of my family doing their thing around the apartment. I normally try to keep things quiet but was inspired and couldn't wait for peace and quiet to visit me. Even tough the tracks are noisy, you really cant hear anyone clanging away in the kitchen or my baby girl's pitter patter . Anyway hope you enjoy it. Hasta la pasta!

Yours,
JD

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ROLLIN HUNT TRIBUTE

Earlier this year I had the honor of being asked to be a part of a tribute album to Rollin Hunt.
Rollin Hunt is an amazing singer/songwriter/artist from planet earth. I discovered his music about 2 years ago and was immediately hooked. The honest rawness of his recordings and his amazing story telling is something to admire. I chose to cover the song " Nice Night". Its a very intimate song that automatically made my spirit feel at ease. I tried to think of very eccentric ways of covering this song, but in the end, following Rollin's spirit seemed to work the best. It was a lot of fun and for sure an immense honor to be a part of such a tribute. I have posted a link to Rollins Myspace and the Tribute's Myspace too. The song is posted below for everyone to listen to. Adios!

Yours,
JD

Tribute album Myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/himwhoisthere

Rollin Hunts Myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/rollinghunt

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Greatest Day

Life has changed so much in the span of 2 months. Today is my first day blogging, something I despised and surely never thought I would be doing, but like the saying goes "never say never".

I spent most of my morning playing a little accordion with my baby girl Dakota. She's really obsessed with this toy accordion. The problem is that she can't really play it on her own, so I have to sit with her and help her get some sound out of this forsaken baby accordion. At first, its adorable and inspirational, but after a couple of hours you start to go bonkers. I finally distracted her with her ukulele. Thank the heavens!

I'm trying to to get back to finishing my album. So far, Ive been working on it all week. Hopefully it'll be out in the next few months. I hope everyone enjoys it, as I think it holds many beautiful treasures.

Its a beautiful day today. The sky is clear and I havent heard a car alarm yet, so I think were good to go. Im not sure how good I'll be at this bloggin stuff, so we will see. Till next time.

Yours,
JD