Welcome to garcemac.com

I don’t post here much (or at all) anymore, but what I’ve just watched, or should I say helped create, has inspired me to login to this site at least one final time.

I present the new interactive video from the Montreal based Arcade Fire, director Chris Milk, and Google, entitled “The Wilderness Downtown“.

You will need Google Chrome installed to watch it, but the few seconds it takes to install is worth it – particularly if you’re an old sentimental wuss like me.

Yeah, I’ve probably posted this tune before as well. More testimony from the greatest rock and roll band in history – The Rolling Stones.

I never kept a dollar past sunset, it always burned a whole in my pants…

Have I posted this song before? Doesn’t matter, Keef is God. Deal with it. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger (and the rest of the Stones) perform Happy circa 1972.

It still amazes how easily I can be brought down by a song. Its three a.m. Tuesday morning and I’m asleep. My sleep is not that deep, though. The digital music channel playing softly in the background is – apparently – toying with my subconcious. It stirs me awake.

Well, Ive been afraid of changing
cause Ive built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
Im getting older too.

With those words it is suddenly June 1991 and December 2007 – and every moment in between. The lyrics wash over me, creating a crushing wave of confusion.

As the song rouses me from my slumber I have no idea what day, month, year or even decade it is. I am awash in sixteen years of memories and emotions – all revisited in the time it would normally take me to bat an eye.

Eventually my little world comes back into focus and I come to grips with my surroundings as I lie on my bed, yet I feel emotionally crippled. I stay prone on my back as the song plays out, then create this post after it ends.

The sensation didn’t last long, but it did take some time (and a cup of coffee) to recover and recompose myself. A landslide, indeed.

Sometimes, you just have to let go.

Oh, take my love, take it down
Climb a mountain and turn around
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide will bring it down.

I’m going to let the inimitible Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham bring this chapter to a close. Love you all.

I’ve always found it stunning how other people’s words can so succinctly sum my own feelings.

Note: This song is protected by copyright and is continually removed from Youtube. Because of this I have to change the video when its removed – so you never know what you’ll get here. The current version (posted above) is from a 1977 Fleetwood Mac concert in Japan. We were all young and beautiful once.

Unfortunately, work has called and I have not had the time (or energy) to complete the songs I have listed on this site. No big deal, I know, but I do hope to have more time to play around with my music as the weather improves and I (inevitablely) begin to slack off.

Having said that, I HAVE been working on a few new songs when time has allowed (which ain’t often). The recordings I have of those are very rough, though, so I’ll wait until I at least get a basic arrangement before I post them. As well, a number of songs I have posted here have changed a fair bit, as they were recorded when I didn’t have a clue how Sonor (or my new equipment and instuments) worked. I still don’t have it down, but my recent results are much more satisfactory.

Anyway – for all eight of you who visit the site regularly – I hope to have some new stuff this spring.

Another new song, this one is titled Sara’s Decline. Its a little heavier than the others I’ve recorded to date. Rough mix, no vocals – and I need to work on the drums a bit.

Another song today, and its not a slow one! This one is called Once Upon A Time, which I recorded this morning. Like the previous song, its a rough headphone mix (its early – don’t want to wake anyone up), and the drums aren’t complete. It DOES have seven or so Telecasters on it, though (ok, one Telecaster. I just recorded it a bunch of times).

I’d like to thank Bill Wyman for stopping by and playing bass. What he was doing stumbling around Scarborough at 4 a.m. Sunday morning is beyond me…

I figure I’ll get the basics for six songs or so, then work on some vocals and try to get a half-decent mix.

Yup, another ballad. This one is called (If) I Had The World, and its a very rough headphone mix. Vocals aren’t recorded yet, and the drums haven’t been completed. Its also quite long…

Enjoy.

As with all the songs I have hosted at Soundclick, I can’t actually guarantee that this one will play every time.

Another original song and – yes – its also a ballad. As with the previous song, I haven’t yet recorded the vocals. I’ll get around to it – I promise. This one is called Can’t You Believe – which is only a working title. The horns are a little heavy, but meh…

Update: I realize that Soundclick is not a very stable platform – after all, we can’t have freeloaders like myself moving ahead of paying custumers on their “charts”, right? I do have software that will enable me to embed my own Flash player, though, and I’ll use it when I, err, figure out HOW to use it.

I am going to be using this site to feature my original music – whether anyone likes it or not. I’ve spent too much time not playing and writing. My first recording is a song called I Worry – which I wrote a long time ago for a very special person who lives very far away.

Vocals aren’t recorded yet, so I won’t be offended if you don’t want to sit through a four minute ballad consisting of backing tracks.