It has been quite awhile since I last blogged. I can't say that there is really a whole lot going on in my music world right now. The cover band(s) have a few weeks off and I don't have any solo stuff going on at all. I do have a show with The Woeful Ones tomorrow night at Tre Amici in Ybor! I am, however, trying to be better about promotion and keeping people up to date about what's going on, even if that isn't very much, so in an effort to be more active I'm going to post about a new song that I wrote.
My wife will tell you that all my songs are about girls. She's not entirely wrong but but I do venture of the subject occasionally. That being said, this one is kind of about a girl but not really. On the surface it is written about a girl but really it's about a speaker. I know, I'm a geek. That's okay. For those that don't know there is a speaker called a Leslie Speaker. It isn't as popular as it used to be but some people still use it. Of course, it was designed to be used with Hammond Organs but guitar players fell in love with it and started using it with guitars. Jimi Hendrix did it. So did David Gilmore. You can hear it used with guitar in Pearl Jam and Temple of the Dog songs. Stevie Ray Vaughn used it. Gov't Mule does too. The reason it is so cool is that the speakers inside either spin or are directed through a spinning part which makes a wonderful sound thanks to the Doppler effect. Have a listen to Temple of the Dog's "Say Hello To Heaven". The beginning of the song sounds the way it does because the guitar is running through a Leslie.
One of the best known uses of the Leslie speaker with a guitar is Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing".
Back to my new song. The song is called Leslie. To the average listener it is about a girl but it's really about the speaker. I love the sound of a guitar through a Leslie. So yeah, it's a love song.
I wrote the song with the intention of playing it with a band and using an electric guitar through, you guessed it, a Leslie speaker. I did play it a few weeks ago acoustically to positive reviews. Well, I should probably say review. There was a girl there that said it was her favorite song that I had played so far.
Anyway, here's the lyrics:
Leslie
She spins around my head – dizzying
& I have no place to hide
Don’t remember the words she said – admittedly
But still she lets me inside
Want to take her everywhere I go – take her with me
But she’s heavy like a word can sometimes be
I want to close my eyes when she talks to me
But I’m afraid she’d vanish from in front of me
Spin around me like a hurricane
Spin around me like a wheel speeding toward a cliff
And when your sadness makes you want to be still
I will keep you spinning – Leslie
She spins around my head – dizzying
& At that moment I need nothing else
In my head I know her love is fleeting
But I’m keeping that to myself
I’m keeping that for myself
Yay for Fall!
11 years ago
