Pre CD Release: Kinda Derange

Posted on Sunday, September 27, 2009
Filed under Blues Rock Songs, Classic Rock Songs, Pre CD Release View Comments

Presenting the song that started it all. What do I mean by that? About nine years ago after I had come off the road and was strung out from the whole cover band thing I went strictly acoustic and honed by singer/songwriter thing on the streets of downtown Minneapolis. It was pretty rough at first because I could not sing and play guitar at the same time in any way, shape or form. I had spent my whole career up to that point as a lead guitarist in hard rock & metal bands so the art of speaking, let alone singing, while playing guitar over the top of a melody of guitar chords was completely foreign to me. But thanks to the kind and descriptive words of passing hecklers on the way to their nine to five gig I found the motivation I needed to improve. But yet there was another problem to overcome, I had only written one song with lyrics in my life up to that point and that was way back in high school. I had written plenty of songs but had always left the burden of lyrics to whoever was the singer to whichever band I was in at the time. So there I was, a guitar player who could not sing and play at the same time plus I didn't have a song to sing.

So I did what any good musician does and I practiced day after day and picked a few basic crowd pleasing songs until I could sing and play them in my sleep. Spent eight hours at the day job then went downtown and spent six hours at night playing on the streets. Before I knew it the heckler comments turned to compliments and people actually started throwing money in my guitar case. But there still was the whole "I got to write a song of my own" problem. I decided I would go back to where it all started for me and pulled out all my favorite blues and rock albums that inspired me to play guitar in the first place. I took what I had learned way back when and tried to mold it into a style of my own. I wrote a few songs but they came out as less than stellar copies of what I was listening to. During this time I had become a fan of alternative and modern rock and came up with the idea to combine my influences among the blues, rock and alternative into something I could call my own. I experimented with having a verse start one way but the chorus going another way and blending basic rock chords with blues based chords. The result is very much the years later much practiced version of what I came up with in finding my own voice.

I imagine your saying to your self at this point, "That's all well and good Wolfgang, but this doesn't explain what you meant by the song that started it all". The first song I wrote at that time was "Kinda Derange". It was also the first song on a demo I recorded onto a hand held cassette recorder in a bathroom to get a reverb effect that landed me a record deal years ago. But after I got the deal I was given the news I was going to be a father and my plans of hoping to be a music legend were put on hold. I spent the next years dedicating my life to raising my son. I still played here and there, did a few open mic nights, was still pretty good but not as good as I had been. A conversation with my friend convinced me to get back into music again and offered me his studio to record that first CD I had started years before. The first song on the first session was? You guessed it, "Kinda Derange".

It was an amazing night for me. I went in and did a click track that I played the drums to and then recorded an acoustic guitar track. I recorded each part with one take each from begining to end. I then borrowed a bass and came up with a basic bass line on the fly and recorded that in one take. This is the point when something special happened. My friend suggested playing an electric guitar track over the top of my acoustic guitar track with my Gibson Les Paul and his custom Stratocaster. I did one electric track clean when we both said let's re-record that part but put a little distortion on it and then we did it again with the Stratocaster and BAM! Wolfgang the singer/songwriter acoustic guy turned into Wolfgang Carter the independent rock star that serves up heaping helpings of head foof and skull candy. My friend then did a quick mix of the song and found a nice lead sound for me then shut out the lights and turned up the volume and let me go for a solo on the song. It was like being on stage again. Had a real organic live feeling but I was finally getting solo on my own song with an awesome band behind me. I layed down the solo in one wondrous take. There are a few mistake here and there but I was happy with it and it was two a.m. and still needed to lay down the vocals. My voice at the time was not what it used to be and I think you can hear it on the track. But the song is a demo and I will be re-recording the vocals before the final release of the CD.

I hope you enjoy the song that has been ten years in the making and though the demo has some short comings that you judge the song for the many years of work in progress that it has become. I still love this song even though the girl it was written for has been long gone and still cannot thank my friend Steve enough for encouraging me to get back in the game and allowing me the time in his studio to rediscover the voice inside me.

Kinda Derange (Pre CD Demo) by WolfgangCarter

Kinda Derange

Wizards and kings, queens and other things
All this and more you bring when I'm around you
Lizards in the mist, a baby's kiss
These I never miss when I'm around you

I know this love is strange,
but it's my kinda derange
I know this love is strange,
but it's my kinda derange

A chid of fire, a ring of heart's desire
Of these I never tire when I'm around you
The magic of the days, The skies majestic haze
All this and more I crave when I'm around you

I know this love is strange,
but it's my kinda derange
I know this love is strange,
but it's my kinda derange

Tigers and bears, a mother who cares
These we'll always share when I'm around you
Birds without wings, cats who like to sing
All this and more you bring when I'm around you

I know this love is strange,
but it's my kinda derange
I know this love is strange,
but it's my kinda derange

Words and Music by M. Heinrich/Wolfgang Carter
Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Link back to this post @ http://bit.ly/bitMQ

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New Song: Beautifully Inked

Posted on Sunday, September 20, 2009
Filed under Blues Rock Songs, New Song View Comments

The ninth song released in my home studio demo series and I think I am the most excited about this song. The reason is in the way the song came together all on it's own. I was working on another song when I stumbled upon the main guitar riff for "Beautifully Inked". I liked the riff so I stayed with it and the next thing I know I was playing the chorus. And though it was a different hook and feel from the main guitar riff the two blended well together. So I stopped what I was doing and started to work on the drum line. The first thing I came up with for both guitar lines worked perfectly. Normally the drums take me more than several tries to get the right beat but on this one the drums were born on the first try. It was going so well that I decided to record it. I recorded the drums and two guitars in less than 30 minutes. I then grabbed the bass and played along with the song once and recorded the bass on the second. I ended up recording it from beginning to end in one take. I then spent some time playing with different ideas on the lead guitar lines and picked the ones that really stood out. I had the whole song recorded in under three hours. Most songs take me at least six to eight hours to record. It was almost like the song was born instead of being written.

Lyrically the song went through a few changes. Originally I was witting the lyrics to be about a friend who is asked to cover their tattoos as work. I like the lyrics I came up with but the song was too upbeat to be about a work related topic. The song has a fun grove and wanted something playful to go along with it. I kept the title and then just sort of let the lyrics flow. I wrote off the top of my head and before I knew it they wrote themselves just like the music had done. Hope you enjoy the song as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Beautifully Inked (Home Demo 1.2) by WolfgangCarter

Beautifully Inked

Have I told you how I love
The way you move and sway
How every step you take
Steals my breath away

Coz your so beautifully inked
So lovely, sweet and distinct
Got me blind and I can't even think
Coz your so beautifully inked

You've got me where you want
I don't know what to do
You charmed me like a snake
With the eyes of your tattoo

Coz your so beautifully inked
So lovely, sweet and distinct
Got me blind and I can't even think
Coz your so beautifully inked

Have I told you how it feels
What it does when you walk my way
Your every step in heels
Your looks do kill and slay

Coz your so beautifully inked
So lovely, sweet and distinct
Got me blind and I can't even think
Coz your so beautifully inked

Words & Music by M. Heinrich/Wolfgang Carter
Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Link back to this post @ http://tinyurl.com/wgcinked

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New Song: Too Late

Posted on Sunday, September 13, 2009
Filed under Hard Rock Songs View Comments

The eighth song released in my series of home studio demos, I present you with my new song -Too Late. Although due to personal time constraints I am not completely happy with the final mix that I am releasing today but I know I am my worst critic and need to not be so hard on myself. Why am I not happy? Two things bother me. The first is the guitars in that I found two tones I like and they work with the song they are not quite what I was looking for. The other issue I have is the vocals. Though I feel they came out ok, I had some issues with my lap top during the recording process and I also recorded them after singing two other songs and my voice wasn't as strong as the other two I recorded. But in comparison to the first several songs I released which I recorded with a cheap computer mic that was meant for dictation, the vocals came out a lot better then what I could have done before. It's funny how technology spoils a musician.

The song was inspired by personal events in my life and oddly enough musically inspired by Pat Benatar's "Treat Me Right". Ideally relationships should be an even mix of give and take but we all have been in a few were the other person takes and takes and takes. At some point enough is enough and I consider this to be a theme song for such a moment.

Too Late (Home Demo 1.0) by WolfgangCarter

Too Late

You want me to come back
Then you turn and walk away
Like I'm some kind of pet
But I ain't the kind to behave
You don't want to be lovers
But you want more than friends
Decisions unmade drive me
To the brink of my end

You want me to be there
But soon you will find
Those things that you said
Made me leave you behind

I'm tired of wanting
And I can't take the wait
You can change your mind
But it's too late

Consider me bitten
More shy than twice
I can't take this box
Get me off this vice
You can't have me both ways
I need more to live
After all you've taken
It's your turn to give

I was never your savior
Don't call me your saint
This place that you put me
Cuts me deep from restraint

I'm tired of wanting
And I can't take the wait
You can change your mind
But it's too late

You want me to come back
Then you turn and walk away
Like I'm dome kind of pet
But I ain't the kind to behave
You don't want to be lovers
But you want more than friends
Decisions unmade drive me
To the brink of my end

You want me to be there
But soon you will find
Those things that you said
Made me leave you behind

I'm tired of wanting
And I can't take the wait
You can change your mind
But it's too late
I'm tired of wanting
And I can't take the wait
You can change your mind
But it's too late

Words and Music by M. Heinrich/Wolfgang Carter
Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Link back to this post @ http://tinyurl.com/wgc2late

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New Song: Worst Nightmare

Posted on Sunday, September 6, 2009
Filed under Blues Rock Songs, Hard Rock Songs View Comments

"So pleased to meet you, I'm your worst nightmare"... A quote from the chorus of my latest song, "Worst Nightmare". This is the seventh song I have released in my series of home studio demos and is the one that I am most excited about so far. Why am I so excited? there are many reason but I will not bore you with the entire list. The main reason is the new piece of equipment I got and used to record the song. I bought the Line 6 Gearbox software with the DX-1 USB guitar interface. So whats the big deal about that you ask? Well for starters the quality in sound of the final demo recording has vastly improved plus the icing on the cake is now I can reproduce the same guitar tones I used when I recorded my first CD. If you are a fellow guitar player or home studio musician, I strongly recommend getting your hands on any of the recording products Line 6 has to offer. In a musical landscape where all most everything sounds the same, especially guitar tones these days, the Line 6 software has what you need to stand out in the crowd.

Ok, enough of the product endorsement babble, let's move onto the story behind the song. This song came about when I gave myself a song writing assignment. Instead of my usual personal experience song content I wanted to write about a specific subject and be able to write from said subjects point of view. I came up with the main guitar riff and wrote the drums to match then topped it off with a bass line. Which was all well and good but I had to subject to write about. As I worked on the music and came up with the chorus section, I was singing a few lines from the Rolling Stones classic "Sympathy for the Devil" when BAM! the words "So pleased to meet you, I'm your worst nightmare" came out of my mouth and so a song was born.

Lyrically speaking the idea was to think of a "Worst Nightmare" as a living thing. So I chose to start by writing the first verse with a kind of self description that led to a side show carnival introduction of sorts with the chorus. The second verse was a mix of the kind of experiences I though a living nightmare would have along with a few words of warning by such a creature. At this point in the song most writers would add a second chorus but a funky little solo section that this creature would play as he stalked you in your nightmare would be more interesting, fun and a break from my usual song format. The third verse is focused on events and situations you may find yourself in when dealing with sphere of influence a living nightmare does create.

I hope you enjoy the song because I had a lot of fun challenging my self with the assignment plus I got to play and combine several guitar tones that I feel really bring the song together.

Worst Nightmare (Home Demo 2.0) by WolfgangCarter

Worst Nightmare

I was born a bit worn
But not too worse for wear
With a black toothed grin
And a get back stare
I live off the streets
And the back of your dreams
But I'm not the one
That you think I seem

Come along and step in side
Strap yourself in for a ride
You know that I'm ready to bare
So pleased to meet you
I'm your worse nightmare

I've done my share of lightning
Drank my weight in gasoline
Died just for the fun of it
Was the first one on the scene
I live in the back of your closet
Under bed and between the seams
I'm the one your Momma warned you about
And your Daddy calls so obscene

I'm you naked at that meeting
Praying it's all a dream
I'm the sound stuck in your throat
When you wake and try to scream
Some call me the boogie man
Others call me Freddie or creep
I'm the ledge from where you fall
And the ground you hit with a shriek

Come along and step in side
Strap yourself in for a ride
You know that I'm ready to bare
So pleased to meet you
I'm your worse nightmare

Words & Music by M. Heinrich/Wolfgang Carter
Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved

Link back to this post @ http://tinyurl.com/wgcnightmare

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