Song and a Chat

Episode #227: The Prettiest Picture  (Song starts at 5:14) I wrote this song for my mother (Mum), back in 1987 {!). I remember like it was yesterday. It was Mother’s Day, in the morning and I’d remembered. I like to give some sort of an original gift, so I thought I’ll paint mum a picture. Yes, I thought I would come up with something suitable in a couple of hours, rock around to Mum’s house in the afternoon and deliver it. Unfortunately the painting just didn’t come together. It wasn’t up to scratch at all. So, plan b: I sat down, pen in hand and wrote some lyrics. Here’s a song for mum Just written to say how much you mean to me. So it sounds like a letter, initially. What came out eventually was: this song was the prettiest picture I could paint, which became the ‘punchline’ of the lyrics. Then I sat at the piano, wrote the music, recorded a demo and delivered the tape a couple of hours later. This was song #23. Looking back, 1987 was a formative year for me, as a composer. I found I could really do it. And as an artist, too, I also realised I could sing well enough to be more confident about my vocals. Recording myself was a good idea.. It’s also a great idea to write lyrics down. Put them together, in some sort of tangible form. I recommend an A4 book. Lyrics, chords and hints of melody (in lower case above each syllable), plus some rhythmical notes, too. I find I just need to start all of these old songs, and the whole arrangements come back to me in a flash. In fact, when I wrote it, I imagined straight away it would go equally well on the guitar. As usual, this episode became a bit of an observation on life. My mum passed away last year, so I guess I was quite reflective as I winged proceedings (as I do, on this podcast – there are no notes to follow, no script). One of the things that came to light is: sometimes ‘creatives’ are viewed as almost a different species. Yes, we have specialised skills that can be honed, but I think to be human is to create. Everyone creates. We have choice as to how to feel, how we react (act). I figure we may as well do good things in this life. That’s why I’ve put a mountain of art and music, writing and spoken word online, these last 200 odd weeks. I’ve archived my work and I hope it’s entertaining and helping people. Feedback, to date, would indicate this has the case, which is great. Speaking of archiving, I think I better do some more backing up. The digital domain isn’t exactly stable at times. My music computer might have done it’s last bit of recording with this episode. Some very bizarre noises were happening. The upshot is: this recording is in mono. I got there, just. Finishing it took some thinking outside the square. So I’m going to take a break for a few weeks. I’ll be back rejuvenated, with a recording system that’s operating in the NY. See you then. In the mean time, if you’d like to hear more like this, There’s another 226 episodes you can listen to retrospectively. Producing this podcast has been so rewarding, often surprising, in so many ways. Thanks for reading this and I hope you enjoy hearing how the words and music came together for   ‘The Prettiest Picture I could Paint’, ( this one’s for you, Margaret, delivery #2.). Enjoy,

Episode #226: The Smallest Of Dreams   (Song starts at 3:47) I found a quite extensive amount of audio of me composing this one. So I’ve included some of it on this episode. As I listened back to the process of the smallest of dreams coming together, I found it fascinating. Often songs come together quickly for me. This one was different. Each time I picked the song up, and gently sung it through, it seemed a new bit revealed itself each time. Even if what I was playing didn’t seem to be heading in the right direction, something would kick in and give me just enough to keep going. The smallest of dreams started out life as a snippet of a waltz piece on the piano, played in a completely different key. This was the moment where I recorded what I’d come up with. It was little more than just a couple of bars of not much, but it had a certain feeling about it. Over the years, I’ve learned to recognise potential in a piece of music. From there it was like kneading a piece of clay, keeping a sense of humour and being true to the feeling that came through when I recorded the initial piece of piano playing. ‘As we play see the day make the way for the smallest of dreams’. It seems the creative process of producing art and music and writing is a parallel to life itself. Play is a key element to composing. Just being free to see where the melody or chords will take you. It’s the same, as we go through our weeks: just remembering to have fun and keep moving. If we go along steadily and not rush, it seems little extra bits seem to come to us just at the right time. And that’s how it is with song writing, it’s about being on the breathe, being aware, asking questions , keeping moving and rolling with the new phrases – both musical and lyrical  – and you see where it takes you. Ok here we go. This is a very gentle ballad. With a nice 3 4 lilt. It’s the last song on the new album River Walking by myself and Paul Dredge, (streaming now). You can hear the actual album track on this episode. The lyrics are on my blog www.petepascoe.wordpress.com , plus links to more of my music and art. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed producing it,

Episode #225: One More Cup  (Song starts at 4:27) As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed producing this episode. Earlier this evening, I had a feeling I had some recordings of myself composing One More Cup – somewhere on one of my hard drives… By some sort of miracle, I managed to locate the snippets of audio. I put them all together on a timeline and as I recorded this episode, I listened to each new section in turn, much as the listener would do, discovering what I got up to. I found it at times surprising, fascinating and humorous. These 3 things I would say are a 3 of the essential components required to compose. The sense of mystery, the intense focus, due to the passion and a sense of humour to keep the wheels on and rolling when you hit a bung note or take a wrong musical turn. I wrote the lyrics sitting in a cafe. It’s the way I start my Mondays and Tuesdays: long black in a mug, considering my days ahead. Across the road, I see the school where I’m employed as a contractor, teaching 24 piano lessons in 2 days – each week. You can appreciate my need to take a moment to mentally prepare. Some days I’ll sit and type a blog post. Or perhaps a letter to Paul Dredge, my co-songwriter in New Zealand. or, as on this particular day, I may pick up a pen and starting writing lyrics, sometimes describing the scene around me. These lyrics are  an account of the songwriter (publicly) going off into dreamland and returning. The morning rush is in full swing but not for me –  I sit here quiet in the shade.. Bliss. What is also bliss is this: listening back to the finished version of the song, One More Cup is track number 10 on the album River Walking, written and recorded with my great friend and co songwriter, Paul Dredge , from New Zealand (where I’m originally from). The arrangement of the musical instruments on the finished recording start to tell a story of their own really, so I’ve included some of the production work (isolated parts) on this episode . So join me for a cuppa maybe, as you listen to this episode. I had one in hand as I was speaking, in between playing the piano to demonstrate the odd section. It’s such a pleasure to be recording these episodes, particularly working through the songs on our most recent album. I’m glad I had the foresight to record the songwriting process for One More Cup. I hope you enjoy hearing about the process…and listening to the finished version. More about One More Cup / the album and lyrics here: www.petepascoe.wordpress.com Here we go. Join me for one more cup.

Episode #224: Old Horse Grey  (Song starts at 3:45 ) There’s a state of mind you get into when you’re doing something creative like writing a song lyric, composing the accompanying music & arranging the instruments during the recording process. You’re right in the moment. Honouring what you’ve already created, you’re asking constant questions to guide you to what’s next. The questions come from feeling. And the answers just seem to appear and fall into place like they were meant to be. Welcome to the art of songwriting. It’s a reflection of life itself, by it’s very nature: we ask questions as we go through our lives. Taking responsibility for our actions thus far, we ask “What’s next?” And the answer?  what will be. The oldest answer has always been:  to just be in the now. And let what will be, be. In the country I find it easy to find that pace – just walking. Like an old horse. No rush. The old horse grey lyrics were inspired by the horse that, until recently, lived in the paddock across the road from our house. The school children called out to him, fed him apples as they walked to school. It really struck a chord with me: when I was a primary school kid, there were 2 horses in the paddock opposite our house. One was brown, and one was grey. I chose to call the song Old Horse Grey, as it was about my childhood as well. Also it sounded more poetic than ‘old brown horse’ (the horse across the road here in 2024 in Australia was brown). Anyway, the time came when he passed away. We all miss him. There’s a few lines about the passing of time in the song – and this:  the noise of trucks, the spread of the city. Old horse grey, he shakes his head as if he knows… ‘Old Horse Grey’ is song #9 on the new album ‘River Walking’. I wrote the lyrics (or most of them) and sent off to Paul Dredge, my co songwriting buddy, knowing that Paul would come up with just the right country feel for the song, I didn’t tell him this. I just knew. Then Paul stopped and left the chorus (or is it the bridge?) for me. I ended up steering it though to the end, adding more lyrics. You can hear this process on this episode. I have included the audio of Paul’s initial sketched start, and my answers. You’ll also, of course, hear the finished album track. I’ve written about the song in this week’s blog post. www.petepascoe.wordpress.com  –  and I’ve included the lyrics as usual. The end result is a song which Paul and I are really happy with. It’s a mellow listen. Also in this episode, I have included a wee funny story about a bit of horse riding I did as a child, in NZ. That’s the great thing about song writing, so many layers are in there, it’s like looking through a photo album, listening back to a song I’ve written the lyrics for. It was a real pleasure to write this one with Paul. I hope you enjoy listening to how Old Horse Grey came to be. Here we go…

Episode #223: Changing Times (Song starts at 4:18 ) The featured song on this episode is song #7 on the album ‘River Walking’, by Paul Dredge and myself. At the time of recording this episode, the album has not long been out and I’m working my way through the songs. I’ve actually skipped one in the sequence the song ‘Gone Too Soon’ is song #6 on the album. I’ve already recorded an episode featuring this song (do a search on the platform you listen to your podcasts to and you’ll find it – or follow the link below). I’m an album man, generally, when I listen to music. I like to really immerse myself into the vibe of an album. So I think a lot about how I decide on the song order. In this case, it made sense to me to place ‘Changing Times’ after ‘Gone To Soon’, which has a gentle groove. The blues with a swing beat of changing times (which Paul came up with) kicks in nicely and the album cruises on in yet another music style. Good fun. Changing Times started one morning at the cafe where I can often be found, first thing in the morning, opposite the school where I teach piano on Mondays and Tuesdays. I take a breath, have a coffee and consider how things are going. Most often I’ll write a blog post. And sometimes I’ll write lyrics. On this particular day, I sat ‘outside by the roadside…a little uncomfortably close. Summer Breeze was (Is) on the radio inside, out here I sniff(ed) the air as it blows’… These were the words I started off with. Paul received my lyrics while on holiday (in fact, I think it was the same holiday that Paul came up with the start of River Walking). You can hear the audio on this episode which I received back from Paul. He’d written the verse and chorus with a bluesy cool groove. I then wrote the bridge. (which you can also listen to – so you get to hear the to and fro of our international writing style). Blues tends to write itself, once you’ve made the decision to go down that path. It’s fun. Paul said “The lyrics just said blues to him”. And I agree. It was fun to add the bridge, and that was that. Arranging the song was next. I’ve shown how we did this by including some isolated tracks of the instruments. We both lobe this process. The lyrics are about how suddenly you realise you’ve reached a crossroads – and it’s time to make some decisions and make some changes. This was a a couple of years ago, when I wrote the lyrics. I realised I’d been doing way too much, each week, for way too long. Passionate as I was (still am) about the arts, I needed to reel in my work load a bit, Fast forward a couple of years …and I’ve sort of slowed and down,,,and sort of not. I’ve chosen to go down a few different artistic paths over the years. I’m enjoying string my art and music – and the processes. You can read about it all on my blog  www.petepascoe.wordpress.com  where you can find the link to the ‘Gone Too Soon’ episode –  and read the lyrics of the song featured on each podcast episode…) Ok, Changing Times, here we go – rollin’ !

Episode #222: River Walking  (Song starts at 4.22) This song is the title track of the album by the same name, by Paul Dredge and myself. It was fun looking back to see how ‘River Walking’ came together. Although it was written in sections, by 2 people, in a sort of a call and answer style (which we do, as we’ve lived in different countries for some time). We send the sections online back and forth. I think the finished song sounds like it was written by one person. It’s an example of how much on the same page you can be with someone. There was a lot already in place, looking back to when we first met at the first gig: the harmonies, the arranging skills – the music fell into place quickly together. Then there were years where we refined our music together – particularly at a 5 night per week piano bar where we performed as a duo. There was nowhere to hide, our voices and the 2 instruments were right there… no drums to hide behind. So It was an potentially an intense performance space, in some respects, but the only way you’re going to make a piano bar restaurant work is for the entertainers have to be relaxed. And we certainly were. But it took a lot out of us, performing so much, even though we both loved it. To switch off, we’d walk by the river, or maybe fish.  The Manawatu river rolls quietly along the rural plains, beside Palmerston North and onward to the coast. We discovered pretty quickly that the sound of the river, the breeze in the trees, the bird calls had a profound effect on our nerves, our breathing… It became a regular event, like a ritual, looking back. A very  peaceful, restorative thing to do, walking by the river. Fast forward to now. I find a lot of peace where I live. I’m lucky enough to have some studio space where I paint, compose, write lyrics. I live near the Port Phillip bay,(Mornington Peninsula, Vic, Australia). I wrote the lyrics, to describe how it feels, being out in nature, unwinding. I then sent a sheet of lyrics that were really in need of an edit. But I knew Paul was about to go on holiday, which is when he often writes songs, so I felt the need to get some lyrics to him. Paul came up with a couple of verses, and the bridge…he then sent me an mp3. To carry on with. You can hear Paul’s ‘initial sketch’ recording on this episode. He recorded it at the camp ground. It’s really great to receive these from Paul. In the studio, I have it  playing in my headphones. I  have tracks recording and as Paul’s part stops, I kick in on the piano and voice, carry the arrangement and wing a melody for the next section. In this case it was the chorus. So you’ll get to hear how it happened this time. And you’ll hear where it finished up: the album version. 5th song on the album ‘River Walking’, I think it’s pretty much right on target, for the sort of folkrock music vibe that we seem to be most comfortable producing together. There sure is some variety of styles on the album. We are stoked with it. Ok want to hear more? Hear we go, come ‘River Walking’ with us.

Episode #221: Electric Cow.  (Song starts at 4:52) I would say the main take away from this particular episode is perhaps this: no matter how strange, how silly, how childlike a creative idea that pops into your head is, I would suggest it’s really important not to dismiss it. In fact, I would say these are perhaps some of the most important sparks of ideas. The unedited & unbridled joy of creativity – the sort of domain that comes so naturally to us as children. I think perhaps that voice, that state, is something we tend to lose as the years go by. We’re taught not to be silly, to focus on ‘what’s real’ (which brings to mind: anything that is manmade that we would consider ‘real’ in todays world didn’t exist, once upon a time – it started in someone’s mind. Imagination is the key). A great way to unlock this ability that cam come so naturally to us (and I really do think most of us have the ability, we have to – to be human is to create. So I choose to create beautiful things or funny things. Life might as well be beautiful and it sure as heck may as well be fun. Having this sort of state of mind was instrumental to bringing Electric Cow in to being. A decade ago. I was biking home from teaching 17 private piano lessons (big day, eh? You do what you have to to get by financially. I’m teaching 22 in 2 days each week, these days & that’s plenty. And it’s a privilege. One of the things I say often to my students before we start is: are you ready to have some fun? Ready to make some mistakes …because that’s where some of the most interesting most important moments in art, science, you name it, happen). Anyway…on my bike, this whole verse electric cow, electric cow, what the hey do I need an electric cow for?came through loud and clear. Now, I could have dismissed this as rubbish. But I didn’t. I’m so pleased I didn’t dismiss it. In fact, the next 4 or 5 verses came though as I was biking. I went over them in my mind and whenI got home, my family saw the look on my face. I marched though the house to my studio, wrote out the whacky words and quickly found the chords f f g, FF g. And that was that. Speaking of teaching, today I taught an hour’s cartoon drawing with 20 children, sharing creative ideas about how to get into a free creative state. This appears to be something I’m really into. On this episode I have included audio of the demo, and the recorded parts of the final arrangement. This is because sometimes the production, the recording can be part of the composition, and I think this is perhaps true to a degree with this song. It’s all good fun, I guess it has to be with a title like electric cow… Electric Cow is the 4th song on the new album by myself and Paul Dredge: River walking – streaming now! I hope you enjoy hearing how another song came together.

Episode #220: A Quiet Moment   (Song starts at 3:31) This episode features the song ‘A Quiet Moment’, composed by Paul Dredge and myself. It’s a song about reflecting back on the history of a friendship, so it’s a quite a personal document, in a way. On that intimate sort of a note, you’ll get to listen to some audio of Paul and I composing and arranging the vocals for this song. So you get hear some of the actual process of a song coming together. The style of ‘2 voices to the fore’ appeals to Paul and I. It’s something that comes to us easily. We were inspired by the Finn Brothers (NZ), Simon and Garfunkel, the Everly brothers. I think ‘A Quiet Moment’ is a very nice album track. Its the 3rd song on our new album ‘River Walking’ (folkrock, streaming now)  – great to unwind with listening with headphones on – or in the car perhaps). It’s a really good example of Paul and I almost in a live performance mode with the singing when the chorus hits, after a more conversational verses. Listening to the audio of us composing together, you can hear us sort of kneading the song into shape, almost like 2 potters working on a piece of clay as it becomes art. I’m glad we took the time to bring this song together. We’ve had it in the vault for a few years. Once we decided it needed to fleshed out and lengthened with a guitar solo it was ready. Sometimes you have to be patient. Songs seem to have a mind of their own sometimes as to when they are released out into the world. The guitar solo was a good idea …it lead into a high lead line over the 2nd chorus that really added to the drama l – and made the recording, I think. Paul wasn’t expecting to do this …he got to the end of the solo and just ‘winged it into – and along with –  the vocals on the chorus. This sort of thing is what we really enjoy when we record. The magic of being completely in the moment, in performance mode, responding intuitively with the right notes and lines to embellish what’s already been recorded, without taking over, or getting in the way. I’m glad I took a quiet moment to write the lyrics in the first place. OK, join us in the songwriting session…this is one of those songs where we were in the room together. Paul had a quick read of the lyrics and kicked in on the guitar with some chords, playing with muted strings. I like winging the vocals over the top so away we went. Hope you enjoy some more music and chat. The River Walking album is brand new, recorded in 2 countries Australia and NZ . It’s streaming on all the usual platforms – also available for steaming and downloading from www.petepascoe.bandcamp.com Enjoy ‘A Quiet Moment’ with us.

Episode #219:  I’ve Loved Life  (Song starts at 6:52) On this episode, I’ve featured a song which is track number 2 on the album ‘River Walking’, which I’ve written and recorded with Paul Dredge. The gist of the meaning of I’ve Loved Life is: there’s lots of ups and downs – that’s the way it is. But we’ve got the choice to try to enjoy ourselves along the way. I think we might as well. The rough bits are going be there anyway. The world seems to reflect back what put out there. You take the ups with the downs, the smiles with the frowns. I’ve loved life and it’s loved me… I relate a relate a couple of anecdotes, which I found in an old diary entry, which I’d written around the time I wrote I’ve Loved Life. The ups and downs of being an Artist … I’ve been so lost.  And still I’ve found lots of hurt but much love all around I been under the stars, worries run rife There’s what I think is a misconception / misunderstanding that you have to be poor and starving to produce serious art and music. I don’t think you do. I do think you need to live honestly, be true to yourself, etc – but you don’t need to be broke ( I think perhaps that idea has contributed to the idea art and music doesn’t really have financial worth…..streaming, anyone? Anyhow… I’ve had Money and I’ve gone broke I’ve loved life, song #664, was fun to write. The Lyrics came quickly, (I enjoy analysing the lyrics) the music pretty much wrote itself – it’s a very ‘up’ happy country rock song.  I think you can hear this in the finished track, which I’m very pleased about. It sounds like a live band having fun. There’s an art to getting to this point, when you’re starting with piano vocal and click track.. I’ve included a snippet of the demo I sent to Paul (in New Zealand) so you can hear how the arrangement came together: Paul did his thing, sent back drums, bass, guitar and harmonica. I re-recorded the piano, sang it again and there it was, finished in no time. The recording sounds like a live band having fun. Which is great. This was the plan. I’ve performed this song a few times live since it wrote it, this gave me a chance to work on the phrasing of the lyrics, which is a good thing. If you’d like to read more about this song after you’ve listened to this episode, visit www.petepascoe.Wordpress.com (my blog – search  I’ve Loved Life). I’m going to feature a few songs off the album here. The album ‘River Walking’ can be found on all the usual platforms (It’s under my artist name Pete Pascoe on Spotify and Bandcamp, Apple music etc..) We are stoked with the album. Released under the folk rock genre, it encompasses country rock, rock – a fair bit of variety… Enjoy! I’ve loved life,. Rollin’!

Episode #218: All Through The Years     (Song starts at 4:05) I’m really enjoying recording these episodes (obviously I wouldn’t be doing it if I wasn’t). It’s my online weekly gig. The song ‘All Through The Years’ ( #541) was written in 2007. To be honest I haven’t thought about it too much through the years. Ha..so many songs, you get busy. Keep composing. So it’s been sitting in my purple book til now. Handwritten  in my handwriting – a code most people wouldn’t be able to decipher. Until now. Anyway, I’ve given this song a bit of a run through occasionally perhaps. I never felt comfortable with the chorus for some reason. Thought it too simple in terms of the small amount of different chords used. Now I  can see that that might actually be a strength. Tonight – and it is tonight, here in Melbourne, I set up a gentle tempo with a click track and just played and sang it through, winging parts here and there, imagining other instruments carrying sections. The outcome is: I’m pleased I’ve rediscovered ‘All Through The Years’. And I’m glad I chose to record an episode about it. The song started as a ‘words first’ effort. One of my children had a bad dream, so I got up to settle her, calm her down. It’s a special time when you go back in the room as a parent, just to make sure they’ve gone to sleep again, taking care not to boot a child’s toy on the ground in the dark, you creep in watch for a moment in the moonlight, see their peaceful face as they softly breathe. You might whisper an ‘I love you / Goodnight’ and retrace your steps back out the door. On this occasion, I didn’t go straight back to bed. I went into the lounge, picked up and pen and paper and wrote the words. Then I went to bed (jumping on the piano at 2am wouldn’t have made me overly popular with anyone in our household). 6 months later, I found the lyrics, found the same mood (important) and just played through a few chords. The music seems to match the lyrics and a melody  came to me as I floated my voice over the top and away I went. It’s a magic feeling – still magic after all these years…Paul Dredge and I have just released another folkrock album, by the way. Streaming on the the usual services. River Walking. I bring it up because it’s an example of songs taken to the next stage. Arranged and recorded. So much fun. I’d like to do something with All Through The Years, now that I’ve finally recorded a demo ( didn’t take me long: 20 odd years after the song was composed. Oh well). I also mention my blog www.petepascoe.wordpress.com you can read the lyrics there and check out more of my music and art each week, including some writing about the first song on the River Walking album, Waiting. I hope you enjoy hearing a little bit about how this song came together, as I sit and demonstrate parts on the piano singing away in between the chat, Ok here we go. All through the years, ‘Rollin!’’.