“You’re my best friend / In a world we must defend”

I love cartoons – all 9000 of them. And of all the great songs – everything from TMNT to Captain Planet – this one is one of the best one’s I’ve ever heard. Confused about Pokemon and Ash Ketchum? Here’s a good tutorial on the basics!

This piece composed by Jason Paige, has it all: a killer riff, uptempo beat, and powerful lyrics (by John Loeffler).

I utilized the ‘nightingale of the orchestra‘ more because many people demanded clarinet for my next piece, as well wanting better form and less complexity. This is especially true in the bass section – so put on a nice pair of headphones so you can hear the low end.

The concept of this piece is how it talks not just about needing the Pokemon to defend the world, but in how you AND the Pokemon have to work together – as a TEAM – in order to defend the world. That’s what I like about this, because it’s relative to my own life.

I want to change the orchestra, and inject it with new exciting repertoire, and continue this amazing opportunity and project I have with ‘For Orchestra’. But I can’t do it alone, and nor would I want to. We have to do it together.

“It was dark and I was over / Until you kissed my lips and you saved me”

The love this composition. I love these lyrics.

I thought about their meaning, and how sometimes we think our lives are dark, lonely, worthless, worn out, and over. It seems some times our heads are held so low, that we forget there is someone else who is quietly cheering for us – quietly reaching out their hand to help us up.

And Adele’s words speak about a kiss having saved her. While it refers to a loved one who has her head over heels, it’s relative to any time someone helps up. A kiss, to me, is symbolic of someone accepting you, letting you know they identify with you, and that they care about you.

It can be a fan to a musician. An employer to an employee. A mother to her child. A true friend to another. A judge to an outlaw on behalf of the victim’s family. Or a partner to his/her loved one.

When our heads are down and eyes are somber, we have to pay attention to those who are reaching out to us.

I think of how Dan Savage started the “it gets better” campaign – and it’s about this very thing. It’s about how it takes a village to lift us up and show that we support one another.

So when times are tough, we have to keep our heads up. While this orchestra instrumental piece has no vocals, it has lyrics – and that’s the beauty of this piece.

“Now and then I think of when we were together”

I’m blown away I was never aware of this masterpiece by Gotye. The video, the song, Kimbra’s vocals, it’s perfect. The past few months have been difficult for me, but I’m thrilled to say I’m better than ever and see things clearly now – a perfect bookend into the arrangement of this piece and what it means to me.

As I was working on this piece, I thought about how it’s funny to reminisce about the bad times you’ve had, because the journey is the reward. The memory – as painful as it may be – serves as a marker for one’s positive change. And in the midst of all this back and forth, trying to find myself, trying to make sense of it all, it all seems so clear to me now – the bad times are part of the process! Much like you learn from your mistakes rather than from your successes, you get stronger and smarter with every battle you overcome.

You know that ideology of how no one wants to go through bad times? Sure, make sense. But I wonder how many times I’ve taken the good for granted, how many times something was a memory I used to have. Or how much someone is now a memory of someone I used to know. Life is a journey, and as much as I struggle, or have experiences or people I wished were a part of me forever and not just a memory, I can’t help but to think of one concept – growth.

Walk Off The Earth’s cover version of the original is absolutely breathtaking, and is what introduced me to the original. I must say, that their cover version is fantastic – one of the best cover versions of any song I’ve ever heard. Then I think about how it was arranged with 5 people on 1 guitar… well ain’t that something.

So to start this piece, I wanted a softness leading into a steady drum rhythm. I had to change some of the harmonies around in order to fit with the ranges of each respective orchestral instrument, and I also thinned out some sections that I thought had too much going on for orchestral writing. In addition, I didn’t want to just attribute Gotye in this piece, I wanted to also draw inspiration and acknowledge Walk Off The Earth, so I have some parts that mimic the sound of harmonized vocals, the timbre of the lead singers, and the harp to emphasize the high harmonics.

If you like my arrangement, then as always I’d appreciate it of you please check out the original artists, too. Much appreciation to Gotye (Wouter De Backer), Kimbra, Gianni Luminati, Sarah Blackwood, Ryan Marshall, Mike Taylor, and Joel Cassady.

“I closed my eyes and I slipped away”

In September 1976 the world was introduced to this classic song by Boston from the B side of their self titled album. Named one of the best hard rock song of all time, this piece is known for its heavy guitar riffs, powerful drums, soft lyrics, and awesome guitar solo.

Perfect for an rock orchestra to cover.

But this piece is also about something within itself – music. The lyrics talk about how a song can change you, make you slip away, and create something that’s more than just a feeling. Which gets me thinking about how amazing that something intangible like music, can completely effect another intangible – our emotions.

Music moves us, it makes us laugh, cry, and can’t be seen or touched. It’s subjective, not objective, and it’s all around us.

Perhaps that’s why I love this piece so much, because behind the wall of sound is an emotion that’s being triggered by what I’m hearing. Behind the wall of sound are fantastic, honest, and soft spoken lyrics.

I’ve arranged pieces about politics, hope, religion, death, and love. But the umbrella that tackles that all is music. And this piece is what that’s about. I hope you enjoy it, and that it moves you in the way it has moved me for years.

“You gotta, You gotta, You gotta”

This piece means a lot to me, because to this day whenever I hear it I think of my childhood with my hometown friend. It feels like yesterday, I remember hanging at his house, and how these girls always came over and constantly sang this song or danced to it. I couldn’t escape it! It was in all the malls, tv shows, radio, and now sung to us or played on the home stereo.

I love the idea of how powerful a memory can be – whether a song, a scent, or a physical item. The idea that something so simple can anchor feelings, emotions, and entire phases of your life simply by remembering the role it played in your past is amazing.

So I’ve been working on this piece for months, having constantly being frustrated with the unpitched vocals in the song, similar to when I arranged Rage Against The Machine. Unsung lyrics to a pitched instrument (like violin in this case) is incredibly difficult to transcribe. But after time, walking away from it or re-listening to it, I was finally able to come up with a final version I was thrilled with.

So this is a throwback song, a piece that makes me think about my childhood, the power of a memory, and a well written piece of music. It brings me back to the day when things were simple, I was skateboarding, bmx biking, trying to build a wooden life-size car, jumping on trampolines, and hanging with my hometown friends.

I hope this arrangement brings you back too, or at the very least that it makes you think of other songs that anchor positive memories and emotions in your own life.

“Bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer”

I arranged “We Wish You A Merry Christmas’ For Orchestra for you all. I remember growing up and listening to a ton of arrangements as a kid, and always questioning why they sounded so boring – so I added a few parts, included double bass, and made the violin and trombone lines a lot more exciting. Take a listen!

I’ll be releasing a Christmas Album in October 2012, and this piece is a taste of how that’s going to sound. I wanted to get it out earlier in the month, but it took much longer than I thought. Plus, I’ve had almost no internet this whole week because I’ve been running around to visit family.

So what I’ve learned is that it’s good to be back on track after a tough time in my life. So take a break from life’s fast pace to visit people in your life who mean a lot to you, stay strong, and enjoy the world around you.

Be well, stay safe this Holiday, and I can’t thank you enough for an amazing 2011. Happy New Year, and see you in 2012 !