The Voyage Continues
(Released 2022)

What the Critics are Saying

Johnny O. Pinyin
(Old Man Rocker Radio):

"While the vocal performances aren't the strongest we've seen this year, to his credit, only one or two songs sound like he auto-tuned the cr@p out of them, so I guess it's not the worst. That said, the vocal harmonies are delightful."

Steve Crit Eek
(Rage-Against-the-Machinery-Blogger.com)

"Obviously as a fan of Tom Morello, I'm a huge fan of the whammy pedal, but sometimes you CAN have too much whammy. Seriously dude!"

Connie Sewer
(Wannabe Rockstar Podcast)

"I don't care what anyone else says, this album rocks! The grooves get your head bopping and if you can do only one thing, listen to the last minute of every song. The endings are tight, intense, and will leave you wanting more."

1) What's the Point of This Song?

It started with a sweet Drop D riff and then the song pretty much wrote itself... except for words. And then one Saturday, I started making up funny words about my kids and was like "That's it! That's the lyrics for that awesome rock song!" And then the purpose became to be as silly as possible with the lamest of rhymes. I mean seriously, what rhymes with Rebecca?

2) Hey, What is There Left to Do?*
(feat. the RaMBa Squad)

Another sweet riff but as I played it I could hear in my head a back and forth of me singing and the kids shouting "Hey". And so I recruited the "RaMBa" squad (as I've dubbed them). The bridge was inspired by I Mother Earth's Not Quite Sonic which then leads into a bluesy-funky outro solo (possibly one of the best my career!).

3) Without You*

So I don't think I'm prone to impulse buys but when I happened upon a guitar online with the serial number including my initials, well it was meant to be, right? So the first time I played my Yamaha Revstar RS502TFM VJD (yes a rather complicated model number but whatever), I started playing this single string groove and I knew I had a hit on my hands!

4) What Will We Do?*

It started with another Drop D riff likely written the same day as What's the Point of This Song, but as I played it, I could hear it needed a weird feedback intro that was similar to the song Break by Three Days Grace. I had most of the song written for months but kept feeling it needed a bridge that started with a growling bass (a theme you'll hear on this album) and eventually I got it. Add another whammy guitar line (another theme), a simple solo line, and it returns explosively back to the riff to end it.

5) Who Am I?

Sometimes the best songs come from a mistake. The third chord in the song is a G6sus4/A. I got theory chops but I would never have thought to play that chord intentionally! Honestly, my finger slipped and I was like "that sounds amazing!". The lyrics for this song came at a time when I was questioning who I was, and what my role was going to be in my various vocations.

6) Behind Closed Doors

This song was originally recorded in 2002 but I chose to re-record it for this album to bring a fresh modern sound to what I thought was a great piece. It definitely has a darker theme, and it was inspired by various relationships I witnessed in which the couples weren't fully honest with themselves or others around them. We all have things in our past we are not proud about, but are we willing to be honest with our soul mate?

7) Get Away from Me

Another dark one with a serendipitous beginning. I had left my whammy pedal on detuned a fourth and when I went to play an E power chord, I heard this deep low B chord. It startled me and and fingers jumped to this crazy dissonant mess of a "chord" (no clue what you would call it).

We all wrestle with some demons. For me anxiety and a sense of heaviness can keep me awake at night. The song imagines someone walking with demons calling after them (hence the left to right panning in the chorus), and they are trying to flee from them.

8) Amazing (Piano version)

I was looking for another song to complete this album and decided to redo the first song I wrote for my wife. We have had quite the journey with many ups in downs, but the words of this songs still hold true to day. She really is so amazing.

9) I Can Fly (Piano version)

One of the last complete songs written (15 years ago) before we started having kids and I took a break, the original version was more of a rock song. I always thought the melody was catchy, which makes sense since I unintentionally borrowed it from the song Underwhelmed by Sloan. Ah well.

But then one day, I just sat down at the piano and started playing a simple version of the song and was inspired to re-record it.

10) Led Zep Revived

While this song has gone by other names in the past, I always thought of it as Led Zep because the chorus reminded me of Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zeppelin. One of my bands in university, Very Mediocre, recorded the original version. It's such a great groove I had to re-record it, even if it still doesn't have vocals to this day.

11) The Unfinished
(inspired by Mi-Kay-Kay)

My daughter Mikayla (I asked her what she wants her "stage name" to be and she chose Mi-Kay-Kay) loves to noodle around at the piano and one day she played a very odd melody, G G Bb Bb D D A over and over again. The combination of notes intrigued me, and so I tried to figure out what would be the underlying chords, moved it to guitar and tweaked it a bit.

The result was an interesting song with a ton of sing note lines with complex hammer on and pull off notes that are very hard to play consistently. I tried writing vocals for it complaining about COVID, but the melody just didn't seem right so I scrapped the vocals and left it "unfinished".

12) Department of Medicine Celebration 2021
(feat. the RaMBa Squad)

The music video (see above) explains the genesis of this song, but it was really my department chair making a joke about me playing music at our department celebration to try and encourage people to come and I was like "what, I'm not bringing my guitar to this virtual party!.... or should I...." As I'm always about lifting the mood when people are down, I became a man on a mission to write a silly song to bring a smile to my colleague's faces.