Influences:   P J Harvey, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Father John Misty, Björk, Mica Levi, Leonard Cohen, Motörhead, The Cardigans, Bee Gees, The Beatles, MC Chris, assorted silliness, well-placed fury... and my sole guilty pleasure, Kiss (love the music, but there's SO MUCH misogyny)

He/him/his; they/theirs

This is my second FAWM.

2019
- I fawmed 34 songs, officially. Technically only 31; one was an unsatisfactory collaboration (Hope Beyond Hope) that I repurposed with original lyrics; one was a 10x10 with nonsense cut-up method lyrics that were partly rewritten into reasonable vignettes; and one would've been a Feb 28th offering that I was still fooling with when sleep over took me.
- Of those, 18 were solo works (includes the Easy Shed non-collab collab; excludes the supplied lyrics of the Fake It Challenge).
- 9 were challenges (counting the Easy Shed trolling)

= = = = =

2018
- I fawmed 23 songs, officially. Technically only 21; two were posted as instrumentals, then again with lyrics+vocals.
- Of those, 3 were solo works.

= = = = =

ABOUT ME:

Spent my wee years with AM radio, and my teens with thrash metal and glam rock.

Served time in an industrial metal band in the early aughts, with whom I played 2004 Canadian Music Week.

Worked labour till I retired relatively young due to mental health issues, then I cartooned and wrote short stories for a decade.

Now it's just me and a handful of instruments, mics, and new-to-me recording techniques. Like last FAWM, I'll strum for whatever lyrics capture my imagination (with permission, of course), with an amazing partner, two annoying cats, too much sugar (probably), and much nostalgia for the musically aggressive days.

#1		A Culture that I'd Hurl into the Mariana Trench folk-pop lyricaldissonance	3 Feb 5
#2		Troughs of Knowing Weeds folk-pop	9 Feb 5
#3		This Is Salem @philkmills  folk-pop filk	6 Feb 6
#4		Hope Beyond Hope folk-pop	7 Feb 6
#5		My Slippers @tunecat acoustic-rock filk week1 clothing badassriff	9 Feb 7
#6		Into Creditor Five (10x10 Challenge) folk-pop cut-up-method tenbyten	8 Feb 7
#7		And an actor unadept @pearlmanhattan  needs-music lyrics-only	3 Feb 8
#8		Only Floss the Teeth You Wanna Keep acoustic-rock humor teeth farts bullies	6 Feb 9
#9		Betrayal @stephenwordsmith folk-rock protest twochords 2-chords	10 Feb 9
#10		Into Creditor Five Redux (10x10 Challenge) REWRITTEN folk-pop cut-up-method tenbyten rewrite	2 Feb 10
#11		Jokes at Scale (Morph Challenge) morph4 depression acoustic-rock obscene-language	3 Feb 12
#12		Fake It (Fake It Challenge) fakeit metalfoot challenge acoustic-rock odd-time-signature	11 Feb 13
#13		Jolly Good Marshmallow @cindyrella  kids humor	14 Feb 13
#14		Unclean @crisp1  americana acoustic-rock chromatic	6 Feb 13
#15		Ruination (Tarot Challenge) RE-RECORDED tarotcard political acoustic-rock clothing	4 Feb 15
#16		My Mitey Demodex (anti-Valentine's; 2 of 2) RE-RECORDED valentine insect animals love love-song science ...	3 Feb 16
#17		With Poppies (anti-Valentine's; 1 of 2) murder-ballad dark horror valentine anti-valentine	4 Feb 16
#18		Had a Bad Attitude acoustic-rock humor meat shoes swears	3 Feb 16
#19		The Appetites of May acoustic odd-time-signature	2 Feb 18
#20		Hecka Worried Itn't Heal (Hank Williams in Hell Challenge) acoustic folk-pop lgbt trump nature books ...	2 Feb 19
#21		Fifth World Problems @stephenwordsmith neeeds-music humour surrealism	12 Feb 19
#22		Once Upon a Time When Wars Ended acoustic	3 Feb 20
#23		Nude and Rude @kahlo2013  punk-pop inappropriate quirky folk-pop clothing filk	7 Feb 21
#24		The Death of Opportunity @stephenwordsmith topical speculative sentimental folk-pop filk progressive	10 Feb 22
#25		Fierce and Savage Love @kahlo2013  valentine love-song rock country-rock folk-pop	5 Feb 25
#26		Give Me the Classics (Keef Challenge) @cindyrella  movies keef open-tuning dgdgbd filk folk-pop	11 Feb 25
#27		Said Good-Bye to the Sun (Rune Stone Challenge) chromatic dissonance folk-pop jewels weather greed	3 Feb 25
#28		My Time Is Glowing (repurposed music) folk-pop acoustic	4 Feb 25
#29		The Space Between My Eyes @ajna1960 collab dissonance alternate-tuning acoustic-metal dark	5 Feb 26
#30		Watch Them With Me! @cindyrella  children kids-song animals	7 Feb 27
#31		Murder Bunny murder-ballad revenge cute i-iv-v 1-4-5 bunnies	3 Mar 1
#32		Brighten the Dead non-apologies	5 Mar 1
#33		Countryside Cities (Anti-Syn Challenge) anti-syn auntie-sin 4-chords feckless	1 Mar 1
#34		Mr Easy Shed a.k.a. Mr Wart @easyshed easyshed easy-shed sti filk sarcasm parasite	4 Mar 1
#35		Millionaires for Billionaires :( i-came i-fawmed i-slept	2 Mar 1

Leave a message. Log in to FAWM or sign up first!
• 

  @tamsnumber4  Mar 14

  Thanks for commenting on my collab song "Hope Beyond Hope", I appreciate the listen!!

• 

  @santadharma Mar 6

  Thank you so much. What a great FAWM you had. Nice work.

• 

  @pearlmanhattan  Mar 5

  Certainly, I will add you as collaborator if you like.

• 

  @stephenwordsmith Mar 5

  Fixed! All uours, when you're ready.

• 

  @msculli1  Mar 4

  Thanks for the comment on Uncontrollable Voice. Much appreciated.
  
  Cheers.

• 

  @stephenwordsmith Mar 3

  By all means. Have a go. I'd like that.

• 

  @matthew62  Mar 3

  Thanks for the listen and comment regarding Talking to the Moon. No worries for the 1 negative, especially since it's well intended, and also, is my least favorite part lyrically. Though I'm a long time fan of Edvard Munch's work, I'd never heard his name spoken and assumed it was pronounced like the soft ch rather than hard k sound. I decided to double check before posting and found out my assumption was false so I had to re-sing it. I originally chose Much for the song because those specific paintings were perfect for the storyline. Ultimately, I'm undecided what I will do about this. Once again, no need for apologies. Your critique was received with the spirit in which I believe it was given, and appreciated.

• 

  @cnidaria  Mar 3

  Love me some ass cake!

• 

  @elliottlawrence Mar 2

  Thank you for your nice comments, much appreciated! And congrats on the FAWM win. Also, you asked about the vocal intonation on one of my songs, if I understand correctly does that mean auto-tune? It is just my natural vocals with a bit of ambience added.

• 

  @cindyrella  Mar 1

  Thanks so much for our collaborations!

• 

  @kahlo2013  Mar 1

  Well thanks for the explanation!

• 

  @matthew62  Mar 1

  Thanks for the listen and kind comments regarding Geometry. I had fun writing that one.

• 

  @lanasolyluna Mar 1

  Thank you! Actually that sound is Tomo's ukulele made out a tin can but he's a master of effect pedals. 33 songs!&^!!! Holy Moly, awesome!!!

• 

  @valeriecox  Feb 28

  Thank you so much for the kind comment. 😀

• 

  @acousticmaddie  Feb 28

  Thank you for the encouragement and kind words on Bone Chimes

• 

  @cnidaria  Feb 27

  When I was a kid in Catholic Mass there was a part where the priest would say, “John Paul our pope and George our bishop...” and my dad without fail every time would whisper, “What about Ringo?”

• 

  @wacha  Feb 27

  Thanks for the feedback on "Barbra" I like your idea for the choruses. That's something I'll explore when I record it.

• 

  @ajna1960 Feb 27

  Feel free to go ahead with The Space between My Eyes. I'll add you as collab now. Thank you !

• 

  @erbaer  Feb 26

  Thanks for the positive feedback on 'one is a jungle'. if you want to collaborate on that or anything else I'm in.

• 

  @sjbatavia  Feb 26

  Thanks for the comment on Read the Card. It's unlike my typical style of writing, but the challenge took me in that direction.

• 

  @zecoop  Feb 26

  Thanks for checking out the Junior High sing - sounds like you and I are similar vintage (80-81 was Junior high for me) and we have some of the same musical likes too, although I was too busy with prog and New Wave for metal. 😀

• 

  @ajna1960 Feb 25

  Heya Moony - yes a collab would be fun. Did you have anything in particular in mind ? Genre ?

• 

  @cindyrella  Feb 25

  Yes Give it a go!

• 

  @hummingbear Feb 25

  Thanks for your comment on Baking Together, much appreciated.

• 

  @lanasolyluna Feb 25

  Congrats on FAWMING ❤️

• 

  @crisp1  Feb 24

  OK, got your message. Thanks.

• 

  @cts  Feb 24

  Congrats on getting to 14 and beyond!

• 

  @oneslowtyper  Feb 23

  Hi William, just wanted to drop by and thank you for the kind words and comments. I haven't had much time this year, but I'm hoping to hit 14 and comment on at least a few of your songs.
  Cheers,
  John

• 

  @wacha  Feb 22

  Thanks for the kind words on "Running Scared". That started out a little more Frankenstein's monster than I meant it to. I was going more generalized the monster or villain doesn't know they are the monster of the villain in the story.

• 

  @songwritingzen  Feb 22

  Re: Nude & Rude... No worries, I've almost completed my version of the song when my computer died. Thankfully it didn't affect any recordings but it did affect my productivity. Glad you got to do your version, now to hear it 😀

• 

  @metalfoot  Feb 22

  I dunno, it's just what the lyrics suggested. I'm only 1/4 Scots but I visited the East Coast this summer... hmmm... thanks for the listen! I'll repay the favour in a moment.

• 

  @elainedimasi  Feb 21

  Re: B5 - I was introduced in binge form by a friend/fan sometime shortly after the series ended - he showed up at our door with a BOX of HVS tapes! I bought DVDs a month ago because I wanted to see it again. I stayed up until 2am last night watching the final 3 episodes of season 3. So, so good. I love being able to enjoy the acting and production now that I'm not glued to the set to see what happens. Still, I'd forgotten plenty. What's JMS up to now? Watching Orwell's 1984 struggle to not play out in front of us *again* ?? Artists do TRY to warn us...

• 

  @metalfoot  Feb 21

  By all means you can also do a version of Stephen Wordsmith's lyric 😀

• 

  @pearlmanhattan  Feb 20

  Thanks for the help and the comment! Music is my first language, only 7 letters to keep up with, lol.

• 

  @philkmills  Feb 15

  I Don't know of any reason other than rhyming for the "-O" endings that get tacked on to some words in folk songs. This was probably my introduction (Dylan adaptation): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bon...

• 

  @cindyrella  Feb 15

  Yes! I'd love to hear what you have in mind!

• 

  @dutch1967 Feb 15

  Thanks for commenting on Lullaby. Lovely was kinda sorta like exactly what I was aiming for.

• 

  @kahlo2013  Feb 15

  Absolutely! I would be totally fine with that!

• 

  @metalfoot  Feb 13

  I grew up in L0K 1R0 😁

• 

  @cindyrella  Feb 13

  Thanks for doing our marshmallow song!

• 

  @lanasolyluna Feb 13

  Thanks for your comment. I am always impressed with artists who can keep my attention on longer tracks, so tried to push myself out of my length “comfort zone.” Thanks fir the support.

• 

  @crisp1  Feb 12

  If you'd like to write music for Unclean, please go ahead. And thanks for letting me know about other people doing songs with the same lyrics you've done. I don't often get asked about it but it's happened at least once with two amazingly different songs the result.

• 

  @cnidaria  Feb 12

  Thanks! I do love me a flat 6th. 😀

• 

  @cindyrella  Feb 10

  Thanks, and yes-it is available if want to give it a go!

• 

  @metalfoot  Feb 10

  What program are you using to record with? I used to use a laptop mic and I was able to fight back the redlining by cutting the gain in my recording program significantly.

• 

  @wacha  Feb 8

  Thanks for the feedback on "Mallory's Lament". I have wanted to write something about them for a long time but have been unable to find something that felt like it felt them.

• 

  @ayehahmur  Feb 7

  Good luck with your mighty morphing, man!

• 

  @wacha  Feb 6

  Thank you for your kind words on "With All of Your Might". I was a little leery of that one but have been pleasantly surprised by the positive response it has gotten.

• 

  @ayehahmur  Feb 6

  Cheers for the comments on my songs, that's very kind.

• 

  @dutch1967 Feb 6

  Hey thanks for stopping by and commenting on The Breeze. This one was so very unplanned for this year's FAWM... I promised myself I'd do 14 uptempo songs and while this isn't exactly a ballad, it's more like a ballad than a rocknroll song... Guess it had to be done. And once finished I liked it enough to post. So... there.

• 

  @jeffwhitmire47 Feb 6

  Thanks for your comments on "String 'em Up!" My influence for the song was the Andrews Sisters from those wartime USO shows. I use a lot of different styles for the musical, some more serious for the subject matter. For that one I wanted to highlight the absurdity of some older Salem residents singing a call to arms.

• 

  @philkmills  Feb 6

  I don't need to review your work. 😀 Do as you will.

• 

  @lanasolyluna Feb 5

  Thanks for your comment. I mostly just babble and call it “lyrics.”

• 

  @crisp1  Feb 4

  Go for it on Hope Beyond Hope!

• 

  @tunecat Feb 4

  Hi there thanks for ur comments on my lyric slippers- sure, it would be great to have a collab. I look forwRd to the finished song!

• 

  @kahlo2013  Feb 4

  Thanks for checking out Butch Femme Blues and your nice comment- I rarely use the F word let alone write it down so wasn’t sure if I should post it - so really appreciate that you found it more fun than raunchy, which was my intent!

• 

  @kahlo2013  Feb 3

  Thanks so much for your comment and Nude and Rude. And for your interest in putting music to it. As you know @songwritingzen was planning to put music to it - it is totally fine with me if you want to as well if he is okay with that too!

• 

  @philkmills  Feb 3

  Thanks for checking out "This Is Salem". With only a few exceptions, I write parodies to get them out of my head. (There are some that I've written and sing with their original tunes.)
  
  If you have any ideas of things you'd like to do with this one, be my guest!

• 

  @wacha  Feb 3

  I used my Fender Squire Strat straight to my reocorder for "hat Will Become of Us". it's my go to when I want a grittier sound.

• 

  @iwilleatyou Feb 3

  Don't know what else can rhyme with "Butta" but I hear you.
  Thanks for the listen!

• 

  @janeg  Feb 3

  Thanks for the greeting on my wall. I had already found and watched you. Looking forward to your songs!

• 

  @kahlo2013  Feb 3

  Thanks so much!

• 

  @dutch1967 Feb 2

  Thanks for your kind words on New Year’s Day.

• 

  @beesmusic Feb 2

  @moonraccoon looking forward to hearing your music, fellow Midlander!

• 

  @nuj4x Jan 24