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Featuring the DMCA-Free Rock of KCWM & Cold the Winter

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To Friends Who’ve Said Goodbye – New Upcoming Single

Posted on May 23, 2023May 23, 2023 By kcwm No Comments on To Friends Who’ve Said Goodbye – New Upcoming Single

It’s not much of a stretch to say that I’ve been in a music funk for the better part of a year. I’ve been experiencing some significant “imposter syndrome” when it comes to the music I write, and it’s seeped into the cracks that were already showing in my drive to get back into releasing music again. While I’ve started the process of putting new music together, I derail myself more often than I see something through to completion.

“To Friends Who’ve Said Goodbye”

https://kcwmmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/To-Friends-Whove-Said-Goodbye-1st-mix.mp3

 

In April of 2023, we had to euthanize our 15-year old Tortie, Frau. For years now, we’d say “Frau’s a friend” (because who doesn’t love alliteration), but I was Frau’s person. She showed affection to my wife, but she’d follow me around like a dog might…never wanting affection, but always craving companionship. We’d realized that she’d lost a lot of weight and enough behavioral changes led us to take her to the vet. We expected her to have thyroid issues, but we received the shock that she had cancer on her heart and a large mass in her abdomen. They told us we might have a month. We had five days.

Just before this, a friend I’d met through the primary Twitch community I’d been a part of posted that she had to put one of her cats to sleep after he’d become ill rather suddenly. Shortly after Frau passed, a friend I went to high school with also had to put an older family pet to sleep. While pets from three separate households, it was tough to know people I know were going through the same loss that my family was.

As has been the story of my life, I turned to music to serve as an outlet for my grief. “TFWSG” came together rather quickly and I immediately thought it’d be a fitting tribute to the furry friends the people in my relatively small circle had lost. It’s the only one of the 3.5 songs that I’ve actually fleshed out into a 2+ minute song, and has become the first song to be released for whatever this next album will be called. I’m not sure if I’m going to stick with the “Volume” theme, especially as I remix and release the previous songs into two albums instead of three.

There are parts that need to do be redone, but the audio above gives a pretty good indication of where the songs going to finish up.

It was the first time in the past year that music just happened with relative ease. A the same time, it got me to thinking about how many songs I’ve started and given up on. In that time. I’ve written a total of 3.5 songs, including “TFWSG”.

Let’s take a quick look at the other 2.5 members of this little group:

The Theme Song

After six years of using the previous theme song I’d written, a friend asked me to write a new theme song for his podcast. He listened back to the songs I’ve released under KCWM and asked for something that had bits of “All the Feels” and “The Original”. I sent him some basic ideas that I’d quickly written on my acoustic, he picked the one he liked, and I knocked it out. It was a pretty quick process…maybe a few hours. I mean, it’s a 45-50 second song (hence the .5 in the 3.5 songs I’ve written), so it makes sense that it’d come together quickly. I suppose the “glass half-full” part of me should say, “Don’t dismiss the fact that you came up with, fleshed out, and recorded the song in a short time simply because it ended up being short. That was the plan”, but the other part of my mind simply rejects that idea.

I recently went back to try and flesh that song to a good two and a half minutes, hit a wall, and gave up. OK, so that last bit is 100% on me, but that’s where I was at creatively, and likely where I’m still at. I feel like I have to find my songwriting legs again before I can go back to it. Maybe it’s the fact that it leans heavily into the pop-punk genre that I’m an absolute fraud at when it comes to writing. I should probably circle back around to it, but for now, that’s simmering on the back burner of my mind.

A New Song for Low-Fi, Nice Try

My friends and I recorded an EP for their band back in 2017. It was a great experiencing adding to the songs my friends had written, even if I feel like some of the parts I wrote haven’t aged as well as others. The recording process was so much fun, but the end result was a mixed bag. While I’m happy with the songs (with the exception of the aforementioned parts), I’m not happy with the quality of the recordings. It was a learning process, but I feel like I’ve come quite a way from what we learned from that process.

It’s six years later and those guys have been putting songs together for a new EP or LP. This time, as a member of the band, I wanted to contribute songs. If I recall, the writing process for the song I’m contributing was one of the last streams I did on Twitch and I recall I struggled a bit. Eventually, the song came together and I’m actually quite happy with it. I threw together a second guitar part for it, but held off on properly recording a clean version with that part because I want my friend to come up with a vocal part and then write the second guitar part around it.

Incomplete Rock

Between Volume Three and releasing the single, “Go On”, I wrote a number of songs on my acoustic guitar that I intended to turn into KCWM songs. These were different than all of the other KCWM songs that started with drums first. I’ve found that writing guitar parts to drums is considerably easier than arranging drums to existing guitar/vocal parts.

Even though “The Original” and “Too Cold” existed as songs prior to their release, they didn’t get considered for release on Volume Three until I’d arranged drums that just happened to work with them. Now that I think about it, the pre-chorus for “The Original” took a lot of editing and adding to make it work, and that didn’t even happen without input from JD, one of the members of the aforementioned Low-Fi, Nice Try.

“Fire Intro Song” was one of the songs that started on my acoustic, and it took me far longer than I’d like to admit to get that right, and part of my crazy brain would argue that it’s still far from right. Out of the eight songs I wrote during that time, I put together drums for two others: one I called “Drop D Twiddle” and another called “E Walkdown”. While both songs will actually see release along with “Friends Who’ve Said Goodbye”, there’s been hesitation on fleshing them out.

For a while, I lost interest in the music I’d written for “E Walkdown” and I wrote this new song that fit the drums, recorded a rhythm part that I sat on for a few days, and abandoned when I went back to listen to it a few days later. It was garbage.

I went back to “E Walkdown”, broke it down to be two different guitar parts, recorded the rhythm part, and learned that it separating it didn’t work as well as I thought. I then decided to write a new 2nd guitar part and, though it needed shaping up, I really liked what I came up with. It definitely has what I identify as my “style”. I labeled it “Incomplete Rock” in the Google Drive folder that I have for a small circle of folks to listen to, and there it’s sat. I will get back around to it.


I need to keep up the momentum I feel I’ve started with “TFWSG”. With Toontrack releasing EZKeys 2, the push to include more piano in my songs, or even add piano driven songs, was a bit of motivation I was waiting for. It released on May 16th, and I only just installed it yesterday, May 22nd. Once I wrap up “TFWSG”, I need to get right into writing the next song so that I can keep moving forward instead of stagnating like I have for the past year.

 

 

DMCA-Free music, KCWM, Uncategorized, Volume Four Tags:90s music, 90s rock, alternative rock, dmca free music, guitar, guitar rock, kcwm, rock, rock music, songwriting

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  • A New Song for a New Album KCWM

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Cold the Winter · Skylines and the Horizon

Latest Instagram Posts

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New single, artwork by @cotiecat. Hoping it will b New single, artwork by @cotiecat. Hoping it will be live on Spotify, YouTube, etc by mid-week. 

In light of the recent passings of our resident matriarch, Frau, and Cotie’s Kuwabara crossing the rainbow bridge, i thought it fitting to honor them both, and Chiclet as well. This song is dedicated to their memory, as well as anyone else who’s lost a pet at any point in time. 

This is the first single of 2023 and I hope to release 5-6 more that I’ll collect in the form of an EP in addition to remixing, rearranging, and rereleasing my previous 3 albums and 4 singles into two 14-song albums. 

I have to find balance between music and D&D. That’s my current goal for this year…creative balance.
Started posting videos about my instruments, amps, Started posting videos about my instruments, amps, and pedals I use to record music. I started off with my 1992 Fender Telecaster that’s my go to when it comes to lead parts for almost every song I’ve ever recorded. Hard to say everything I want to about this guitar in a 1 minute video. #guitar #guitarsofinstagram #fender #tele #telecaster #seymourduncan #gfs
Stripped some ghouls, skeletons, and cultists usin Stripped some ghouls, skeletons, and cultists using LA Totally Awesome and redoing them for uniformity using a rough slapchop paint job. 

I love putting color on the tabletop for my #dnd sessions, and have a soft spot for some cultists. 

There are some unpainted buddies there, one of which is my kid’s mini. Focus here is for some minion-esque baddies to sponge up some action economy. 

My players still steamroll my encounters.
Trying out the slapchop painting method for some # Trying out the slapchop painting method for some #tabletopquality orcs to use in a #dnd session. 

The three taller archers are from one of the 4e dnd board games and the others are Reaper minis, though the three squat orcs aren’t my favorites. 

I do wish I’d spent more time choosing colors for them instead of gray fur with gunmetal, but they work for what I need them to do: sit on the table in color rather than white plastic.
@totalpartychill saw your TikTok about the small m @totalpartychill saw your TikTok about the small mat, and while I love the big one, it doesn’t quite fit the normal setup we have. The small one should be perfect. Looking forward to getting it
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Plus, it’s an easy octave pedal to use and different from the POG2. 

#subnup #guitarpedals #tcelectronic #12stringguitar
Say hello to my little friend. He’s all eyes for Say hello to my little friend. He’s all eyes for you. 

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Coming soon to an adventure near you. 

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I have a number of minis I’m working on at the m I have a number of minis I’m working on at the moment. Here’s my table of things in different stages of #tabletopquality for use in my #dnd campaign, some of which haven’t been started or might not be used. The kobolds you see will be painted green.

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In March of 2021, I discovered the Lovepedal Purpl In March of 2021, I discovered the Lovepedal Purple Plexi and it was finally the closest I’ve come to getting that Marshall-in-a-Box pedal sound. 

Earlier this year, I picked up a Lovepedal Vintage/Modern, which is a Purple Plexi and Church of Tone in one enclosure. 

Not too long ago, I came across a post @cklabofficial posted of their take on a Purple Plexi/Jubilee, two pedals I owned at the time. I really like CKLab pedals and would have loved to have it, but, alas, I missed out. 

I reached out and asked about the possibility of a 2-in-1 from CKLAB. This is the result. 

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Visit their store on Reverb and buy their pedals so I’m not tempted to. Seriously. The LSDelay I bought is so damned cool. 

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A couple of #WIP #dndminiatures projects from this A couple of #WIP #dndminiatures projects from this weekend. I intend to use both in the #dnd campaign im running, but it will be a while before I do. 

I need to add some white lines to the texture around the iris and add something to the black section of the base. 

The mold lines on the pumpkin dude are bugging me now that I see how clear they are in the picture. Will cut those down and fix the color. 

I intend to prime up some of these #reaper #bones5 minis I have sitting on my shelves and paint them on stream. I might only paint to a #tabletopquality but it’s still fun and relaxing to do.
After picking up almost all the paints in the thir After picking up almost all the paints in the third picture, I’ve taken up mini painting again. I decided to start with a treant to work into my #dnd campaign. 

This is still a work in progress. I started with some normal paints and then added some contrast paint on the beard and to accent some of the wood. I need to make some adjustments to the paint. 

I plan to add leaves to the top but my foliage is too crumbly so I need to get some bigger chunks. 

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This kid. This past Saturday marked 10 years with This kid. This past Saturday marked 10 years with our wonderful child…a blend of her mother and I in so many ways. 

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Cross post from Twitter, but I have more room here Cross post from Twitter, but I have more room here. 

This is my current stable of electric guitars, minus my Epiphone ES339.

PRS S2 McCarty 594: “Fat” rhythm. This guitar has “coil tap” which  changes the sound of the respective pickups giving me a lot of flexibility. 

Fender Telecaster (sunburst): Lead/rhythm. I do 90% of my 2nd guitar and lead work on this. It’s on every track I’ve recorded since 2018. 

Squier Classic Vibe ‘60s Stratocaster: General rhythm. Newest addition. Everyone needs a strat, even if I rarely grab one. 

Fender Road-worn ‘50s Telecaster (purple): Bright rhythm. 

Gibson Les Paul Classic: “Fat” rhythm. My #1 guitar. It’s crunchy compared to the smoother sound of the PRS

PRS SC245 Ted McCarty: Bright rhythm. 

Squier ‘51 (modified): Lead

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I have two basses and an acoustic. One of those basses is new so I’m not sure of the roles just yet. 

#kcwmmusic #dmcafreemusic #guitarsarelikechocolate #gearaddiction #guitar
Bought a new caddy from Michaels and was able to s Bought a new caddy from Michaels and was able to stack my unopened #nolzursmarvelousminiatures and #reaperbonesminiatures to better see what I have. 

Left row is full of player mini and humanoids, the middle row is made up of monstrous humanoids and undead, and the right row consists of elementals and fiendish things. 

I have a lot of minis to paint, but this helps me visualize what I have left between the shelves and this caddy.
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