The Green Pages - The Official Mark Greenawalt Newsletter
VOL 18 ISSUE 4  

April 2023

 

The New Song Is 'Come Inside'   
by Mark Greenawalt

The song Come Inside by Mark Greenawalt features Fender Stratocaster and rich harmonies with a 90's vibe.

Songs come to me in different ways. This song was inspired rather quickly when I sat down with my Ibanez Musician electric guitar and came up with the riff for the intro and verses. I love songs that use that minor seventh for the I chord and then the minor seventh for the IV chord (Blue Collar Man by Styx and Long Train Running by the Doobie Brothers are good examples). Bending the rules of music theory is always fun so I decided to the major chord for the I in the chorus and followed that inspiring chord progression from Peter Frampton's Feel Like I Do. I recorded the scratch guitar track to a drum loop and then recorded the vocals. As I finished playing the final drums and bass tracks I decided that I really wanted the song to have that classic Fender Strat sound for the final guitar tracks. I almost bought a Strat, but instead borrowed one from Roger Weidabach...Thanks Roger! Then a touch of vocal harmonies and keyboards, mixing and mastering, and now it's out there on all platforms for your listening enjoyment!

 

 

One Hat, Two Very Diverse Musical Gigs - Disco And Singing Bowls    
by Mark Greenawalt

Mark Greenawalt playing keyboards with The Polyesters on the Keytar and the Fender Rhodes. Mark Greenawalt playing the crystal singing bowls at Con-fusion the new Phoenix Library convention.

I bought this hat and the bell bottom white jeans for a gig with The Polyesters https://martylucas.com/the-polyesters . The two hour show of all the disco hits of the 80's gave me the opportunity to dust off my Roland AX-1 Keytar and I had a stage worthy of bringing my vintage Fender Rhodes. What a fun show this was! The band is made up of the core NineBall band (Marty and Natalie Lucas, Paul Fenix, and Ryan Eibling) and then pulled some additional talent from the Spark Jack Daddy band (Felicia Penza, Rick Danis, Mike Krill, Paul Brewer, Mike Fowler, and one other trumpet player) and I was thrilled to be in a band with a second keyboardist, Michael Berrelleza.

The second gig was at Con-Fusion, a literary focused convention through the Phoenix Library that pops up at 5 different libraries each week. This time it was at Ceasar Chavez Library the theme was 'A Hero's Journey. This was my first gig playing the new 'singing bowls'. I was surprised at the enthusiastic response of the audience as I continued playing for just over an hour. There were several gusts of wind throughout the day that lifted the tents off the ground and I was grabing all of the bowls to keep them from tipping over. I'm looking forward to seeing what other opportunities come for these crystal bowls.

 

12NoteDesign Guitar Techniques For Songwriting Inspiration    
by Mark Greenawalt

12NoteDesign top 12 ways to play acoustic guitar is on YouTube.

There are so many sounds available from an acoustic guitar and guitarists have turned so many of them into the songs woven into the fabric of our memories. If you're new to playing and are looking for some ways to expand your guitar skillset, this episode might just have some techniques that will spark your next piece of music. I'm a true believer that there is a new song in every new instrument I pick up and similarly, every time I learn a new playing technique, I'm anxious to see what new song it will inspire in me. In keeping with the 12NoteDesign motif, I decided to make this a Top 12 list of techniques guitarists use on acoustic guitars. Click the image to watch the podcast.

Upcoming - The Bodypainting Extravaganza at Phoenix Fan Fusion.

E-ya later,
Mark Greenawalt
Mark@MarkGreenawalt.com

My gift to you is my music. Please kindly accept by going to these fine streaming services to download and stream! I hope you like some and consider them for your favorite playlists!

 


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