Category Archives: Music

30 in 30 Off-Days: Atlanta (Instrumental)

I like this whole “Tuesday and Friday” posting schedule here. HOWEVER, since posting two songs a week would end this project far earlier than it should, I have decided to post some random extra stuff on the weeks where I only post one song. This series of posts, called “Off-Days”, will highlight all sorts of stuff. Different mixes, previews of upcoming songs, music completely unrelated to 30 in 30… it’ll all be in here.

This week’s Off-Days installment: A different take on Atlanta. I was really happy with how this one turned out, and the subsequent page views seem to reflect that (Thanks a lot!). So, I have decided to offer another side of the song – here it is again, but without all those pesky lyrics and vocals getting in the way this time.

Atlanta (Instrumental)

Check out the original post HERE.

30 Clubs in 30 Songs: Chicago, Part 2

Going into this project, I knew in the back of my mind that I would have to cover every team… including ones I don’t particularly like. Stemming from the fact that the minor league team that plays in my hometown is a feeder for Minnesota, this is one of those times. But even still, I have to admit their manager is fun to have around.

Musically, I opted for a shuffle groove mainly for a change of pace. I further accented this change with what I like to call Gratuitous Use Of The 5-String Bass. Lyrically, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I asked the Twitterverse. The suggestions I received were: a) Shorts, b) Ozzie Guillen, c) Ron Karkovice, and d) Gentrification. Well, three out of four ain’t bad, right? Also: While I was writing the lyrics, I noticed that it sounded like a bad ad campaign, so that’s why the talking part at the very end was thrown in. ALSO-ER: There’s a somewhat obligatory reference to The First Fan. Your job? FIND IT. Have fun and enjoy!

Chicago, Part 2: SouthSide

Next up: Cincinnati (Next Friday), Cleveland (the following week)

30 Clubs in 30 Songs: Chicago, Part 1

I like Chicago. That’s a cool city they have there. I saw my first live major league game in Chicago… in Wrigley Field, no less (Bob Uecker did the seventh inning stretch, which was AWESOME)! I have to hand it to them – that’s a great crowd and one hell of a baseball town. Year after year, there they are, cheering for their team even though they haven’t won anything in forever (As a lifelong Buffalo Sabres fan, I can sympathize with that to an extent). Sure, they probably won’t win this year, either, but they’ll still be there. Wrigley Field has always struck me as The Home Of The Eternal Optimist – There’s always next year.

The last line in the second verse is a reference to this brilliant line of thinking chronicled here (tip o’ the cap to Walkoff Walk for it). Partake and enjoy!

Chicago, Part 1: NorthSide

Next up: Chicago, Part 2 (Friday), Cincinnati (Next Friday)

30 Clubs in 30 Songs: Boston

When I set out to make this tune, I decided to go for a classic/hard rock vibe. I guess I was thinking of Aerosmith, which is kind of odd since I’m not really a fan of them. It still sounds like me, though, mainly because I can’t sing like Steven Tyler without killing my vocal cords. Also, I may be making it a point to avoid parodying actual songs in this project, but I couldn’t resist the bit at the end. Enjoy, comment, share, and until next time: fear the monster, respect the nation… but not necessarily in that order.

Boston

Next up: Chicago (Part 1 – Tuesday, Part 2 – Friday)

30 Clubs in 30 Songs: Baltimore

Aaahh, Baltimore. The once-proud baseball franchise that’s now the scourge of their division. I feel bad for a team like that, despite the not-so-friendly end to the Rochester-Baltimore affiliation. But at least they can take comfort in that cool retro-style ballpark… especially since they beat everybody else to that trend (Sing along to the chorus! “Our retro ballpark was first”). That warehouse looking over the park is pretty cool, too. And “The Wire”…ok, I haven’t seen “The Wire”, but if multiple people said it was worth name-checking, then it was worth name-checking.

Baltimore

Next up: Boston (Next Friday), Chicago (The following Tuesday and Friday)

30 Clubs in 30 Songs: Atlanta

When the idea was hatched for this project, there was only one musical direction for this tune to go: Mastodon! In order to really capture what I like about them, I aped one of their tunings (low to high: B A D G B E), went ape on the drums, and wrote about a big lurking animatronic thing in the city’s ballpark (not an ape). This one was fun to put together and I hope you enjoy it. After the mp3, some extracurricular nonsense.

Atlanta

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30 Clubs in 30 Songs: Arizona

As promised, 30 in 30 debuts today with Arizona. I went for a sludgy, grungy kinda tune (Punk On Deck suggested a TAD influence for this one)… but with some time changes to keep things interesting. The theme of the song is simple: baseball snakes are everywhere. However, I made the “snakes can’t hit” joke somehow forgetting about that “13 runs in one inning” thing against Pittsburgh. OOPS – I guess they actually can hit, huh? It’s the NL West reputation, I suppose… Anyway, please to enjoy!

Arizona

Next up: Atlanta (target date – Tuesday), Baltimore (Friday)

Introducing: 30 Clubs in 30 Songs

Starting this week,BaseBowlingBall you will start to see a lot of brand spankin’ new material on this site! Over the next six months (perfectly coinciding with baseball season), there will be a serious influx of baseball-related music. Here’s the deal: Between now and September, I will write, record, and release one song per big league baseball team. Add that up and you get “30 Clubs in 30 Songs!” I have done Baseball Projects in the past, but nothing anywhere near this magnitude. This is going to be a BIG undertaking. New material will typically be posted on Fridays, so be sure to make this site part of your Friday Time Wasters!

The music will be fairly high octane – think uptempo punk and metal with touches of grunge and prog mixed in – and not without doses of snark (because you’re dealing with me here). If I don’t get to your favorite team right away, don’t worry – I’m working in alphabetical order by city, so I’ll get to them eventually. So sit back, enjoy, comment if you so choose, and remember to check this site every week! “30 Clubs in 30 Songs” kicks off THIS FRIDAY (April 16th) with the opening cut – a sludgy, grungy metal tune for Arizona (which has already been written, as of this post).

Maybe This Year

Lotta things happening today. Easter Monday. Dyngus Day. Also: BASEBALL’S OPENING DAY! Naturally, today’s post is about the latter of those three things. This was written while watching a Cubs game in April of 2006. To me, the long-suffering teams (like, say, the Cubs and Indians) are great fodder for songs like this early in a season. There’s no irony here – this tune is unabashed optimism, placed in the poppiest setting possible. Key of C Major, lotta piano, (bad) guitar solo in place of the third verse, double chorus at the end… you name the cliche, it’s probably in here. Enjoy!

Production, mixing, all instruments by me. From The Baseball Project 2. Recorded in April 2006.

Maybe This Year

Springtime in Texas

It’s almost spring! The sun is out! The snow is… still on the ground here in Rochester. But it’s ok because there’s spring training baseball on TV! To celebrate the really nice weather and the great American summer sport, I present the first track from the first Baseball Project. I had visited my brother who was living in Austin at the beginning of April 2005, then found a game being played in Houston on TV a few weeks later. Well, what better place to start the project? I guess my goal was to make this “three acoustic guitars and a shaker” tune nice and relaxing enough that it overrides the fact that it’s in 5/4 time. I’d like to think I pulled that off.

Instruments, production, mixing by me. From The Baseball Project. Recorded in 2005.

Springtime in Texas