Rule 32: Enjoy the little things in life.

Great song. Covered by many people including the very famous Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, and many others, this song was written by Leonard Cohen. Adding to the great multitude of people who have covered it, here’s my version. Hope you like it.

Hallelujah

The other day while browsing around the net looking for new bands to listen to, I found a curious little band from Northern California called Lloyd’s Garage. Intrigued by their name, I promptly decided to check out their myspace. I quickly found out their name wasn’t just false advertising. This two man group sounds like what you’d think they’d sound like: a blues-heavy garage rock band. And it’s pretty sweet.

Lloyd's Garage

Lloyd’s Garage reminds me of the Black Keys, quite a bit. They both have that heavy blues rock sound, which impressive as they’re both only two people. Comprised of Seth Heitzmann on Guitars and Vocals, and Lloyd Llewelyn on Drums and Keys, Lloyd’s Garage really captures the essence of blues-rock. Heitzmann does a really good job with his potent blues riffs and vocals to match. His powerful and full strums amplify the strength of the chord progressions. His vocals remind me of Jack White, loud and gruff in a great way. Llewelyn also reminds me of White in a different way. Both of their drumming do a good job of complementing the surrounding guitars and vocals.

The other thing that kept me listening was how catchy and familiar the songs were. Really easy to listen to, the beat kept me hooked and interesting. Combine a good beat with swingin’ guitar riffs and pounding drums and you’re cooking with gas. And some sweet vocals as an igniter, and you’ve got a fireball of fiery, bluesy goodness.

Looks like a nicer garage than mine

I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Lloyd’s Garage CD, entitled From the Comfort of Your Home. Eleven tracks long, it’s quite a good CD. The pacing is primarily driven rock, but this isn’t a bad thing. The band knows their strengths and stick to them. Available on their site, Amazon, and iTunes, it’s a fun listen, especially for those times you want something loud and catchy. And it really is both. The heavy blue rings loud and clear, and I assure you you’ll find your foot tapping. The songs are familiar and accessible. Below are a few of my favorites.

Warmth is a great introduction to the band. Loud and bluesy, you’ll probably like it. I did.
Warmth

Return to Sender is catchy. Really catchy. Great progression in this one.
Return to Sender

First Fight is a nice swinging tune. Very nice vocals.
First Fight

So if you like what you hear, give Lloyd’s Garage a chance. Available at www.lloydsgarage.com and www.myspace.com/lloydsgarage, give ‘em a listen. You may like what you hear.

So I’ve been working on my improv skills lately. Just messing around a bit and seeing what I could come up with. So what I did was pick a key, style and voicing and recorded what came out. No practice before hand, just a few seconds to find a key and voicing that sounded cool, and I went with it. They aren’t perfect and the quality ain’t the best, but that’s part of the fun and the charm.

Key: A Major
Voicing: Synth
Style: Disney World Melodic

A Major Raw Improv

Key: E minor
Voicing: Straight Piano
Style: Blues

E Minor Raw Improv

Key: E flat minor
Voicing: Rhodes
Style: Jazzy

E Flat Minor Raw

Now, I would like your help. Request an improve by telling me what Key, Voicing, and Style (like above). Also, feel free to include special instructions, like ‘make it sound like such and such song’ or ‘include a C# chord’ etc. Have fun, challenge me, and I’ll do my best to accommodate.

–theindiegeek

My favorite song off of Death Cab’s newest CD Narrow Stairs, I present you with Grapevine Fires. Enjoy!

Grapevine Fires

–theindiegeek

I don’t get many requests, so when I do, I try my best to accommodate ’em, even if it takes me a little while to work up an arrangement. Greensleeves is one such request. So without former ado, Greensleeves!

Greensleeves

–theindiegeek

This week’s song is Evaporated by Ben Folds. This was the song that introduced me to Ben Folds, and is an all around great sounding song. Enjoy!

Evaporated

–theindiegeek.

This week’s song is Thirteen by Ben Kweller, a very nice tune. I’ve played this one for a while at open stages around the area and have garnered many compliments. People seem to like this one. Let’s see if you do.

Thirteen

Thanks,

theindiegeek.

This week’s piano song is one of my favorites, 6th avenue heartache by the wallflowers. I must say I am really happy with the way this one turned out.

6th Avenue Heartache

Also, if you will direct your attention to the top of this box, you will see next to ‘contact’ and ‘where is this guy’ a page entitled ‘My Tracks’. Here’s where I will keep a cumulative list of all my tracks for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

–theindiegeek out.

This week’s Recorded Piano Song of the Week is Aeris’ Theme by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VII. A favorite of mine, it is really a beautiful piece.  Please, enjoy! And as always, feel free to leave feedback and/or suggestions. Thanks!

Aeris

Aeris

So having successfully jury-rigged a recording method, I announce the start of ‘Recorded Piano Song(s) of the week’ (RPSW) where each week I’ll record and post at least one song or jam, and you can comment on what you like/don’t like/any requests, etc. Requests can be songs, or even just keys you want me to jam in. I’ll play what you want to hear.

To kick of this monumental undertaking, I have my cover of ‘Your Song’ by Elton John, and a jam based around F#m.  Enjoy!

Your Song

F#m Jam

For those interested, I’m playing my Roland RD-170.