In late 2006 I decided
to organize some of the recordings I had made. Once I started putting
together an album it was really exciting. I bought one of those CD
labeling kits and created designs for the CD, case cover and back.
I called the album Nice Trylak, or "Nice Try Tylak." The
name reflects the humility of my music and how I feel about it.
Download
the entire album (right click, Save-As)
1 - winter blows 
The
first track of Nice Trylak is a relatively polished solo piece I recorded
in the early days of winter in 2006. The session lasted about 3 or
4 hours and I was happy with the result. A mild chill hung in the
air during the session and the song ended up having a Christmas
theme. Effects processing was done in post.
2 - dickhead
After
the initial music track I wanted to introduce the listener to the
tone of the album. This track is not a song but an exchange between
my brother Eric and I during a recording
session in Ohio. This kind of miscommunication and reconciliation
is the day to day stuff of brotherly love.
3 - getting back
For
the third track I wanted to introduce another theme common throughout
the album. A sloppy solo recording that has some redeeming value.
This is meant to lower expectations a bit even though I like the track.
4 - boom shooka boom
This
is an old PC microphone recording of a jam session in Ohio. I am playing
guitar with my buddy Josh Hammond on
bass and my brother Eric on percussion. Nothing too special about
it, just a quick clip from a regular session.
5 - lower down
I like
this recording a lot. It's a simple and smooth bass driven song that's
fun to listen to when driving. I recorded and mixed this piece in
Jew Jersey in 2006 leading up to the Nice Trylak release. It was one
of my road trip favorites making the 8 hour drive back to London,
Ohio for Christmas.
6 - runaway
What
makes this song unique is that its the first time I sang on a track
recording. The final mix has two vocal tracks in (almost) harmony.
Another interesting fact is that its one of the few solo recordings
I've produced where the percussion is not electronic and I played
the bass part on a real bass. I would like to feature vocals more
frequently but I find it challenging.
7 - at the munden house
There
are two tracks in the album that originate from this recording session.
In this track you can hear Dean Goodyear
playing acoustic guitar and sing with my brother Eric
on bass and me playing electric guitar in the background. I like this
recording particularly for the reference "at the munden house."
8 - that's right
I made this crappy
loop when I was first getting into digital looping and recording.
Then I put some guitar on it and forgot about it. When I was digging
around for material for the album I came across it and liked it. It's
kind of a nice break between songs. The voice is a sample included
in Fruity Loops.
9 - smoke break
Another sample of the
fun we used to have playing together. It really doesn't matter if
the music was any good. I am playing guitar, Josh
is on bass and our friends Jeremy
and Joseph are listening.
10 - space jam
I had a system down
by the time I put this song together. You can kind of tell because
even though it lacks polish, all the parts are pretty much exactly
where they should be. There were a lot of things I liked about this
tune but in the end I consider it one of the more boring tracks.
11 - nice trylak
12 - relax it's going
to be okay
13 - what's wrong?
14 - poet maybe
15 - border patrol
16 - no laughing
17 - toe jam
18 - the beach
19 - ding dong
20 - you don't like
it
21 - love cold
22 - rock & roll
dream
23 - numby
