Trap Roomba
I spend a lot of time watching my Roomba vacuum. And that lead me to wonder, can my Roomba write a banger?
Turns out, it’s a better music director than it is a vacuum.
I recorded a trap beat with a bunch of instruments and then used to Roomba to sequence which instrument would be featured in what part of the song.
I Think We’ve Been This Way Before (from the movie M*therfucker)
Oh no! A colleague is making a short film and wants help. A time traveler has a sexual encounter with his best friend’s mother thus becoming the father to increasingly poor copies of his pal in an endless loop. We watch it and… holy shit it’s great! He needs an authentic Nashville country song touching on the familiar lyrical themes of regret, alcoholism, family and temporal paradoxes. “The bottle wasn’t always quite so low. No estamos on some trackless shore,” begin the lyrics. Not everything is what it seems, even within this song.
Listen Here.
Elevator Pitch
Going into the spring of my junior year, I knew I wanted to be in advertising, but I also knew that my portfolio didn’t stack up to a lot of the ad school grads who were applying. The agency I applied to asked its applicants to record their elevator pitch. And I knew that if I were to make something expected, I wouldn’t stand a chance. So I got to work and in two weeks’ time with the help of a couple friends, Elevator Pitch was born. Since then, I’ve used this as my cover letter because I feel like my introduction to an agency should be as nontraditional as I am.
Arrangements I
I have released two full-length instrumental albums of original music, but for my third album project, I wanted to create piano-only, classical versions of famous pop songs. Because my employer (Mophonics) has a relationship with UMPG, I limited myself to songs which have publishing controlled at least partially by UMPG. The end result was a four-song EP I titled Arrangements I–featuring piano-only arrangements of songs by Fleetwood Mac, The Beach Boys, Shania Twain and Dolly Parton. I intentionally chose songs with strong, recognizable melodies, but took creative license with the arrangements: changing chord voicings, expressing harmonies in different octaves, etc. The arrangement process, since I wasn’t working from sheet music (except my own shorthand notes), was challenging but rewarding–each song was a puzzle that needed unlocking. I’m very proud of how these arrangements turned out. The cover art was designed by the supremely talented graphic designer and artist Autumn Wilson, with whom I previously collaborated on “Amplify the Sound,” a virtual benefit concert we created on Instagram Live to raise money for the Autistic People of Color Fund. The album is available on all streaming services.
Eyelids “The Accidental Falls”
Eyelids is a band of five knuckleheads from Portland, OR who have known each other for over 20 years. We’ve all played in other bands (The Decemberists, Guided By Voices, Elliott Smith band, Stephen Malkmus) but never all together at the same time. It was a fluke, friendship band that accidentally made music others enjoyed! This song was produced by R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and we animated it ourselves (we are not animators–so it was fun to break the technology in front of us with naivete).
Nine
I write music as a hobby – this song is from a full instrumental album I wrote and recorded.
Jeremiah Webb
My side project is humble, but meaningful. I write folk songs for my wife and 2 daughters. I used to play shows and share my music publicly, but with my kid’s 7:30 bedtime and the current global pandemic, I haven’t played a proper show for a while. But folk music isn’t made for the masses, it’s made for the people around you. I play mostly weddings, funerals, and bedside renditions of Moana. It’s rewarding to share music with the folks who are important to me. Friends, family, and sometimes, an accomplished panel of advertising professionals. My submission is a song wrote is called “Dad Shoes” and it’s about becoming a father for the first time. I hope you enjoy. Jeremy Webb Graham
Flamenco Ukulele
The ukulele is an instrument that doesn’t demand much. It asks us to sit down, take a moment, strum and let the rest be. This has been perfect for our time of social distancing. Incorporating the flamenco calls back to the roots of much of the latin music I was raised listening to.
Covid Bros.
What started as a musical collaboration between graphic designer friends —based on the early 1900’s parlor game Exquisite corpse—grew into an eleven song album of social observations and commentary. Essential Works tells their story of being stuck at home during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic lock down as they traded music files back and forth, adding to what each other created, while only communicating through texts and video chats. The album bridges musical styles and subject matter that connects new wave with social unrest, bluegrass with environmentalism, and punk rock with the virus. As they assume their new personas of Kurt and Chris Covid, the Covid Bros. will take you on an infectious journey through the apocalypse. Submitted is a sample from the Covid Bros. Essential Works album. Please remember to wash your hands and wear a mask.
Glotis
LA, Indie Music Discovery, Flyah Magazine, and others. Written and recorded over the course of several years traveling the country working in advertising, because I have to create to stay alive.
