Manifest Destiny

In 2004 I appeared as Professor Herman Snod in an off-off Broadway musical called Manifest Destiny. I MC’d the night and wrote 3 original songs. The show was a weird hybrid of musical theater and rock concert, featuring the bands Tomorrow’s Friend, We Are Scientists, and the Fabulous Entourage. It was totally weird and no one really got it, but it was a very cool opportunity and I love the songs I wrote for it. The show was produced by Les Freres Corbusier, who went on to create the smash Broadway musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and it was directed by Alex Timbers, who went on to direct the blockbuster Pee Wee Herman revival show. I went on to sit in a sad, dusty office behind the Dresden and blog about things I did 10 years ago.

Flatbreads

Back in the early days of viral marketing, my friend Dennis asked me to create a parody version of Barnes & Barnes’ classic cult song “Fish Heads” for a Quizno’s viral campaign. I listened to the original approximately 1 million times and ended up putting this together. A few things you should know about this song:

- I created this before the days of Garage Band, on a crummy old 4 track. Which is presumedly what Barnes and Barnes did, too, so I guess that part isn’t so impressive.
- I did all the voices myself.
- I did not have a keyboard. I do not play keyboard. All the sounds on this track were composed by listening to each chord & note in the original song and painstakingly trying to recreate those chords, one note at a time, on this device:

For comparison’s sake, here’s the original.

Vice Squad

My friends Kyle and Travis used to be in an amazing New York band called the Fabulous Entourage. In 2004, they put together a show called “Vice Squad” in New York and they asked me to create and perform a theme song. The concept for my song was a “Batdance”/”Flash Gordon” type pastiche for a movie that didn’t exist. Our friend Sarah choreographed a dance routine to the song and we performed it live 3 times at the Tank in New York. I was mentioned in one review in which the reviewer said “the opening band, called the Vice Squad, was not very good.”

Opelika

Sometime in the early 2000s, New York playwright Megan Hayes contacted me about performing some music for the crowd before and after her off-Broadway show Opelika. Inspired by the script, I ended up writing a number of songs to be used as interstitials between scenes. I performed these songs during the play as a character named “Hoss,” wearing a floor-length fur coat, a cowboy hat, and cowboy boots. Rumor had it that Philip Seymour Hoffman was in the audience one night, but I never saw him. If he was there, he left before intermission.

Walking Music

This one was created for a viral Coca-Cola campaign. It’s pretty fresh.

The Weekend Project

One Friday many years ago I decided to write and record an entire album over the course of a single weekend. I locked myself inside and did just that. I personally think this is the best music I’ve ever written, because for once, I didn’t overthink it. In an alternate universe in which I am Beck, this is my Sea Change. Favorites include “Fly in the Ointment,” “Leaves Are Turning Brown,” “Mairzy Dotes,” “The Principles of Geometry” and “Miner 49er.” But I think it’s interesting as a whole piece, so go ahead and download the whole thing!

Note: Although Sound Cloud will not let me categorize it as such, the name of the album AND the artist is “The Weekend Project.” This album is The Weekend Project by the Weekend Project, even though it’s actually by me. Yes, my main project that is just me has a side project that is also just me. What’s more, if you visited my house and looked through my CDs (which are meticulously arranged by artist name), you would find The Weekend Project under W. I live in a world of my own creation.

Global Warming – Anarchists Unite!

Global Warming is another side project that is just me sitting in my bedroom. I envisioned them as a band in which I was to play the lead singer, Sig Snarly. They were the punkest band in the world, causing death and destruction everywhere they went. They hated everything and everything hated them. If a Global Warming show did not end in at least one murder, it was a dismal failure. Unfortunately, I never performed as Global Warming because I can’t wear contacts and real punks don’t wear glasses. This is a terrible excuse but it is one I have been telling myself for several years, so clearly it works.

Please note: I do not endorse any of Global Warming’s views. If you are offended, then they have done their job.

Christmas with the Flamingoes

Back when I didn’t have a lot of money, I recorded a Christmas album for my friends and family. The album was later turned into an off-off-off Broadway show starring me, a couple of my friends, and three puppets. I still don’t have a lot of money. But I’ll always have the music.

Crowd Favorites

I’ve written a lot of songs. Some good. Some bad. Here are some that aren’t so bad.