First, I’m really happy so many of you enjoyed the DFTBA Lullabies that a few DFTBA Records artists and I made. That was a fun project.
Second, I wanted to tell you about a few updates to the site here that I made today:
- “Winter’s Song” now has its own discography page, and is streaming the full track.
- There is now a digital booklet for C4N’7 R3M1X35 including the album art, lyrics, MC Lars’ rap and some liner notes.
- There is also a new wallpaper for the C4N’7 R3M1X35 release, available in numerous popular screen resolutions.
- …and most importantly, C4N’7 R3M1X35 now has its own discography page, which includes full-streaming of the entire maxi-single!
So click around and I hope you enjoy what you see and hear. If you haven’t pre-ordered the C4N’7 R3M1X35 maxi-single yet, you can get it on CD or limited edition USB drive from DFTBA Records.
My friends John and his wife, Sarah, recently had a baby named Henry. About two months before the due date I asked a number of the musicians on my record label to record lullabies that I could gather and put on a CD for baby Henry.
I got back 12 tracks, which was an amazing response. And all of them are so cute. Some original works. Some covers of traditional lullabies.
I sent the CD to John and Sarah the day after baby Henry was born. They listened to the CD over dinner and have already added it to mommy Sarah’s iPod.
I wanted to make the lullabies CD available for free download. So if any of you, or your friends, have newborns, or you just love falling asleep to calming lullabies, feel free to download and burn your own DFTBA Lullabies CD:
The track list is below. But first, thanks to all the wonderful musicians and friends who recorded a lullaby for this little compilation. John and Sarah were very touched and send their thanks. As does baby Henry, I’m sure.
1. “Lullaby” by Alan Lastufka
2. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” by ALL CAPS
3. “Pretty Baby” by Tom Milsom
4. “Cow Town” by Hank Green
5. “Candy Canes” by Alex Day
6. “Somewhere Wonderful” by Caitlin Sky
7. “Don’t Want To Live on the Moon” by Craig Benzine (of Driftless Pony Club)
8. “Sentiments” by Dr. Noise
9. “Peace, Love and Understanding” by Katherine Green
10. “Three Is A Magic Number” by Molly Lewis
11. “Baby Child” by Paige Harwood
12. “Why Does the Sun Really Shine” by Charlie McDonnell
Back in the early 90’s, when a single broke through, it would typically be rereleased as a “maxi-single”. The maxi-single version would include various remixes and covers, anywhere from three to nine tracks or more, from various bands all remixing and covering the same song. I used to love maxi-singles. You just don’t see them around anymore.
So, I decided to release a maxi-single for “Can’t”, the first single from the EP Tom Milsom and I released, Taking Leave.
The maxi-single is called C4N’7 R3M1X35 and comes out on Valentine’s Day. What better day to release a song about a cold-hearted bitch, right?
C4N’7 R3M1X35 includes performances and remixes by MC Lars, Hank Green, Eddplant, Dr. Noise and ALL CAPS. Listen to a preview of all six tracks here:
C4N’7 R3M1X35 is being released in two different formats. There is the standard edition, which includes six remixes of Can’t and is available at DFTBA.com or on iTunes on February 14th. And there is the Collector’s Edition.
The Collector’s Edition is limited to only 100 copies. It comes on a custom-printed USB drive (both Mac and PC compatible) that includes both .wav and .mp3 versions of the complete maxi-single, plus three high-quality music videos and the complete multitrack session of the original studio recording of “Can’t”. The multitrack session allows you at home to remix and restructure “Can’t” in any way you’d like. You can mute the drums, or the printer clicks. You can record your own vocals and erase Tom’s, etc.
The music videos included are the original animated official music video from my YouTube channel, the ska/rock cover music video from Dr. Noise and the pop remix music video by ALL CAPS.
Each Collector’s Edition USB drive comes in a durable collector’s case and includes a hand-signed and numbered certificate of authenticity and a physical CD copy of the album.
But if you want one of the Collector’s Editions, act fast, we only made 100 and then they are gone!
So, why “Can’t”? Well, I’ve been writing and recording music since I was fifteen years old and “Can’t” is by far my most listened to song. On YouTube alone it’s been streamed more than 500,000 times. And “Can’t” continues to dominate my iTunes individual track sales each and every month. One fan was even inspired enough to get a tattoo of the song’s character from the music video (see picture).
I hope you’ll pick up this collection of remixes; I’ve been working on this release for five months now. I’ve had a lot of fun along the way with some really great musicians who’ve enjoyed this silly little song I wrote during algebra class in high school. Thank you to everyone who’s listened to and enjoyed the original recording. Now rock out to six completely new takes on the song by MC Lars, Hank Green, Eddplant, Dr. Noise and ALL CAPS.
The music video for “Winter’s Song” premiered Monday night at midnight, you can watch it in HD by clicking here.
The single (including the digital booklet of lyrics, chords, additional artwork and a pdf of the complete sheet music for vocal, guitar and piano and more) can be downloaded for FREE for a limited-time by clicking here.
I’m very excited to introduce my new band to the world through “Winter’s Song”. Luke Conard is on vocals and guitars. Luke has written for and played in the bands ALL CAPS, Ministry of Magic and The Oceanic Six. Ted Hu is on piano. Ted has been playing the piano since he could walk, and routinely plays live concerts in the Boston area. And I’m on lyrics and bass.
I really hope you enjoy the new band and our debut single together. Please tell your friends about the video and limited-time free download. It’s your word of mouth and support that make all of this possible.
Last night, Raven and I parted ways, professionally. We both had different expectations for Erase This, the album we were working on together. And rather than continue and make each other miserable, we decided to disband.
Erase This is not dead, however. At this point, there are four songs completed, two in progress, and four waiting to be written. Stepping up to fill Raven’s shoes on lead vocals is Luke Conard. Luke has been involved with Erase This for the last month, helping me co-produce the project, in addition to playing guitars on our first single, “Winter’s Song”.
The “Winter’s Song” single will still be released on time, December 15th, however, Luke will be recording a replacement vocal track which will be used instead of Ravens.
None of us are happy about the circumstances, but I wish Raven the best with her future projects. Please head over to her YouTube channel and support her and her music.
Thank you all for your continued support. I’ll be back with more news soon.
Hey guys, wanted to share the cover art for my upcoming single, “Winter’s Song”.
I believe the associated artwork and packaging for any release is equally as important as the music it represents. Think of classic albums like Dark Side of the Moon, Nevermind or Abbey Road. The cover art probably pops into your head before the first chords do.
The cover art of “Winter’s Song” features Chellie Carr as the lead female character from the song. The photos were taken by Chellie’s sister, Monica Carr. Then I manipulated the photos and designed the layout.
In addition to the cover art presented above, I’ve also uploaded the digital booklet for “Winter’s Song”, which can be found in the “Extras” section. The digital booklet includes additional artwork, lyrics, chords and full liner notes for the single.
The single “Winter’s Song” and the music video both arrive December 15th. (you can be in the music video, click here to find out how!)
Hey guys, I need your help in directing my next music video. It’s for the single ” Winter’s Song“. I want you to send in clips to be included in the music video. Everyone involved will get a credit in the video information. Here are the scenes I need you to shoot clips for:
a. scenic shots, these can include snow falling, snow covered streets, empty fall trees, burning leaves, street lights, telephone poles, sunsets, sunrises, etc. (about 10 seconds of each shot would suffice)
b. something that represents love. holding hands, drawn hearts, table set for candle lit dinner, snuggling with someone special, whatever you think of when you think of love. (again, about 10 seconds for each shot would be enough)
c. finally, your own interpretations of the lyrics. The lyrics can be found here. Shoot any clips you feel go along with any of the lines in the song.
You can shoot all or pick and choose from any of the above.
I’m going to combine all of your footage, along with the footage of me and the band playing and performing the song to make one video.
Please email your video clips (any format, any aspect ratio) to youtubecollab@gmail.com before Monday, December 7th! Please be sure to include your full name as you’d like it credited, and a link to your youtube channel if you have one.
Exactly one year ago Hank Green and I announced DFTBA Records. We had a simple goal, to create a record label that treated its artists fairly, paid huge royalties, released only good music, and never forgot to be awesome.
One year. So weird how we perceive time. While we were reminiscing earlier today Hank said “seems like it was just two months ago”. To which I replied “or three years with everything we’ve accomplished”. “Yeah”, he said.
We’ve signed over a dozen artists and released fourteen records in the last year. Our first year. We received a write up in YouTube’s official blog (which has over 2.6 million readers!). We were featured in The Times. And we just finished an interview with the Chicago Tribune’s Red Eye.
I don’t have much more to say about it. I know today is just another day. But I felt like I should write something here for posterity.
Thanks to all of our awesome artists. And to every one of you who’ve listened to and enjoyed anything we’ve released.
Today the band and I are recording a new single entitled “Winter’s Song” just in time for a release before the holidays. Performing on this release is Luke Conard on vocals and acoustic guitar, myself on bass and Ted Hu on piano.
Ted is heading into Zippah Recordings, a studio in Boston, today to record his piano pieces. Those tracks will then be sent to Raven and Luke on the west coast for their performances to be overdubbed before it all comes back to me for final mixing and mastering.
I wrote “Winter’s Song” in early October. A demo recording of “Winter’s Song” featuring Raven Zoe was made available on erasethis.com in late October. The single will be available in mid-December exclusively on iTunes and AmazonMP3.
“Winter’s Song” will appear on my upcoming debut full-length album Erase This, however, the single version released next month will be a unique recording, different from the recording that will appear on the full-length album. The digital single will be the only place this recording of the song will be available.
recording music since I was fifteen years old and “Can’t” is by far my most listened to song. On YouTube alone it’s been streamed more than 500,000 times. And “Can’t” continues to dominate my iTunes individual track sales each and every month. One fan was even inspired enough to get a tattoo of the song’s character from the music video (see picture).
