Summer Makes It So Easy

I did my first visual/songwriting collaboration!  Amazing artist, and longtime friend, Brian Demeter, just completed a series of paintings titled Oceanus that I used as inspiration for a song.  


I kept the chords simple; I imagined it being played on the beach around 5:30 p.m. with the air extra breezy but just starting to cool off.

Click here to see all the paintings from this gorgeous series.

The Sneezy Sneak Rag Song Sketch

Here is me lying in the grass defying all allergies. HA!

I know it's not very sexy or glamorous but I fear that I have allergies.  And when I have an allergy attack, I tend to sneeze.  A lot. Like four in a row.  Fortunately, I can keep my allergies at bay by incorporating local honey into my diet (it really works, guys, it just takes a couple months to work but it DOES).  But I know the agony (maybe too strong of a word) of trying to sneak into the bedroom without waking up my baby and then...  ah ah ah CHOO!  

Anyway, I wrote and recorded this little ragtime piano piece with that image in mind.  Download, enjoy and eat local honey.

I'm Mister Green Christmas but I'm having a Blue Christmas Song Sketch

This month I did two (yes, TWO) holiday song sketches/free downloads!

Mister Heat Miser was one of many inspired requests on my Facebook page.  It was a TON of fun to do and seemed quite appropriate as we had to have the air conditioning on yesterday on, what was it, December 18th?   Crazy Florida weather.







I've already put Blue Christmas up on the blog but just in case you didn't get it, here it is!

You'll Be Doing Alright With Your Christmas of White Song Sketch

This month's Song Sketch was actually recorded a couple years ago by Dan Garcia when I lived in Pasadena, CA.  But believe it or not, it fits TWO of the requests my Facebook fans on my page!  One person requested a 'funked up Silent Night' and another requested Blue Christmas so, yay! 

I AM hoping to record another (I had so many great suggestions!) but I am just now recovering from a nasty, mean-spirited cold so my vocals if I recorded today would be, how do I say it, hmm, awful.

Hoping you all are having a wonderful, delightful start to your holiday season!  

I'm Gonna Give You Candy Song Sketch

I'm at this really super-cute vintage candy shop in downtown Winter Park, Florida!  If you're ever in the area, you should visit Sassafras Sweet Shoppe. 

So, what's the best part of October (besides that it's my birthday month [along with Sting, John Lennon, Paul Simon and Gandhi], pumpkin everything, cooler weather and cinnamon brooms)?  I'll tell you - CANDY!   Candy everywhere!  And it's just the beginning of candy season so all the more reason to celebrate!  

A couple weeks back I asked for sugary, candylicious song suggestions on my Facebook page and one of them was one of my favorite songs, Come On-a My House by Rosemary Clooney (who actually hated the song but, whatevs).  So, thank you, Michaela, for the suggestion!

And have a perfectly marvelous October!

Photos by Maria Jones

Keep Your Eye On the Grand Old Flag! Song Sketch

I hope that if you are celebrating Memorial Day, you have a wonderful one!  


And if not, I hope you have a lovely Monday.  


And if you're on the other hemisphere, I hope you had a lovely Monday.


And, to all, have a completely amazing week!

A Friend Like You Song Sketch

Here is...
My very first buddy song.  EVAH!  Very exciting, very exciting indeed.  I don't have any project this is supposed to be for but I thought it would be fun for you all to hear!



*Ironically enough, my best friends are my husband and family members... But... poetic license, right?

When You Wake You Will Find All the Pretty Little Horses

Here is the Lullaby from Friday's Rose-Colored Radio Show.  I know, I know, I just released a lullaby album - WHEN WILL IT ALL STOP, EMMA? - but I do love this song so it was fun to do.

How Cheerfully He Seems to GrinSong Sketch

So, here is a little, teensy recording I did of the poem "How Doth the Little Crocodile" from Alice in Wonderland for last Friday's literary-minded Rose-Colored Radio Show.  This was the part of the Disney movie that always seemed to get in my head when I was a little girl so when I picked out a poem to 'read,' this was the one I chose!

Happy, Happy New Year!

 Auld Lang Syne by iamemma 

I hope 2012 is one of your best years yet and that the dreams you're hoping for fall into place perfectly.


Love you!
Emma




P.S. My New Year's podcast will be up on Friday! Come by and hear it!

Autumn - by Vivaldi - resketched by Emma Song Sketch

Image from here

 Vivaldi's Autumn by iamemma 

Wednesday is my Fall-themed podcast (hurrah!) and I thought it'd be fun to have an autumnal song in the lineup.  This is my sketchy take on a classic... 

What do you think?

Make Your Mark

 Make Your Mark by iamemma 

You may, or may not, know that International Dot Day is this very Thursday.  Dot Day, inspired by Peter H. Reynolds' The Dot, encourages you to embrace your creativity bravely and 'make your mark.'  We'll be doing a little feature on The Dot on Wednesday's podcast and for this momentous occasion, I wrote a little song about making your mark and doing what you want to do. 


Hope this starts your week off happily!

Song Sketch Situation: a Thought Piece in Two Parts...

Song Sketch Situation:

So, here's the thing:  technically, I'm not supposed to be recording and distributing other songwriters' work without paying a licensing and distribution fee.  I can do public domain songs but for a song to be public domain, it needs to have been published before 1923. 


Which, as you can imagine, somewhat limits my options.

Possible Song Sketch Solution:

So, I thought maybe there are enough people who love Song Sketches that they would be willing to pay $4 a month to get a free song delivered to their inboxes once a week on  ____day.  I  need a certain amount of people to sign up for me to break even paying the licensing fees, but I really love doing covers and have been getting quite a few requests.  If I did have enough people sign up, I'd cover a Reader's Request song a month (it really should be "Listener's Request" but then it's not alliterative) so that would be incredibly exciting!  You'd never know if your request got covered and was sitting there, patiently waiting in your inbox on ____day!




In conclusion, if you think this is a service you'd definitely be interested in subscribing to, please email me or leave a comment below!  I'd need to start getting licenses in order several weeks beforehand so I'd want to be sure that I have the minimum amount of subscribers.


Whew! 



P.S. Episode Five of Rose-Colored Radio Show will be up on my blog on Wednesday!  Be sure to come back by!


Class dismissed.


Seriously though, thank you all for your constant support!


Love,
Emma

Over and Under and Then Up For AirSong Sketch

 By the Sea by iamemma 

I know, posting a Song Sketch on a Friday?! I'm a crazy rock star, that's for sure.  This song was featured in my Rose-Colored Radio Show that I posted yesterday (here) during my nautical week!


The song is totally fun and free-spirited.  Although it does have a less-than-feministic line: "Anything that Joe would suggest to her, Jane would always think it was best for her." Ahem, Jane, think for yourself, dear!  However, I did somewhat bring her up to level with Joe by making her the one owning the car and driving... Ah, it's the little things.  


Anyway, I also have a fabulous giveaway sponsored by Shabby Apple - go here to enter it!  It closes on Monday, 11:59 p.m. EST.

The Ladies, They Will All Turn Out Song Sketch

 When Johnny Comes Marching Home by iamemma

This is, by far, one of my favorite wartime pictures.  I thought I'd do one of my favorite vintage (really vintage - Civil War!) wartime songs to go along with it!  


I do look forward to the day when all our Johnnys and Janes can come marching home safe and sound and stay home.


Hope you all have a wonderful Fourth!


P.S. I have another Rose-Colored Radio Show coming out on Wednesday!  Be sure to check back!

What If I Like Sleeping Past Nine? What Then? Song Sketch

My little sweetie!

 Alternate Version - Come Here To Me by iamemma 

I had considered using this song in my Love Songs and Lullabies album but thought I haven't been around quite long enough to be self-referential...  Ha!  But here is the version I did when I recorded that first version of A Reason to Stay Up All Night. It's pretty close to the original, but there are some differences!


Feel free to download, of course!


Thank you all for your encouragement about Rose-Colored Radio Show and all those listens!  I'll have another episode up in the next week or so so be sure to check back!

A Little Something Different as We Await the Lullaby Album...

 Sunset and Samba by iamemma 

The song is now available on iTunes and CDBaby!  Look up Cachaça in the Summer!

I've really done all I can on my end now, so it's my job to quiet the anxious mob growing clamoring (clamoring, I say) for my next album, Love Songs and Lullabies.  Fortunately, something really amazing happened on Friday... a song of mine got picked up for the abc family show Make It Or Break It!  It'll be played during the two-hour season finale on Monday, May 23- very exciting.

The song is one I've posted on the blog earlier ; it will be in the album after the lullaby one (an album that'll be out late summer/early autumn) but I have also released it on CDBaby as a single - Cachaça in the Summer*.  I'm posting it up here now for download but as soon as the song becomes available on iTunes, etc., I'm going to pull it off my blog so if you haven't downloaded it yet, be sure to do it!

The art I'm using for the single is by Brian Demeter (who is going to do the art for the whole album when it comes out).  He's brilliant!

*Previously called Sunset and Samba

Under Construction - Week Six Song Sketch

Here's a pic that was taken from a photo shoot during that time!  I miss that necklace...

 Hard To Get - Alternate by iamemma 

I am actually 100% finished with the album!  I'm at the wait and wait point - waiting on the album to finish getting mastered, waiting on the covers to be approved for licensing, waiting on iTunes to accept my album, etc., etc.  But that's all very exciting!  

I want to thank everyone who donated money to my album fund!  I actually overmet my goal of $300!  For those who never specified, please be sure to email me with whether you want a signed print by the cover artist or an exclusive original song!


This is another of the songs I recorded with Dan Garcia (who is doing the mastering on my Love Songs and Lullabies album!); you can hear the difference right off from the one on the album!  


Hope you are all doing wonderfully!  

Under Construction - Week Five Song Sketch

Pic from here

 I'm Wishing by iamemma 

This is actually not a song from the album.  It is a song I thought about putting on the album but decided that since I was doing So This is Love from Cinderella, just one Disney princess song was good.  But I thought I'd post it up anyway and give you a break from my little partial songs!


I also wrote an update about the album on a special Sunday post here.

Under Construction - Week Four Song Sketch

 Sleep My Love Song Sketch by iamemma 

I'm almost almost done!  I just have vocals to add to two songs and then a final mix-down and then mastering and then send it in to CDBaby for them to send to iTunes and then my lullaby album will be available to soothe any and everyone to sleep.  Yay!  Shhhhh...


Here is the opening riff to another original lullaby I've written.  This is one of the two songs that require vocals (actually, they're both originals! I leave those guys for last) but you can hear the harp at the beginning.  This song was inspired by all those creepy lullabies that warn babies of witches and boogeymen; mine is not lyrically scary at all (it's me, you know.  I'm more easily scared than a four-year-old) but I wanted that kind of dark, medieval feel.