Lazy Sunday CLXXIV: Solo Cover EP, Part I

It’s a musical time of year, with my school’s big, fun, and stressful Christmas concert coming up this Friday, 9 December 2022 (pray for me).  Naturally, I have music on the brain even more so than usual, so I thought I’d look back at some past installments of Open Mic Adventures, specifically the ones where I’m playing solo (no worries—I’ll do a retrospective of OMA‘s featuring duets with John eventually).

Here are three of my favorite solo covers:

Happy Sunday—and Happy Listening!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

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Open Mic Adventures XIII: The Penguins’ “Earth Angel”

I’ve long been a fan of doo-wop music.  There’s something about those classic late 1950s doo-wop tunes that just sparkles with life and warmth—a magical, indefinable quality.

One of my perennial favorites is this piece from The Penguins, “Earth Angel.”  Recorded way back in 1954 and immortalized in Back to the Future (1985), it’s become a staple of my live shows, and is one of my favorite to play with my students.

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Lazy Sunday CLXIX: Even More Halloween Hijinks: The Musical

Happy All Hallows’ Eve Eve!  It’s the day before Halloween, one of my favorite holidays of the year.

Naturally, I needed to highlight some spooky posts, but I did many of those back in “Lazy Sunday LXXXIV – Halloween Hijinks” and “Lazy Sunday CXXXVII – More Halloween Hijinks.”  So I decided to go with some Halloween posts with a more musical flair:

Happy Halloween!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Open Mic Adventures XI: Spooktacular Supergroup Covers “Monster Mash”

The third front porch Spooktacular was a smashing success (at least according to my mom, my girlfriend, and me—a pretty unbiased group, yeah?), with many of my private music students taking the stage to share their talents.  Even a few former students, now off to bigger and grander things, stopped by to sing a song or two.

As is tradition at these events, I invited anyone with an instrument or a voice to join us on stage for a couple of songs.  By the time I offered up this invitation, most of my younger students and their families had left, but several were still around.

From those remaining—two bassists, a guitarist, two piano players, a singer, my niece, John (on acoustic guitar) and myself (on drums)—we formed an ad hoc supergroup.  One of my younger students—the young man who walks Murphy for me while I’m at work—took lead on the vocals, and really nailed it.  He sounds like a younger Bobby Pickett!

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Open Mic Adventures IX: Journey’s “Faithfully”

Last Tuesday, 4 October 2022, I managed to get out to open mic night for the first time in over a month, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.  This particular open mic typically hosts a small but closely-knit group of musicians, one that does not knit itself so closely as to bar outsiders.  Indeed, these dudes are super encouraging of new musicians, young and old alike, and have nursed some real talent.

Unfortunately, I’d left my two small binders of tunes at school in my haste to depart Tuesday afternoon (I had to get to the bank!), so I only had a few scant lead sheets handy.  One of them was a copy of Journey’s “Faithfully” in C major—a key that puts the upper range a bit outside of what is feasible for yours portly, but I gave it my best shot.

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Open Mic Adventures VIII: Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence”

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve managed to get out to open mic night, but I’m hoping to get back out there tonight for the first time in awhile.  If so, readers can expect some fresh videos in the coming weeks.

This week, however, I’m going back to an unposted classic from 19 July 2022.  It’s a duet with my buddy John Pickett on guitar and vocals, and I’m singing the harmonies.  If I had curly red hair, our cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” would be even better!

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Open Mic Adventures VII: “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been able to make it out to open mic night, but I’ve built up enough of a back catalog, I still have some goodies to share.

My schedule has been bonkers lately, especially with lessons, and interim reports are due this week.  I’ve also been on the road a great deal lately, so everything is a bit tight at the moment.

Fortunately, I have a real gem for your listening pleasure this week:  a cover of “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” by Crosby, Stills & Nash.

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