The Music

For those of you who are new to my page and for those of you who have been before, I would like to bring something to your attention:  TUNES!

Go over to the right of this page and click on “Audio”

This will bring you to all of the tunes that have recorded on my own up until this point.  Here is a rundown of what you’ll find:

Some Scenes:  Is the latest batch of original music I have recorded.  Some of it in my home studio and some of it in the Murder Room with Ed Tupper(Engineering/Coproducing/Sick Beats) in Kitty Hawk, NC. Bob Hamilton contributes some guitar on “Ridiculous” and Kip Germscheid plays sax on “Crumbs” and “Just Fine”…I wrote, played, and sang the rest.

The Big Show:  This is a live recording of some of my original instrumental music.  It was recorded in the Caplan Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, PA and features Steve Tjernagel on Guitar, Gregory Martin on Saxophone, and Arturo Stable on Percussion in addition to yours’ truly on the bass.

University of the Arts Graduate Ensemble 2008-2009:  This documents some of the music I was involved in while in Grad School.  The music is composed by myself, Tim Andrulonis, and Greg Martin.  In addition to featuring the three of us, the Ensemble was directed by Micah Jones and features the talents of most of my classmates at the time.

203:  This was a session of jazz standards I recorded with Greg Matthews on Guitar and Tim Andrulonis on Alto Saxophone.  Recorded live in the studio at Uarts.

Hamilton/Rice:  This is myself and my friend Bob Hamilton(guitar).  Kinda bluegrassy, kinda jazzy….Recorded in various places.

Maine to Mexico Mixtape:  This was recorded by me on a mobile recording rig in various places from Garages, bedrooms, and attics in Maine to my apartment in Mexico over looking the Rio Cuale and Paso Ancho…I wrote, played, and sang everything except for some tasty guitars by Mr. Bob Hamilton that we recorded when he visited me in Mexico.

Miscellaneous:  Simply that…mostly me doing covers except for some cover tracks from the Wilders and one Original

That’s about it for now.  Please check it out and tell me what you think!

Crumbs

This is not a new tune, but this is the first in an attempt to get the latest batch of tunes that i have recorded online.

First the Lyrics:

Crumbs

Pretend we never met. Undo it, better yet.

Portray me to the world like i’m a criminal

I’d like a little time to wrestle with my mind

I’m starting to believe we’re all just self-destructive.

They say home is where your folks are and I know it’s true that most are.

All fucked up like everybody else.

But hope, it springs anew with every sight of you.

Whether near or far, it doesn’t matter now

the communion that we take is the love that we make

but thieves made off with the bread and the wine

one empty wine glass sits there next to one small pile of

crumbs

even though everybody listens, not everybody hears

we’re all using our voicebox, neglecting our ears

but I, for one, won’t be held down, i’ll fight for better years.

You made off clean with my heart but I retain my tears

the communion that we take is the love that we make

but thieves made off with the bread and the wine

one empty wine glass sits there next to one small pile of

crumbs crumbs

fast forward six months from now

no longer tired, no long down

no longer searching for absolution.

the communion that we take is the love that we make

but thieves made off with the bread and the wine

one empty wine glass sits there next to one small pile of

crumbs crumbs crumbs

 Three versions:

Andy Rice featuring Kip Germscheid version: crumbs

Hamilton Rice version:  crumbs

Wilders version:  04 Crumbs

Thanks for checking in.

More to come, I promise!

Some Scenes

Hi there,

Another tune for you to check out!

This is on the Outer Banks Sounds CD and is also the title track of the latest collection of my tunes available on CD from yours’ truly.

click here:  some scenes

Some Scenes

Wet and winded, we decided to decree

With ink we marked our skin, with stars we traced our sin.

She told us she could see the direction and a tree.

Roiling in the din, I retreat within.

Some Scenes, some scenes

Some kings, some queens

Some scenes, some scenes.

She laughs and then she leans

One side, Two Sides, Upside Down

You once had smiled, but now you’re frowned

The pace I found you at has slowed me down.

A million pardons on shaky ground

Some Scenes, some scenes

Some kings, some queens

Some scenes, some scenes.

She laughs and then she leans

The irony of my disdain for words and my poetic inclinations

Has not been lost on me

I fear for the state of my reputation so with candor now I speak.

Cause I just want to be

You’re eyes are big, your limbs are long.

I haven’t felt inspired in far too long

The wind can blow, the sun can burn, that only makes you free.

Your fingernails, the skin I’m in, I want to.

Some Scenes, some scenes

Some kings, some queens

Some scenes, some scenes.

She laughs and then she leans

With the wit of a card shark and the grace of a stripper

She made her mark on a stiff upper-lipper

Some scenes, some scenes

Some scenes, some scenes.

here is a Video of it from Outer Banks sounds showcase 10/21/2011
at Kelly’s in Nags Head, NC:

Wet and winded, we decided to decree

With ink we marked our skin, with stars we traced our sin.

She told us she could see the direction and a tree.

Roiling in the din, I retreat within.

Some Scenes, some scenes

Some kings, some queens

Some scenes, some scenes.

She laughs and then she leans

One side, Two Sides, Upside Down

You once had smiled, but now you’re frowned

The pace I found you at has slowed me down.

A million pardons on shaky ground

Some Scenes, some scenes

Some kings, some queens

Some scenes, some scenes.

She laughs and then she leans

The irony of my disdain for words and my poetic inclinations

Has not been lost on me

I fear for the state of my reputation so with candor now I speak.

Cause I just want to be

You’re eyes are big, your limbs are long.

I haven’t felt inspired in far too long

The wind can blow, the sun can burn, that only makes you free.

Your fingernails, the skin I’m in, I want to.

Some Scenes, some scenes

Some kings, some queens

Some scenes, some scenes.

She laughs and then she leans

With the wit of a card shark and the grace of a stripper

She made her mark on a stiff upper-lipper

Some scenes, some scenes

Some scenes, some scenes.

bluegrass vs jazz bass

i want a bass…

The Owl

Here is a fun one that i composed for bowed bass, pizzicato bass and electric bass(Kevin’s 1979 guild classical guitar is doubling the electric bass part too just for effect).  There are also some hand claps and bass percussion.

owl

This piece is very simple and is comprised three short parts, each lasting 8 measures.

One ostinato bass line outlining the harmony, a melody, and a bass line.

Each part is swapped from one instrument to the next like a canon (a round, like ‘Row row row your boat’).

Once each instrument plays each of the parts, the cycle is repeated in reverse order, creating a musical palindrome.

This composition began as an exercise for my composition class in Grad School, but i think it turned out pretty cool.

I hope you enjoy!

Below is a PDF of the Sheet music, if you care to take a look.

Owl bass trio

Master’s Thesis

In spite of what some may think, a degree in music is much more than learning how to play your instrument.

It involves intensive studies in music theory, history, piano skills, pedagogy, ear training, and arranging/orchestration, as well as performance requirements such as private lessons and ensemble playing.

Improvisation is unique to a jazz degree in academia and other jazz specific courses are also common.

In addition to that, my master’s degree also required a music journalism class, a transcription and analysis class, a music business class, a music technology class, and a music composition class.

The final project was a combination of a recital(see audio clips) and a thesis.

We had a lot of choice, as far as our subject matter goes and what I chose to do for my thesis was to do a transcription and analysis project on the late, great jazz bassist Ray Brown.

In the paper, i focused on his way of playing bass lines.  Although i did transcribe some solos, i did not write about them because my paper would have been twice as long, at least, and that would not have put me in very good standing with my evaluators.

so, with no further adieu, i present to you my master’s thesis:

Deep Brown

I must warn  you, this is a 48 page document, but there might be some gems in there for you bassists out there.  Plus, transcriptions in the appendix.

On a less academic note, i did have a brush with the man himself in the spring of 2003, i think.

Here is a pic from the clinic that i attended.  I asked a question and he had me come up and play.  I was terrified, but he was really cool.

Yes, I am playing his bass there.

Yes, I am wearing a mock turtle neck.

Yes, I look very different, but i assure you, that is, in fact me.

Prana

Prana (प्राण, IAST: prāṇa) is a Sanskrit word that refers to a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy in natural processes of the universe.

This melody was composed while i was sitting at the piano next to the TV.  It was September 11, 2001 early afternoon and i was watching coverage of the attacks on the world trade center that had taken place that morning.

I’m sure most of us remember the details of that day in detail.  I had just arrived at USM that morning and since i was early, i decided to go to the computer lab to check my email before class.  While i was doing so, some of my fellow music students turned on the television in the lab and we were all made aware of what was happening.  It was traumatic.  Some cried.  I was in quiet disbelief and shock.  Classes were cancelled and an emergency performance of Mozart’s requiem was scheduled for the afternoon.  I went home and spent the rest of the day with the TV on(rare at that point in my life), making phone calls, attending to household chores and writing this tune.

In hindsight, what i felt was not anger, patriotism ,or any of the many things that were talked about on the news shortly after that event.  It was more like a disturbance in the force, so to speak.

You see, I believe that there is a collective conciousness out there instead of the patriarchal God figure that i was raised to believe in.  I see it as an energy force that binds us all together.  It’s the reason that we feel for each other and the reason that the crossword seems easier when you give it another try the day after it’s published in the paper. That day i felt a million cries of pain of varying degrees ripple through that collective.

This tune is my tribute to the rest of humanity and my way of saying ‘i feel your pain and empathize with it.  You are not alone.’

Here is an Electric version in a different key:  prana

Here is the version played by the Uarts Jazz Ensemble:  Prana (take 2)

Theoretically, this song is an example of what i’ve come to call “Modal Cubism” or “Cubic Modality”…still working on that one.

Basically, this is my own personal way of playing improvised music.  In a nutshell, it means combining a modal approach to the melodic and harmonic material while using the number 12 for your rhythmic content.

A cube has 12 sides and if you divide 12 you get 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12.  For me, it’s a way of allowing any music that is in duple or triple time to exist in either time signature.

This song is intended for the groove to go back and forth between 2 and 3, although it is written in 3.  The melody is pretty much D aeolian, although others can be superimposed to imply other tonalities as may be indicated by the harmony.

This tune sounds really nice played in the higher register of the bass.

Here is the music:

The Smooth

This tune is named in tribute to a 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis.

The car belongs to Kevin Roughton and we ride to gigs in it.

mp3:  the smooth

Here is the music:

I often will jot ideas down in a little music paper notebook, when they strike me.

They range from very short snippets to full songs.

This tune is like a sonic patchwork quilt.

It is several small ideas that i found in my notebooks, put together by my brain.

My brain is like the Bond-O that holds together the smooth.

Enjoy!

VWR

My grandfather’s name was Virgil Wilder Rice.

I wrote this tune the day that he died.

To me, he was one of the greatest people to ever live and i could never do justice to any of the stories about him.

click here to hear it:  VWR

Here is the lead sheet:

Theoretically, i don’t have much to share about this one.  When i wrote it, i was in college and really into Monk.

I heard from one of my instructors about Monk writing major blues tunes sometimes.

I also was just beginning to understand about chord substitutions, and how Bartok used harmony.

I misunderstood both of those things at the time and this tune came out of that combined misunderstanding.

That is a beautiful thing.