What's Happening: Week of January 29, 2018

Something is definitely happening this week!

On Friday, I released a new single "Aquarian Eyes." It's a bit of an electronic chillout track.



It's available now at iTunes, and you can buy it at iTunes from the shopping cart link in the SoundCloud player above. You can also check it out now at Google Play and YouTube, with other outlets to follow shortly.

This will be the title track of an EP I plan to release on February 16. I anticipate the Aquarian Eyes EP will have four tracks, as follows:

Night Vision
Aquarian Eyes (Full Version)*
Soaring Spirit
Mystic Jam

*The full version of Aquarian Eyes is about seven-and-a-half minutes in length.

All but the third track are in the electronic/chillout vein. "Soaring Spirit" is more of a lite instrumental pop kind of track featuring a little classical/folk guitar work by yours truly. All told, there will be about 25 minutes of music on the EP.

Meanwhile, my featured stock music track this week is Whimsical Romance. It's an intentionally retro and sort of silly little ditty that harks back to the 1960s. If features a combo organ, lush strings and bells. I hope you'll check it out.

I plan to work on producing some new stock music this week, but haven't decided yet what form that's going to take. I'm feeling a little burned out on intros and loops right now, but you never know when lightning will strike. I hope I'll have something new to share on that front next week.

Until then, thanks for stopping by, listening, licensing and anything else you're doing to support my work. I appreciate you very much. Also, if you've licensed or are using my work, please let me know so I can give you a shoutout on Twitter.

Have a great week.

What's Happening: Week of January 22, 2018

I was sick, OK?

What's happening this week is basically the same as what was happening last week.

Let me explain.

As I was typing my blog post last Sunday evening, I was noticing an itch in my throat. I had been moving some things around and clearing snow and ice over the past weekend and had a bit of a chill. As the evening went on, the itch evolved into a cough and my nose began to run. I went to bed that night, and things went downhill from there.

By Monday morning, I was coughing, sneezing, hacking and hurting. I had a fever and aches in my neck and head. I rested patiently, hoping maybe it was a short-term bug. It was not. I found myself sleeping almost constantly; when I woke my first priority was to get fluids into my body, since I've always heard you need to stay hydrated with these things.

I got into a pattern of: wake, hydrate, stand and stretch, take care of basic business, sit, nap, repeat. I was sleeping, yes, but it was fitful sleep at best, in short stretches, interrupted constantly by coughing.

It was clear by Wednesday that things weren't getting better, and on Thursday my nephew brought me some very strong over-the-counter medicine, which finally knocked out the fever overnight into Friday. I did some live tweeting Friday and have focused on getting quality rest this weekend.

Back to square one.

So this week I'll be working on the stuff I planned to work on last week, plus:

• Extra laundry
• Dishes that have piled up
• Cleaning

My featured stock music item this week is Lush Romance. In fact, I plan to feature romantic-themed stuff the next couple of weeks with Valentine's Day coming up.

And with that, I hope your week is productive and disease-free.

What's Happening: Week of January 15, 2018

I hope your "week that was" was a great one. I had a terrific weekend, and therefore this blog post is running a little late. But, better late than never! So, here we go . . .

I have two new intros out for you podcasters and other producers. One is a bright and upbeat corporate intro in four versions - full (:30), looped (:16). short (:14) and logo (:06). More than just businesslike, this intro is a great choice for society and culture, news and current events podcasts or similar presentations.

The second new set is a raucous, epic dubstep intro in full (:30), short (:15) and logo (:06) versions. This one is great for sports or cutting edge content.

If these aren't what you need, check out my complete collection of podcast intros and loops, with many styles and variations to choose from.

My featured stock music track this week is Quiet Intensity, an ambient yet energetic track for stories of underdogs and unsung heroes. 

On my Spotify profile, I've added my new playlist "Hope You Like Jazz Fusion" to my featured playlists. If you're a fan of 1970s fusion, this will be a treat for you, featuring artists like Chick Corea, Herebie Hancock, Brecker Brothers and much more. I'm also continuing to feature the band Observer Effect. I hope you'll check it out and sample my music for your many moods.

I'm planning on an EP release of ambient/new age music around mid-February. Stay tuned for details in later updates.

Have a great week!

What's Happening: Week of January 8, 2018

I normally wait until later in the afternoon to do my Sunday updates this time of the year, but the NFL playoff game between Buffalo and Jacksonville was BORING. So here we go with the first update of 2018 . . .

Since I had a little bit of extra time, I decided to make a few small changes to my website home page. Besides updating my featured stock music item this week, I moved my follow buttons for Spotify, Twitter and Google+ up just below the opening message. I hope you'll check it out and maybe even follow me if you haven't already.

Speaking of Spotify, I've assembled a brand new playlist of some of my favorite 1970s jazz fusion tracks (many of them deep cuts) that I think deserve hearing. I call it "Hope You Like Jazz Fusion" and it features stuff by Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, The Brecker Brothers, Weather Report, Chase, Billy Cobham and many more. (Greg, if you happen to see this the first track is for both of us.)



On the stock music front, my featured stock music track for this week is Sports Podcast Intro 2 (Full). This is a thirty second intro that starts big and has a repetitive groove you can fade into your presentation. Or you can talk over the repeating section until you get to a big close at the end. There are other versions of this track available, too; hear them all from my Podcast Intro Music page at Pond5.

Meanwhile, I have two new intros out last week at "the pond." The first is a short, very big sounding intro I simply call Epic Intro 1. The second is a rocking, uplifting intro called "Inspiring Intro 1." It's available in :30, :14 and :06 lengths. Please check them out!

Finally, over the holidays I've been developing material for a commercial release that's going to be decidedly quieter than Exclesior: Volume One. It's not going to be like Circadia, either. It's going to be an EP with probably four shorter pieces that will be even more ambient than the stuff on Circadia. One of the pieces I plan to include is a tribute to my mother, whose birthday would have been last Thursday (January 4 - she would have been 91 this year). I posted it on Soundcloud last Thursday and am sharing it here to give you a general idea what to expect. I hope you find it worthy.


With that, I think I'll stop for now. I hope your week is a productive and happy one.