My recording forum has an annual challenge we call BandBall. Participants throw their name in a hat and are randomly assigned to a “band” to write and produce an original song together over the course of eight weeks. This year was a special challenge for me. Of the four people in our band, I was the only vocalist and also the only one who played something other than keyboards. I had an idea to write a song about the life a child in a war zone experiences, the inspiration being many of the documentary pieces about the current reality of life for children in the Ukraine. I think it turned out pretty well. Click on the picture to check out “the Side Sleepers”: Richard Dickson on piano and percussion toys, Bob Hays on synthesizers, Andy Schweig on organ, and me doing everything else.
This week I’m going to see if this goes over well live as a solo acoustic guitar song. Not sure if it will have the same impact but in theory one of the tests of a good song is whether it still comes across well when stripped down.
