The Green Pages - The Official Mark Greenawalt Newsletter
VOL 16 ISSUE 2  

February 2021

 

My Own Little World Is Now Streaming Everywhere   
by Mark Greenawalt

My Own Little World original song by Mark Greenawalt

I have a new song online and I think a lot of you might really like it. It's called "My Own Little World" and it is a song that I co-wrote with Chris St.Croix when I lived in Nashville. At that time, Chris had written the song in a mainstream country format but wanted an alternative version for a potential movie project (I think it was being considered for Pleasantville). The challenge was to make a version that had a "Randy Newman" vibe to it and I came up with a snappy little piano part and Chris riffed over it with the vocal melody. This would have been about 1997 or so and Toy Story was a relatively new movie that showcased the unique style of Randy Newman songs. We finished up the rough demo of the song by including a bassline and a drum track that was played on a keyboard. Then the song sat dormant for two decades.

In the summer of 2018, my band Spark Jack Daddy played the McDowell Mountain Music Festival in Tempe, Arizona. We needed more original songs for this gig so I dusted off this demo and we included the song in our set. I wrote out horn parts for the first time in my life for the trumpet, trombone, alto sax, and baritone sax and it was a true thrill to hear the parts come to life on stage. I have a video on my YouTube page of us playing the song there, click here. I had hoped that Spark Jack Daddy would get the opportunity to take this song into the studio, but by 2020 I decided to work on the new version in my own studio. I did get Spark Jack Daddy's drummer, Ryan Eibling, to play drums on the track and I found a horn player from Australia (James Hodson) to play all of the horn parts. I played all new piano tracks on my grand piano and recorded all of the new vocals myself this time. I also played some new guitar and organ parts, but I left the original bass track from the 90's and I also left one little "Oooo" vocal from Chris's vocal track. I've started working on the music video, but it will be a while till it's ready. For now, you can check out the song on YouTube or any of the major streaming services. Let me know what you think.

 

Winter Vacation At Estes Park In Colorado     
by Mark Greenawalt

Estes Park Colorado landscape photography in the snow. Estes Park Colorado landscape photography in the snow.

My wife decided to make Christmas about making memories moreso than getting forgettable gifts. So this year, she planned a wonderful trip to Estes Park in Colorado for us and all the kids and grandkids. It was wonderful. We had a three level lodge air-bnb that had huge picture windows with an expansive view of the Rocky Mountains. The grandkids got to play in snow (which is a little rare to see in Phoenix) and we took two hikes in the Rocky Mountian State Park in spite of the freezing temperatures. The first hike was a stroll around Sprague Lake...actually Savannah and Zane did a short walk out onto the lake. The next day we took a slightly more advanced hike to Alberta Falls. This was fun, but the falls were completely frozen and actually hard to even see. On our last night there we visited The Stanley hotel that was the famous hotel that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining. Later that evening several of us partook of some marajuana lollipops (legal in Colorado) and watched The Shining. Truth be told, the edibles put me to sleep and I missed the whole movie.

 

On The Boards - What I'm Working On     
by Mark Greenawalt

San Diego Comicon 2016 tour of the convention floor and all the cosplay costumes in the halls and outside the convention center.

Here's what is up right now:

E-ya later,
Mark Greenawalt
Mark@MarkGreenawalt.com


copyright Mark Greenawalt, Future-Class X Publishing - Phoenix, AZ 85044

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