For Wooden Planks (working title for my new album), I am going for a more acoustic sound. This means that there will be little or no electric guitar and almost no drum programming (I may still write some drum passages with Reason, but this is just because I don’t have a drumset here). To turn this dream into a reality (sorry for that), I’ve picked up the following percussion instruments:

Honestly, these are fairly standard (maybe except for the cajon?) in a percussionist’s arsenal. I would like to add congas and a hi hat to the stash as well. We’ll see…

Well, I’ve recorded my first ever cover song. I’ve played cover songs live before (Quinn the Eskimo, Come and Get It, Johhny B. Goode, and Why Don’t We Do It In The Road — you know, standard stuff), but have never attempted to record them. This particular one was requested by my wife. I’ve never attempted it before, but it’s such a classic and one of Ben E. King’s best — I thought I’d give it a try.

Of course, I’m heavily influenced by John Lennon’s version (as you’ll hear), but hope that I’ve been able to inject some of my own Kreativität.

Stand by Me – Ben E. King cover

Exciting news: The popular site “Band Weblogs“, which is run by fellow New Englander and expat Jenny May, has published a new release announcement for Erased. Check it out!

Here’s a snip:

Grenga Ma wrote and recorded Erased in the confines of his small studio, nicknamed “The Closet”, which certainly lends to the general mood of the album. Trapped. Confined. Helpless.

This song was inspired by Israel’s trek into Gaza December of 2008, but is more about the Israel/Palestine problem in general. The Barrier is a reference to the walls and fences erected in the West Bank plus the barricades and checkpoints throughout Gaza and other Palestinian lands. It’s also a reference to the three main points of contention separating the Israelis and Palestinians from peace:

1. Right of return
2. The honoring of pre-war borders
3. Illegal settlements

While other issues exist (Jerusalem, Israeli security concerns, the control over border crossings, the Palestinian economy, and mutual recognition), I think that the three mentioned above are the core issues that make peace impossible. “Peace requires compromise”, a clip from Madeleine Albright in a joint speech she made with Jimmie Carter at the Carter Center, sums it up.

You can listen to Barrier by clicking on the music player to the right. You can also search for it on iTunes. For lyrics and other information, try here.

Also — and if you haven’t already — take a moment to join the Grenga Ma Facebook fan page. Lastly, please rate Barrier below:

I originally wrote the music and lyrics for this song in June of 2000. Back then it was called “Same Song” — which was just a working title. Unfortunately, it never saw the light of day because of its somber mood. For fuzzy logic and The Wheel, Down was too down. In hindsight, though, this may have worked with Seven Bridges.

For some reason, last December, I felt the need to update the lyrics and music. You can listen to the result here:

Down

Of course, keep in mind that this is the first mix of a batch of ten. I expect to revisit this song and adjust some levels and perhaps add some EQ as I mix the others.

For lyrics and recording info, see Down’s main page here.