Great Grandfather’s Song

Over Christmas 🎄 Karl, my Father-in-law, showed me some sheet music of a couple of songs his grandfather (my wife Michelle’s great Grandfather) wrote. Since he never heard them, I recorded the songs for him.

Jean Michels

One was just a melody and lyrics (in German). Because I didn’t dare to try to pronounce the lyrics, I recorded the melody as written on Piano. Listen 🎶

Then I added some harmony and recorded my piano 🎹 arrangement. Listen 🎶 to my arrangement I’ll have translate these lyrics to find out if my arrangement matches his composition. It could have been meant to be a polka for all I know.

Karl sent me this little bit of background about his Grandfather:

“Thank you Bill for sending the music of my grandfather, whom I never met. He died before I was born. He was quite well known in Cologne as a singer in a singer club, and also as a composer. He was a Modeleur in his profession, a scrollmaker like the fancy scrolls one sees on churches and fancy homes.”

Sharing a Sunset

YirrelSunsetWe drove to find the place near the water’s edge to share the sun set
Talking about how lucky we are to have had shared this rotation of the earth
The good and bad the day presented, how we met its challenges and opportunities
The people who passed through our lives, even most briefly, that impacted our existence

We passed the homes and clubs of those fortunate enough to occupy this coast
Found a little public concrete pier with a few people fishing
Feeling blessed with you by my side, as the sky revealed its magnificent colors
Silhouetting the horizon’s skyline reflected on the silky water

As the sun’s light fell to the advance of the night, in that instant I thought,
There is no feeling more precious, no vision more beautiful, no moment more fulfilling
Then I turned my head and saw your smile, reflecting the joy, peace and love in your soul
And realized my mistake, This instant is the most precious, beautiful and fulfilling I can experience

We take this opportunity to recognize the bounty of love and spirit this world offers
To acknowledge the gift of life we all share and the magic of our existence
And to mark another rotation of our earth, made even more special
Because I’m the fortunate one, rich beyond worldly possessions

What we share can’t be bought and seems impossible to find
There is the trust not known by many and the safety of facing any hazard together
Your presence in my life makes my existence better, makes me better
The energy around us, and the beauty and power of nature is more vibrant
And even the magic of the sunset multiplies when you are near

Two new songs just finished

I just finished up two new songs in the studio. I hope you will take a moment to listen and comment on them. You can also download my songs at this link which would be much appreciated. You can view the lyrics and read a little brief “liner note” for them as well.

 

One song is called “Sunset”, and was written as a celebration of love, and of course Sunsets which are an important daily meditation for me and Michelle. It’s an energetic fusion of Samba and Rock featuring a positive lyric and melody, some Acoustic Piano, Hammond B-3 and Multi-Percussion.

 

The other is called “Love Today” (The World Needs Your Love Today) I began writing this song when a good friend lost their spouse in a freak accident. I couldn’t finish it at the time. But recent events around Boston keep impacting people’s lives in much the same way and gave me some additional inspiration and perspective. The world definitely needs your love today.

 

My two new songs are available here:
http://www.nimbitmusic.com/billchampitto/#shop/sixtysix

2014-03-sunset

A site for promoting private lessons

Hey musicians providing private lessons. To help get more private students for lessons, I have begun using a site called Thumbtack. I am getting a few leads per week from the site and expect to pick up a few students from them. The cost is minimal and as I said they are already generating leads. Check out my own profile and the rest of the site by going to this link for Music Theory Instructor. 

Nez goes to NYC…

The past few years I have had the pleasure to work with drummer Andrew Nesbitt, who I have always called Nez. He is now moving on, heading to New York where there are certainly bigger and grander things available to him. I met Nez on another project where we were working with Singer/Songwriter Max Klau. The timing was great for me as he was a nice fit for filling that role in my own project. And he became a friend.

Studio recording for “Bounce”

As a musician, he always has an easy feel that never seems forced, interprets grooves intuitively, plays with those nano-beat segments very effectively, and listens (a rare trait).

As an individual and band-mate, he also brings an easy, no hassle, drama-free attitude making it a joy to collaborate, experiment and express.

As a performer, he has a fantastic stage presence – somewhere between surfer dude, Rastafarian and party-time groove master.

I wish him nothing but the best and dread having to replace him. If you’re reading this and you’re in the New York area, look him up. Find him at a gig (or hire him for a gig) and say hello to him for me. He is a person worth getting to know and a musician worth listening to and supporting. Good luck Nez. We have two more gigs together before your next great adventure. I’m looking forward to the shows and when July hits and this chapter is in your rear view mirror, I hope our paths cross again. Be well and stay thirsty my friend.

Nez at Ryles
Nez @ Ryles gig, Cambridge MA

Special pre-release track, and a small request

I hope you are doing well. I have been working on new material and am in the early stages of recording some of the songs for a new CD release. I wanted to share one of the songs with you, a slow burn called “You Are Everything”.

I have a small request; if you like this song – even just a little – please purchase the $0.99 download.
http://billchampitto.com/downloads.html Actually purchasing any of my other songs (as few or as many as you like) is a big help.

I need to raise some money for this project and if I can persuade enough people to download this song it will make a huge difference. Now if you have a huge wad of cash that you don’t know what to do with I am always available. But downloading this and/or any other of my songs from my website is a simple way to support me and the band. By the way it’s called micro-funding and it’s all the rage!

Thank you for listening to my music and for considering my request. Be well.

Approaching a milestone.

I blog a little, tweet some, have profiles on face/space and videos on YouTube, have a handful of electronic press kits, am on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, eMusic, Nimbit,CD Baby and at least a dozen other music distribution sites. But out of all of the stuff going on, there’s this one sometimes overlooked music service that has surprised me. According to last month’s report from my Number One Music account, my profile has received 931,166 plays since it opened. That just blows my mind.

But I can really use your help. I am looking to record some new material, and there are a couple of things you can do to assist. First, please visit my profile (http://www.numberonemusic.com/billchampitto) and listen to a few of my songs. If I can achieve One Million plays I can probably leverage that milestone to help me record some new material. The numbers are important to people considering to promote my music, hire the band, or support my project.

If you find something you like on my profile, there are two other simple things you can do that would also help. Visit me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bill-Champitto-the-band/271945160480) and/or YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/BillCBos) and help my numbers there by liking my music.

And the really big thing you can do is purchase a download of one or more of my songs to help me raise the money I need to record my new material with my band. Going to my website at http://billchampitto.com/downloads.html works best for me, but you can also get downloads from MANY online retailers including eMusic, iTunes, or Amazon MP3. Consider rating or ranking me there as well. Every little bit helps.

Thank you for supporting music and the musicians that go through what we do to make it. Your support makes a difference to each one of our lives. Be well.
Bill C