Shoulder
Mediabrands laid me off. I wrote five songs in the emotional aftermath!
Blueburst – Significance
After 20 years of musical hibernation, guitarist/vocalist (and ad guy) Craig Douglas Miller has reemerged with Significance, the debut album from Blueburst, a collaboration with Marty Willson-Piper, former guitarist from The Church.
Holiday Slay Shuffle
I’m a Copywriter who has a love for long-form copy. Somewhere between growing up doing country-western line dancing and my love of the holidays, I came up with Holiday Slay Shuffle.
Stuck at Home
The Westons—two generations of brothers—wrote and recorded this quarantine-inspired lament during the early months of the pandemic, back when we thought it would be over by the end of summer and that Andrew Cuomo was a goddamn hero. Obviously, wrong about both.
RIVER / PALO SANTO / COISA LINDA:
Three genre-defying singles that explore cultural identity, desire, the high stakes of vulnerability, and whatever else you take away from them since art is subjective. Across these tracks I wrote lyrics & melodies, tracked drums, and arranged. Featured in AltNubian, Lyrical Lemonade, Soul Conversations Radio, Written Records, and more.
EXPANSION – Lexington’s Psychedelic Experience
EXPANSION is Lexington, KY’s Psychedelic Experience and Music Festival. We pride ourselves on being just as visually-stunning as the music that’s on stage. Lexington has a great, tight-knit creative community of musicians and visual artists and the event gives them both a platform to showcase their work.
Big in the Eighties
Recently, I reconnected with my old friend, next-door neighbor, and songwriting partner from my high school days. Like lots of kids in the ’80s, MTV inspired us to start writing songs and form a band. Naturally, we went nowhere, got “real” jobs, and lost touch after college. During quarantine, he sent me some music he was working on and we collaborated again after more than 30 years. And, since we were raised on MTV, we couldn’t release a song without an accompanying video.
OG Brooklyn
A middle-aged Brooklyn woman has had it up to here with the influx of young blood, none of whom know how to do things right!
I’ve regaled my younger friend Doug of the Brooklyn I knew growing up, and one day we starting exchanging couplets about it over text. (We both perform hip-hop improv & like to freestyle.) We knew after a few exchanges that we had to make a video.
I Can’t Make You Stay
I have been writing songs for over a decade now, but I never thought my songs were an accurate reflection of me, so I never recorded anything. I played in bands and sang at open mic nights but always kept my original songs to myself.
After going through a breakup from a long-term relationship, I needed something to sink my teeth into. I started writing songs that felt different from ones I’d previously written–I made a conscious effort to write a catchy melody with contrasting lyrics, like the Beatles song “Help”. I took this song to my brother Eddie Anthony and he helped me record it in his home studio. His guitarist friend Chris Coombs was over and graciously added some sweet electric guitar licks, elevating my acoustic song to something more pop-folk/Americana.
Through the process of writing this song, I was able to cope with my breakup. I have since recorded several other tracks and am releasing an EP by the end of the year. I took up the name Jesse Rivers as an homage to my late grandfather, Jesús Rios.
Dogs (Basement Dub)
i wrote a song about dogs. it was a rock song. there is no allegory. after I recorded the song, i had an old demo laying around that I went ahead and mixed into a dub version of the same song— i think it sounds better. who knew a bunch of delay and reverb can make things sound cool. RIP scratch perry
Check it out here.
