New Song & Video from The Idle Hours: "The Road"

Hey all! I know it's been a few months, and a heckuvalot of things have happened.  I feel like I always come to you, full of promises to be better, like a bad lover...alas, I have no great excuse, except the usual busy-ness of travels and teaching.

But the good news! I have a new video to share. If you've been following my previous posts, I have a project with Nashville producer Marc Lacuesta (newly Grammy-nominated for his work with Francesca Battistelli) called The Idle Hours. We released an EP in August, which includes a very special song to us called "The Road."  Yesterday we released a video for the song!  It's been 7 months coming, but with the talents of Austin Jose and John Enriquez at Homeroom Production-Creative, we've put together a lovely children's story to underline the feel of the song.

Also, keep your ears open for the legendary BJ Cole on pedal steel guitar. BJ was kind enough to play on our song during a recent stay in Nashville and we were very lucky to have him.  Enjoy!

 

A story of friendship forged across the universe.  This is the Official Music Video for "The Road" by The Idle Hours. Download the song at http://TheIdleHours.bandcamp.com // "The Road" is written and performed by The Idle Hours (Alfa Garcia/Marc Lacuesta), featuring B. J. Cole on pedal steel // Published by HD Music Now (Mission Viejo, CA) // Support The Idle Hours at http://www.Facebook.com/TheIdleHours
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Concept by: Alfa Garcia, Austin Jose, John Enriquez, Rob Bieselin
Illustration: Austin Jose
Motion graphics: John Enriquez, Kevin Weyrick Knowles
Direction: Austin Jose & John Enriquez
Producer: Homeroom - Production Creative
Executive Producer: Alfa Garcia
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from The Idle Hours (EP), released 26 August 2014. Recorded in Nashville, TN
Lead vocals: Marc Lacuesta
Background vocals: Alfa Garcia
Pedal steel guitar: B.J. Cole
Acoustic guitars: Alfa Garcia, Marc Lacuesta
Electric guitar: Mike Payne
Melodica, Maracas: Marc Lacuesta
Piano: Alfa Garcia
Upright bass: Vinnie Lu
Engineered and mixed by Marc Lacuesta
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"The Road"
(lyrics and music by Alfa Garcia/Marc Lacuesta)

If I had another eye, I'd see the whole world
two to keep me between the lines, as the road turned
one stayed on the setting sun behind me
if I had the eyes to see.

Alone I keep a steady keel, my conscience
timing like an idle wheel across the distance
ever-wishing you were here to give me grace
to fill the empty space, singin'

Ooooh... this wandering road.

This old North Dakota blue is an ocean
deeper than the fields we knew as children
and when I'm feeling very small and overcome
our song will guide me home, singin'

Oooh... Ooooh...
this wandering road.

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New Year, New Song! "Incomplete"

Happy 2015!  I can't believe 2014 whizzed by and we're already here.  This past year has been a big learning experience for me.  Amongst many lessons, I learned just how important it is to stay true to oneself, despite any external pressures.  What I mean is - I learned about the ugly side of being a singer/songwriter - that part of this industry that makes one feel insecure, finding oneself comparing constantly against others, getting pulled down by insecurities despite all that had been accomplished.  I realized at the end of 2014 that I had never really given myself a chance to creatively breathe in almost 4 years (wow!), and that this probably accounted for my emotionally deteriorated condition.  I decided to give myself at least 2 weeks off social media and away from music. No Facebook, no guitar practice, no songwriting, no Instagram.  I thought it would be hard...but once I decided to let go, the relief was almost instant.  I'm not saying social media is a total evil - I love the benefits of this new technological age, especially as an indie musician.  But getting wrapped in it can really warp you, especially when trying to stay connected to some innate sense of creativity...that intangible muse that needs simultaneous freedom and isolation to stay well-oiled.  Anyway, you may think that once I decided on this new self-help step that everything got exponentially awesome.  Not exactly.  I came down with a bad flu that peaked with a 102 fever on Christmas Day.  I think my body had wanted to fall apart for a while and since my brain had kept it going and going for many months, it never had a chance to just let loose.  It definitely was no fun staying in bed during one of my favorite holidays (right up there with Thanksgiving), but it further helped me slow down a bit.  Breathe.  Embrace the simplicity of the world around.  Family, and all that jazz.  It also helped me appreciate all that came to pass in 2014.  I can't wait to see what's in store next!

In the meantime, I've got a brand new song that I debuted at Hotel Cafe this past December 8th.  I also performed it on Halo Halo with Kat Iniba, and the video is below. It's a song I co-wrote with my friend Matt Koelsch, with whom I'd done a Lumineers cover back in 2013.  Enjoy!

"Incomplete"  (by Matt Koelsch/Alfa Garcia)

Baby, I know this sounds crazy
when you come around I don't know what it is
Maybe, it's cause you're something different
from what I am used to
but you're out of reach.

CHORUS
It's nothing but a passing thing
boy, you got me wondering
what everything would be like if you were mine, mine, mine
Everytime I see you leave
wishing you were next to me
I don't wanna sleep
I feel like I'm incomplete.

You're tired, ran circles through my mind
You're just the kind of distraction I wanted all this time.
It's useless, I try to be productive
your smile is so seductive
You don't even try.

CHORUS

You fly so high, but don't come down for me
On restless nights I see you in my dreams
I'll let it pass, but until then
I'll just pretend that you are mine, mine, mine.

CHORUS

New Song: "God Writes Happy Endings"

New video out today!   And you can download the song on my Bandcamp too. :)

God writes happy endings.

woke up today in the darkness

a ghost sat in my room

told it all of my secrets

how bad I've been missing you

but when I'm awake, I just want to sleep

to fill an empty space

where do I go now? I wonder

fixed to the anchors of fate.

but God writes happy endings

...and me and you will have our happy ending too.

when I'm asleep you're a traveler

you're packed and ready to go

fading away in the distance

to places I'll never know

weary, the world spins on and on

I don't know how it ends

do you come back?  did you love me at all?

did half your heart pretend?

God writes happy endings

...and me and you will have our happy ending

somewhere, in a future somewhere

that I'm not supposed to know... 

God writes happy endings

God writes happy endings

God writes happy endings

and me and you will have our happy ending

me and you will have some happy end

me and you will have our happy ending too.

______

This song is near and dear to me because I started writing it 8 years ago, during my last painful breakup.  Writing about a breakup is daunting sometimes, mostly because it's a realm that has been explored time and time again.  The challenge becomes the search for different lenses and angles through which to view the situation.  Now, my first attempt at writing this song wasn't entirely a failure -  I did "finish" it, in the sense that I'd played it at a gig once - but deep inside I knew it wasn't there yet.  In hindsight, I realize it was because I had written it too soon after the pain.  Some topics are just plain hard to navigate in their fresh state.  What I did get out of that first attempt, though, was a chorus that stuck with me through several years, until earlier this summer when I sat in my backyard hammock and leafed through an old journal to dig up old songs.  The melody was old-school; kind of lullaby-ish, a tinge jazz standard-y.  I loved the repetition of the phrase; it was so much like a mantra.

This song also stood out because all I could remember was the chorus, and I couldn't for the life of me recall any verse.  I took that as a challenge, and re-built the song around this bare skeleton.  The hardest part to this process was trying to get myself back in that post-breakup mental state.  One thing stuck with me from that time, and it was the ripping realization that someone whose life had been intertwined deeply with my own was most certainly going to go onward through life's experiences without me there to be part of it.  I wouldn't know their life's journey, and my own future would not include them either.  For someone like me who (full disclaimer) has dealt with some abandonment issues, this was a very real, very bewildering revelation.  It stunned me at the time, and I can still remember how painfully empty I felt; how hard it was to feel self-sufficient and normal again.

One thing kept me somewhat optimistic, and it was the knowledge that everything wasn't in my hands.  That mantra, "God writes happy endings," is written like the self-assuring words we tell ourselves in hard times to help keep our heads up.  It's also about getting the courage to surrender to the wills of fate - looking forward to a "happy ending," whether it means you'll end up back together or not at all.  It's about accepting a happy ending in whatever form it may come in; knowing there's someone out there that knows our fate better than us, and being OK with that.
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The Idle Hours are here!

Last week, Marc Lacuesta and I finally debuted our EP.  This has 5 songs, all written in 2011-2012...also known as the years when I got to learn about the general awesomeness of Nashville.  We are truly proud of these songs, and you can check them out here:  theidlehours.bandcamp.com.  They are available for streaming and download for $4.99, or $1 per song.  Not a bad deal for music, right?  You can also find the EP on iTunes and Amazon, AND...please don't forget to follow us on Facebook.com/theidlehours!

We were so lucky to have some incredible musicians on this too, so if you have the time, I encourage you to look through the EP info to see the names of some gnarly players who contributed to the effort.  Some notables (which I mentioned in an earlier post) include BJ Cole, who played on Elton John's "Tiny Dancer," as well as Sting's record "10 Summoner's Tales" in '93; and Jeremy Lister, whose group Street Corner Symphony won 2nd place on The Sing-Off in 2010.

The Idle Hours EP Track List
1. Wait for Me
2. Perfect Melody
3. The Road (feat. BJ Cole)
4. For Now
5. Third of December (feat. Jeremy Lister)

Thanks in advance for checking it out! :)

Evolution of a song: "Emily"

Like many, I'm a new country fan.  After countless years of saying I couldn't get over the twang, the slide guitars, and the jiggly banjoes, I have finally crossed the line into Team Country.  Don't get me wrong, as in any genre, there are still limits to my newfound appreciation (I'll take Kacey Musgraves over Taylor Swift any day, or Johnny Cash over Dierks Bentley). But overall, I've found endearment and admiration for the storytelling that goes into a good country song. One of my favorites is an oldie - Dolly Parton's "Jolene."  Roughly two years ago I got to writing a song with a similar premise, a song called "Emily," that tells the tale of a gal desperately begging another far more attractive female to stay away from her man.  Some might say I was copying the country legend herself.  I prefer to say that I was simply paying homage to a great.

Here are 2 renditions of "Emily" in its earlier stages. This one was sent off to Marc Lacuesta in Nashville to get his input on building the track: 

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/23ajg747nx11can/Emily.mp3

http://www.mediafire.com/listen/r35yq925s075mre/EmilyRough5213.mp3

A few weeks later, I was lucky enough to get into House of Rock in Santa Monica - a multi-million dollar house that included a beautiful studio in the attic that was owned by Blue Microphones.  The folks over at Blue were nice enough to let me get into the studio to record a little bit, so I did a version of "Emily" along with drummer Roberto Cerletti. 

As I worked with the song during gigs, it became evident that the song would have a heavy upright bass presence. As a result, I got together with a great bassist in town, Austin Underhill, and would play the song with him during a handful of gigs. I also took the tempo down a little to make it a bit more mysterious.

"Emily" with Upright Bass:  http://www.mediafire.com/listen/7rq52crsaxvq3tn/EmilyAustin.mp3

Meanwhile, in Nashville, Marc and I had built the track, working off what was recorded at House of Rock with all the tasty Blue mics in the studio.  We also got Bones Hillman, of Midnight Oil, to play upright on the track.  We topped it off with some of Marc's sweet background vocals and some organ, and then all that was left was for me to re-sing my vocals during a September 2013 visit.  Here's the final version of the track, available for streaming and download!  Stay tuned for a music video soon...

You have been reckless with my heart, but I am the one to pay.

In August I wrote a song called "Reckless," and have performed it live only once. I decided to release the video of the performance because I haven't played it since then, and because it was filmed by Jeb Milne, the late owner of WitzEnd (the venue you see in the video) who booked me there and also booked me for my first-ever residency, which will begin in January.  He passed away shortly after he gave me that residency, and I am so thankful to him for giving me the opportunity after booking me only once in his venue.  In the short time I knew him, he believed in me and my music, and showed so much support and positivity.  I only met him once, but I knew there were few like him.  This video is dedicated to him.

"Reckless" (Written and performed by Alfa Garcia. © Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.)
you don't even know me
you're not even sorry
for making me fall down
the long winding stairs
i got all my problems
you don't seem to have one
but that doesn't mean that you should think of ways to collapse walls around you in your haste
now all I do is dream of you all day

CHORUS
I'll be the first to say
it shouldn't go down this way
you have been reckless with my heart
but i am the one to pay
you'll move on quietly
like it was so easy
meanwhile I'll be waiting... foolishly
believing ... you're the one for me.

well what do we do now?
you're perfectly happy
but honestly me, I've been losing my sleep
i think of your brown eyes
that cleverly disguise
a man who's too familiar with goodbyes (d)

CHORUS
I'll be the first to say
it shouldn't go down this way
you have been reckless with my heart
but i am the one to pay
you'll move on quietly
like it was so easy
meanwhile I'll be waiting... foolishly
believing ... you're the one for me. (A)

BRIDGE:
call it a casualty of war
like love is a battle you fight
i surrender all that you want
I wave my white flag high.

CHORUS:
I'll be the first to say
it shouldn't go down this way
you have been reckless with my heart
but i am the one to pay
...
I'll be the first to say
it shouldn't go down this way
you have been reckless with my heart
but i am the one to pay
you'll move on quietly
like it was so easy (higher)
meanwhile I'll be waiting... foolishly
believing ... you're the one for me.
believing ... you're the one for me.
believing you're the one for me.

***

Mixing signatures and structures.

I was up late last night starting a song. It was 1am and I was avoiding sleep. I'd started thinking about past relationships that were almosts-but-not-quite...thinking that a lot of the time I just didn't feel like the other person was letting me in as much as I wanted them to. That sort of unevenness seems to be an early sign of relationship problems to come. Anyway, I was messing with a rolling finger picking rhythm on the G# chord and started at the verse.  I know some people say starting with a chorus is a must for pop songs, but I wasn't sure this was going to be a pop song, and more often than not, I just want to go along with the song and see where it takes me when it gets to a "Chorus" moment.  What ended up happening was a Verse, Pre-chorus, Verse, Pre-chorus, Chorus pattern.  It's a little different, but something I've been gravitating towards the last couple of weeks.  I also gravitated towards the phrase, "from me."  I thought about the idea of repeating a phrase as a tag, but having it mean something slightly different each time... I also think the phrase "From me" sounds kind of nice at first, but in this song, is actually mellow and sad.

After some tweaking today, I wound up finishing the song. I think I'll end with the Pre-Chorus, rather than a Chorus, or a Chorus repeat. AND...this is a first for me, I think I will go into 3/4 time in the 2nd chorus.  I don't know exactly how it happened, but it felt very natural today. We will see how it sits tomorrow, if I can find time to play before my flight to Buffalo.

There is tweaking yet to be done... but here's that first bit that I wound up writing last night, along with edits from today:

From Me (Written by Alfa Garcia, BMI. (c) 2013. All Rights Reserved.)

Verse 1:

I try to speak to you / all casual and true

you speak in riddles back to me.

I wonder if it's just / the language that we have

I know you love your poetry

Pre:

But it seems I have to find 

a better man who doesn't hide

from me.

Verse 2:

You're such a wanderer / you're beautiful that way

and I would never tie you down

But your symbolic sighs / the overdrawn goodbyes

baby, they don't keep me 'round

Pre:

Lookin' for someone like you

who doesn't have to keep the truth

from me.

Chorus:

Tell me your secrets / tell me where do you go

I promise I'll keep it / I promise I'll let you go

when you want to be free.

----

In other news, I had my second rehearsal with drummer Kevin Jimenez, who will play with me at Room 5 on Nov. 22nd. I enjoy our weekly get-togethers, because it forces me to practice the older stuff, rather than get caught up solely in writing new songs.  I think songwriters are too quick to walk away from a song once it's written. I guess it's the artist's job from there...so if you're both (artist and songwriter), you carry a song with you a lot longer.  

That's it for now... will be in Buffalo playing a showcase with NACA this weekend. :)  More news when I return.

The fast ones // "Man On the Radio" (working song + audio)

I love when a song comes to me super fast.  It's like the songwriting-gods above have showered me with undeserved inspiration and I'm just sitting there with my hands open going, "yes, yes, give them to me."  Those moments are definitely rare, and it's best to take advantage of them when they come (usually that means dropping what I'm doing, grabbing a paper and pen and sitting there as long as it takes).  I always feel a little skeptical afterwards, though. I try to go over what I wrote and make sure I'm not just feeling too attached to it for some reason or another; I try to take a few steps back...  Still, is there anything more satisfying?

Here's one I wrote on my uke in about 15 minutes last week, the day after I got back from Nashville. Ironically, I had gone there to write new songs, and didn't finish a single one (unless you count the one I had started with my cowriter Marc last year and finally finished during the trip). I guess that's how it goes. What the gods give, they taketh away... ;)  Anyway, this one's about falling in love with a voice that you hear on the radio and being content with drawing up the whole love story in your head...without actually needing to meet the dude. Tell me I'm not the only one this happens to...

"Man on the Radio" 

written by Alfa Garcia (BMI) 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Oh boy, you don't know me but I think I know you

'cause there's something about the way you sing to me.

Like you've read into parts of me no one sees

and I can't help but fall for your understanding.

Oooooh, oooooh

Oooooh, oooooh. (repeat)

There is no need for a formal face-to-face

to be honest, I'm fine learning you line-by-line in my room.

'Cause in my head there is no one for me but you

I have got you pegged as a man with a plan, who's a good list'ner too

(yes, that's you)

Oooooh, oooooh

Oooooh, oooooh. (repeat)

I swear you're singing right to me

like I'm never out of reach.

Well, you must have found a back door to my heart

'cause it feels like you've been there from the start

and I know you don't know me, but I think that I love you

I think I love...love you. (repeats on this line?)

Man on the radio

Man on the radio

Man on the radio

Man on the radio... 

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I had the chance to play this at FilAmFest in San Diego this weekend. It was my last song, and I think the reaction was pretty cool. Admittedly, though, this songs relies on the melody and delivery. I think there's a lot of room to make it one of those fun, short stints (it clocks in at just about 3 minutes) that elicits a quick reaction, rather than long-lasting thought.  I am not opposed to these kinds of songs... I think there's room for them.  But also, this one's just freakin' fun to sing.  :)  

"Man on the Radio" (iPhone rough demo)  

Anyway, here's a rough track I did on my iPhone. In this version, I had switched the 2 parts of verse 2, but I think I'm going to go with the version in the lyrics above. Also, I pulled a little Bob Dylan towards the end... ha. I crack myself up.