Happy Holidays; new music by Steve April on The Pipeline at IndieMusicPeople

Happy Holidays; new music
Happy holidays everyone...

Have 3 new songs up, "March," "Jefferson's Expedition", and "The Bop Shoo Bop song."

"March" an ambient instrumental, colorful textures (hopefully)

"Jefferson's Expedition" about tom jefferson, with focus also on his personal life, and (alleged)relation with sally hemings.

"The Bop Shoo Bop Song" a work in progress, with a fun riff (hopefully)...

Add Comment

Richard Scotti

12/21/2012 4:51:01 PM

I've added "March" to my all instrumental station: "Instrumentally Yours". Nice work, Steve. I love the piano and George Martin style arrangement.

Add Comment

Steve April

12/22/2012 3:55:34 PM

thanks, Richard.

yeah, that turned out pretty neat lol...

kudos on your new song ""love conquers all," hopefully you're sending that out everywhere, clickin' on all cylinders...

ROCK...

Add Comment

Shoe City Sound

12/22/2012 7:21:13 PM

Happy Holidays to you too Steve. March is wild! There's so many different sounds and influences all on top of the parade snare drum rhythm - amazing. How do you think of these things? haha

D

Add Comment

Steve April

12/23/2012 11:26:39 AM ---- Updated 12/24/2012 3:02:37 AM

hi dolores (thanks for your sense of humor), and all,

devotion, perseverance, you know...

ah, the breeze moving over the strings, sans ego, in special moments...

Add Comment

Stoneman

12/26/2012 11:57:00 AM

Wonderful guitar work here. Once again you touched on a very touchy situation in regards to Sally Hemings, a mixed race slave woman that Jefferson inherited, who some say had a long tumultuous relationship with Jefferson, It is also alleged that he fathered several of her children. Others, on the other side of the coin say she was raped by several of the slave owners relatives and brought forth children who were considered 7/8ths human (as you know, African slaves were not considered to be human beings) and were eventually set free due their overt "Whiteness" and an agreement that Jefferson made with Sally.

Modern day DNA has proven that her offspring were of the Jefferson blood line but there is no proof that Jefferson fathered her children. It should be noted that slave women were often forcefully raped by slave owners and their relatives. It was considered the natural order of things as slaves had no human rights. What makes this story a great American story is the fact that Sally herself eventually was set free. But it was after the president passed away.

When I was studying African American history I read once that when her and Jefferson were in France, she could have petitioned the French for her freedom due to the laws they had in place at that time. However, instead she made Jefferson promise to free her children when they returned stateside and he honored his promise.

But Jefferson's slave ownership is a prime example of his tainted legacy as well as the tainted legacy of several other presidents who owned people. It is the historical shame of the nation that few ever speak about. The fact remains that hundreds of years of free labor created the wealth and prosperity of the folks that we call "old money" rich folks.

This song is my favorite of the 3 mainly because of the guitar licks and the bold approach to subject matter that many prefer to hide and pretend never happened.

Much Respect Steve,
Stoneman

Add Comment

Shoe City Sound

12/26/2012 4:23:29 PM

Sense of humor notwithstanding - you have to know how much I respect the "sans ego" aspect of all your work, truly :)

Add Comment

Voodoohead Productions

12/27/2012 9:35:25 AM

added Jefferson tune. very cool groove

Add Comment

Steve April

12/27/2012 11:17:10 PM

Bryon, thanks for includin' "Jefferson's Expedition" on your station. I was wonderin' if the song bridges the "history" genre, into the human drama lol...a music bard somewhere said, "it's not important what i mean, it's how the song makes you feel..."

Dolores, thanks for your generosity, and musicality, praise from you is music to my ears...

Stoneman, thank you for your extended review/commentary, especially signifying, and I'm grateful that your commetary/review mentions my "approach" cause that indeed was a significant stumblin' block for awhile. won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say, all the other "foundling father" songs are a third person narrative, however, Jefferson, one of the first i tackled, wouldn't seem to resolve that way, it was really gettin' on my nerves lol....

It felt impersonal...maybe cause jefferson's on mt. rushmore and all, an icon. jeffersonian democracy, and all that...

Also, Jefferson was desolated by the death of his first wife, whom he dearly loved, and all his children but one, a fact rarely mentioned, the subject of Verse 2. So Jefferson's back story there...

Sally Hemings, so much hinges on her...

Like you say, their (alleged) affair is "tainted" in the eyes of history...cuts many ways, to be sure...

I felt like a ouija board, or in on a seance, for a few of the "foundling father" songs.

Add Comment