Featured Tracks Playlist July 2025

Next up is Living In Strange Times. I wrote this track during the first few months of 2020 when everything was so strange. I wanted a song that would reflect how strange the times were and are but also convey a since of hope. I love the opening of this track with that cool bass line and those chord hits. This track has this off tempo feel to it, for a blues track, but it works. I used my Fender Acoustic for the melody and my Fender Stratocaster for the solo. I use two piano sounds on this track a Grand Piano for chords and a Rhodes Electric piano sound for solo and melody. Let’s give Living In Strange Times a listen. 

Next up is Just Stay. I love this power ballad with it’s a great into and killer solos. To me a power ballad has a format to it, start simple, soft and build it from there. I start this track with a piano part and those soft rising strings building. I played the melody using a baby grand piano sound and later my Ibanez Hollow Body is playing the melody as well. I am playing my Gibson SG for that killer guitar solo. The horns, drum programing and that killer solo take this ballad into that big power ballad format. I love the way that guitar solo sounds soaring over the horns and strings. This song just rocks. Let’s give Just Stay a listen. 

Ok time to kick it up a notch with Why Don’t Ya Just Let Us Play. The foundation or sound canvas for this track is the rhythm section, the rhythm guitar, Fender Rhodes piano, drum programming, and that cool bass guitar line. I love how I started this track, just that bass guitar line. I had a blast writing and playing it too.  The staccato horns help drive the groove of this hot track. I played my Gibson SG for the rhythm guitar and melody. The solo features my Fender Stratocaster, and I love how it sounds with those horns pushing the track on. The last section or break still gets me how the song changes during that solo. Let’s give Why Don’t Ya Just Let Us Play a listen. 

Next up is Told Ya the title track from that 2022 release.  On this cool track, I’m playing the Ibanez Hollow Body guitar for the rhythm and the melody. For the solo I’m playing my Fender Stratocaster. The walking bassline on this track sounds so good. On the keyboard side, I have horns and strings accenting throughout the song. I’m using the Rhodes sound for the piano chords on this one. Cheryl named this track while I was writing it. She heard the way the chord changes sounded and said, “Told Ya” (got to love her). Let’s give Told Ya a listen.         

The last track on this playlist Run With Me. This track is a conversation between the guitar and the keyboards. Specifically, my Fender acoustic electric guitar and Baby Grand piano sound. There is a killer solo at the end of the track, that believe it or not I played on my Fender acoustic electric guitar. It sounded so good I decided to leave it and not redo it using my SG or Stratocaster. On the keyboard side I’m using a Baby Grand sound for the melody and the solo, and I use a Fender Rhodes electric piano sound to play the chords. This is such a cool and fun track.  Let’s give, Run With Me a listen.