Somewhere Over The Rainbow from "The Wizard of Oz" played on an end-blown variant of the north Indian "bansuri" flute. Listen through headphones for crisp HQ stereo sound. I was just playing this for fun when I realised what a lovely cover video it would make.
P.S. When I'm holding the last note, I'm not chewing the flute. The chewing motions are the comical byproduct of a technique used to expel the last of the air from the lungs.
A cover of Eric Clapton's breathtakingly beautiful song "Lonely Stranger". Listen through headphones for sweet HQ stereo sound.
I fell in love with this song's unique and refreshing chord pattern the moment I heard it, and I've been waiting for an opportunity to cover it. So here it is, an acoustic, unplugged cover video of "Lonely Stranger".
P.S. Apologies for the video being a little pixellated, I have no idea how that happened.
P.P.S I initially had the djembe (the drum thing) brought in just to do the video for the "Lost" cover, but I loved the organic sound of that skin so much I decided to use it as percussion for this video.
Stefan and I present a cover of Coldplay's "Lost?"! Listen through headphones for HQ stereo sound! Stefan's voice is just right for this song. I love how the internet enables people to work with other people all over the world. Twenty years ago, this would have been unimaginable.
A medley/mashup cover performance of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" and "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues. Listen through headphones for HQ stereo sound.
Mashed-up lyrics: Nights in white satin, never reaching the end, Letters I've written, never meaning to send. Beauty I'd always missed with these eyes before. Just what the truth is, I can't say anymore.
'Cause I love you, yes I love you, oh how I love you.
So close, no matter how far Couldn't be much more from the heart Forever trusting who we are and nothing else matters
Trust I seek and I find in you Every day for us something new Open mind for a different view and nothing else matters
never cared for what they say never cared for games they play never cared for what they do never cared for what they know and I know 'Cause I love you, yes I love you, oh how I love you.
A medley/mashup performance of Coldplay's "The Scientist" and "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.
The first time I heard Empire State of Mind, the Coldplay's haunting words immediately popped into my head. "The Scientist" is a song that my friends and I know, love, and have performed several times. These songs fit together like hand and glove.
Mashed-up Lyrics: Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry You don't know how lovely you are I had to find you, tell you I need you Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions Oh, let's go back to the start Running in circles, coming up tails Heads on a science apart
In New York, Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, There's nothing you can't do, Now you're in New York, these streets will make you feel brand new, the lights will inspire you, lets hear it for New York, New York, New York
Nobody said it was easy It's such a shame for us to part Nobody said it was easy No one ever said it would be this hard Oh, take me back to New York, Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, There's nothing you can't do, Now you're in New York, these streets will make you feel brand new, the lights will inspire you, lets hear it for New York, New York, New York
A cover of David Archuleta's incredible song "My Hands". Listen through headphones for delicious HQ stereo sound.
This has long been my favourite song of David's. I've always wanted to do a cover, but never had a vocalist. A few days back, I thought: what the heck, enough waiting, I'll sing it myself.
Though the video is (rather poorly) lip-synced, everything you hear and see was created and performed by me, down to the last note and pixel. I just wanted you guys to have something better to look at than a boring home studio backdrop made out of old sheets.
A cover of Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones on piano/organ/other stuff.
The first version of this song I heard was Susan Boyle's, and I'd initially thought to cover that, but after listening to the original I realised I liked it far better. I even tried to sound a bit like Mick Jagger's unique scratchy voice. (You know, so that they wouldn't kick me to the curb)
This is my second "testing the waters" vocal cover, and if I continue getting positive feedback about my voice like I did for the previous one, I'll try and do vocal covers more frequently. Otherwise, I'll just stick to my instrumentals like the days of yore.
Childhood living is easy to do The things you wanted I bought them for you Graceless lady you know who I am You know I can't let you slide through my hands
Wild horses couldn't drag me away Wild, wild horses, couldn't drag me away
(Organ solo)
Wild horses couldn't drag me away Wild, wild horses, couldn't drag me away
Wild horses couldn't drag me away Wild, wild horses, we'll ride them some day
A cover of Evanescence's song "My Immortal" on piano and flute. And other stuff. This is a song I've known for years and a video I've wanted to do for a long time. I hope you enjoy it!
A cover of Jesse McCartney's devastatingly beautiful song "Invincible". Listen through headphones for sumptuous stereo.
...so I finally gave in to the pestering and did a vocal cover. My family/friends tell me I have a good voice. Of course I don't believe them, they're just being nice. I'm just a keyboardist, not a singer! But this particular song has such a bold narrative that a typical instrumental cover wouldn't do it justice. Please endure my voice and enjoy the spirit of the song!
Also, yes, the video is synched, because I'm not yet comfortable being taped while singing (as I've never done it before). The piano video however is completely live, as usual.
Lyrics:
I said don't do it babe Said it ain't worth it babe But you did it anyway Four or five drinks and you were on your way
September 1st, 2003 It took the life right out of me Hung up the phone Raced out the door Broken Tried to believe that it wasn't true But in my heart I always knew being the life of the party would catch up to you Your family was waiting and crying for three damn hours
[Chorus:] I said don't do it babe Said it ain't worth it babe But you did it anyway Four or five drinks and you were on your way Everything's cool on the straight away But you took that turn doing eighty-five in a thirty-five Why babe?
Every time I'm home I pass that road Driving alone and the street feels cold Seeing your face yeah it's haunting me My mind goes crazy tryin' to figure out Just where you would be four years from now And what you were thinking when the lights came down Doctors were trying to save you for three damn hours
[Chorus]
Who ever said that life was fair When you live without a care When you're invincible When you're invincible When you're invincible Who thinks about leaving when you're livin'
Mia and I are extremely excited to share our collaboration cover of David Archuleta's newest single Something 'Bout Love! It features Mialani (TheMialani) on some splendid vocals and me on keyboards / flute / backup vocals.
Mia has very kindly agreed to let me keep this video exclusively on my channel, so if you subscribed to me after watching this video, don't forget to go to http://www.youtube.com/themialani and subscribe to her too.
As my friends know, I love reinterpreting popular works. I must say that working on "Something 'Bout Love" was probably the most fun I've ever had reinterpreting a song.