On Sunday, March 10th, members of the Robert J. West Middle School Chorus performed the song "20 Beautiful Children" with the Southern Great Lakes Symphony and its' composer and arranger, Dave Martin. 

The song was written for the victims and heroes of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Conneticut.  It imagines questions asked by children about the events of December 14.  The song concludes "Can't we just take away the bullets?  Can't we just stop making the guns? For those 20 beautiful children, if not for those 20 beautiful children, then who?"

Donate to select Newtown charities and get a free download of an MP3 of "20 Beautiful Children" by visiting shinyheadmusic.com
 
 
On Saturday, September 8th, Hubble Street Jazz performed at Rochester's Arts and Apples festival.  Here are some videos from that gig, including my original song "Michigan Winter."

Michigan Winter

Moondance

Take The "A" Train

 
 

A song I wrote for my wife, about the first exciting moments of new love.





Play "Victimless Crime"

We met through a friend and the drama began
The day I saw your face
I made my move and we started to groove
on the couch at your best friend’s place

That night we started to talk and we couldn’t stop
We nearly eclipsed the moon
When the sun came up i already knew
You were gonna be the one

So I asked you  
And you said yes 
And then you kissed me
And I was ob-sessed

It won’t surprise you to know
In my chemical vertigo
Your eyes just stole this heart of mine
It’s a victimless crime

And I’ll do the time, yeah....
 
Yeah, we met through a friend and the drama began 
The day i saw your face
I made my move and we’ve been groovin’ 
Ever since that day

And now we share a love so rare
We sure eclipsed the moon
And the sun never set on the day we met
And it never will again

All ‘cause I love you 
And you love me too
Our love is limitless 
And I am so blessed

Yes, you stole this heart of mine,   
It’s a victimless crime
 
 
Thanks to Bandcamp.com, you can now purchase my original music online!  I've released my first EP, a 5-track album entitled "Resonance."  The album is $4 and tracks are $1 each, including Resonance, Step Aside, Michigan Winter, Tonight's The Night, and Don't Say Goodbye.  You can also listen to the entire, un-edited tracks before purchasing them - even on your iPhone or iPad!  Please check it out!  Click on the "Bandcamp" logo below or on the right side of the page, and thanks for your support!


 
 
This is a song written by my brother, Jeff, who created all the instrumental aspects of the composition.  I added the lyric and vocal and here's the result.  You rock, bro! 

Play "Comet Trail"

COMET TRAIL

Shine on star smooth comet trail
Move through space, slow as a snail but at such a pace
Perspective just a metaphor from where I am to what you are
Stardust, smoke, or icicle, chariot or bicycle

Civilizations rise and fall below
In ancient times you were a god
On wings of flame you brought with you
The warrior Finn or Mario

You’ll return and I’ll be gone
Until you meet a fiery end
Plunge to your doom and bring new life
Is this how we began? 

 
 
Picture
I've just completed this arrangement for my newest song, "Step Aside."  It's about leaving when you don't know where you're going. More songs on the Music page.

Step Aside

Letting go of all the love you never knew
It’s not easy now, is it?
You know it’s not what you want but you don’t know what you do
You just kind of go with it.


Too old to just get up and start again,
Too young to imagine the rest of your life with him,
The money, the home, the pets, the friends you pull in half,
The job, the garden, the kids you never had.

Letting go it takes a lot of time to think it through
So you don’t regret it.
The pull of desire leads you heart away but still you stay
Don’t know if you should let it.

Mondays anxious fears kept you up too late
By Wednesday it’s not so bad, you’ll just accept your fate
Friday decide to take a ride and leave the state,
But then you wait,

Paralyzed.

Push past the inertia to move.
Draw your breath, forget what you have to lose.
It feels so slow when you first fight gravity’s pull
When you’re so uncertain of your final goal.

But you find the strength,
And you break the past,
Apologize,
Close your eyes,

And step aside.
 
 
A song inspired by bad roads, icy windshields, and hot coffee.  Here the studio version here
 
 
This song was written as an experiment using Garageband on the iPad, and the lyrics were inspired by the Showtime show "Dexter."  Here is a solo acoustic version of the song.  You can hear the all-out rockin' version here