First Take Friday - Episode #21
Come On By
Written by Jonathan Brader

Tale of the Tune:
This one is an oldie, but a goodie. I wrote this tune way back in 2003. It is obviously about the beach and a girl. Sounds like paradise to me!
I actually recorded this song in 2004 at Darkhorse in Nashville, TN with my friends, Michael Modesto, Tony Esterly and Ben King. Mike was the engineer. Tony played the guitar, Ben was on drums and I played the bass. 

You can download/stream two versions of this tune right now!
Go to my "music" page to check it out.

First Take Friday - Episode #20
Sleep Babies Sleep
Written by Jonathan Brader

Tale of the Tune:
Does this one sound familiar? If you’ve been watching all of the episodes then it should. I’ll give you a hint. This song is very similar to FTF #15.
I wrote FTF #15 (Close Your Eyes) five weeks ago. FTF #20 (Sleep Babies Sleep) was actually written at the same time, actually just prior to #15.

I had totally forgotten about it, but I was looking for some material for outtakes and I stumbled across Sleep Babies Sleep. It is fitting that this would be the song for the 20th episode as one of the great things about songwriting is that you never know where a song will end up. After practicing as much as possible I press the record button and we’re off to the races. I leave the camera running while I stumble over my words trying to describe the songs, but sometimes I will record something that doesn’t sound anything like what was in my practice sessions.

That is precisely what happened here. I had the guitar riff for Close Your Eyes (#15) down, but for some reason I played this - Sleep Babies, Sleep (I don't like the comma in the song title). Since it wasn’t want I had in mind, I guess I cut it and kept what became FTF #15, which I recorded immediately after this, though I changed microphones for some reason. That is the path that my songwriting often follows, which is why I LOVE doing the First Take Friday series. Anything is possible.

Which one do you like better? Close Your Eyes (FTF #15) or this one, Sleep Babies Sleep (FTF #20). They are similar yet so different. I hope you enjoy.

First Take Friday- Episode #19
Laissez Les Bons Temps Roulez
Written by Jonathan Brader

Tale of the Tune:
This tune is obviously about Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday).  Actually it is more about the season of Carnival which starts on Epiphany and ends on Fat Tuesday (Ash Wednesday starts the season of Lent).

Believe it or not, the lyrics are somewhat accurate historically. King Louis XIV sent two French explorers,  the Le Moyne brothers, to America in 1699 to secure the French Territory that became part of the Louisana Purchase.  The Le Moyne brothers did name Bayou Mardi Gras, which was about 60 miles south of New Orleans where they first stopped on Mardi Gras in 1699.  The rest of the song is totally made up. But it would be pretty cool if these explorers became pirates and started Mardi Gras celebrations in America because they loved to party so much.

One of my favorite cities is New Orleans. And of course St. Louis has a sizeable Mardi Gras celebration, so I had to throw in a reference to St. Louis.

 Thank you for checking it out!

First Take Friday
Episode #18
This Girl is Trouble
Written by Jonathan Brader

Tale of the Tune:
When I met my wife I knew she was trouble. Trouble in the sense that she just turned my world upside down, in a good way. That's basically the Tale of the Tune. It started out as a drinking song actually, but I slowed it down a bit and these lyrics just flowed, so I rode the pony.

Riding the pony. Feelin' the flow.
Harness good. Block bad.