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Shades of Empty Rooms, fantastic Wayne. Greetings from Kapiti. Mike.

Perfeito!

👍👍👍🎧👍👍👍. Great play Wayne...., great painting easel on the lead, 🤙

I’ve always wanted to use these words....” as a songwriter...” you sometimes have no idea where the inspiration for a song comes from......in this case, I just started with a chord progression and slowly built it up.....and then, heard the song title in the melody I was playing.....my complicated brain......

Really nice Wayne. A ‘’true grit with a smile feeling’’ as you’re playing... and you’re coming through with a good mature smile with this one. As you say, your style is taking a front seat as it should. 👍👍👍 you little hum-dinger you. Lol. 😁😊😊

So....after 55 years of relative “silence” I feel through writing these songs this year its finally helped me find my “true” voice......this is dedicated to anyone who has/will listen to my music.....it literally comes straight from my soul......

So....a little background to this song..... My mum told me that when I was very young I would get into these furiously angry moods and, the only thing that would calm me down was if she cuddled me.....thank God she was wise enough to do it that way.....I didn’t realise until years later that I had been sexually abused by our next door neighbour and his son from when I was about 2 years old.... And, I shared a room with my younger brother Rick for 20 years and he was my closest friend for all that time......so, I got to know what being a brother was all about..... Which leads me too.....many years ago when I was going through my divorce with my first wife, one night I came home after work and opened all of the windows and doors of the place I was living in and just left it and started walking, and walking, and walking...... Eventually, I got home again at about 1am in the morning and decided to pick up my bible which was on the table in front of me....I read a passage about....”there is one who sticks closer than a brother...”....at that moment, as I was sitting on the couch I broke down and started sobbing......it went extremely quite, and, all of a sudden someone sat next to me and put his arm around my shoulder as if to say......don’t worry I’m here for you...... Now, I’m not a “religious” man( I HATE the word and all it implies) but, there is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that it was Jesus who put his arm around me....a spiritual experience I’ll never forget......hence this song......a tribute to my mum, brother and the MAN.....

very 'Bats'zy' bro!

So....this song took exactly an hour to write/record and mix.....it obviously needed to come out!!! Ive realised I’ve spent a lot of my past life thinking about things which really, at the end of the day, just fed my fears.... The sobering thing for me is, with everything swept away in my life I’ve finally realised I will die with no fear......I definitely know where I’m going and I definitely have no fear going there.....

So....a few years ago we moved to Whangarei and lived there for 5 years.....for myself, the longer I stayed there the worse of a nightmare it became..... At one stage I went back to counseling, and, at the time was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder( look it up, it makes interesting reading)..... My reaction was, well, if this is me for the rest of my life then my time with Andrea and Luke isn’t going to last that long.....so, I decided to take myself off all the medication I was on so I could “find” the real me......best decision I ever made in my life......it was like I had been living in fog for the previous 15 years(the same length of time I was on the medication).... Thank God that Andrea always said to me she could see there was a good person underneath all of the hurt/pain/darkness/crazy........she definitely was a beacon of light for me.......

Musically, I’m definitely referencing my favourite Aussie Rock band The Angels....especially the lead guitarist Rick Brewster.....he’s a classy player.... Lyrically, I play a game which I really enjoy on PS4 which is called Ride 2 and is a motorcycle game......I’m not a biker myself but, speaking to my friend Roger who has ridden bikes for 40 years he always talks about the sense of freedom he gets when riding......

One thing I discovered early on in my relationship with Andrea is that she HAD to go the sea at least twice a year......there’s no doubt she loved Taupo/the lake/the people, but, there was something in her spirit which needed to connect with everything to do with the ocean...... Her favourite place was Mt.Maunganui.....she used to go there as a teenager when she was bought up in Matamata and she always come back from a visit with a much lighter heart..... I’m not sure if there was a connection with her grandfather who had been a sailor, and, being in the navy herself( although, at the time she was in women weren’t allowed to serve on ships)....whatever it was, it was a must do every year for me!

I have been privileged in my lifetime to see BB King( The King of the Blues )play at 3 gigs, and, got to meet him once..... This is definitely a tribute to him in lieu of me getting my Tokai 335 today......also, a new record for me, I’ve managed to write four songs today( I’ve got a feeling I’m going to pay for it tommorrow, but, what the hell, it’s been fun!)

Musically, a tip of the hat to the lead singer from Foreigner Lou Gramm and his first solo single Midnight Blue.... Lyrically, just like the way these words sound together......have no idea what it means..... Guitar wise.....my first recording using my new( secondhand) Tokai 335.....I had a Gibson 335 30 years ago and gave it away to a friend of mine.....it’s about time I got one back!

Just had to do some running repairs to my Martin acoustic.....I’ve had it for 25 years and it’s very special to me.....when I first met Andrea I didn’t own any guitars at all so she gave me $800 to go buy an acoustic at least.....when I went in to the shop where I used to work my boss had just repossessed the Martin and $800 was what was owing so he gave it to me for that price.....still feel very blessed every time I pick it up......used it on this song.....

This is the first song I’ve ever written in DADGAD tuning, normally associated with “Celtic” music( and, most famously used in the Led Zeppelin song Kashmir )......even though it’s been almost three years since Andrea passed away I still feel her presence in my life every day......

My younger brother Rick asked me if I could write a song with slide guitar in it so this is it....any excuse to play my George Thorogood guitar.... Many years ago we used to play in the same cricket team and one day I went out to bat while Rick was umpiring.....I got bowled a ball, that, in the history of balls being bowled in all of cricket was absolutely/undeniably/equivocally completely leg before, would have taken out the middle stump, I’d stepped back in my crease etc...... Rick goes “Not Out.....no ball”....to the roars of disapproval from the other team...... Even I couldn’t believe he hadn’t given me out......as it was, two balls later I was caught behind( I would have walked regardless of what Rick said..)and, afterwards said to him, “bro, why didn’t you give me out.....that was plum!”.... He replied “ I couldn’t give my brother out...”.....now, that’s having your back for you! Love you Rick!

Great tribute Wayne, perfect song for a lovely lady!

No....not The Beatles version of this song.....my own original.... Just grateful that I’ve had a couple of things in life to centre me.....music.......it’s opened up so many doors, I’ve met all sorts of interesting people, and, through all my insanity kept me sane.....and, a spiritual perspective on life through all of the crap......

When I started writing this song I was only going to have one lead guitar only but then thought.....why not make it like a conversation between TWO guitarists......bloody clever if you ask me.....

I’m particularly proud of this song and how it came together musically and lyrically..... When I was going to counseling for my depression, at one stage I went to a psychiatrist for a few sessions and eventually he told me, “just get on with your life...” When I came home and told my late wife Andrea she came to realise that she had been my support person for so long and, now it was time for HER to go for counseling.....that’s why I love the bible passage about....two are better than one because if one falls the other will lift his companion...... It was definitely a team effort for us.....

Well....this is it....the first time I’ve ever recorded a song using piano as the melody......hence the title.....it might be the last time I do this as well...... I took inspiration for this for the chords and the mixing of acoustic guitar and piano from the Al Stewart song “The Year Of The Cat”.....

Just recently I watched Pink Floyd play their song “Echoes” off the Live At Pompeii” DVD.......after it was filtered through my brain/synapses/emotions/DNA this is what came out......I have a very strange brain......

I must have been in love or something with my late wife Andrea.......another song for her....

Another song I’d like to dedicate to my late wife Andrea....this harks back to the day I first met her.....she was out on a date with someone else.....

Musically, I love songs that go from a minor(“sad”)sound to a major(“happy”)sounding key, so this is my effort... Lyrically, as a performer, every time I’ve stepped on a stage it’s felt like I’m exposing my soul for all to see.....these last few months it’s been a similar experience through writing my songs.....

Love the humour... love the song. Perfect vibe. 👍❤️❤️❤️👍

I challenged myself to write a song in 3/4 time so this is it....before Andreas Aunty Bette passed away she told us she was going to come back as a Monarch butterfly so I feel like the music evokes an image of a butterfly fluttering around a back garden somewhere.... Andrea told me she was going to come back as a seagull just to annoy me with her squawking....

A tribute to another of my guitar heroes Peter Green from the original Fleetwood Mac......I don’t know if it’s the same with other blokes and their partner but, I always knew something was up with Andrea when she stopped talking to me......one day I called a family meeting with her and Luke and asked her to tell us what we were doing that really bugged her.....Luke got a couple of things and I got two pages worth....!!!!!!

This song is specifically about my abuse and how it effected me, but, also a tribute to everyone who helped me along the way......

I had lunch with a workmate from 30 years ago.....great to catch up and share our stories......this is dedicated to him, thanks for your honesty Ugly Kid Joe....

I’ve always enjoyed listening to songs that have both acoustic and electric tones in them.....this is my effort.....

Ever since I heard the song “ Sleepwalk”( especially by the Brian Setzer Orchestra) I’ve wanted to create a similar sounding song.....here it is!

Well.....this is the 200th song I’ve written this year......there’s no way I would have picked that at the beginning of 2020......definitely a tribute to my late wife Andrea who understood me more than anyone else ever will.......

Awesome bro

Musically, a tip of the hat to the U2 song “One”......lyrically, totally “ Stream of consciousness”....have NO IDEA at all what this means......must be tired!

For some reason I’ve always loved the sound of major and minor thirds( two notes being played together in harmony.....must be the Spanish blood in me )......we guitarists are lazy and call them double stops.....

So.....this song is an interesting one for me..... I’ve realised that for most people because they’ve never been in my situation ( and, hopefully, never will..) they probably don’t understand that I don’t see a future for myself, but, I can clearly see the past and all the memories it’s given me....this song is a reflection of that.....

Relationships......make my brain go kaboom at times.....

Sometimes my late wife Andrea would just look at me as if to say....” what the hell?....”.....I definitely have a Masters of Stupidity......

So I’ve written this song from the point of view of someone who finds it really difficult to express their feelings......definitely not easy for some people.....

Nice work bro.

There’s something about being( in my case, literally)broken in two.....not pleasant to go through but man you learn a lot about yourself!

Dedicated to my ex=wife Leirra and her beautiful spirit....

I wrote this on my new Epiphone EJ200 Jumbo acoustic guitar......for some reason it evoked a memory in me of when I was a kid living in Rotorua back in the 70’s.....we used to go visit a place called Taniwha Springs( just outside Ngongotaha )........just remember the water looking like this and how serene it was.....

I had an old work colleague from way back get in touch with me today......it certainly gave me perspective.....

Here’s my tribute to AC/DC......with a twist!

Just had a “slow” day today....got up at 1pm and took about two hours for breakfast.....went and got some groceries and sat by the lake for awhile.....came home and crashed and burned for 3 hours and then started writing this song.......it got me thinking......having had everything “stripped back”....I.e. my wife/job/gigging/teaching then all that’s left is hope and love......hope that I’ll see my late wife Andrea again and love from my family and friends.......so.......this song is dedicated to anyone who has supported/encouraged me at any time in my life.......

Regardless of everything Andrea went through on her cancer journey she taught me so much about the strength of the human spirit, it’s definitely helped me in my own journey over the last 2 years.......musically, just a little “tip of the hat” to Tommy Emmanuel.....I can’t play like him at all, but, I appreciate his acoustic sound......Andrea saw him years ago in Perth when he first started as a solo performer......he was so shy he turned his back to the audience.....completely different to the powerhouse performer he is today!