So here we are. 2023 is ending and that means it’s time to share my favorite albums of the year. This completes my 8th year of doing this podcast and these end of the year wraps up are some of my favorite episodes to put together so I hope you enjoy it too.Featuring music from: Caroline Rose, Gorillaz, Paramore, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Wilco, Meija, Chris Stapleton, Inhaler, Wye Oak, and Andy Shauf.Best Songs of 2023 - Spotify Playlist:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0glnD4119jXxjk0O2pgabS?si=f8d29e7152b8433fBest Albums of 2023 - Spotify Playlist:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4UZLfLHBH2y8NRozsbLrc2?si=c9ee79ea27ab4b39I’d love to hear what your favorite albums for 2023 were. Go to my Facebook group for Making Music with Jake Haws and leave a comment so I can check them out.Also, for listeners of this podcast, my production company, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase to license songs from our music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a course on podcasting. Visit archesaudio.com and use promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.

Christmas songs my family has recorded over the years: Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/hawsfamily/sets/christmas-music Bandcamp: https://jakehaws.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-songs

In this episode, I break apart a song called, “Coming Around.” This comes from my album Starting Over released back in August of 2022.This song is influenced by the band Low. My favorite song of theirs is “In Metal,” from their 2001 album, Things We Lost In The Fire. I love the different elements they chose for the arrangement, which really add to the atmosphere and give it that feeling of longing. Sadly, the singer of this song, Mimi Parker passed away last year after battling cancer. I was lucky to see them perform a few times and it was always a transcendent experience. She will be greatly missed.-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvS9ByKV2vY-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/coming-around-sad-indie-folk/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until July 2nd.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting.► archesaudio.comUse promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

In this episode, I break apart a song called, “Wait For It.” This comes from my album Starting Over released back in August of 2022.This song is influenced by Ryan Adams, particularly “Kindness” from his 2011 album, Ashes & Fire.-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNgo-Z5UWXY-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/wait-for-it-mellow-folk-rock/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until June 11th.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting.► archesaudio.comUse promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

In this episode, I break apart a song called, “Someone Else.” This comes from my album Starting Over released back in August of 2022.This song is influenced by Elliott Smith, particularly his song “The Biggest Lie” from his 1995 self-titled album.-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPVysF1PfS4-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/someone-else-sad-folk-song/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until June 11th.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting.► archesaudio.comUse promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

In this episode, I break apart a song called, “End Of My Rope.” This comes from my album Starting Over released back in August of 2022.This song is influenced by Spoon, particularly their song “Got Nuffin” from their 2010 album, Transference.-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PODpi8nl_pk-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/end-of-my-rope-experimental-indie-rock/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until June 4th.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting.► archesaudio.comUse promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

In this episode, I break apart a song called, “I'm So Sorry That I Didn't Understand.” This comes from my album Starting Over released back in August of 2022.This song is influenced by the band, Bob Dylan, particularly his song "Tangled Up In Blue."-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qk6xmN0_fQ-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/im-so-sorry-folk-rock/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until June 4th.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting.► archesaudio.comUse promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

In this episode, I break apart a song called, “Heaven Help Us.” This comes from my album Starting Over released back in August of 2022.This song is influenced by the band, The War On Drugs, particularly their song "Red Eyes."-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwmWT-CODoo-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/heaven-help-us-retro-indie-rock/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until April 23rd.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting.► archesaudio.comUse promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

In this episode, I break apart a song called, “Feeling Like A Ghost.” This comes from my album Starting Over released back in August of 2022.This song is influenced by the band, The Shins, particularly their song "Pink Bullets."-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u-ZigSg_Kg-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/feeling-like-a-ghost-melancholy-indie-folk/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until April 9th.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting.► archesaudio.comUse promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

In this episode, I break apart a song called, “Killing Time.” This comes from my album Starting Over released back in August of 2022.This song is influenced by the band, Wilco, particularly their song “California Stars.”-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYyA7Syb_xZgQ73sMU-rErg-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/killing-time-alt-country-folk-rock/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until March 5th.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting.► archesaudio.comUse promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

In this episode, I break apart a song called, “Not Easy.” This comes from my album Starting Over released back in August of 2022.This song is influenced by the band, The Weakerthans, particularly their song “Sun In An Empty Room.”-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnfRK8TDsi8-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/not-easy-mellow-indie-rock/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until March 5th.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting.► archesaudio.comUse promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

In this episode, I break apart a song called, “Figuring This Out.” This comes from my album Starting Over released back in August of 2022.This song meshes together a whole bunch of different influences including Vampire Weekend, Modest Mouse, Animal Collective, The Walkmen, Gorillaz, Regina Spector, and Phil Collins.-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcwlQyrlOwc-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/figuring-this-out-upbeat-indie-pop/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until January 22nd.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting.► archesaudio.comUse promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

In this episode, I break apart a song called “stand on your own,” which is influenced by Marcus Mumford. This comes from my album Starting Over, which came out August of 2022.This one is actually the oldest song on the album. I wrote most of this song in 2019, almost immediately after my last album, Good Grief was released. I was riding off of the energy and momentum of the time and wanted to give myself a “pump up” song about following your dreams and supporting your friends and loved ones in their struggles.-- MUSIC VIDEO --► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwwTHyvwCls-- SPECIAL OFFERS --This song is available to license for your projects like podcasts and videos. Find it at:► https://archesaudio.com/shop/royalty-free-music/stand-on-your-own-upbeat-folk-rock/Use the promo code “songoftheweek” at checkout to get 50% off your purchase of this song until January 22nd.Also, for listeners of this podcast, Arches Audio is offering 10% off your purchase of the other songs in the music library, as well as any services, including audio editing, artwork, and a new course on podcasting. ► archesaudio.com Use promo code “makingmusic” at checkout.-- LISTEN TO THE ALBUM  --Apple ► https://tinyurl.com/4envhzuwSpotify ► https://tinyurl.com/mtz7v8j7Bandcamp ► https://tinyurl.com/3mv4webjSoundcloud ► https://tinyurl.com/26k9bt63

Another year wraps up and as usual, I’m sharing my favorite albums. I don't know if it's just me but I felt like this was an excellent year for music. Some of my favorite artists came out with new records, many of which were sounding fresher than they have in years. I've also discovered several new artists (well, at least they're new to me) and I've been happily surprised with the quality I'm seeing, including artists from the genres of country and pop. I honestly had a hard time narrowing down my list this time, but I was able to pick 10 albums that stood out to me as my core favorites for the year, that I kept coming back to. Listen as I count them done.Spotify Playlist - Best Songs of 2022: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/06XAJxUvgcssjXoy7MwbAo?si=0baafa5724594d50Spotify Playlist - Best Albums of 2022: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3swu239vGLDA5K1PnxrB0m?si=30ae899ce9d74ceeMy podcast production company, Arches Audio, is having an end of the year sale, with up to 50% off our products and services, including editing, artwork, stock music and a new course on podcasting I just finished creating. If you've ever thought about starting a podcast, now is the time. The sale ends on December 31st so don't wait. Visit archesaudio.com/blackfriday.

Every year, my family has a tradition of recording Christmas songs. To date, we've done 34 songs over 16 years. This year, we came in a day late but we still did it. We decided to tackle John Lennon's song, "Happy Christmas."Link to family playlist of Christmas songs:https://jakehaws.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-songsArches Audio End of the Year sale!Up to 50% off our products and services, including audio editing, artwork, stock music and a new course on podcasting I just finished creating. If you’ve ever thought about starting a podcast, now is the time. The sale ends on December 31st so don’t wait. Visit: archesaudio.com/blackfriday

Join me as I talk through and play the tracks on my new album, "Starting Over." It's about getting through dark times and finding light at the end of the tunnel.Listen to the album on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and all the other streaming services.If you are interested in licensing any of these songs for your podcast or video projects, I have instrumental versions of each of the songs available.

Here we are, another year now over and a new one about to begin. You know what that means, right? It’s the end of the year list time! Listen now for the top ten favorite albums of the year, along with some honorable mentions.To listen to the songs from this episode on Spotify, visit: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/60S3Gq540DnpXeBOaCTRYa?si=34b3f6140ba4420a For a Spotify playlist of all the full albums from this list, visit:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1pzvlO4HQg3TModjYcxa1H?si=e79c6939690849c4 

For more Christmas music, visit: https://jakehaws.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-songsEvery year, I have a tradition of recording Christmas music with my family. Some years, we’ve only done one song and other years it’s been as many as five. This year we were able to do two song.The first one is a techno version of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." Each of my 3 kids sang on it and I used the Auto-Tune plugin on their voices, which is the first time I've ever used it. This was a little out of my comfort zone with production style but it was fun to push myself to try new sounds.The second song is a bossa nova style arrangement of "Feliz Navidad." I used a nylon string classical guitar that my wife bought for my birthday earlier this year. I also used a drum beat sample, a shaker, wood block, and bass. For the singing, everyone in my family traded off lines. We started oldest to youngest, so it began with my wife, Melissa (who is a month older then me), then I sang, then the rest of our 3 kids. Then, we all joined in together at the end. 

So, as this year wraps up, I’m sharing my favorite albums from 2020. There were a lot of great records that came out, and I honestly had a hard time narrowing it down to just ten but I did, and I’m about to share them. But before I do that, let me share my honorable mentions. These are albums I listened to and enjoyed but for one reason or another, didn’t quite make the top ten album list for me: Honorable Mentions Andy Shauf – The Neon Skyline Sturgill Simpson – Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher Tame Impala – The Slow Rush Deftones – Ohms Jeff Tweedy – Love Is The King Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters Hamilton Leithauser – The Loves of Your Life Idles – Ultra Mono Matt Berninger – Serpentine Prison Top Ten Albums of 2020 Travis - 10 Songs Asgeir - Bury the Moon Gorillaz - Song Machine Vol. 1: Strange Timez Nathaniel Rateliff - And It's Still Alright Phantogram - Ceremony Fleet Foxes - Shore Chris Stapleton - Starting Over EOB - Earth Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter Jason Isbell - Reunions For a spotify playlist of these songs and albums, visit: http://jakehaws.com/ep-105-favorite-music-of-2020-top-ten-albums/

Every year, I have a tradition of recording Christmas music with my family. Some years, we’ve only done one song and other years it’s been as many as five. This year, with launching a new stock music website and our busy family schedules, we haven’t done any new songs as a family yet but I was able to put together two new Christmas songs on my own for you to hear.The first one is an EDM instrumental version of “Once In Royal David’s City.” This is way outside the usual styles of music I normally make but it was super fun to try something new and sharpen my production skills. I kind of imagine it being used for someone’s synchronized Christmas light show.Also, here's a fairly straightforward version of "Carol of the Bells."You can download the songs on my website: I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays, where ever you are. Download the songs here: http://jakehaws.com/ep-104-christmas-music-2020/If you want to the rest of the songs my family has recorded over the years, visit Haws Family Christmas Songs.If you want to license any of these songs for your podcast or video project, visit Arches Audio.

In this episode, I'm joined by Eric Bay, a singer/songwriter from Surrey, England. We talk about his music career and collaborate on a brand new song. We recorded this back in March, so you'll hear us talk a little bit about the spread of the COVID-19 kind of at the earlier stages when more people were panic buying.After Eric and I finished writing the song over a video chat, we recorded our parts separately in our own home studios. Eric provided vocals and keyboard tracks along with some synth parts and I recorded backing vocals, guitars, synth, bass, drums and percussion. I did the initial mix, with Eric finishing the final mix and the song mastered by Joe Lonsdale.I'm really happy with how it turned. I hope it can provide some optimism for people during a difficult time. Enjoy.Lyrics:Knocking on the door on a rainy afternoon Thursdays always seem to come around so soon I could tell from the look on your face that it's getting to ya You wanna be strong but you're worried about the futureA sunny day is on its way again The clouds of fear will start to clear, my friend These are troubled times indeed But you got everything you need So hold on for the sunny days aheadSaw a man I hadn't seen in years Wasn't sure if he still lived 'round here He said the people in this town have all gone crazy Human nature never ceases to amaze meA sunny day is on its way again The clouds of fear will start to clear, my friend These are troubled times indeed But you got everything you need So hold on for the sunny days aheadA sunny day is on its way again The clouds of fear will start to clear, my friend These are troubled times indeed But you got everything you need So hold on for the sunny days aheadA sunny day is on its way again The clouds of fear will start to clear, my friend These are troubled times indeed But you got everything you need So hold on for the sunny days ahead  "Sunny Days" on Bandcamp "Sunny Days" on Soundcloud Eric Bay's Music Website "The List" by Eric Bay "Midnight Queen" by Luna Keller & Eric Bay   

In this episode, I talk about a new business I just launched called Arches Audio. We provide music and audio services for creative projects like podcast, audiobooks, youtube videos, ads, TV, and film.Visit archesaudio.com for more details.I also break down a new hip hop track in the style of Gorillaz called "Simple Math."To download this song for use in your projects, visit: https://archesaudio.com/shop/stock-music/simple-math-alternative-hip-hop/Use promo code "songoftheweek" at checkout to download and use this song in video use for free. Good until July 12.Pitchfork Article - The Secrets to a Successful Podcast: https://pitchfork.com/features/article/the-secrets-of-successful-podcast-music/Circles Drum Samples: https://www.circlesdrumsamples.com/

For this episode, I meet up with an old friend of mine, Drew Danburry. Drew has been playing music for nearly 20 years as a DIY solo indie folk artist, playing over 800 shows around the world and recording dozens of albums. His latest release is the excellent EP, Pallid Boy & Spindling Girl.Some of Drew’s past releases are side projects, many of which being collaborations with other artists. One project Drew and I worked on together back in 2010 was called “Reliving the 90s,” where musicians from the Provo, Utah area covered songs from the 90s. Drew’s song was a fun take on the Vengaboys classic “Boom Boom Boom.”My band at the time, Adding Machines, recorded a version of Weezer’s Across the Sea, which Drew sang harmony vocals on. See the rest of the videos on Youtube.Drew and I later collaborated on a song for his 2014 album “70 Love Songs” as part of his “For all the Girls” project.This time, Drew and I are collaborating yet again on a song for this podcast. We starting with writing a song about sleep, which sort of morphed into a song about the joys and pains of being a parent. It’s called “Goldie (for Dave and Cami).”To read the lyrics and hear the song by itself, visit:jakehaws.com/podcast-ep-101-drew-danburry-and-i-write-a-song-about-being-parents

This episode marks a special occasion because it's the 100th episode! I started this podcast at the beginning of 2016 it’s now just past the 4 year anniversary of putting this out. It's been a blast sharing what I'm working on musically with you and collaborating with guests.So, I thought a lot about what I wanted to do for the 100th episode to make it special so I decided I would talk about sort of my journey as a musician and how creating music has evolved for me over the years. Hopefully it gives some insight into why I do what I do and maybe it will be of some help to you as you travel on your own creative journey.Visit jakehaws.com to download the songs from the episode.Visit thefabfolk.com for more on my folk duo.Visit my new stock music site, archesaudio.com. 

My family has a tradition of recording Christmas songs every year. Some years, we’ve done as many as 5 songs and other years we’ve only done one. This year we were pretty busy but we were still able to do two song.For the first one, my wife and I recorded a jazzy version of Winter Wonderland with 2 vocals, acoustic guitar, bass and drums.The 2nd features our three kids on an instrumental version of Up on the Housetop with violin, chimes and sleigh bells.These two songs (as well as all the other songs were done over the past 13 years) are available for free on my website, jakehaws.com We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays!

As this year wraps up, I'm sharing my favorite albums from 2019. There were a lot of great records that came out and I honestly had a hard time narrowing it down to just ten but I did, and here they are. Music includes Kishi Bashi, Vampire Weekend, David Gray, Billie Eilish, Takenobu, Vid Nelson, Angel Olsen, Big Thief, Joy Williams, and Telekinesis.Spotify Playlist of my favorite albums of 2019: https://open.spotify.com/user/121154176/playlist/0LOwKZdZTr19Hk8iAiNI6USpotify Playlist of my favorite songs of 2019: https://open.spotify.com/user/121154176/playlist/4IGjRx7LoUCmBwnDpWyIYVVisit my website: http://jakehaws.com

For this episode, I meet up with Jack Mergist. We talk about how he balances his music and film projects and we challenge ourselves to write a sequel song to the Weezer classic, "Only In Dreams."Visit jakehaws.com for more info.

In this episode, Michael Stanley and I get together and jam on the Beatles. Visit jakehaws.com for more music and podcast episodes.

In this episode, I sit down with singer/songwriter Cody Butler (aka The Boy and His Dog aka Cody Francis). He plays some tunes and we talk about his musical endeavors and life. We also collaborate on a song together called "Moving Forward," which is about a father watching his daughter grow up.Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and free download of the song.

I'm joined by two guests, Dawn Red Sun and Audrey Olivier, originally from Germany and Switzerland, respectively. They share 3 songs they collaborated on and talk about the process of how the music came together.Songs produced by Adam Basedow.Visit their youtube pages for more music:Dawn Red Sun: https://www.youtube.com/user/DawnRedSunAudrey Olivier: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7PAbUqikduGjfrJOcBmUdA

In this week's episode, I highlight a song from my "50 Songs in 50 Weeks" series, influenced by the gloomy sounds of Nirvana's unplugged performance of "Something In The Way."

In this podcast episode, Mike McClellan and I get together and collaborate on a song. We use the "track and hook" method, which is an approach to songwriting and production used extensively in pop music. We came up with this catchy dance pop tune called "Man on the Moon."

This is a love song I wrote for my wife and put on my latest album, Good Grief. Influenced by The Lumineers.Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

This week, I'm sharing an acoustic cover I recently recorded of the Frank Ocean song, "Thinkin Bout You."

For this episode, I break apart a modern disco song I recently collaborated on with Dawn Red Sun. The sound is influenced by Leon Bridges' tune, "You Don't Know."For lyrics and more info, visit jakehaws.com

In this episode, I share a mellow indie rock instrumental used for podcast theme music.Visit jakehaws.com for more info.

For this episode, I break apart a recent song of mine called, "The Last Waltz," which is influenced by Arcade Fire.Visit jakehaws.com for details and more episode.

This week on the podcast, I break apart a haunting piano ballad influenced by Wilco.Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

This episode, I break apart an original spacey piano rock song called "Only In Your Head," which is from my recently released album, "Good Grief." Influenced by The Walkmen and Radiohead.

In this episode, I'm joined by film composer Joshua Sohn. We talk about his career, play some of his compositions and create a song together, which ends up being a homage to Queen. 

Here's a gritty blues rock song I recently submitted for a car commercial. It's got stomps, claps, distorted guitar, bass, cymbals, hi-hats, and organ. Hopefully it has the type of tough attitude they are looking for. 

This week I'm breaking apart a song from my new album called, "Invisible." It's influenced by Ben Folds, Coldplay, Slowreader and The Flaming Lips.Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

My family has a tradition of recording Christmas songs every year. I thought I would share with you the three songs we did this year; White Christmas, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Auld Lang Syne. As a special bonus, I'm also sharing a recording of Feliz Navidad entirely in Spanish. I collaborated on this song with Mariadela, who is originally from Peru but now lives in North Carolina. 

This week as the year wraps up, I'm sharing my favorite albums from 2018. There was a lot of great records that came out and I honestly had a hard time narrowing it down to just ten but I did and here they are. Featuring music from Pinegrove, Lucy Dacus, Parquet Courts, Emily Brown, Gorillaz, Leon Bridges, Kasey Musgraves, Matt Weidauer, First Aid Kit and Glen Hansard.Visit jakehaws.com for more.

So you may have noticed it's been a few months since I've put an episode out and there's good reason for that: I've been finishing my album! And now the long awaited day has come that I'm sharing it with you. This album is many years in the making and one of the most difficult projects I've worked on. I started recording some of the songs back in 2014 and other songs were written and recorded as recently as a few months ago.There have been many starts and stops stops along at the way as I've tried to figured out what I want to say and what this thing should sound like. There's rock songs, folk songs, piano songs, electronica songs and everything in between. There's songs about death, grief, disagreement and anxiety, but also hope, patience and love.As I thought about what it should be called, I came up with the title, "Good Grief," which references Charlie Brown, a character I've come to relate with more and more as time has gone on; someone who wears his heart on his sleeve as he experiences many of the themes I write about. It's also an inside joke to myself about what someone might say when I tell them it took me 4 years to make an album!Besides the artwork, I did everything on this album myself. I wrote the songs, played all the parts, and recorded and mixed everything in my home studio (which is partly why this took so long).So without further ado, let's start the listening party! Grab your favorite beverage and a snack, kick back and enjoy the album.

This week on the podcast, I break apart a brand new song I recently wrote and recorded called "Moving On." This is my best attempt at making a radio friendly pop song, influenced by Justin Timberlake.Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics, pictures and more info.

I recently went on an awesome trip to Nashville for the first time, including a stop in Memphis. I talk about, among other things, our visit to the Bluebird Cafe, the Grand Ole Opry, Sun Studio, Graceland, and recording at the Third Man Records vinyl recording booth. 

This week, I'm featuring a brand new song I just recorded called "Little Bird," which will be on my new album coming out this October. This song was influenced by a San Francisco band called The Dodos.

This episode, I'm joined by music therapist, Emily Sanderson. She performs a few tunes and talks about her career in providing therapy through writing songs and performing music with her patients. We even write a song together as if I was a patient! It's a fun and informative episode you're sure to enjoy.

This episode, I'm joined by local blues legend, Brother Chunky. He plays a few tunes, then we talk about how he got started making music, the ups and downs of playing in a band and recording his new album. After that, we even write a record a new song together about going to Nashville.Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

For this week's episode, I'm sharing a cover I recently recorded of Neil Young's song, Harvest Moon, which I'll be performing at a wedding later this summer.Visit jakehaws.com for more.

This episode, I break apart an old, slow song I wrote influenced by the indie band Low. Visit jakehaws.com for more episode and music.

I'm joined this episode by singer/songwriter, Kimberly Knighton. We talk about how she got started playing music, including taking songwriting classes, her time in Nashville and finding her voice as an artist. She performs the songs: Better Now, The ABCs, and We Don't Have To Save The World.

This podcast, I'm joined by Severin Bozung of Seve Vs. Evan. We challenged ourselves to write a song about being picked last in gym class. We ended up with a fun synth-pop tune called "The Underdog (Swervy Courage)."

In this episode, I'm joined by singer/songwriter Iris (aka Britney Holman). We talk about how got started making music, her time recording in Nashville and hearing her song at a Victoria's Secret. She performs 3 original songs: Love?, Let Go, and Blue Sky.Listen to more of Iris' music at officialirismusic.com.

For this week's episode, I'm joined by Tom Brinton. We challenged ourselves to "write a song about another band." We ended writing a song about the first time Tom heard The Strokes and appropriately titled the song, "The First Time I Heard The Strokes." Listen to our conversation writing the song and the process of recording it in this podcast.For lyrics and more info, visit jakehaws.com.

For this week's episode, I break apart a brand new song I just recorded called "Flawed," which will be on my new album coming out later this year.Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

Today’s episode is about a song I wrote back in high school called "Based On a True Story." It's influenced by a Radiohead tune, "Bulletproof... I Wish I Was" from their album, The Bends.Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

I'm joined by professional guitarist and friend, Mike Fjerstad. We challenged ourselves to "write a song based on an abbreviation." We chose "BRB" and came up with an epic story about a sci-fi romance involving a time warp. Hear our conversation writing the song and process of recording it in this week's episode.

This one is an oldie written during high school. At the time, I was digging the mandolin sounds on R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" so I tried to use that as a template.Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

I was recently apporached by someone to record Depeche Mode's song "Somebody" in the style of Blake Shelton to be sung at his wedding. Visit jakehaws.com for more details.

My attempt to write something in a Bossa Nova style. Influenced by the Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz track, "The Girl From Ipanema."Visit jakehaws.com for more.

For this episode, I'm joined by a special guest, acoustic guitarist Camille Nelson. We talked about how she got started making music and she shares some of the stories behind the songs on her new album, Lead Me Home.

When my wife and I first married, we started a tradition of recording Christmas songs every year. Sometimes it's just one song and other years, we've recorded as many as five. We've kept it up for 11 years now, totaling 24 songs. This year, we recorded "Little Drummer Boy." I sang lead vocals, played acoustic guitar, bass, mandolin, tamborine, and cajon. My wife, Melissa sang harmony vocals. Our three kids joined in and played cajon and sang backing vocals. It was a fun song to put together. I hope you enjoy it and have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

In this episode, I highlight my favorite music of the year including songs from Dr. Dog, Dan Auerbach, Jeff Tweedy, Asgeir, Mac Demarco, LCD Soundsystem, Iron & Wine, Morning Teleportation, Spoon and Jason Isbell.Visit http://jakehaws.com/ep-59-favorite-music-of-2017-top-ten-albums/ for more info on this episode.

For this week's episode, I break apart a folky bluegrass tune of mine about a fictional kidnapping. Music influenced by Tapes 'n Tapes.Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and free downloads. 

For this episode, I remixed a track by Bleachers called "Don't Take The Money." Bleachers is the project of Jack Antonoff. He is also a member of the band Fun and has written songs for some pretty big names in pop music including Lorde, Taylor Swift, and Carly Rae Jepsen. His new album, "Gone Now" came out earlier this year.The remix I did was for a contest put on by indabamusic.com. I was given 13 isolated tracks from the original recordings. The rules were that I had to use at least part of the vocal tracks and I couldn't incorporate samples from other songs for copyright reasons.I began by trying to program a new beat using a drum machine application in Pro Tools but I wan't satisfied with anything I was coming up with. Typically most remixes are electronic but I decided it was better to play to my strengths and take it different direction by going with a folk rock sound. I ended up keeping the keyboard track and 4 vocals tracks I was given and adding 2 acoustic guitar tracks, 3 electric guitar tracks, bass, organ, 3 cajon tracks, tambourine, and handclaps.I'm pretty happy with the results. I think the existing vocals fit surprisingly well with the sound and the new instruments keep the song upbeat and high energy.Become a sponsor of this podcast through Patreon.com"

Today in Utah, we are celebrating Pioneer Day, which marks the day when Brigham Young and Mormon pioneers first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. To commemorate the occasion, I'm going to share with you a performance from when I was a part of the Men's Chorus at Brigham Young University. This performance took place April 2007 at the LDS General Conference, which is a meeting the church hosts twice a year. The live audience in the building would have been around 21,000 but it's estimated the worldwide audience watching on TV, streaming on the internet and listening on the radio would have been around 2 million so, this is by far the largest audience I've ever performed for.The name of this piece is "I Love the Lord." It shares the same music as the hymn, "Be Still My Soul." The music was originally written in 1899 by the Finish composer Jean Sibelious as the Finlandia Hymn and has been adapted for many uses including a national anthem and a school song. Our version was arranged by the BYU choral instructor, Ronald Staheli. The words for "I Love the Lord" where written by John Tanner and are adapted from a passage of Mormon scripture known as "The Pslam of Nephi."I think it's a beautiful piece and sums up my feelings about the gospel better than I ever could.Visit http://jakehaws.com/ep-56-song-i-love-the-lord-byu-mens-chorus to watch the video of this performance, download a free mp3 of the song and read the passage of scripture the song is based on.

For this week's episode, I'm joined by a guest collaborator, film composer and good friend of mine, Micah Dahl Anderson. The topic we randomly drew was "Write a song about a movie that doesn't exist." What you'll hear next is our conversation while writing the song (with the boring parts edited out), the process of recording it, and the finished song at the end.For the recording, Micah sang lead vocals, played acoustic guitar and drums. I sang harmonies, played bass, organ, and electric guitars.I'm pretty happy with the results. I think it's a really epic sounding song and collaborating made it better than it would have been on it's own.Micah's website: micahdahl.comDownload "The Door" on BandcampBecome a sponsor of this podcast through Patreon.com

This week, I'm sharing a live recording from my old band, Declaration. This is from 11 years ago recorded at a club I owned at the time called Muse Music. For this show, we were opening for Neon Trees, who were just starting out at the time and have since gone on to have huge success with several hit records and have toured the world. Listening to again really brings me back. It was a fun show to play. I hope you enjoy it.Visit jakehaws.com for more info.

This one is an oldie written when I was around 15 years old. I was going for an R.E.M. feel and I think I achieved that with the guitar part, which mimics Peter Buck's picking style.The intro kind of has a spaghetti western vibe with the tambourine, shakers retro organ and overdrive guitar. The lyrics are about feeling like your life is passing by.Visit jakehaws.com for more.

Here's a brand new song I recently submitted to a contest put on by the podcast Song Exploder and a website called Splice. Basically, Splice is a subscription site which contains a large library of samples you can use for your songs. For this contest, I was given a collection of 50 samples and tasked with creating a song using at least 4 of them. If my song is selected, I'll win a one year subscription to Splice, a Song Exploder t-shirt, and have my song featured on both the Song Exploder and Splice websites.In the spirit of Song Exploder and the Making Music podcast, I thought it would be fun to break down the song a bit and talk about how it was made. I ended using 13 samples for this song but I'll just point out a few of them.Most of the song revolves around this bassy synth line which I think sounds really cool. Reminds me a little of a Moog synth. The beat I choose was the wrong tempo so I had to speed it up to match the bassy synth. I also added other samples like a piano line, strings, ambient sounds and a buzzy synth.After I started piecing together some of these basic elements, I came up with a melody and some lyrics. At first, I couldn't decide what the song should be about. I went to website with a song idea generator, clicked the submit button, and got the response "Write a song about your physical condition." This spurred the idea to write a song from the perspective of someone with cancer who is about to die and some of the feelings they might be going through, including trying to find hope in a dismal situation.I'm please with how the whole thing turned. I'll keep you posted about the contest and let you know if I won.Visit: http://jakehaws.com/ep-52-life-support-song-exploder-splice-contest/

For this week's episode, I was was digging through some of my old tapes and found this instrumental piano piece I wrote back when I was around 14. I believe it might even be the very first thing I ever wrote. I submitted this tape for a school contest called "reflections" and won for my age category. It's not the best quality recording but I think it still captures the mood nicely. I'd love to see it in a movie. I think it would make a great film score. Maybe one of these days, I'll get around to re-recording it on a nice piano with quality microphones but for now, here it is.Download "Turned Away" on Bandcamp

This week marks the 50th Episode for me of doing this podcast. I started it about a year and a half ago and It's been a lot of fun so I'm excited for the many more episodes to come.This week also happens to be the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles classic album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," which is regarded by many as one of the greatest albums of all time. To commemorate the occasion, I recorded a stripped down acoustic version of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," which is one of my favorites from the album.Visit jakehaws.com for more podcast episodes and free music.

Today’s episode is a song from my “50 songs in 50 weeks” series.This is one of my first songs I ever wrote, written back when I was 14. It's about a time when I went to a school dance and the girl I went with pretty much ignored me the whole time so I was pretty bummed. They said, write what you know, don't they. Come I was I was 14.I tried to copy a little bit the style of Dave Matthews Band, particularly the song, "Jimi Thing."I decided to just keep the production sparse and just do an acoustic guitar and a single vocal. Honestly, I'm a little embarrass by this one because it's kind of corny song but I felt like sharing something the represented my early songwriting.Visit jakehaws.com for more details.

This week, I'm sharing a track called "Elephant In The Room" from my upcoming album, which should be out this fall.Most of the time when I write songs, I start off by playing something on the guitar or piano, then come up with some sort of melody on top of it, then add lyrics. This song is a little different, in that I had the melody in my head and come up with lyrics before I even picked up a guitar. Then, I kind of figured out what the chords were gonna be after the fact. I think because of this, the melody is a little stronger than some of my other songs.I always thought the phrase "elephant in the room" was sort of funny expression. The image I get in my head of an actual elephant is sort of cartoony like dumbo or something and I thought it made an interesting phrase for a song. I think most of us can relate to being in awkward situations where people sort of pretend things are normal when they aren't. I also liked the idea of using other phrases that have both a literal image and metaphorical meaning so I say things like "sitting on my hands" and "holding my tongue" and "getting under my skin" - phrases that we say all the time but don't really think about literally but they all kind of fit with the theme.As I thought more about the arrangement for the studio recording, the Kelly Clarkson song "Since U Been Gone" came to mind. I specially like the guitar strums and drum machine at the beginning and how big and catchy the chorus is.That was sort of the idolized type of pop arrangement I had in my head. I quickly realized I don't really have the vocal power to pull it off plus the production was a bit outside my usual territory. As worked on it, it sort of morphed into sounding a bit more like Nada Surf.With those two influences in mind, I think I was able to come up with something fairly catchy that both fit my vocals and stayed true to my sound.Visit jakehaws.com for more info

For this week's episode, I break apart a song from my “50 songs in 50 weeks” series.This one was written back in high school. I originally planned on playing it with my band at the time, Made in the Shade, but it didn't quite come together when we jammed on it. When I wrote it, I was heavily into the band Sunny Day Real Estate. They came out of Seattle in the 90s and are considered one of the godfathers of emo. They've been an influence to hundreds of artists, including myself. Here's a clip from their song, "Pillars" from the 1998 album, "How It Feels To Be Something On."So I wanted to try to capture the some mood as Pillars. I began this song with just the guitar riff. For the recording, I've doubled it up to it's two guitars playing the same part, just to help it sound a little fuller.Next, it needed a beat. I didn't have a drum set available so I opted to use drum machine loops from my computer. It almost gives it sort of an industrial quality, which I kinda liked so I went with it. The guitar part and the drum machine and played a bit mechanical so I added some groove with the bass line.The song needed some more texture to it so I added some ebow parts. If you've been listening this podcast, you've probably heard me talk about the ebow, which I used a lot during this era.Basically, it's a little device which you hold up to your guitar and it makes the strings vibrate without actually touching it and sounds a little bit like a cello. There 4 ebow parts, which played together make up the main chords of the song. It's purposely played just a little messy because I like the swelling sounds it makes when you get too close to the pickup.Next came the vocals. The melody lines kind of overlap so there are two tracks for that, plus another track for harmony. I added distortion to the vocals, which make a messy "static" sound during the parts where I am not singing. I liked the direction of the messiness so I look a few of these static moments and ebow parts, looped them in reverse and added some strange sounding effects. I think it gives a real sinister and creepy feel fitting for the song. I think the whole thing came together in kind of an interesting and unique way. It's sort of a different sound than my other songs but I like it.Download "Descent Into Madness" on BandcampBecome a sponsor of this podcast through Patreon.com

This week, I'm sharing some music and sounds from a film project I recently worked on. This was a collaboration with my friend, Archie Crisanto. You long term listeners may remember Archie's name from episode 37 when we collaborated on writing a song together and also from episode 20 when I shared some music I wrote for a play he directed called "The Woman in Black."This project was a short 11-minute film Archie directed called "The Tailypo." It's a suspense/horror film based on an old folk tale. Basically, a starving hunter shoots off the tale of a mythical beast and cooks it in a stew, only to have the beast return and demand it back. Archie and I came up with the music and sounds together. Most of it was even recorded while simultaneously watching the video in order to get the right timing and pacing.So first, the opening theme is played on acoustic guitar by Archie. It happens during a scene when the hunter first shoots the creature. The theme is follow by a boom sound which I played on a cajon and heavily altered the EQ to emphasize the bass tones and added a long, sustained reverb effect.For the next scene, we repeat the theme but this time played by myself on an electric guitar using an ebow, which is basically an electric device that vibrates the strings without actually touching them, making the guitar sound something like a cello. There are also little block hits played by myself on a cajon. Both parts have plenty of reverb added. This music happens after the man collects the tail and walks back to his cabin in the middle of a snowy wilderness.The next part I played on electric guitar and is sort of another variation on the same theme but with a steady, quarter note strumming. The man leaves his cabin because it's just too lonely of a place and so the music reflects his sense of isolation and despair. It's played in a pattern of three instead of four so it doesn't really seem to feel like it ever settles and resolves, which was done purposely to fit the mood of this scene. I took some inspiration from the post-rock band, Explosions in the Sky.This last chunk I'll share are a series of guitar squeals and fast strumming along with an acoustic guitar chimey-sound played at the headstock where the tuning pegs are (which kind of reminded up of the string hits from Psycho). This was played by Archie and done more for sound effect purposes to build tension during the various times we see the creature.Watch "The Tailypo" on Vimeo.Contribute on Patreon.

Today’s episode is about the title track from one of my albums called Ocean recorded back in 2002. First, I'll started with the influence. At the time, I was into a Seattle indie band called Pedro The Lion. One of my favorite tracks of theirs was the first song off their 1998 album, "It's Hard To Find A Friend" and the song is called "Of Up And Coming Monarchs." So when I wrote my song, there are several elements from the Pedro The Lion song that I borrow. First, I liked the 6/8 time signature. Most pop/rock songs are 4/4 time, which means each measure is made up of 4 quarter notes. With 6/8 time, each measure is made up of 6 eighth notes, which gives it a sort of waltzy, drifty quality so I wanted my song to have similar quality. I also liked the way the chords progress. The notes added between the main chord changes gives it a better melodic flow than just playing the chords straight so I tried to incorporate that as well into my song. I also liked how the lyrics mention things like like the ocean floor and swimming. I think it's interesting imagery for a song. So a little more background: I actually wrote it in 2001. I had recently graduated high school and my family was moving from Washington State to Utah and I wrote this the night before we moved. It was definitely the close of one chapter of my life and the opening of a new one. The first verse talks about returning home to an empty house and talking to the walls. That's me sort of imagining what it will be like in the future to look back at this moment. The other verses talk about swimming in an ocean and building sandcastles and flying, which are all childhood memories having to do with growing up in Washington for me. I was thinking a lot at the time about the way a location can shape the way you might turn out as a person and how you view the world. So, I would say this song is kind of a farewell letter to both Washington and to my childhood. I recorded this about a year later. Unlike the Pedro the Lion song, I used an acoustic guitar instead of an electric. I played a pretty straightforward and simple beat on the drums using brushes. I also invited a friend of mine, Robin Jolley, to play cello, which I think added an interesting quality. She's great at improvising so there's actually a cello solo on the second half of the song. This is one my favorite songs from that era of my life. I hope you like it.Lyrics and More Info: http://jakehaws.com/ep-45-song-ocean-influenced-by-pedro-the-lion/ 

Since Easter was this last Sunday, I thought I would share something I dug up from my time as a missionary. This is a recording of my mission companion, Elder Brad Chaston, and myself singing "The Lord is My Shepard" recorded onto mini-disc. We were in Manhattan and this would have been sometime between January and April of 2004.This is one of my favorite hymns. We're not perfectly in tune with our performance but for me, it has the significance of documenting an important time in my life so I wanted to share.Download "The Lord is My Shepard" for free on Bandcamp.Become a sponsor of this podcast through Patreon.com

For this week's episode, I'm sharing live recordings from a concert I played last year at ABGs in Provo, Utah with my Beatles cover duo, The Fab Folk. All together, it was a really long set. We played 50 songs (including the album Revolver in it's entirety) and we had several guest performers join us. For purposes of this podcast, I picked my favorite 8 songs from the night. I'm joined as always by Matt Weidauer on vocals, guitar, mandolin and cajon. You will also hear a few guests on Hey Jude: Eric Robertson on keyboard, John-Ross Boyce on vocals, and Kathleen Freewin on tamborine and vocals.If you are you interested in hearing studio recordings and keeping up with our latest from The Fab Folk, head over to thefabfolk.com. Currently, we are scheduled to play at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi on April 22nd and 28th, as well as returning to ABGs in Provo on June 9th. Also, the Freedom Festival in Provo July 1st, Fiesta Days in Spanish Fork July 24th and the American Fork Outdoor Concert Series August 7th. We have even more shows in the works so check back periodically at thefabfolk.com for the latest details.

This week's song is called "Scarlet Letter," which was released by my band Declaration on our 2006 album, Panic Button.This was originally written during my senior year of high school for a class project. We were reading the book, "The Scarlet Letter," and tasked with doing something creative to depict certain aspects of the story. Most people made posters or collages but I decided to write a song and perform it for the class. This is one of the few times I've actually sat down and started writing a song with a topic in mind beforehand.To give you a little background about the story, it takes place in Puritan times. The main character, Hester Prynne, whose husband was presumed lost at sea, has committed adultery and forced to wear a scarlet colored "A" on her chest so that everyone in the town would know what she had done. As it turns out, the person she committed adultery with was the town's priest, Arthur Dimmesdale, who is put in a position where he feels forced to condemn her publicly but secretly is racked with the guilt and torment of what he had done and of knowing what a hypocrite he actually is. Eventually, he confesses his sin to the town and opens his shirt to reveal scars from the letter "A" he carved on his own chest, signifying that while Hester openly carries the burden of sin, his was carried in secret until now.So, the lyrics are written from the priest's perspective and speak of his torment as well as the need he felt to come clean and live a repentant, virtuous life.The mood and tone I was going for was something along the lines of Radiohead's song, Exit Music (For A Film) from their album OK Computer.So, fast forward about a year. I had just finished my first year at BYU and was about the leave on a mission. I had a friend who was studying sound recording and needed someone to record for his project. I came in BYU's studio and laid down piano, vocals, drums and bass. Here's what the first version sounds like.During my mission, it would occasionally come up that I was a songwriter and people would want to hear one of my songs. This was usually the song I would play to them if they had a piano in their house. Plus, it also has a spiritual component to it so it made sense to play it as a missionary, I think.After I returned home from my mission, I reformed my band, Declaration and we set out to record an album. Originally, we tried to recreate the version of the song I recorded I few years before. It felt a little vanilla so we decided to experiment with some different sounds.The first of those was a wurlitzer electric piano. One of my friends was storing it in my studio so we gave it a try. We ran it through a guitar amp for the recording. It has a really cool, smooth sound quite different from a regular piano and we felt like it really added something interesting to the song so we went with it.After the wurlitzer was recorded, we laid down the drums. I think we got a really good tone with the recording. We added a small room reverb effect and a light delay or echo effect to help it sound a little fuller and give it additional texture.There are three electric guitar tracks on this song. The first is played clean, lightly strumming the chords with a thin, washy tone.The next guitar plucks the chords in an arpeggiated pattern with a light delay effect.The third guitar has a stronger delay effect and heavy reverb. We were going for a spacey, cosmic sound here. The notes are played in a tremelo strumming style much like on Radiohead's song.Halfway through the song, the drums cut out for the third verse. I thought the song could use a shift in texture at this point so we added a church organ.When the drums come back in for the chorus, we wanted a big, epic moment so I recorded three tracks of ohs and ahs, layered with a lot of reverb to give the impression of a choir singing in a cathedral.I think all these elements came together nicely to make for an interesting production. Here's the final version of the song. I hope you like it.Download "Scarlet Letter" on BandcampBecome a sponsor of this podcast through Patreon.com

Today I have a special guest: Oscar Olaya. He's a rapper from New York City who now lives in Utah. We discuss his own journey of making music and play some tracks from his new EP. We even jam together on a song.Download his album on iTunes or stream it on Spotify.Here's his video for "I'm OK" (you can see me in the background): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rH4NoNPVko Here's the song Oscar and I jammed on in this episode: https://jakehaws.bandcamp.com/track/you-my-girl-acoustic-version

Pitchfork.com does a feature on their website called "5-10-15-20" where an artist talks about what they were listening to and influenced by during different ages in their life starting with age 5, than age 10 and so on. I thought it would be fun to do it myself.For a playlist with all these songs, visit: http://jakehaws.com/ep-40-5-10-15-20-music-thats-inspired-me-over-the-years/

With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, I thought it was a good time to share some Irish style music I've recorded. A little back, I was asked to write some music for a video game. The maker of the game described the different scenes to me and I tried to match the mood the best I could to each of those scenes (without seeing any visuals). The project ended up not happening but at least I got some experience writing music in a different style. In each of these three pieces, I play an instrument called a melodica, which is sort of like an accordion and harmonica mashed together.In The PubThis music is intended for when one of the characters enters a pub where there is dancing and partying happening. I recorded this is my bathroom because I liked the particular echo sound it had. I started with the “drone-like” sound of the melodica, in an attempt to imitate bagpipes. The melodica also plays the melody and harmony. The majority of the percussion consists of myself hitting a suitcase in various ways with drum sticks and EQing the mix so that I had a spectrum of high, mid and low frequencies. I also recorded about 20 tracks of myself doing handclaps in order to get the crowd sound I was looking for. Lastly, I recorded a couple of low key violin parts (I haven’t played in several years, so I kept it simple).Missing My BrideThis music goes along with a scene in the game where one of character's house burns down. The mood is sorrowful and is timed in a sad 6/8 waltz. I came up with the melody on the melodica, accompanied by a acoustic guitar played in a classical style. The tamborine part is inspired by gypsy folk music and intended sound a bit like a person dragging chains (to symbolize the emotional chains they carry).Marching Into BattleAs the title implies, this music going along with a battle scene. As with the one of the other pieces, I used a melodica drone to imitate the sound of bagpipes. I recorded a doubled mandolin part for the melody. I also used my trusty suitcase for percussion: one track to imitate a snare drum sound, another heavy reverbed track to give a big, boomy kick drum (or war drum) sound.Visit jakehaws.com for more songs.

Today’s episode is a song from my “50 songs in 50 weeks” series called "What Can I Say". I recorded it in 2012 but it was actually written around 1999 while I was in high school. The lyrics are about expectations and wondering whether you measure up what other people want out of you.It was influenced by the Sixpence None The Richer song "Kiss Me." I probably would have been made fun of by my friends back then if I ever admitted that so it was kind of a guilty pleasure at the time.I started the recording with an acoustic and electric guitars with a similar strumming sound to "Kiss Me" and to fill it out it bit more, some organ.From there, I needed something to drive the beat but I knew I wasn't going to have drums so I ended up playing shaker and three different tracks of jembe, which is sort of like a bongo drum. I think it gives it a bit of a tribal feel.It still felt a little dull to me so I felt like the piano would be a nice addition. I played lower notes on my left hand in place of a bass guitar. My right hand played something a little higher up with octaves. It's a line that compliments the melody of the song.I saved room in the arrangement for a guitar solo. I used an ebow, which got a fair amount of use in 90s rock. Basically an ebow is a little device that vibrates the strings without touching them. It gives a sort of sustained humming sound similar to a violin box. They don't use an ebow in Kiss Me but even so, I think the solo ended up sounding fairly similar.To read the lyrics for this song and listen to other music I've done, visit jakehaws.com.

This week on the show, I'm excited to have as my first guest, a very good friend of mine, Archie Crisanto. We recently got together and challenged ourselves to write and record a song out of thin air. The topic we drew to base the song on was "having someone mistake you for someone else." In the audio, you'll hear our conversation in writing the song (with the boring parts edited out) followed by the finished, produced song at the end.For the recording, I laid down vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, and percussion. Archie sang, played lead guitar, and piano. We settled on the title "That's The Truth."Download "That's The Truth (feat. Archie Crisanto)" on BandcampBecome a sponsor of this podcast through Patreon.com

Today’s episode is an guitar instrumental. I actually wrote this one way back in high school. Over th years, I've tried to come up with some words for it but I was never satisfied with anything and it felt like the guitar part was melodic enough that it stood on it's own. I didn't have a specific influence in mind this time, other than I wanted to make something that sounded classical.Visit jakehaws.com to download this and other songs.

Today's episode is my cover of Weezer's Across the Sea. In 1996, Weezer released Pinkerton, their follow-up to the successful blue album. They went for a much rawer sound this time including both the sound and performance of the music as well as lyrics that drew from Rivers Cuomo's own heart breaks and frustrations. The album was initially panned but has since gone on over to time to become a cult classic. In Across the Sea, he writes about a fan from Japan who wrote him a letter and he wishes they could have a relationship but realizes it would never work.In 2010, I collaborated with a friend of mine, Drew Danburry, on a video/song project called "Reliving the 90s." Each month, we gathered together with a different band or set of musicians from the Provo area to cover a song from the 90s. I did all the recording/engineering at Muse Recording Studio and Drew filmed/produced the project with the assistance of local directors, which culminated in the release of 12 videos. My group, Adding Machines, recorded a cover of Across the Sea. As you'll hear, our version is quite a bit different from Weezer's. I sang, played acoustic and electric guitar and bass; My wife, Melissa played organ and sang harmonies; Dan Smock played drums, Jordan Clark played pedal steel and Drew Danburry sang harmony.Visit jakehaws.com to watch the video of us recording Across the Sea in the studio, as well as other videos from the "Reliving the 90s" series.

This week's song is influenced by a band called The Black Heart Procession. I first heard them when I was a freshman in college and one of my room mates showed them to me. They have a pretty unique sound where they borrow from folk and blues traditions but with their own dark spaghetti-western spin on it. They incorporate church organ, put heavy reverb on the vocals and guitars and even play the saw on many of their songs. With that influence in mind, I tried to write a song that captured the same sort of hopeless feeling. I made the sound of the guitar pretty twangy and turned up the reverb on the vocals to get the same type of sound as The Black Heart Procession (even though I have a much softer voice). As evident with the words, it's about couple going through hard times. Some of the inspiration came from my personal frustrations at the time with finding a job.Visit http://jakehaws.com/ep-34-song-patience-influenced-by-the-black-heart-procession for lyrics and more info.

Today’s episode is a new song of mine called "Eye to Eye." This one is going to be on my album, which will be coming out later this year. It's influenced by Elvis Costello's song "Pump It Up." Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info. 

This episode's song is influenced by the Icelandic band, Sigur Ros. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more details.

For today’s episode, I'm sharing with you a instrumental piano piece I starting writing back when I was about 14. It's actually one of my first pieces of music. Over the years, I've modified it a bit and added parts to make it longer but the main theme has stayed about the same.About a year ago, I decided it would be a good idea to record it in case any film makers wanted to use it for a scene. I kind of imagine it being a used for an introspective sequence like if one of the characters were laying in bed about to fall asleep or someone has a relative pass away and they are trying to cope with the loss.I recorded it with the upright piano in our living room. I added some string and ethereal sounding parts with the keyboard along with melodica part to add some texture (which sounds a bit like an accordion). I'm pleased with the way it turned out. Hopefully one day, I'll be able to get it into a movie!Download "Slumberland" on BandcampBecome a sponsor of this podcast through Patreon.com

This week's song, "Have I Loved You" is influenced by the Beatles. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

For this episode, I'm doing something a little different. I play is a duo that covers Beatles songs called "The Fab Folk" (along with my friend, Matt Weidauer) and earlier this year, in honor of it's 50th anniversary, we performed the Beatles' album "Revolver" in it's entirety. This lead to the idea of recording a full album of these songs. So now for this listening party, I'm going to play each song and give you some commentary to go with it.Visit jakehaws.com for more info.

For this week's episode, I break apart my song, "I Get By" (Song Exploder style) so you can hear the individual parts and how they came together to make this recording (spoiler alert: there's beatboxing!). This song was influenced by John Vanderslice. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

A few week’s ago on Episode 24, I shared some of the favorite christmas songs my wife and I have recorded over the years. I promised there were more songs on the way and so now, here they are: folky/bluegrass take on Angels We Have Heard On High and a slow, serious version of Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel.Visit jakehaws.com for more info.

Listen to my selections for the best music of 2016, including Radiohead, Chris Staples, The Lumineers, Parker Millsap, Blind Pilot, Wilco, Kishi Bashi, American Football, Childish Gambino, and The Head and the Heart. Visit jakehaws.com for more.

This week's song is influenced by Bob Marley. Visit jakehaws.com for more info.

This week's episode is devouted to Christmas songs! My wife and I have a tradition of recording Christmas songs every year and I've picked out a handful of my favorites for your listening pleasure. Visit jakehaws.com to hear more.

This week's song is about being a Dad. It's influenced by Drew Danburry. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

For this week's podcast episode, I'm sharing with you a live recording from a show I played over a year ago on June 24, 2015. This is the last show I did with Adding Machines and it took place at at Velour in Provo, Utah. The lineup includes Matt Weidaur, Micah Dahl Anderson, and Andrew Dyer. Visit jakehaws.com for videos of the show.

This week's song is influenced by The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

In this week's special Halloween episode, I highlight 4 original songs I wrote for a local stage production of "The Woman In Black." The music is very eerie and spooky sounding. Visit jakehaws.com to learn more and download the separate tracks.

This week's song is influenced by The Beatles. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

This week's track is influenced by The Beta Band. Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

This week's song is a religious tune from the LDS Children's Songbook.Visit jakehaws.com/podcast for the lyrics and more background on this song.

This week's song is influenced by the Beatles "Across the Universe" and Panda Bear's "Alsatian Darn." Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

This week's song is influenced by Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You." Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

This week's song is influenced by the Smashing Pumpkins song "1979." Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info. Visit patreon.com/jakehaws to support this podcast.

This week's song is influenced by the Lit song, "Miserable." Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

This week's song is inspired by Death Cab For Cutie's "Coney Island." Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more info.

This week's song is inspired by the Travis song "As You Are." Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and more details.

This week's song is influenced by John Vanderslice's "My and My 424." Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and details

This week's song is influenced by Radiohead's "Videotape." Visit jakehaws.com for lyrics and details

This week's tune is a sad song influenced by the songwriting of David Bazan of the band Pedro the Lion.

This week's song is inspired by Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker's "Mary Jane's Last Dance."

This week's song is inspired by Beach House, Radiohead and Yo Gabba Gabba. Visit jakehaws.com for more.

This week's song is super chill and inspired by Elliott Smith (especially the double tracked vocals and guitars). It's about boldly going into a relationship without knowing what the outcome will be. I'm not really sure where to take this song in terms of additional arrangment. Any ideas?

This song is about admitting that you are wrong in a relationship. The approach to this recording I've had in my head for a long time (kind of early Coldplay maybe?) but maybe there another way to approach the song that might be better?

This one is written back in 2003. It's about where we've come as a people and how we define progress. I kept the instrumentation sparse with just a piano and vocal. It's influenced by Coldplay and Aqualung (and now that I think about it, John Lennon).Visit jakehaws.com for more songs.

Song #2 in my 50 Songs in 50 Weeks project. Here's a ditty I wrote back in high school (10+ years ago!) and finally got around to recording it! It's about  the time when you are a kid and anything is possible. It's heavily influenced by what I was listening to at the time: REM and Oasis.   Visit jakehaws.com for more songs.

Song #1 in my 50 Songs in 50 Weeks project. This song is about the fleeting moments we celebrate with fireworks. The production is inspired by the Pinback. Visit jakehaws.com for more songs.