Author: Jody Whitesides

  • Jingle Bell Rock And Snow

    Jingle Bell Rock And Snow

    jingle-bell-rockWhat a swell time of year…

    Talk about a phrase that sounds dated. Actually it’s more the word ‘swell’. That really feels like something straight out of the 50’s. So far it doesn’t seem to translate to the 10’s, sixty years later. However, the sentiment of the holidays does. What I usually end up associating this song with though is the opening scene of a movie called Lethal Weapon. I don’t remember which one, but it takes place during the holidays and some woman jumps off a building at the beginning. How’s that for a crazy holiday song connection between Jingle Bell Rock and the holidays? Regardless, I still like the simplistic nature of this original version of Jingle Bell Rock.

    Jingle Bell Rock

    YouTube player

    Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
    Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
    Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun
    Now the jingle hop has begun

    Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
    Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
    Dancing and prancing in Jingle Bell Square
    In the frosty air.

    What a bright time, it’s the right time
    To rock the night away

    Jingle bell time is a swell time
    To go gliding in a one-horse sleigh
    Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
    Jingle around the clock

    Mix and a-mingle in the jingling feet
    That’s the jingle bell,
    That’s the jingle bell,
    That’s the jingle bell rock

    Hope you’re enjoying your holidays!

  • Animate Me

    Animate Me

    animate-rushI used to teach guitar lessons when I first started making my way in the world of music. Then I got full bore into writing and performing music. One thing teaching did was keep me up on a ton of bands that students want to learn to play like. There is one band that I really dug and still dig. That band is RUSH. They epitomize the concept of hardworking band. What’s awesome is that they make complicated music sound easy and musical. One of my favorite tunes they’ve done is probably more pop oriented than many of their fans would like is called Animate. Regardless I love it. Here it is for you to enjoy:

    Animate

    YouTube player

    Polarize me
    Sensitize me
    Criticize me
    Civilize me
    Compensate me
    Animate me
    Complicate me
    Elevate me

    Goddess in my garden
    Sister in my soul
    Angel in my armor
    Actress in my role

    Daughter of a demon lover
    Empress of the hidden face
    Priestess of the pagan mother
    Ancient queen of inner space

    Spirit in my psyche
    Double in my role
    Alter in my image
    Struggle for control

    Mistress of the dark unconscious
    Mermaid of the lunar sea
    Daughter of the great enchantress
    Sister to the boy inside of me

    My counterpart, my foolish heart
    A man must learn to rule his tender part
    A warming trend, a gentle friend
    A man must build a fortress to defend
    A secret face, a touch of grace
    A man must learn to give a little space
    A peaceful state, a submissive trait
    A man must learn to gently dominate

    Polarize me
    Sensitize me
    Criticize me
    Civilize me
    Compensate me
    Animate me
    Complicate me
    Elevate me

    Enjoy!

  • Crazy Cold Out But Touch Will Heat You Up Find Out Why

    Crazy Cold Out But Touch Will Heat You Up Find Out Why

    New Song Finished

    Touch is in the can! Which means I’m happier to start talking about it. That’s right, the mix is off to the mastering engineer and will be back in my nimble lanky fingers within 24 hours! Actually I already hear a mastered version but opted to tweak a few things about the mix before putting the fork in it. Happily the mastering engineer is going to rerun it for mastering.

    Who Was Involved

    Touch as it’s called, was written by yours truly. That means I created all the music and vocal melodies, plus the lyrics.

    The rapper is a bloke from Los Angeles who goes by the name Jacarri. He did tweak some of my lyrics I. The bridge to better suit his flow.

    The idea for using a rapper in the bridge of the song came from Brian Austin Whitney.

    My partner in crime in making the recording sound insanely great is George Leger III.

    The awesome mastering is done by the infamous John Rodd.

    Who Did What

    For the recording of guitars, bass, drum programming, mouth noises, synths and other FX – I put on my alter ego hats and laid down parts for each. I also did an enormous amount of singing over the course of 4 days. Also did the final touches of the releasing mix. It added up to a few tracks north of 100 tracks in the mix. Largest mis I’ve ever done.

    George did some additional drum tweaking, sound switching, vocal engineering, and some other various things. He also did some premixing on the track.

    Jacarri brought some rapping skills to the tune.

    John Rodd brought the final mastering touches.

    Thanks

    I have to thank George, John and Jacarri for putting in some fantastic work on making this song as awesome as possible. Plus I need to thank a bunch of people who took valuable time to sit and listen to various mixes to determine which one should be the released version of the song.

    I’m getting a real fuzzy feeling about the whole thing. I get even warmer thinking about how hot the video is going to be.