MusicBox Monday: Fade In / Fade Out (N40)
It’s been a Father’s Day tradition that I post a song for the holiday and this one is melancholic. FadeIn / FadeOut, by NOTHING MORE, is about losing a father figure. The song is conversation of dying wisdom shared by father and son. In the second verse, this wisdom is passed down a generation to the father’s grandson. The lyrics and drastic changes in the music brought about a rollercoaster of emotions during my first listen. /X\
I chose to write my piano + vocal cover of Fade In / Fade Out after I first saw my father’s mental health decline. I wanted to be prepared to play it at his memorial if he were pass unexpectedly. The sheet music for this gives the musician(s) the option of playing a shorter and calmer version (~4:20 vs. 6:05) which is much more appropriate for a memorial service. Like most of my sheet music, you can ask for a PDF of this for a small fee of $5 ($page2stage). Proceeds are shared with the artists however possible. Check the comments for a special offer to get it for free! /X\
Melodically, the old N20 unit was incapable of emulating this song past the second verse (an abridged N20 version is also on the app). This is because Fade In / Fade Out’s bridge and Outro are discordant and don’t follow the rules of any given key (that I know of anyways 🤷♂️). Even without the words these sections portray the pain of losing a father quite well. There is, however, one other Nothing More song that does this better called “God Went North”, which is about the singer’s mother dying of cancer. I highly recommend giving both songs a listen. Maybe that will see a cover on a later holiday. /X\
This is like a Throwback Thursday and late Father’s Day post because I’ve shared this cover a few times but never in this capacity. I’m very proud of the work I put in to reimagine this fantastic song. I hope you enjoy it as well! #musicboxmonday
Forever Sleep by Moon Fever
I have some good news and bad news. The bad news is that my treasured Muro Box N20 of 3 years (left) was stolen from my car on Friday night (I recorded this video last Tuesday). The good news is that I just received my new Muro Box N40 Standard from my Kickstarter pledge. Muro Box Global also selected this composition for a special playlist that is being preloaded on every N40 Standard and Sublime sold and shipped worldwide!
The selected song is called Forever Sleep by Moon Fever. This project was part of a commission I was given a year before the song’s March release date. I was asked to translate the vocal line and the kick ass guitar solo into MIDI. I went above & beyond and made it my own. The backing melody is original to this version. I even threw in the exciting vocal harmony from the original (the N20 wouldn’t have handled this). This music box cover and sheet music were just something I wanted to do for my Seattle brothers.
If enjoyed this tune, please check out Moon Fever’s emotionally charged music video for Forever Sleep. It also would be tremendous help if you requested the song on your local rock radio station!
Some people just need a lullaby and a Reason to Live.
After a month wait, we’re back with another Citizen Soldier MusicBox Monday. The band just released their 6th album and 1st headlining tour and I couldn’t be prouder of them! If you want to give your fellow CS fan the best Christmas gift, get them a Bus VIP package for one of the shows! You will help the band immensely by doing so! Rock and roll don’t pay like it used to!
Thank you to both Muro Box Global and Citizen Soldier for these past 3 years. You all have given me a Reason to Live and a reason to keep ambition.
A very haunting Amigo The Devil’s Night to all of my friends! Devil’s Night, also known as Mischief Night, was an infamous yearly tradition where the city of Detroit was plagued with arson, vandalism and pranks (eg. 🧻 🌳) that has thankfully seen a decline. Some say it celebrated the work of great serials like Jeffery Dahmer. These days there are far more harmless and entertaining ways to honor our fascinations for serial killers. They lie in the ever popular true crime documentaries, TV shows like You and Dexter and lots of horror films.
There is an entire genre of music dedicated to these implied sins. It is called murder folk in which Amigo of Devil is considered to be one of the greats. This song, The Dreamer is thematically subtle in comparison to his other work. It is a sweet love song with dark undertones suggesting a murder suicide. It’s truly a masterpiece of conflicting themes summarized by one of its lyrics, “If I can’t have you, nobody will”.
Muro Box Global’s new Kickstarter for the N-40 standard and sublime models has just launched. Please check out the Day 1 specials, if you’d like. Anyone who pledges over $50 can have a melody commissioned by myself for free but consider adding this to your pledge.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/murobox/muro-box-n40-programmable-mechanical-music-box
To celebrate this, I’m sharing a recording I took from their 24-hour Twitch live stream. The song is Darlin’ by Goodbye June and was the first 40 note to be user submitted. If you’re lucky enough, you can also pop in the stream and play whatever song you please on their N-40 Sublime before committing to a pledge.
https://murobox.com/en/#TWITCH
What independent artists do you know? I wanted acknowledge a rather remarkable one, Kingdom Collapse. It’s rare to see self-released tracks reach Octane’s Top 15 Big ‘Uns countdown and they did it twice, with Unbreakable charting 10 consecutive weeks! This growth wouldn’t have been possible without incredible fans like Joe Alfano. I wish you could have heard this, Joe. The growing pains you left us may fade but may your life never become a Fading Memory. 🍻 #musicbox #musicboxmonday - Played on the Muro Box N20
Does this melody lull you into a Dreamstate?
It’s been so long since I’ve shared a project here! The holiday weekend thankfully gave me some time to work on few. This week’s Muro Box melody is Dreamstate by the synth-pop inspired metalcore band, dayseeker.
Dayseeker’s vocalist, Rory, wrote Dreamstate while grieving his father’s passing. Much of their album Dark Sun shares this theme, with each track having its own identity. Parallel and Neon Grave are my favorite of these and I highly recommend them to anyone struggling with grief. That said, I saw some irony in writing Dreamstate as a lullaby. And with that I wish you all goodnight!
Music Box Monday: Another Way (Reimagined)
It’s been two months but Musicbox Monday is back with the song Another Way (Reimagined) by Sleep Theory. Sleep Theory has been making waves since the beginning of the year with their singles “Another Way” and “Numb”. They were recently selected as the first rock band to be part of Sirius XM and Pandora’s Artist Accelerator Program. This past Friday, the band released “Numb (Reimagined)” with a music video. If you enjoy this video, please check out this impressive new track as well!
I’ve always been infatuated by songs that have deep lyrics or challenging vocals. They’re just fun to sing. Cullen’s impressive vocals in Another Way were no exception. So for this reason, I opted for a sing along chart. I apologize if I overpower the box at certain points.
Another Way (Music box + vocal cover)
It’s been two months but Musicbox Monday is back with the song Another Way (Reimagined) by Sleep Theory. Sleep Theory has been making waves since the beginning of the year with their singles “Another Way” and “Numb”. They were recently selected as the first rock band to be part of Sirius XM and Pandora’s Artist Accelerator Program. This past Friday, the band released “Numb (Reimagined)” with a music video. If you enjoy this video, please check out this impressive new track as well!
I’ve always been infatuated by songs that have deep lyrics or challenging vocals. They’re just fun to sing. Cullen’s impressive vocals in Another Way were no exception. So for this reason, I opted for a sing along chart. I apologize if I overpower the box at certain points.
“Promise Me we’ll never grow up”
Happy Valentine’s Day! Have you met your soulmate?
This special holiday video is “Promise Me” by Badflower being played on the Muro Box. This powerful love song is a coming of age story that ends with the loss of a soulmate. The choruses alone lyrically retaliate the binding phrase “Until death do us part” with the quote above. The best way to experience this song is through its music video. Like the classic Valentine’s Day film, “The Notebook”, I was sobbing openly the first time I saw it. I highly recommend checking it out with your own soulmate. May you grow old together in loving comfort.
https://youtu.be/yhNp7i4xaUU
Disclaimer: The end of the chorus, “[I can’t] face the truth”, had to be slightly altered to play correctly on the box. The good news is that this is not the only Badflower cover I have done 🧐
#valentinesday2023 #Valentines #badflower #musicbox #musicboxmonday
Music Box Monday: Chaos and Earthquakes
Who is your favorite black rock musician?🙋🏾♂️
It’s Black History Month and I wanted to give some well deserved attention to the community that birthed Rock n’ Roll over 70 years ago. Early in its history, it took a disgusting amount of whitewashing of genres like jazz, blues, R&B, and gospel to evolve rock music into what it is today.
This week’s Music Box Monday isn’t a homage to rock legends like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder or even Jimi Hendrix. This week, I wanted to honor Elias Soriano and his nu-metal band Nonpoint with their song “Chaos and Earthquakes”. This high energy melody was the first to play on the ShipRocked themed Muro Box that was recently donated to Cancer Sucks! It was written entirely on the Muro Box app from my couch. It is one of my favorite charts thus far, even though it honestly has no business playing on a music box! I hope you enjoy listening to this epic song about modern social injustice played on an instrument more fit for lullabies 😅
As the month progresses, I plan to share more music from modern black musicians that are proudly representing the rock and metal scene today. If I have the time, I hope to even do another cover this month (hint: 🔥🌩️😇) In the mean time, I invite you to introduce me to more bands like this!
#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackLivesMatter #ShipRocked #musicboxmonday
Chaos and Earthquakes music box cover
Who is your favorite black rock musician?🙋🏾♂️
It’s Black History Month and I wanted to give some well deserved attention to the community that birthed Rock n’ Roll over 70 years ago. Early in its history, it took a disgusting amount of whitewashing of genres like jazz, blues, R&B, and gospel to evolve rock music into what it is today.
This week’s Music Box Monday isn’t a homage to rock legends like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder or even Jimi Hendrix. This week, I wanted to honor Elias Soriano and his nu-metal band Nonpoint with their song “Chaos and Earthquakes”. This high energy melody was the first to play on the ShipRocked themed Muro Box that was recently donated to Cancer Sucks! It was written entirely on the Muro Box app from my couch. It is one of my favorite charts thus far, even though it honestly has no business playing on a music box! I hope you enjoy listening to this epic song about modern social injustice played on an instrument more fit for lullabies 😅
As the month progresses, I plan to share more music from modern black musicians that are proudly representing the rock and metal scene today. If I have the time, I hope to even do another cover this month (hint: 🔥🌩️😇) In the mean time, I invite you to introduce me to more bands like this!
#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackLivesMatter #ShipRocked #musicboxmonday
Another Life: Motion Picture Collection Music Box Cover
I wrote 13 different projects on the Muro Box for the artists on the 2023 ShipRocked Cruise. By far the most difficult was that of Another Life: Motion Picture Collection (abbrev. MPC) by Motionless In White. This overdue Music Box Monday project is only about halfway finished, which is far longer than I expected to accomplish by ear! I got to test this music box melody on the black ShipRocked / Cancer Sucks! themed musicbox before it was displayed at the ship’s silent auction, where it sold for $750! I just uploaded a track of the exported sheet music to SoundCloud. It is meant to be a close recreation of the track but it took 43 times to trick Shazam with it, so it could be better.
Soundcloud.com/Page2StageMusic/Another-Life-MPC
Justin DeBlieck of Ice Nine Kills has produced three Motion Picture Collection tracks in the style of film scores. Each one is fantastically deceptive to the fact that they are all based off of metal songs. His most recent, Masterpiece: MPC, is my personal favorite of these reimagined pieces but it was bit more difficult to start scoring. Another Life: MPC serves as a prequel to the third of these tracks, Eternally Yours: Motion Picture Collection. Each one of these tracks have official instrumentals included it their respective EPs and I highly recommend listening to all of them. They are gorgeous in my opinion.
And finally, just for the fun of it, I translated part of the song into Latin. Google translate will betray you here but kudos to anyone who figures out which part of the song this is translated from.
“Odi quod videbatur eras non sufficit,
Fractum eras sanguinabas in nomine amoris,
Et spero occurimus in altera vita,
Non odi quod te egeo”
Music Box Monday: Another Life
I wrote 13 different projects on the Muro Box for the artists on the 2023 ShipRocked Cruise. By far the most difficult was that of Another Life: Motion Picture Collection (abbrev. MPC) by Motionless In White. This overdue Music Box Monday project is only about halfway finished, which is far longer than I expected to accomplish by ear! I got to test this music box melody on the black ShipRocked / Cancer Sucks! themed musicbox before it was displayed at the ship’s silent auction, where it sold for $750! I just uploaded a track of the exported sheet music to SoundCloud. It is meant to be a close recreation of the track but it took 43 times to trick Shazam with it, so it could be better.
Soundcloud.com/Page2StageMusic/Another-Life-MPC
Justin DeBlieck of Ice Nine Kills has produced three Motion Picture Collection tracks in the style of film scores. Each one is fantastically deceptive to the fact that they are all based off of metal songs. His most recent, Masterpiece: MPC, is my personal favorite of these reimagined pieces but it was bit more difficult to start scoring. Another Life: MPC serves as a prequel to the third of these tracks, Eternally Yours: Motion Picture Collection. Each one of these tracks have official instrumentals included it their respective EPs and I highly recommend listening to all of them. They are gorgeous in my opinion.
And finally, just for the fun of it, I translated part of the song into Latin. Google translate will betray you here but kudos to anyone who figures out which part of the song this is translated from.
“Odi quod videbatur eras non sufficit,
Fractum eras sanguinabas in nomine amoris,
Et spero occurimus in altera vita,
Non odi quod te egeo”
Another Life: MPC Music Box Cover
I wrote 13 different projects on the Muro Box for the artists on the 2023 ShipRocked Cruise. By far the most difficult was that of Another Life: Motion Picture Collection (abbrev. MPC) by Motionless In White. This overdue Music Box Monday project is only about halfway finished, which is far longer than I expected to accomplish by ear! I got to test this music box melody on the black ShipRocked / Cancer Sucks! themed musicbox before it was displayed at the ship’s silent auction, where it sold for $750! I just uploaded a track of the exported sheet music to SoundCloud. It is meant to be a close recreation of the track but it took 43 times to trick Shazam with it, so it could be better.
Soundcloud.com/Page2StageMusic/Another-Life-MPC
Justin DeBlieck of Ice Nine Kills has produced three Motion Picture Collection tracks in the style of film scores. Each one is fantastically deceptive to the fact that they are all based off of metal songs. His most recent, Masterpiece: MPC, is my personal favorite of these reimagined pieces but it was bit more difficult to start scoring. Another Life: MPC serves as a prequel to the third of these tracks, Eternally Yours: Motion Picture Collection. Each one of these tracks have official instrumentals included it their respective EPs and I highly recommend listening to all of them. They are gorgeous in my opinion.
And finally, just for the fun of it, I translated part of the song into Latin. Google translate might betray you here but kudos to anyone who figures out which part of the song this is translated from.
“Odi quod videbatur eras non sufficit,
Fractum eras sanguinabas in nomine amoris,
Et spero occurimus in altera vita,
Non odi quod te egeo”
MusicBox Monday: Just Pretend
Let’s Just Pretend it’s still Monday because this week’s MusicBox Monday is a full cover of Just Pretend by the alternative metal band Bad Omens. Just Pretend is melancholic love song that recounts the feelings of a man who trying to hold on to a dying relationship. This is made immediately apparent in the song’s emotional chorus:
“I can wait for you at the bottom. I can stay away if you want me to. I can wait for years if I gotta. Heaven knows I ain’t getting over you!”
This chorus became quite popular on TikTok before it was released as an official single “Death of Peace of Mind”. It is personally my favorite track on the album for how relatable it is.
This is the is first of 5 Murobox covers I intend to post leading up the 2023 ShipRocked Cruise departure date. As I mentioned before, Muro Box Global and I will be donating a special Shiprocked themed unit to the Cancer Sucks! silent auction.
The highest bidder will receive:
- A black Shiprocked themed Muro Box that, by default, plays 23 melodies based on former Shiprocked artists. If we’re lucky enough, that playlist will contain over 40 melodies. You can also play over 50,000 user submitted melodies straight from the app.
- A resonance box signed by several musicians on the boat
- A free melody commission from myself
- A bundle of 12 pieces of (hopefully signed) sheet music watermarked with each band’s logo (This watermark cannot be replicated in a PDF file)
I plan to hold live demos of the Muro Box throughout the 6 day cruise. Please check the donation display to see where and when the next one is being held. Several sharpies will be on my person during these demos as well.
Since this post was meant to be for Monday, the #DayTwo post will be posted later today.
#RockHard #VacationHarder #shiprocked #DayOne
Bad Omens Murobox cover: Just Pretend
Let’s Just Pretend it’s still Monday because this week’s MusicBox Monday is a full cover of Just Pretend by the alternative metal band Bad Omens. Just Pretend is melancholic love song that recounts the feelings of a man who trying to hold on to a dying relationship. This is made immediately apparent in the song’s emotional chorus:
“I can wait for you at the bottom. I can stay away if you want me to. I can wait for years if I gotta. Heaven knows I ain’t getting over you!”
This chorus became quite popular on TikTok before it was released as an official single “Death of Peace of Mind”. It is personally my favorite track on the album for how relatable it is.
This is the is first of 5 Murobox covers I intend to post leading up the 2023 ShipRocked Cruise departure date. As I mentioned before, Muro Box Global and I will be donating a special Shiprocked themed unit to the Cancer Sucks! silent auction.
The highest bidder will receive:
- A black Shiprocked themed Muro Box that, by default, plays 23 melodies based on former Shiprocked artists. If we’re lucky enough, that playlist will contain over 40 melodies. You can also play over 50,000 user submitted melodies straight from the app.
- A resonance box signed by several musicians on the boat
- A free melody commission from myself
- A bundle of 12 pieces of (hopefully signed) sheet music watermarked with each band’s logo (This watermark cannot be replicated in a PDF file)
I plan to hold live demos of the Muro Box throughout the 6 day cruise. Please check the donation display to see where and when the next one is being held. Several sharpies will be on my person during these demos as well.
#RockHard #VacationHarder #shiprocked
Tattoo appreciation post! Do you have a tattoo that represents a hardship you overcame? Do you “wear your scars just like tattoos”?
This weeks song, “Tattoos” by Citizen Soldier is about being proud of surviving the times that almost broke us. This emotional ballad was released on Citizen Soldier’s newest album, “Scarecrow”, this past Wednesday and is probably my favorite of the 18 tracks.
This is the third project I’ve done for Citizen Soldier. One of the first videos I posted for MusicBox Monday featured their song “Would Anyone Care?”. You can also hear a short sample of “Still Breathing” publicly on the Muro Box app. I only started this project this afternoon but I hope you enjoy my efforts thus far.
I wanted to dedicate this music box melody to the album release and to the brave souls in the Citizen Soldier Militia. I started Citizen Soldier Militia as a fan group for Citizen Soldier and it quickly became a safe space for group therapy as well. If you or a loved one are in need of an “emotional detox”, I highly recommend both the music of Citizen Soldier and joining the CS Militia. Both exist to save the lives of people fighting wars in their own head. So do the nationwide telephone numbers 988 (Suicide Hotline) and 911. Life is a gift I pray we all can accept. Merry Christmas everyone.
