Mark Hansen Music - LDS Rock Music - Free Downloads

Mark Hansen Music - LDS Rock Music - Free Downloads
Get the new CD, "The Third Time" HERE




WARNING: Listening to this music doesn't require parental approval. It's a bit of clean rebellion. It keeps your outlook up and your hope alive. It's got strong drums and screaming guitars. It pumps you up and drives your life. It's a hunger for exploration. It chooses the right and returns with honor. It's music you don't have to confess to your bishop.

It's not your parents' "Saturday’s Warrior".

It's "A Joyful Noise"

Saturday, May 29, 2004

I'm up at Primary Children's Medical Center, staying overnight with my boy here. He's getting his lungs and guts cleaned out. They're having a hard time figuring out why he's not gaining any weight.

Wish I had THAT problem...

Anyway, this afternoon, I set "I Will Sing This Prayer" to music. I altered the melody considerably. I knew I was going to have to. The original was too derivitave of "The Living Years" by Mike and the Mechanics and an old tune by Rush. :-)

The problem is that now I have the two melodies competing in my head. I have to practice the new one a lot to get the old one out.

Thursday, May 27, 2004

John N came over tonight. It was a lot of fun. We worked on another one of his tunes, this time a really soft and gentle one for his daughter, called "Desert Flower". Her name is Zinnia, see...

It's this light jazz thing. It really is way out of my comfort zone, but as a recordist and co-producer, I can actually add a touch or two to it. One idea I had was some chimey sort of electric guitar, very much like what's on "Soldiers". I think we're going to need to bring in Morey for the drums, tho... And I'm not sure how we're going to do that.

I've been working on the showcase a lot, too. I decided the other day that I would do it based on the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet. I made up this announcement that I've been giving to the youth leaders in the wards. At the top it says: "Strong Music: Strong Messages: For the Strength of Youth"

Nice catch phrase, if you ask me...

But I think I've got a pretty good lineup of the tunes!

Saturday, May 15, 2004

I wish I knew why it bugs me so much when I get criticism on my songs. I'm not sure. I really wish I could take what's said and learn from it, or just ignore it, but it really gets to me.

I mean, I know I'm not the best, and I know I've got a long way to go, but it really drags me down when someone else point that rather obvious fact out to me.

Oh, well. It's not going to stop me. It just stings a bit.

Friday, May 14, 2004

Wow. What fun I had last night!

I don't think I've mentioned it, but my Dad is in town. He lives in Indiana, where I grew up, and once in a while they come out here to Utah. If you read my other blog, you know that my uncle just died, so they had to come out for the funeral. Then they're staying here for a couple of weeks to attend the Mormon History Association conference.

But anyway...

He's got this rich baritone voice, and can actually handle a pretty wide range, from Bass to high tenor. So, I suggested he come in and sing a hymn or two into my recording system.

Wow. What fun that was!

We started out with a round, "By the Waters of Babylon" which has long been a family favorite. We doubled the parts, so it sound really rich and thick.

Then he did "Oh Say, What is Truth?", another one of my favorites. But we did the old hymnbook version, which has a much busier bass line than the newer one. Very fun.

And the last thing we did, almost as an afterthought, was "Abide With Me". I really wished we'd had more time to polish that one, 'cause it's really rich.

Anyway. I might post one or two of these tunes up for listen...

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Woo Hoo!

Sold another copy of "He's Out There"!

Monday, May 10, 2004

On one of the LDS songwriter lists I'm on, I'm running what I call a "4x8 songwriting challenge". The game is to write four new songs in eight weeks, and once a week there are challenges that you can pick from.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the challenges was to write a song on prayer in AAA form. So, this last weekend, I wrote this one:


I Will Sing This Prayer

By Mark Hansen

The mountains all around me
Are a fortress strong and tall
The pine trees at attention
Stand as sentries on the wall
The evening wraps around me
Like I was never really there
And while the light is fading
I will sing this prayer


The city seems so quiet
Caught up in all its noise
Machines and men in motion
One builds and one destroys
The people rushing by me
Like I was never really there
And while the world is turning
I will sing this prayer


The Earth just keeps on moving
Dancing calmly on its way
Above the blue and green and white
My life just fades away
But there is one who always
Knows that I am there
And while I'm thinking of Him
I will sing this prayer


There are worlds too vast to number
But he knows I am there
So while He's thinking of me
I will sing this prayer

Thursday, May 06, 2004

What a mixed few days.

The bad news: My uncle Jim died yesterday. What a man he was. Kind and serving, knowledgeable without being pretentious, and a subtle smile that is the biggest thing I'll remember.

I'll blog more about him in mo' boy later on.

The good news: Toy Soldiers is done and online! Mixed, weedified, installed, ready to download.

And tonight, I get to start working on one of John's tunes. I'm quite excited about that. And, of course, I'll let you know how that goes.

Saturday, May 01, 2004

I got up this morning with a headache.

That sounds like a blues tune, doesn't it? :-)

Anyway, I went in and started a preliminary mix of "Soldiers". I feel like I've been guided on it, because it's just falling into place so beautifully. I'd burn a copy and test it all over, but I'm out of CD R's! It just sounds soooooo clean.

It's also been kinda nice to divert to a mellow tune after so many edgy rockers. I really do have lots of facets to my creative life. Sometimes I let myself get pidgeonholed. Sometimes I do it to myself.

I've been asked to sing a solo part with our ward choir, for instance, and that has me really nervous. I can sing a rock and roll tune, but choir singing is so different, and it can be really hard to fill the entire chapel without a mic.

It'll be fun, tho.

And today I've got another acoustic gig at a mall in Ogden. That'll be fun, too. I really like those. I'll let you know how it goes.

OK, three mixes later, "Pharisee" is DONE! In the can, off to be weedified! Then I'll get it on my site and start working on the mix for "Soldiers".

I'm really pleased with this one. It took me a while to get the bass under controll, to keep it from rattling my speakers, and then get the vocals in the right place, especially the thin, mechanical verse vocals. It was a really interesting tune to mix that way. I had a hard time finding a good model to mimic. I started with a faster Jericho Road tune, and then I finally dug up some old Backstreet Boys that I'd been using for research years ago.

I think this is a happenin' tune, now!

Oh, and on "Soldiers", the other night, John N came over and laid down some schweet trumpet bits. Beautiful, haunting stuff. It'll fit in sooo nicely.

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