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"

Thursday, July 29, 2004

 
Wow.  A lot done tonight.  And I was afraid that we wouldn't even get a chance to get together.  But John came over and we cut some horn parts on "Thank You".  They rock.  John rocks.  We all rock!  He is always able to take what I've given him and notch it up two or three in ideas and intensity.  What a friend!
 
Then, after he left, I stayed in the studio and cut 8 tracks of lead vocals.  I feel really good about them, too.  I'm pretty sure I can comp a keepable track out of it. 
 
This tune is funny.  It's not like "Toy Soldiers", where there's a linear story line.  The verses are all over the place in concept.  I'm basically just listing the things I'm thankful for.  So, sometimes, I forget which order they go in.  As many times as I've recorded it and sang it live, I still mess it up.
 
Yikes.
 
But then, after that, I got brave.  I cut some scratch vocals for "Turn it Up".  This is the tune where the Lord wants me to turn it up a notch, too, I think, and really press my ability.  But I heard in this quick cut tonight, the seeds of ability that I've been working on for four years.  I heard glimpses of things that I thought I'd never be able to do.  And that was VERY exciting.
 
And, of course, when I record that one for reals, you'll be the first to know!
 

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

 
OK, right now, I'm in the middle of a very nervewracking process.  My music computer's hard drive is getting full, so I need to archive some of the songs I've finished and delete them.  Once I prepare the archive, I move it all to a CD, but sometimes it doesn't fit. 
 
Isn't that funny?  A single 5 minute song doesn't fit on a 700 MB CD!
 
But it's true!
 
Because every track is it's own audio file, and there are often takes upon takes...  Yeesh...
 
So, then I have to wait for the entire thing to burn, and burning that much data can take a seriously long time, like 30-40  minutes.  Then I have to burn the second CD.
 
And the reason it's so nervewracking is that I'm paranoid that something will go wrong and I'll somehow lose my song.  It's not a rational fear, I know, but when you've got as much time and emotion invested in these tunes as I do, rationality goes *pffft* out the window!
 
So, I'm archiving "Here in Me".  Hope it works!
 
 
I think I've got the finished mix for "What'll Save Ya". I'm pretty stoked about it. I did bring the rhythm guitars back a bit, and it still rocks hard. I also backed off the bass, so it's not quite so heavy on the bottom. I have this interesting tendency to let my bottom get out of hand.

Does that ever happen to you? I hate when that happens... :-)

Well, I'll get it weedified, and we'll have it on the site in a week or so!

And in another couple of weeks, I'll have "Thank You" done!

And then? Who knows. Maybe "Millstones"... Maybe "The Taker"...


Monday, July 26, 2004

This morning, I spent a little time preparing "What'll Save Ya" for mixing.  First, I had to finish cleaning up the drum tracks, combining the fills and cymbal accents (what I call "sparkle") with the basic beats that were already there.  Then, I converted all the MIDI tracks for all of my virtual synthesizers and drum machines into wav audio.  That way, I can preserve the tones I use.  It also uses up less computer power in the mix.
 
It seems to be not much, but it took me a couple of hours, and it's pretty tedious stuff.  Now, in a few minutes, I hope to begin the actual mix.  That'll be fun.
 
I'm really excited to release this song.  Pretty much all of the other tunes were ones that I'd released as mp3's before.  I'd just primped them up a bit and remixed them.  Now, this one is brand new.  Never been released before.  That's exciting!
 

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Oops, I almost forgot. 
 
After a bit of critiquing on the LDSRefinersFire email list, I revised the first verse of "Turn it Up".  Here's the new version:
 
 
Since I was young I’ve tried to do what’s right
Holding the rod and walking the line
And through the years its been great to see
The love and the joy that's set me free
 
But now it's time to take it higher
I need to stoke my inner fire
 
Turn it up...
 
 
Much better, isn't it?
 
 
I did a lot of music last night.  This morning, too.
 
Yesterday, at work, my boss was talking to me about this CD ROM we're putting together.  Our designer is creating the look of it in Flash, and mentioned that they're thinking of putting music on it.  So, I said, "I'll make the music for you!"
 
So, I did!  I created three 15-20 second loops.  Each one took me about 45 minutes or so.  Lots of fun. It's kind of challenging to make music that's interesting enough to not be lame, but dull enough that it doesn't detract from the actual content that people are reading.
 
Then Morey came over with his drum pad and we added tom fills and things to "What'll Save Ya" and "Out of the Chapel".  It's cool.  I create the basic drum track with my keyboard, a solid beat, then he comes in and adds the cymbals and the tom/snare fills.  That way, I can cut the other tracks with a basic beat behind it, and I still get a live feel for the overall track.  Great stuff.
 
Now, I just go in and clean it up a tich, and *Presto* drum track!
 
"Save Ya" is almost done, now.  Some horn parts, and a mix, and it'll be ready for the world!
 
I decided the other day that my "Big Audacious Goal" will be to have my CD ready by the end of the year.  Let's see if I can pull it off!  If I do a song a month for the rest of the year, I'll have ten songs ready by then.  I think I can do it!
 
 

Saturday, July 17, 2004

I woke up this morning with a song in my head.
 
I mean, really early this morning, like about 4:30. 
 
So, I dug out my palm pilot, and started writing words.  It was a song that has been cooking up in my subconcious for a very very long time.  It was based on a guitar riff that I'd been playing with literally for years.  A hot driving riff, I had no idea what it would be about.  Then, a few months ago, the idea hit me to call it "Turn it Up!" And it would be about the exhileration of playing music really really loud.
 
Then, after a few weeks, the thought occurred to me to make it be about turning up life, instead of the sound.  I flirted with making it a hybrid, but finally, this morning, I settled on this:
 
Turn it Up
By Mark Hansen, 7/17/04 6:03 AM
 
Since I was young I've been striving for you
Takin my time and giving your due
For all the beauty that you've given me
The love and the joy that's set me free
 
But now it's time to take it higher
I need to stoke my inner fire
 
Chorus:
Turn it up
Turn it up
Turn it up
Turn it up
 
A big man with a lot of wealth to report
Asked his Lord where he'd counted short
Keep the rules and study the truth
But he'd done it all since he was a youth
 
So the Lord told him to live it more
Sell it off and give it all to the poor
 
Chorus
 
Bridge:
I've got to turn it up
Lengthen my stride
Raise my eyes
Lower my pride
Love a little more
Hoard a little less
This is my life
This is my test
Turn it up
 
Choruses to end
 
Not bad for a second draft, I think.  There are still some issues, though, like the shift in point of view between the first and second verses...
 
Anyway, so I got up and cut some scratch tracks.  Guitar, drums, bass.  It'll be a fun tune.
 
Of course, that means one more unfinished song in my stack...  Someday I'll get time to actually devote to working these tunes out!  It gets so frustrating at times.  But it IS a fun journey.
 
 

Friday, July 16, 2004

This morning, I took a leap of faith.
 
I've been kind of stalling, but bit by bit I've been burning some demo CD's and preparing them to mail off.  Who to?  LDS recording lables, online distributors, etc... 
 
I've always been nervous to submit my material to industry types, but I finally realized that I can't just sit on the tunes.  I've got to shop them out there.
 
*Deep Breath*
 
So, this morning I put the demos together, and today I'll mail them off!
 
 

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

I spent some time last night cutting vocals (actually, recutting) for "Thank You". I got some good takes, I think, but I didn't have much endurance. Normally, when I'm doing vocals, I cut about 10-12 takes and then pick and choose the best bits of each. But this time, I was losing ground after 4 takes, and I only got through 8. So, I don't know if I'll have enough material to comp a good recording.

We'll see...

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