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 21, 2005

I'm soooo stinkin' exhausted, but exhilerated at the same time. We played our gig in the park. We couldn't have had a better location or better weather if we'd paid
God for it. Warm, sunny, but with lots of shade and breeze.

We got set up quickly, and we had a great time. About 35 people there, as John counted. I was very pleased to see some folks that I'd invited, even some that had travelled all the way out to Tooele from Salt Lake, one family even from Sandy!

We played pretty well. There were a few songs we oopsed, and only one we bungled. But we still managed to end that one together, anyway. Not bad for guys that practice only once or twice a month together.

Ever since the gig, I've had Matt's "In DC Tonight" going through my head...

MRKH - Mark Hansen
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Monday, May 16, 2005

What a bummer!

Jesse, an online friend that's been following my musical efforts, had contacted me some time ago about the possibility of performing for his stake's youth conference this summer. What an exciting opportunity! I've been wanting to perform that kind of show for years and years. He's also the same guy that got me the gig with the Liahona Academy last fall.

So where's the bummer? The timing. Their conference is the same weekend that my family (Jodi and both kids) are coming back from six weeks in Tucson. I can't do a gig that same time. I wanna be there to welcome them home!

In reality, it was a long shot anyway. Their youth conference is in Missouri, and making travel arrangements would have been difficult at best.

*Sigh*

But it was fun to think about, and maybe some other year. Thanks for all the effort you've given me, Jesse. It's fans like you that really give an artist encouragement!

On another note, I did get a bit of recording done last night, the first I've done in a long time. I put some string parts down on "Today and Yesterday". I'm very glad I'm not doing a guitar solo on that one. All the tonicizations and key borrowing would make soloing a nightmare!

So, all I need on that one is the real drum parts, and the lead and harmony vocals. It's almost done!

MRKH - Mark Hansen
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Saturday, May 14, 2005

I'm really exhausted, but I had a great time this afternoon. I went downtown and sang in the Club Cubase Songwriter's Showcase. It was setup by one of the guys in CC, and he contacted the city, got the permits and held the event in the amphitheatre outside of the downtown library. Gorgeous place, but no shade.

It was fun. I did about a 40 minute set. I think I did pretty well.

MRKH - Mark Hansen
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Friday, May 13, 2005

I'm very excited! There have been a lot of people contacting me off the site to do performances. Just within the last two weeks, I've had four requests for bookings! I don't know how many will come to fruition, but it's exciting to get contacted.

One of the ones that I know will work out (it's already booked) is July 30 at the American Fork Amphitheatre (where we have the LDS Music Fest every year). Matt Whitney, another Random Tangent, will be there as the opening act, and John and Morey will also be helping with additional instruments.

Obviously, I'll be keeping the shows page up to date as we go along, too.

MRKH - Mark Hansen
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Friday, May 06, 2005

I'm exhausted.

But it's a great feeling kind of exhausted. We hashed through so many more songs tonight (Random Tangent, that is), working the bugs out of the old tunes so that they're ready for the gig in two weeks.

We worked on a lot of my tunes, like "Dancin' their Lives Away", and "Bats in My Belfry" (I really have to memorize the lyrics to that one in the next two weeks), as well as some of Matt's. And, of course, "Booka Mo", John's swing arrangement of "Book of Mormon Stories". I think that one's kind of our signature song.

Matt's "Moment of Choice" is absolutely incredible. It's a huge song, full of grandeur and testimony. A very powerful song of personal redemption. And his new one, "D.C. Tonight" is killer, too, but in an understated sort of way.

Poor John wasn't feeling very well, but he really gave it his all like a trouper. I was kinda worried about him. After blowing out on "Bats" he looked like he was going to pass out.

I tell ya, if we play only half as well at the show as we did tonight, it'll be great.

MRKH - Mark Hansen
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Thursday, May 05, 2005

I've decided that Today and Yesterday will be the next single, so, I pulled it out and started working on it today. First, I started with a rough remix, because I'd been feeling that the verses were sounding a little empty. Then I'd thought that it might be because of the mix rather than the arrangement, so I brought the keyboards a bit forward, and it seems I might have been right. I'll have to experiment with it for a while and see, but I think that made the verses more full.

Then, I went to add some string lines, so I set up the sampler for strings, and started to play with it. It's a tricky song because there's so much tonicization. It's really moving around in a lot of keys, especially in the bridge which was where I was focusing at first. But, it never really cadences in each new key, so I can't really call it a modulation, just a temporary shift. More of a tonicization.

Anyway, that makes it tricky to just throw down an improvised string line. So, I work something up, and I put it down, then I go to save it, and Cubase just dissappears. Shut off entirely, with no save, nothing. I freaked.

I go to reopen it, and thankfully the backup procedure had captured my mix efforts and the setup of the sampler, so at the very least that was working. So, I replayed/rerecorded the string line, saved it, and all was well in the world again.

I really, really, really love my computer... (imagine me gritting my teeth as I say that...)

MRKH - Mark Hansen
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