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, July 31, 2010

The Chapel

Listen and download the song, free, here.

I wrote this one a long time ago, one winter night on my way home from work.  The words and the melody started forming in my head, and I kept pulling over to type each idea into my PDA.  Finally, I realized that I would just have to stop and do it all, so I pulled off the main road, and into a parking lot.  I sat under a big light and wrote out the rest of the first draft. 

Satisfied, I restarted my engine, and started to pull out.  It was then that I noticed that I was in an LDS church parking lot.  I chuckled at the “lucky” irony...

Then, years later, I started working on recording this song.  The album “The Third Time” needed an acoustic number, so I chose this one.  In the middle of the recording process, they divided and reorganized our ward.  We suddenly found ourselves in among strangers again.  The song reminded me that we’re really not strangers at all. 

Eph. 2: 19 


The Chapel
Written, produced, and performed by Mark Hansen

Susan's been married just under a year
They like the pews up front, so they can hear
She's had a rough time and her youth was unclear
Now she's fighting to get past her mistakes and her fear

With eyes that neither condemn nor condone
He loves her and raises her child as his own

Chorus
In every city the chapel's the same
Like the people who step up and ask me my name
And the words that they say and the feelings I've known
I guess that's why it feels like home
That's why it feels like home

Tommy, he always sits quiet in back
It's been a long, long time, and he's been off track
He's just been finding all the things that he lacked
His wife is his strength, but even she almost cracked

Though the cravings are sometimes too hard to forget
It's been six months since his last cigarette

Chorus

John can  count the days by the books that he's read
He's long and thinning like the hairs on his head
He always questions everything that is said
But he'll lend you an ear and bring a fresh loaf of bread

Surrounded by people who've been through it all
Somehow my struggles seem to be very small

Chorus

Jason Jones   Drums

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Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.
Mark's Other Blog Posts: name post, name post, name post,

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Revising Tenth and Main

Here’s why it’s good to have songwriter friends, that can read things over and give you advice.  I sent a copy of my new lyrics to the LDSMusicians email group, along with some questions, and Julie wrote me back.  She’s a great writer, and almost always spot on in her critiques.  Plus, she’s learned how to tell her criticisms in ways that don’t hurt feelings!  Very important!

She said:

“Hey Mark,

“I really like what you've got here. Wish I could here the music to go with it. Since you have the chorus right off, which can be so cool, I get the feeling this is at least a mid-tempo song. Since you have your first four lines of the first verse entirely of the same rhyme ending reading it feels a little forced, but the music obviously would add all the difference and soften that. I really like the line "Each bite tasted so much richer than the last one I'd buy". Good visual there. Your pre-chorus lines of verse two "I don't remember why I felt so full so long ago. I need to find the place where I felt what I needed to know" work okay, but (just my opinion here) could be stronger visually and a bit more powerful to me, especially since it's the lead into your second chorus and I'm sure comes with a big build. Way cool, let us here it as soon as you can.

“Julie

“PS, you are on the verge of country here which means it would have to be country rock, because you are Mark Hansen, and turn the verses into a story if you dare to go there.”


I think she’s right in a lot of her comments.  I, personally, kinda like my rhyme scheme, so, for now, I’m not changing that.  However, I knew those lines at the end of the climbs were weak to begin with.  I could tell that even as I wrote them.  So, when she pointed that out, I knew they needed to be changed. 

There were a few other minor tweaks that I put in as I was practicing up at the hospital the other day.  Here’s the newest, most current version:




Tenth and Main

By Mark Hansen
7/27/2010

Intro Chorus
There used to be a church at the corner of tenth and main
When I was a kid, I used to go there again and again
I went to find some hope, a break from the fear and pain
I remember the love at the corner of tenth and main


Verse 1

The city streets are alive with the breath of commotion
They give me whatever I want, when I have the notion
They try to fill my empty soul with coins and potions
But mostly they just keep me spinning around in motion

I'm looking for the place where I stood so long ago
I need to find the place that I thought I had outgrown

Chorus:

I need to find the church at the corner of tenth and main
When I was a kid, I used to go there again and again
I need to find some hope here at the corner of fear and pain
I remember the love at the corner of tenth and main


Verse 2:

There was so much out in the great big world to buy
Each bite tasted so much richer than the last one I'd tried
I wanted to know them all and to make them mine
The emptiness that haunts me now is keeping me crying

I don't remember why I felt so full so long ago
I need to find the place where where my cup used to overflow

Chorus

Instrumental verse

I'm looking for the place where I stood so long ago
I know I turned and walked away from it, but even so...

Chorus
Can you help me find the church at the corner of tenth and main
When I was a kid, I used to go there again and again
Help me find some hope here at the corner of fear and pain
I remember the love at the corner of tenth and main


I’m going to throw this open to you folks as well.  As you read this, do you have any suggestions or ideas?  Here are some questions you can answer that will help me refine it even more:

  • What’s the main point/message of the song?  Can you sum up the song in one short statement?
  • What’s the strongest line?
  • What’s the weakest line?
  • What do you like best about the song?
  • What do you like least about the song?

Just pop your ideas into the comments box below.  If this works out, I might do this with all of the tunes I write!

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Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.
Mark's Other Blog Posts: Dutch Oven Swirled Bread Redux, New LDS Church Members Website, name post,

Saturday, July 24, 2010

New Song Written: "Tenth and Main"

I wrote a new song this morning!  Actually, it's more accurate to say that I finished a new song this morning.  I started it with a gem of an idea a few weeks ago.  It started when I was in Downtown Salt Lake City, noticing the bustle and busy-ness of the city, and all of the activities and choices available.  I got to thinking that all of those distractions could easily pull someone away from a spiritually-focused life.

Like "The Taker", it started as an "imaginary biography" sort of song.  These are songs that tell a story of a person's place in life, and, instead of being my own life, it's an imaginary person telling the story.  In reality, however, it always ends up having a lot of parallels to my own life, and it ends up being more auto-biographical than imaginary.

For me, personally, it's about feeling disconnected to God.  There are often times in my life when I'm less spiritually-minded.  I've never actually left the church, but I have gone through times when I'm very distracted by work and other goals.  I guess right now I'm feeling like I need to find my own chapel inside and get back to it more often.


Tenth and Main

Chorus
I need to find the church at the corner of tenth and main
When I was a kid, I used to go there again and again
I need to find some hope here at the corner of fear and pain
I remember the love at the corner of tenth and main


Verse 1

The city streets are alive with the breath of commotion
They give me whatever I want, when I have the notion
They try to fill my empty soul with coins and potions
But mostly they just keep me spinning around in motion

I'm looking for the place where I stood so long ago
I need to find the place where I felt what I needed to know


Verse 2:

There was so much out in the great big world to try
Each bite tasted so much richer than the last one I'd buy
I wanted to savor them all and to make them mine
But the emptiness that haunts me now is keeping me crying

I don't remember why I felt so full so long ago
I need to find the place where I felt what I needed to know


Chorus



Just on a whim, I wondered if there really was a church at the corner of tenth and main, in Salt Lake.  I went to Googlemaps to see.  As you can see from the link, it's just businesses.

The funny thing was, however, that it's only about a block away from the building that housed Suite Sound Studio, where I got my start in the SLC music scene.  Looking at the building now brought back some memories.



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Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

A Lesson in Patience and Listening

So, last night was a really bad night, and a really good night, both in one.  As I came home from work, I was feeling very frustrated with a lot of things, but particularly my progress (or lack of it) in the LDS music world.

I had decided that I was going to do some work on my computer and fix a bug that had been getting in the way of my continued work on “The Chapel”.  Actually, I had decided to do that the night before, but a whole bunch of other things in the cosmic scheme had gotten in the way and I couldn’t get it done.  

So, I tried to fix it, and no matter what I did, it wouldn’t work right.  And the error it was generating was a deal-breaker.  I mean, I couldn’t just work around it and deal with it.  When the error happened (which was about every two to three minutes), it stopped the recording.  I even reinstalled Cubase and Windows.  Nothing worked.

So, in an angry huff, I stormed upstairs, and went to bed.  At that moment, I was about ready to give up.  If my studio was down, it was over.  I don’t have the money to get a better computer or upgrade Cubase, and I didn’t see how I could proceed.

So, while I was sitting there, watching Law and Order, trying to cool off, the thought pierced through my head, “Check the latency”.  My first thought, in response, was that I had already checked the latency.  So I sat there, fuming.

The thought didn’t come back, but it nagged at me.  I had checked the latency, because that is what normally produces the kind of problem I was having.  But I had only tweaked the settings to decrease the latency.  I hadn’t increased it.  That usually makes other problems.  I thought, “That won’t fix it...  Will it?”  I decided that before I gave up completely and consigned myself to a life without music, I should at least give that a try, right?

So, I got up and went back downstairs.  You already know what happened.  It worked, it fixed the issue.  Recording with the higher latency wasn’t as problematic as I thought it would be, and I got all of the lead vocals cut, the harmony vocals, and the acoustic lead guitar.  So, I’m very grateful that I got that inspiration to push through my frustration and just keep moving on.

At this point, the tracking for the song is complete.  There are still a lot of tasks I need to do before the final mix, like cleaning up some timing issues, and comping the vocals.  I might have this tune done within a couple of weeks, tops.

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Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.

Mark's Other Blog Posts: Immigration Madness, Dutch Oven Berried Chicken

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Congas, Shakers, and Strums, Oh MY!

I put some more tracks down on "The Chapel" tonight.  It's really shaping up.  It's been so easy to decide what to do on this one, because it's such a simple, traditional ballad.  I added some light congas (sampled), some shaker in the chorus, and some light broken chords on the electric as well.  It's really sounding full, now!

That means that I only have to cut an acoustic lead guitar part, and then resing the lead vocals.  I'm not even convinced that it needs backing vocals.  Probably not.

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Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including his Dutch Oven blog: Mark's Black Pot and his LDS pop culture blog: MoBoy blog.

Mark's Other Blog Posts: Farmer's Market Pasta, When it's OK to Burn a Flag 

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