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"

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

My Dreams

A very, very long time ago, I was feeling sorry for myself, and being really mopey and emo.  I started questioning the point of doing music and wondering if I should keep working at it.  There was this overwhelming sense that if I were to quietly stop doing music, nobody would really notice.

In recent months, I went through a similar existential meltdown.  I wasn’t sure what I was doing nor what I was doing it for.  In the end, it all kinda sorted out.  Obviously, I feel the need to keep making music, and I don’t see that ever changing.   I’m not really sure what the purpose of it all is, but then, who really does, right?  We’ll just see where it goes.

Anyway, even though I wrote the lyrics many years ago, I still felt them.  And I finally set them to chords and melody tonight.  Anyway, here’s the words:


My Dreams
By Mark Hansen
Lyrics: 1/22/2006, Music: 3/30/2011

Last night I dreamed two dreams…

I could hear the music playing
And I stepped onto the stage
I was blinded by the spotlight
I couldn’t see beyond the cage

And the words that I was singing
Sounded through the air
Echoed off the ceiling
And fell down on the chairs

And when the song was over
And I listened for the applause
I saw the house lights flicker
Lighting up the empty hall

Chorus:
Is there anybody out there
That is hearing what I say
Is there anybody listening
Listening anyway

I dreamed I saw a distant forest
In its depths there was a tree
Its limbs were growing, stretching, reaching
But there was no one there to see

It could feel the seasons changing
And the trunk and roots grew old
Its leaves flew in the new wind
The limbs too tired to hold

And in the end it tired of fighting
And fell broken to the ground
Since there was no one there to listen
It died without a sound

Chorus

Bridge:
So why isn’t it enough
To sing it just for me
Why can’t I just sing it out
And let the music set me free

Chorus



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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.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Back in the Studio!

So, I'm resetting my studio, and my old Cubase isn't working any more.  Until I can afford to get a newer version (not sure when that'll be), I've been researching various options.  One was a low cost system called "Reaper".  The other was indabamusic.com

I was debating which one to use, so I thought this would be a good chance to try them and review them.

Tonight was my first attempt with Reaper.  As I looked it over, it seemed to have a lot of robust features.  MIDI, VST plugins, soft synths, a lot of the things I need.

It wasn't very intuitive to launch, however, and it took me a long time to flick all of the right switches and get a signal from a mic to my audio box, to the computer and into a track.

I'm very excited to be back up and running!  My first task will be to cut acoustic and voice demos of all of these tunes that I've written since February.  From there, I'll see what happens.  I'd like to start making more complete productions, but I'll have to see what software I'm using at that point.

I'm baaaa-aaack!

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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,

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Pigment on Paper - A New Song!

 I’m a little bit worried that this one will be too personal, too close for the general public to grok.  In part, I’m OK with that, because it’s written for my mom on her umpty-somethingth birthday.  It supposed to be personal.  I’m also OK with it because another song I wrote that was very personal often turns out to be a favorite of some of my friends (“Toy Soldiers”).

So, read the lyrics here, and see if you get it.  Then read the explanation below.


Pigment on Paper
For Louise, on her birthday
3/9/11

For years I have watched you load up your brush
You’d pause and consider in a moment of hush
You’d sweep ‘cross the paper with a wrist finely turned
A cerulean blue or sienna that’s burnt

The colors would bleed as you dabbed, wet on wet
Your hand was so certain, no chance for regret
Dark storms on the Rockies, distant but near
I saw the clouds building, I remember the fear

But it’s not real
It’s not real

Chorus
All of my sorrows and all of my fears
All of my sadness and all of my tears
All of my grudges for all of these years
Are all just the stroke of a brush
All that I whisper and all that I say
All that I worry about day to day
All I imagine that stands in my way
Are all just artistic illusions
Just pigment on paper

You painted with care, with a detail precise
Each tumbled-down barn and each rusted device
Revealing a beauty of shadow and form
From inside the ugly, forgotten and torn

They seemed so real
They seemed so real

Chorus

Bridge:
And everything I think is so wrong with me
Looks as real and as clear as the painting I see
But if I step forward and look up close
Then my eyes can plainly see the brush strokes

And I know they’re not real
They’re not real

Chorus



See, my mom is an incredible artist, and her main medium is watercolor.  One of the things she taught me is that a painting isn’t real.  It’s a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object.  It’s a painting of onions in a basket, not real onions in a basket.  A skilled artist will use shadow, form, and shape to create the illusion of three dimensions, to create depth, but it’s still a flat piece of paper with pigment on it.

So, as I’ve been dealing with all of my garbage of late, I’ve started to come to the realization that all of my troubles are, like the painting, two-dimensional.  They’re all in my head.  Imaginary.  They’re not the real me.  They’re just pigment on paper.

Do ya get it now?


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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.

Friday, March 04, 2011

Beyond FAWM

So, FAWM is over!  I wanted to get one more done, but I just didn't have the chance.  Oh, well...

I got 6 new songs, though.  Not the complete 14 that the challenge calls for, but I got a lot done!  These tunes explore my life and the things I'm going through right now.  I can see a lot of spots where there are weak lines, or confusing threads, and I can start to work those bugs out.

My goal is to continue writing, at a pace of at least one new song each month.  That would give me enough for a full album by the end of the year.

Recording them, however, might be challenging.  My studio computer is kaput.  I think the hard drive is finally failing, after all these years.  For me to get a new system that works would probably cost me on the order $1000 to $1500, so that's not going to be happening any time soon.  I might be able to find some lower-cost alternatives, and just work my way with those.  Each one that I've looked into, so far, has also presented me with lessened functionality, but then, anything is better than nothing, right?

So, now's the best possible time to go an buy my albums!   Help me get back to making more music...



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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.

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