Name The 3 Musical Artists That I Sound Like

If all goes well, I should send out the final artwork and Master audio disc of my album for duplication by the end of the week. I should receive physical copes of the CD by the end of the month!

I'm going to put the album up on CDbaby for distribution. One of the questions that has to be answered is: What 3 artists do you sound like? This seems like a simple question, but it is often difficult to judge what one sounds like.

So, in an attempt to create an accurate picture of what "John Anealio" sounds like, I ask you this simple question:

What 3 musical artists does John Anealio sound like?

Please list your choices in the comments section. Alternatively, You can e-mail me your picks at 27summers@gmail.com or you can communicate with me via Twitter or Facebook

If a lot of you chime in on this, I'll hopefully be able to create a more accurate representation to present to people who are just discovering my music.

Thanks for your help,
John Anealio

Video: Last Drink for Bird Head

Here is a video of me performing Sci-Fi Song #22: Last Drink for Bird Head. This is a song that I wrote and recorded for Jeff and Ann Vandermeer's Last Drink Bird Head Anthology. Click here to download the free MP3 of the song and to read more about the anthology.

The instrument that I am playing in this video can either be called an Irish Bouzouki or an Octave Mandolin. The Octave Mandolin is probably the more accurate name as it is essentially a mandolin tuned down an octave. I still prefer to call it an Irish Bouzouki because ... well ... Bouzouki is fun to say.

I hope you enjoy it,
John Anealio

http://twitter.com/JohnAnealio

Sci-Fi Song #22: Last Drink for Bird Head

Last Drink for Bird Head (rough demo).mp3

Sci-Fi Song #22 was written for Jeff & Ann Vandermeer's upcoming "Last Drink Bird Head" Anthology. The basic idea behind this anthology was that Jeff commissioned various authors to write a short piece of fiction about "Last Drink Bird Head" to see what they would come up. This song is my contribution to the project. The proceeds from this anthology are being donated to charity. For more information check out Jeff's site here.

When discussing this project with Jeff, he suggested that I envision Bird Head as a brigand folk hero. With that in mind, I came up with a Robin Hood-esque character named John Bird Head. Bird Head's antagonist is the wicked Queen Mary. To make things more interesting, I added a Sacred Stone and a Chosen One called the Crimson Child. It was a blast writing an original story like this into a song. Its not the most unique concept in the world, but I think it might make an interesting short story. Any of you authors out there interested in collaborating?

This recording is an extremely rough demo. I'm focused on releasing the Sci-Fi Songs album, so I didn't have time to do a normal full recording. I do plan on doing a more polished, orchestrated arrangement of Last Drink Bird Head, but for now, I'm happy with the rough version that appears here. I'm playing my Irish Bouzouki which is like a mandolin tuned down an octave.

I hope you enjoy it,
John Anealio
http://twitter.com/JohnAnealio

Last Drink for Bird Head
by John Anealio

John Bird Head and his band of men
roamed through the mountainside
they stole from the rich and affluent
armed with arrows and bowie knives

Queen Mary put a price on his head

10,000 coins of gold

He was guilty of stealing the sacred gem

A diamond that was 70 years old

It's the last drink for Bird Head
Nobody lives forever
The Wicked Queen will have their way
It's the last drink for Bird Head
before he's tarred and feathered
before he meets his final blade

John Bird Head took the sacred stone
and sent it off to the crimson child
The Queen fumed upon her Golden throne
and put Bird Head's life on trial

The Queen knew if the child obtained the gem
The kingdom would belong to him
She knew her reign of blood would come to an end
and then she'd have to answer for her sins

John Bird Head was bound in links of chain
and was sentenced to death by blade
Queen Mary reveled in his pain

while Bird Head's people prayed

The Crimson Child arrived at the palace gate
with the diamond in his hand

Queen Mary looked at him with disdain
as she was surrounded by Bird Head's band

Its another drink for bird head

He'll probably live forever

The wicked queen was sent away

It's another drink for bird head

His band will stay together

and now they'll raise the sacred blade

Here are some of the tools that I used to record this track:

1. Trinity College Irish Bouzouki/Octave Mandolin with a capo at the 4th fret.
2. Zoom H2 portable digital recorder.
3. I added some reverb and compression in Logic Pro 8.

Sci-Fi Songs Podcast #18

Sci-Fi Songs Podcast #18.mp3

In the podcast this week I regale you with tales of recording my first YouTube video, playing the harmonica & Irish Bouzouki (Octave Mandolin), and writing a song for Jeff Vandermeer's "Last Drink Bird Head" anthology.

Top 5 Artists of the Week List:

1. Harry Gregson-Williams
2. Hans Zimmer
3. Chickenfoot
4. Duncan Sheik
5. Def Leppard

Ambient Music by General Fuzz

If you have any ideas for the podcast contact me at 27summers@gmail.com or via Facebook or Twitter .

http://twitter.com/JohnAnealio

http://www.facebook.com/john.anealio

I hope you enjoy it,

John Anealio

Video: Lonesome October Night

Hey! Check this out: a new feature here at Sci-Fi Songs. I've been meaning to experiment with video for quite a while now. Since most of my energy is being spent on getting the Sci-Fi Songs album/CD prepared, I don't have as much time to record new songs. I thought that some performance videos might make a nice addition to the blog. Let me know what you think.

Lonesome October Night is a song that I wrote, recorded, and posted to the blog about a year ago. This song was inspired by Roger Zelazny's "A Night in the Lonesome October". If you want to download the original MP3 for free, check out the lyrics, and read more about it, click here.

I hope you enjoy it,
John Anealio

http://twitter.com/JohnAnealio