![Ep. 106: Christmas Music 2021 (Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Feliz Navidad)]()
December 24, 2021
For more Christmas music, visit: https://jakehaws.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-songs
Every year, I have a tradition of recording Christmas music with my family. Some years, we’ve only done one song and other years it’s been as many as five. This year we were able to do two song.
The first one is a techno version of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." Each of my 3 kids sang on it and I used the Auto-Tune plugin on their voices, which is the first time I've ever used it. This was a little out of my comfort zone with production style but it was fun to push myself to try new sounds.
The second song is a bossa nova style arrangement of "Feliz Navidad." I used a nylon string classical guitar that my wife bought for my birthday earlier this year. I also used a drum beat sample, a shaker, wood block, and bass. For the singing, everyone in my family traded off lines. We started oldest to youngest, so it began with my wife, Melissa (who is a month older then me), then I sang, then the rest of our 3 kids. Then, we all joined in together at the end.
![Ep. 105: Favorite Music of 2020 – Top Ten Albums]()
December 31, 2020
So, as this year wraps up, I’m sharing my favorite albums from 2020. There were a lot of great records that came out, and I honestly had a hard time narrowing it down to just ten but I did, and I’m about to share them. But before I do that, let me share my honorable mentions. These are albums I listened to and enjoyed but for one reason or another, didn’t quite make the top ten album list for me:
Honorable Mentions
- Andy Shauf – The Neon Skyline
- Sturgill Simpson – Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1
- Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
- Tame Impala – The Slow Rush
- Deftones – Ohms
- Jeff Tweedy – Love Is The King
- Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
- Hamilton Leithauser – The Loves of Your Life
- Idles – Ultra Mono
- Matt Berninger – Serpentine Prison
Top Ten Albums of 2020
- Travis - 10 Songs
- Asgeir - Bury the Moon
- Gorillaz - Song Machine Vol. 1: Strange Timez
- Nathaniel Rateliff - And It's Still Alright
- Phantogram - Ceremony
- Fleet Foxes - Shore
- Chris Stapleton - Starting Over
- EOB - Earth
- Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter
- Jason Isbell - Reunions
For a spotify playlist of these songs and albums, visit: http://jakehaws.com/ep-105-favorite-music-of-2020-top-ten-albums/
![Ep. 104: Christmas Music 2020]()
December 20, 2020
Every year, I have a tradition of recording Christmas music with my family. Some years, we’ve only done one song and other years it’s been as many as five. This year, with launching a new stock music website and our busy family schedules, we haven’t done any new songs as a family yet but I was able to put together two new Christmas songs on my own for you to hear.
The first one is an EDM instrumental version of “Once In Royal David’s City.” This is way outside the usual styles of music I normally make but it was super fun to try something new and sharpen my production skills. I kind of imagine it being used for someone’s synchronized Christmas light show.
Also, here's a fairly straightforward version of "Carol of the Bells."
You can download the songs on my website:
I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays, where ever you are.
Download the songs here: http://jakehaws.com/ep-104-christmas-music-2020/
If you want to the rest of the songs my family has recorded over the years, visit Haws Family Christmas Songs.
If you want to license any of these songs for your podcast or video project, visit Arches Audio.
![Ep. 103: Eric Bay and I Write a Song About the Pandemic]()
July 17, 2020
In this episode, I'm joined by Eric Bay, a singer/songwriter from Surrey, England. We talk about his music career and collaborate on a brand new song. We recorded this back in March, so you'll hear us talk a little bit about the spread of the COVID-19 kind of at the earlier stages when more people were panic buying.
After Eric and I finished writing the song over a video chat, we recorded our parts separately in our own home studios. Eric provided vocals and keyboard tracks along with some synth parts and I recorded backing vocals, guitars, synth, bass, drums and percussion. I did the initial mix, with Eric finishing the final mix and the song mastered by Joe Lonsdale.
I'm really happy with how it turned. I hope it can provide some optimism for people during a difficult time. Enjoy.
Lyrics:
Knocking on the door on a rainy afternoon
Thursdays always seem to come around so soon
I could tell from the look on your face that it's getting to ya
You wanna be strong but you're worried about the future
A sunny day is on its way again
The clouds of fear will start to clear, my friend
These are troubled times indeed
But you got everything you need
So hold on for the sunny days ahead
Saw a man I hadn't seen in years
Wasn't sure if he still lived 'round here
He said the people in this town have all gone crazy
Human nature never ceases to amaze me
A sunny day is on its way again
The clouds of fear will start to clear, my friend
These are troubled times indeed
But you got everything you need
So hold on for the sunny days ahead
A sunny day is on its way again
The clouds of fear will start to clear, my friend
These are troubled times indeed
But you got everything you need
So hold on for the sunny days ahead
A sunny day is on its way again
The clouds of fear will start to clear, my friend
These are troubled times indeed
But you got everything you need
So hold on for the sunny days ahead
![Ep. 101: Drew Danburry and I Write a Song About Being Parents]()
March 16, 2020
For this episode, I meet up with an old friend of mine, Drew Danburry. Drew has been playing music for nearly 20 years as a DIY solo indie folk artist, playing over 800 shows around the world and recording dozens of albums. His latest release is the excellent EP, Pallid Boy & Spindling Girl.
Some of Drew’s past releases are side projects, many of which being collaborations with other artists. One project Drew and I worked on together back in 2010 was called “Reliving the 90s,” where musicians from the Provo, Utah area covered songs from the 90s. Drew’s song was a fun take on the Vengaboys classic “Boom Boom Boom.”
My band at the time, Adding Machines, recorded a version of Weezer’s Across the Sea, which Drew sang harmony vocals on. See the rest of the videos on Youtube.
Drew and I later collaborated on a song for his 2014 album “70 Love Songs” as part of his “For all the Girls” project.
This time, Drew and I are collaborating yet again on a song for this podcast. We starting with writing a song about sleep, which sort of morphed into a song about the joys and pains of being a parent. It’s called “Goldie (for Dave and Cami).”
To read the lyrics and hear the song by itself, visit:
jakehaws.com/podcast-ep-101-drew-danburry-and-i-write-a-song-about-being-parents
February 20, 2020
This episode marks a special occasion because it's the 100th episode! I started this podcast at the beginning of 2016 it’s now just past the 4 year anniversary of putting this out. It's been a blast sharing what I'm working on musically with you and collaborating with guests.
So, I thought a lot about what I wanted to do for the 100th episode to make it special so I decided I would talk about sort of my journey as a musician and how creating music has evolved for me over the years. Hopefully it gives some insight into why I do what I do and maybe it will be of some help to you as you travel on your own creative journey.
Visit jakehaws.com to download the songs from the episode.
Visit thefabfolk.com for more on my folk duo.
Visit my new stock music site, archesaudio.com.
December 24, 2019
My family has a tradition of recording Christmas songs every year. Some years, we’ve done as many as 5 songs and other years we’ve only done one. This year we were pretty busy but we were still able to do two song.
For the first one, my wife and I recorded a jazzy version of Winter Wonderland with 2 vocals, acoustic guitar, bass and drums.
The 2nd features our three kids on an instrumental version of Up on the Housetop with violin, chimes and sleigh bells.
These two songs (as well as all the other songs were done over the past 13 years) are available for free on my website, jakehaws.com
We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays!
December 20, 2019
As this year wraps up, I'm sharing my favorite albums from 2019. There were a lot of great records that came out and I honestly had a hard time narrowing it down to just ten but I did, and here they are. Music includes Kishi Bashi, Vampire Weekend, David Gray, Billie Eilish, Takenobu, Vid Nelson, Angel Olsen, Big Thief, Joy Williams, and Telekinesis.
Spotify Playlist of my favorite albums of 2019: https://open.spotify.com/user/121154176/playlist/0LOwKZdZTr19Hk8iAiNI6U
Spotify Playlist of my favorite songs of 2019: https://open.spotify.com/user/121154176/playlist/4IGjRx7LoUCmBwnDpWyIYV
Visit my website: http://jakehaws.com
