Wake Me Up When September Ends (Jonathan’s Version) I couldn’t stand Green Day. I respected the band as musicians and songwriters, but as a guitar teacher, they’ve been the bane of my existence for 30 years. A constant deluge of ever changing power chord riffs […]

Reclamation I’m frequently involved with (or commissioned for) short-films. Often, these filmmakers are professionals on much larger projects. ‘Short-films’ are a vehicle for their own talents, and a way to display their skill sets. Sometimes these projects make it to the film festival circuit. Most […]

Vanishing Grace (a variation) I’ve been steeped in Gustavo Santaolalla’s music and guitar playing since 2005 when his iconic score for Brokeback Mountain was first released. The minimalism of his playing captivated me immediately. Santaolalla’s style has informed my playing ever since. Gustavo Santaolalla has […]

Silent Night Silent Night originated in Austria in 1818. It was written as a poem, “Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!”, by Joseph Mohr, a young priest in the town of Oberndorf. The melody was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, a schoolteacher and organist in the nearby […]

Coventry Carol is a Christmas EP that I’ve long wanted to release. It’s a short collection of 5 songs. All are my own arrangements, and two of them are written by me: The Holly in the Windy Hedge and Ode to the Season. I’ve been […]

The Parting Glass Friends, my new EP is out today, The Parting Glass. It’s a collection of 5 contemplative guitar pieces in the World/New Age genre. This one has more of a Celtic feel as the EP progresses. Links to streaming below: 👇🏻 1. Pale […]

Halloween As evidenced by this blog, I’m a huge fan of multi-instrumentalist composer, Gustavo Santaolalla. His music is synonymous with the world. He seems to capture at once the sound of Latin America, as well as distant cultures from all continents. For this interpretation of […]

The Parting Glass The Parting Glass is a Scottish traditional song written in 1770. (However, evidence of this song has been found in manuscripts from the 1620s-1630’s.) This solo guitar arrangement is heavily inspired by the live a-capella versions of Loreena McKennitt and Hozier. The […]

Casadh an Tsúgáin Sean-nós “in the old way” singing is unaccompanied, traditional Irish vocal music — usually performed in the Irish language. Of these singers, Iarla Ó Lionáird is definitely my favorite. His performances are emotive, and his intonation is masterful. The song, Casadh an […]

Pale Mourner ‘The light wraps you in its mortal flame. Abstracted pale mourner, standing that way against the old propellers of the twilight that revolves around you.’ Excerpt from The Light Wraps You – Pablo Neruda. I draw a lot of musical inspiration from the […]

Mary Goes to Jesus Mary Goes to Jesus is the most solemn and exquisite piece of music from The Passion of the Christ. It is also from the most poignant scene: The Apostle John, takes Mary to a better vantage point to possibly see, touch, […]

The concept is based around, The Wayfaring Stranger, a well-known American folk and gospel song that originated in the early 19th century. The song is about a plaintive soul on the journey of life. The most popular variation is from Johnny Cash. In my humble […]