"Southern Palms"

                                           "Southern Palms"


Southern Palms - Original song by Mark Campayno (USA)
All music composed by Mark J. Campayno
Guitars and Piano performed by Mark J. Campayno
Recorded at StudioRock of Northern Virginia (studiorocknova.com) STERLING, VA

MUSIC RECORED ON FENDER AND IBANEZ GUITARS AND AN
ENSONIC SYNTHESIZER.
DRUMS AND BASS WERE CREATED
WITH SOFTWARE ON A MAC IPAD.
ALL MELODIES WERE CREATED BY ME USING NO COPYRIGHTED MUSIC

THE STORY OF THE "SOUTHERN PALM" COMPOSITION

After three years a trip to visit my father and stepmom was in order. I knew going into this trip that a piece of music would come out of it. Well it didn't take long and the writing process began on the flight down to Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood Airport. I had the germination of an idea by the time the plane landed. The bass riff and percussion were sketched out. From there it was really a waiting game for inspiration.

I knew it would be Latin-based as that's my go to musical style.  Being in South Florida certainly contributes to that inevitability with it's culture, climate, and overall vibe. Going outside to say goodbye to my stepbrother, his wife, and a friend of theirs prompted me to look up. Then I saw them, the two Guard Palms (my name for them) shooting far above the house. It had to be a Palm Tree themed composition.

I spent the next 4 days writing in spurts and taking many pictures of the incredible variety of palm trees that are literally everywhere. On the flight home, I touch up the rhythm section and piano/guitar scratch tracks. A long day and a half later it is now uploaded safe and sound.

The chord progression came to me the second day. It had to be fairly jazzy as I wanted the melodies to be very strong and not as typically Latin. The basic C Minor progression was fine but I felt a need to spice it up a bit with the always workable VI-V movement. From there, it was easy. Come up with a melodic sketch on guitar. One thing I cannot leave out is the blues influence in this piece. At it's core, this work revolves around a basic I-IV-V blues chord progression. There's a bit more to it than that but I thought I should mention that as a foundational element of the work.

Little did I know that a little thing called a piano solo was needed. Me being not patient at all was not going to wait and have someone come over to do it once I got back. I decided to do it myself. After at least two hours I had a workable solo. After some cleanup and touch up I left it be. It has a charm with it's out of phase rhythm and "curious" , at times, note choices :)

The guitar solos were improvised along with the piano solo. I used two guitars for opposing sounds. It's pretty clear with the differences in timbre between them. It's nearly impossible to not identify a Strat. The Ibanez would have done better had I had it loaded with 10 gauge strings instead of 9's. Another lesson learned on my part.

All in all, I'd say I'm as happy as I've ever been with the results. With every video, with every improvisation, and every upload, I  learn more and more. As musicians, the learning never stops. The frustration and angst never go away, but the feeling of accomplishment makes all the pain go away!