Category: Uncategorized

(I’ll start this month’s blog with an apology for the late post. A sinus infection spoiled my plans of taking my time this month and consequently, April’s entry ended up in yet another rush to get it written, recorded and posted for the last day of the month. I gave it a valiant effort but unfortunately sleep and antibiotics won this round…sorry)

April started off as an amazing month, as I spent a week in Charlottetown at the ECMA Conference and had the time of my life. I think that my time in Charlottetown, surrounded by music day and night, contributed to the positive feel of this month’s submission.

April’s submission is a unique entry in this project, as it marks the first time that I have played almost all of the instruments on one of my songs since my first EP back in 2006 (necessity for sure but gratifying nonetheless). This is also the fastest song I’ve written for this project by far (again, necessity).

This past Friday night, on the second to last day of the month, I set up a small drumset in my living room and grabbed my trusty old Gibson J-45 to knock off the foundation for what would become this month’s entry. My intention was to figure out the lead breaks on my 12-string but I quickly ran out of steam and hit the couch, worn-out and worried about April’s entry. It was Sunday before I felt up to playing guitar again and I took advantage of the energy by recording a part on my 12-string Hofner, singing a lead and harmony vocal, and getting the song off to be mixed.

Lyrically I think this song speaks volumes about how the month has been. Having a full-time job, a family and a busy music schedule can be hard to juggle sometimes and as much as I’d like to be able to make music full-time, it’s just not feasable. A boy can dream though.

Usually Sean Boyer will mix the songs for this project, but he was MIA this weekend and consequently, my good friend and Parade collaborator Chris Fudge stepped up to bat. Chris also recorded Chris Braydon on the song since he was already tracking him on some recordings for Penny Blacks. Fudge was kind enough to play bass on the song and sing in one of the verses (as opposed to my original recording which featured only my voice in harmony with itself).

Then we found Sean …

So this all leads to what I present to you now. Two mixes of the same song. One version of the song as realized through Chris Fudge’s eyes and one from Sean Boyer (we couldn’t leave him out!).

So without any further delay, I present to you….

I Haven’t Got The Time To Spare

Well I’ve got my words and I’ve got my voice
but I haven’t got the time to spare
and I’ve got the means to make some noise
but I haven’t got the time to spare

Well I’ve got my paper and I’ve got my pen
but I haven’t got the time to spare
and I’ve got some things I’d like to say my friends
but I haven’t got the time to spare

well I haven’t got time to spare boys
I haven’t got the time to spare
well I’ve got some things I’d like to say my friends
but I haven’t got the time to spare

well I could write these songs my whole life long
but I haven’t got the time to spare
it wouldn’t matter if anybody’s singing along
I haven’t got the time to spare

I’d like to disappear in the deep deep woods
but I haven’t got the time to spare
I’d like to disappear into the dark for good
but I haven’t got the time to spare

well I haven’t got the time to spare boys
I haven’t got the time to spare
I’d like to disappear into the dark for good
but I haven’t got the time to spare

well I haven’t got the time to spare boys
I haven’t got the time to spare
I’d like to disappear into the dark for good
but I haven’t got the time to spare
I’d like to disappear into the deep dark woods
but I haven’t got the time to spare
I’m gonna disappear into the dark for good
and no-ones gonna find me there

Here is Sean’s mix:
(Clinton Charlton: Acoustic 6 & 12 string guitar, drums, vocals / Chris Fudge: Bass guitar)

Clinton Charlton – I Haven’t Got the Time to Spare (Boyer Mix)
(to download, right click and select “save as”)

Here is Chris Fudge’s mix:
(Clinton Charlton: Acoustic 6 & 12 string guitar, drums, vocals / Chris Fudge: Bass guitar, vocals / Chris Braydon: electric guitar)

Clinton Charlton – I Haven’t Got The Time To Spare (Fudge Mix)
(to download, right click and select “save as”)

Big thanks to both Chris and Sean for their time and talent. Props to my good pal Chris Braydon for lending his talent as well. I hope you all enjoy the song!

Note: This song is also available in both .WAV and FLAC formats. If you’d like a copy in either format, please write to clintoncca@gmail.com

I play guitar every day. It’s one of my favourite things to do and has been for a long, long time. I learn so much from the amazing musicians I play with and I study the lessons in the acoustic guitar magazines that I buy. I have a long way to go but my playing in the past few years has improved a lot and I’ve developed a real affinity for playing with my fingers, and rarely ever use a pick anymore. I taught myself how to fingerpick Travis-style a couple of years ago, a style that features an alternating bass played with the thumb that leaves the fingers to play the melody lines, and it opened up a world new world of possibilities for me. I love to find new voicings and have been trying to navigate some alternate tunings over the past few months.

It was while exploring chords in Dropped-D tuning (DADGBE) that I came up with my March entry. Autumn on Sherbrooke St. pays homage to the home that I shared with my wife and daughter for two great years before moving into our house this past February, and is my first foray into instrumental music (well, my first public one anyway).

The melody is one that I have been playing around with since autumn of last year (hence the title), and the bridge section is more recent. My friend Chris Braydon played a single note with an E-Bow on his electric guitar to lend a little texture under the solo acoustic guitar, and I think what he did perfectly compliments the droning D notes that run throughout the tune.

Recording this song presented some challenges and hearing my playing under the microscope definitely presented some areas that need work (I’ll be buying a metronome stat!). I make no apologies though, this is only one in what I hope will be a string of instrumental songs.

So without further delay, I present to you:

Autumn On Sherbrooke St.
(to download, right click and select “save as”)

Enjoy!

(As always, I’d like to thank Sean Boyer for his assistance with the mix and my friend Chris Braydon for lending his talents)

Note: This song is also available in both .WAV and FLAC formats. If you’d like a copy in either format, please write to clintoncca@gmail.com

What a crazy month! For starters, my family and I moved into our very first house this month. I cannot believe the amount of things I have accumulated over the years (it took three car loads of just my guitars!). So between packing, lugging and shoveling (ugh), I have been going non-stop all month.

With it being such a time of transition, I’ve been in a weird headspace as of late, and I think it shows in the February submission. ‘Opening Night’ was recorded in my new house, in my dedicated music room, very late in the month (Sean Boyer is sending mixes while I hurry to write this blog). The song features Chris Braydon on electric guitars and me on acoustic guitar, vocals and percussion.

Chris did some great things with his pedals to create a very ambient loop that he complimented with another ambient guitar track panned opposite. My guitar part is pretty typical of my fingerpicking and the vocal melody feels very much like the type of thing I sing sitting on my bed most nights. The percussion takes some liberties with a 28″ Ludwig bass drum tuned about as loose as it’ll go in the minor section, and a percussive scraping noise compliments of a fingernail on a banjo skin through a delay pedal. The lyrics were what surprised me most, and are not something I would generally write. Sean says that it’s probably the winter combined with the move that put me in such a weird place… I tend to agree.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the song (I’m still getting used to it myself).

(As always, I’d like to thank Sean Boyer for his assistance with the mix and my friend Chris Braydon for coming through last minute. I very much appreciate having such talented and willing friends)


Opening Night

Last night I fell into a dream
behind my eyes there played out every scene.
All the props were painted blue and green
and every face was blurred out on the screen.

The soundtrack was your voice set to song
and every now and then I’d sing along.
Like a child in grade school you sang out proud and strong
and me, I got the words I sang all wrong.

In the first act two lovers fell in love
and built their homes on the wings of a dying dove.
When the house lights came up they washed out all the floods
and it was then I’d wished I’d woken up.

As the curtains closed there was blood strewn on the stage
and pieces of the hearts that left the stain.
As the actors bent to bow I felt the strain
I opened up my eyes and heard you sing…

Clinton Charlton – Opening Night

(to download, right click and select “save as”)

Well, here we go….the first song!

Starting this project has been a crazy few weeks and writing and recording this song was a much more difficult task than I anticipated (I’m going to assume it was only because it was the first one). I started the month with a couple of ideas that I thought were brilliant but soon realized they were very contrived and it didn’t take long before I decided to scrap them. It was Monday, January 17th before this little riff reared it’s head and after a couple of days of editing and arranging, I performed ‘A January Song‘ song for the first time only four days later at a songwriter’s circle.

The guitar figure came from messing around in a modified Open G tuning (DGDBDE) that I capo’d on the fifth fret. Lyrically I decided to sing about how difficult it was to write this song. I played around with the words several times and may have gone overboard with the alliteration a little. I couldn’t resist sneeking in a reference to Paul Simon’s masterpiece ‘Song About The Moon‘ since he is someone who I admire very much as a songwriter, and that song is about songwriting as well.

I brought the song to Chris Braydon who played electric guitar on it and sang a last minute harmony that worked out very well. I had my friend Chuck Teed play bass on the song while I handled acoustic guitars, percussion and vocals. The song really came to life when Sean Boyer added his drums.

I recorded all of the tracks on my Boss BR-532 digital recorder using a Rode NT-3 for everything except one of the acoustic guitar tracks, which I recorded direct. The drums were recorded by Sean Boyer on his Mac using just two mics to capture the whole kit. Sean also mixed and edited the song in reaper. I think he did a great job and I am very appreciative of the time that he, and Chuck and Chris, put into the song.

I think this song was a great way to start this project and it has made me excited to get started on next month’s tune right away (which I have!). So without further delay I present to you:

A January Song

I coaxed a chord out of the neck of my guitar
thumbed through phrases ’til they fell in every bar

but when I opened up my mouth
to sing a January song
the words would not come out
and every chord I played was wrong

I waded through the words I wasted on the page
I paced the floor until the night had turned to day

and while I tried to find a verse to rhyme
with a January tune
the only thing that came to mind
was a song about the moon

I met the morning with a melody in mind
hummed the chorus while the verses fell in line

but when I opened up my mouth
to sing a January song
the words would not come out
and every chord I played was wrong
and while I tried to find a verse to rhyme
for a January tune
the only thing that came to mind
was a song about the moon

A January Song
(to download, right click and select ‘save link as’)

Note: This song is also available in both .WAV and FLAC formats. If you’d like a copy in either format, please write to clintoncca@gmail.com