Army Recuerdos 2nd Collection of music by Brian Michael Smith
The 2nd Collection of music recorded was the three albums Old Times, Humble Groove, and Another State. Not all of the songs were written alone, some of my friends from high school contributed to creative process of Oregon, Cemetery Gate, Peace of Mind, Highrise Hotel, Alien, and Argyle Socks. They were written in the late ’90s but never recorded. Since there was no recording, they went through some changes over the years until they were recorded 20 years later. When they were recorded, they were released to the public in video format through YouTube and Instagram. They were recorded using multi-track software from Garage Band and video production on iMovie on the iOS. Sheet music was not created for these albums, only song sheets.
Old Times is a collection of 10 songs from when I first began songwriting in 1995. The cover photo was taken for a Photography assignment and inspired the poetry behind some of these songs. It is of a man sitting in a contemplative pose on a street corner in Colorado Springs, a Taco Bell can be seen in the background just beyond a passing car. The brushed sepia tone processing technique adds to the nostalgic emotion which was a motif for the album.
Humble Groove is a collection of 10 songs from 1996 to 1998. Most of the songwriting took place in the basement of my dad’s house in Littleton, pictured on the album cover. The self-portrait was also an assignment from the Photography class I took at Chatfield High School. It depicts my humble, sub-terranean, groovy if not reckless character back then and was a fitting depiction of the album.
Another State is a collection of 10 songs from as early as 1995 to as late as 2008. These songs could all stand on their own, as the guitar on the album cover does, also taken as a Photography assignment.
