its my birthday and i'll post if i want to

here is my cover of sam cooke's 'you send me' as a present to you all for my b-day.
thanks for all your nice messages.

You Send Me.mp3

happy birthday to ian mc

merry x-mas

walk with dad

my dad and i went for a walk in wildwood around 4:45 tonight. i took this picture of the moon with my phone.

got a meeting tomorrow, then i'm going to my grandma's house for dinner. then after that i'm picking someone up from the airport.

Mark Twain Boat

Mark Twain Boat.mp3

oh couldn't you be so near me
i'm holdin' you sincerely
aw couldn't you see how we'd be
lying in a mark twain boat

we'll read our lips together
feelin' letter by letter
aw things will be much better
lying in a mark twain boat

and the books we wrote will start to get us back to shore
and a long lost note wishing you had just said more
and more

oh wouldn't it be so nice
doin it once doin it twice
aw couldn't you see all three
lying in a mark twain boat

oh dylan sings, satchmo cries
father sails and mother flies
aw kenny's tall and judy lies
lying in a mark twain boat

in a mark twain boat
in a mark twain boat

(ending waltz)
i heard you say
things started getting rough
you turned away
saying things are much too tough
but all on your boat
stay on your boat

words & music: paul starling 2008

p.s. don't forget to pick up my new album "doors & windows" by clicking the album cover (designed by dana) below.

or get it on

beachcomber photo

(from L to R) paul starling, andy macphee, steve bringelson, kenny bringelson


photo by jessie ramos 2008

wildwood walk

it was nice and cloudy as you can see. i apologize for so many pictures with me in them, i was attempting to get some photos that an interviewer requested. the button on my jacket is from the ventura daily news & it says "Hot, fresh news". i got it from the beachcomber show last night. doug (the doug i mention in 'its fine') pinned it on me right before i went on. reminds me of a button paul mccartney wore during the 'all you need is love' video, which said "if i'm not claimed within 30 days, i'm yours". someone find me that.
the show last night went very very well. the band before us was red hot and everyone loved them, which made me very nervous having to follow. in addition they were a heavy guitar band similar to the mars volta, with a lead singer that sounded like robert plant. so when we took the stage i knew i had to step it up a bit. i turned my vox amp up to 11 & blasted into 'caroline' with a tad more venom in my voice than usual. the line 'and i think she's evil' instead became "YEAH i KNOW she's evillll". it was really cool getting the whole place behind us cause i think it got the other guys to play with a lot more power. it was very electric & i am proud of kenny, andy, & my dad. i believe jessie (kenny's gf) took some video & pictures, which i may post here at a later date. dana comes home friday. what more can i say?

Beachcomber

pink shirt set list

so today i woke up about 10 to my cat dylan sleeping on my leg making buzzing cat sounds. pretty good way to wake up i'd say. i got together a set list for the show sunday and it is as follows:
1. caroline
2. it's fine
3. visions of drowning
4. all the good looking girls are dead
5. tell her no (zombies cover)
6. bonfire in a pool
7. say you're mine (kenny's song)
8. i'm so tired
9. i guess you're my ghost
10. old tack pianos
11. ballad of a raincoat
12. don't let me down
*out law blues (if needed)

sound be a pretty solid set with andy on drums.

i decided to wear my grandpa's pink striped shirt today. he gave it to my brother kenny about a year ago and then kenny gave it to me since he didn't seem to be wearing it. you need to understand something about my grandpa, he has amazing clothes. 60% of the shirts i own, previously belonged to him. classic.

below you will find a picture from the 'doors & windows" release party taken by masaya palmer. my tele, dave's drums, kenny's sg, & the back of my dad's p-bass.



if you'd like to pick up 'doors & windows' click the album cover below:


or
get it on

gig

hello everyone.
i've decided to start updating this blog on a daily basis. (we'll see how long that lasts) i received an e-mail from anton (books for mai's cafe & otehr ventura venues) asking if i would play for his birthday party on the 7th. its at the beachcomber tavern, which i hear is quite a charming dive bar. for this show i decided to get andy to play drums, along with kenny on guitar & my dad on bass. it seems like i have two bands now; a LA band (which consists of: dave lotfi, justin smith, kenny, & my dad) & a ventura band (which consists of andy macphee, kenny, & my dad). for this gig it will be the ventura band seeing as how the gig is in ventura. makes sense right?
my old friend johnny lloyd rollins (http://www.johnnylloydrollins.com) has asked me to play bass for a few of his LA gigs happening later this month. him and i used to be in a band (with dave lotfi & curtis johnson) called columbia. johnny hasn't told me where gigs will be yet but when he does i will pass along the info to this blog.
"doors & windows" continues to move along. thanks to all of you that have purchased either the cd or the download via itunes. yesterday i was thinking about the differences between 'ghost waltz' & 'doors & windows', and i came to the conclusion that the only very noticeable difference to me was that 'ghost waltz' has lots of organ, and 'doors & windows' has none. the reason for this is that most of 'ghost waltz' was written & recorded when i lived in cambria, with my organ right in my room with me. 'doors & windows' was written & recorded entirely at my house in thousand oaks, where my organ sits in storage in the garage. other than the organ both albums could be like vol.1 & vol.2.
a few people have been asking how the 'old tack pianos' video turned out. my answer to them has been "i don't know". the director josh is currently staying up late with eyelids made of brick, editing the nautical video that is 'old tack pianos'. as soon as its finished i know he will let me know & i in turn will let you. it WILL be worth the wait mind you, kenny b's performance as a sailor is sure to bring a smile to your lucky face. his blog will too. http://www.kennyblogginz.blogspot.com
i finished up 4 new recordings these last couple of weeks. the first was for the harry nilsson blog 'for the love of harry', which i highly HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend to anyone that enjoys nilsson or melodic music. (http://fortheloveofharry.blogspot.com/)
i recorded a song from the 1969 album 'harry' titled 'i guess the lord must be in new york city'. you can listen to it at the previous post, or at the fortheloveofharry blog.
the second song i finished is an original titled 'mark twain boat'. i spent a good amount of time on the lyrics with a bit of input from dana. its an upbeat song with hand claps & chiming guitars. i believe it will soon become a live song though we will have to see what happens.
the third song is titled 'out of the country' & i actually started writing it about 6 months ago but didn't get it finished until last week. its a ballad with lots of vocals & heavy bass. i'm not sure how i feel about it. time will tell.
the fourth & final song i completed is titled 'while candles will burn you down' which i started right after i finished 'doors & windows'. i always seem to write a song right after finishing a album. with 'ghost waltz' it was 'old tack pianos', & now with 'doors & windows' its this one. its upbeat with 50's sounding guitars & backing vocals. i had my dad add a harmonica solo which is seriously great. the man is truly a great all around musician.
anyway there is your paul starling news for the day (maybe the week). ok so i've already decided against this daily update thing for the blog. that was quick.
la la la la,
~Paul

p.s. don't forget you can purchase 'doors & windows' by clicking the album cover below, which will lead you to the rockshot records website:



& you can also purchase the album on

Rain songs

searched the word 'rain' on my itunes. made a playlist for this rainy night. here it is:
1. rain - the beatles
2. buckets of rain - bob dylan
3. raining in my heart - buddy holly
4. who'll stop the rain? - creedence clearwater revival
5. kentucky rain - elvis presley
6. let it rain - eric clapton
7. a hard rain's gonna fall (live) - bob dylan
8. rainmaker - harry nilsson
9. little more rain - harry nilsson
10. fire & rain - james taylor
11. caught in the rain - jay clifford
12. rains in asia - jump little children
13. bel air rain - lindsey buckingham
14. rain - nick drake
15. too much rain - paul mccartney
16. ballad of a raincoat - paul starling
17. flowers never bend with the rainfall - simon & garfunkel
18. early morning rain - bob dylan
19. september in the rain - the beatles

harry nilsson cover

I have always been highly influenced by harry nilsson. his layered vocals, silly lyrics, & amazing sense of melody have all had a huge impact on both of my albums. earlier today i was messing around with his song 'i guess the lord must be in new york city', which has always been a big favorite of mine. after a few run thrus just for my own amusement i decided to try and record my own version. so i recorded: 2 acoustics, 2 banjos, a bass, 4 snares, 2 tambourines, & about 12 vocals. my dad then added a really nice harmonica part at the end. anyway i thought i would share it with all of you as i had so much fun making it. please check out harry nilsson for yourself, i know you will love him.
la la la,
Paul

listen below


or download your own
I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City (master).mp3

old tack pianos video shoot

hello everyone. yesterday kenny & i drove out to pasadena art center and shot a video for 'old tack pianos'.(which is on doors & windows) josh patterson directed and about 40 other people were there: stage crew, camera men, grips, art students, etc. they were all very professional and a pleasure to work with. all went really really well. i don't wanna give too much away but it does contain sailors, lobsters, & boats. here's a pic of me and the leading lady marissa.

the album release party is this saturday and the band and i are rehearsing tomorrow at daves house. may try and throw in a few surprises for the show. we will see. hey if you haven't picked up 'doors & windows' yet maybe now is the time!
la la la,
paul

don't worry, there's a armed posse in hunt

Doors & Windows is now available for purchase @ the Rockshot Records website! click on the album below for more info:


you can also download the album on