Check back as I will be adding info about the making of Dude 
Chill- The basic structure of this tune was originally written right after the 2003 release of Slayen & Fox Guitar Duo, “Reflections of San Diego,” CD. Ive been performing it live ever since. For “Dude,” the song received a little re-working from a ‘live’ riff into a complete song.
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Free Again- Free Again was kind of a musical game or challenge to compose. It is centered around what is sometimes known as a ‘phrygian cadence,’ used in many nova flamenco tunes. Being such a popular progression I thought I would play with it a bit. The song modulates a handful of times and not always to related keys. I challenged myself to make all the modulations as natural as possible. The songs starts in an A-minor mode and ends in A-flat minor. Not a typical progression but I think it works and not jarring to the listener.
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Brown & Green– My daughter’s eyes are brown, my wife’s are green. The base chord progression is Bm-G. I associate Bm with the color brown(sometimes purple) and G with the color green. They were the inspiration for the song although the mood of the song took on a life of its own not so much related to them other than the original influence. This is another tune I have played live for a few years although I just improvised over the changes. All the melodies were composed durning the recording of the CD.
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The Secret- Hmmm mysterious….I could leave it at that…actually the song was originally going to be a ‘secret track,’ at the end of Brown & Green. The song kind of grew into a stand alone song and became its own song. So the working title of ‘secret song’ became The Secret…shhh don’t tell anyone though….its a secret….Another typical flamenco progression although I used open voicing in the chords to give a different feel.
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Just Between Us- Wouldn’t be a guitar CD without a solo guitar piece. Just me and the listener…Just Between Us… Odd meters, Travis picking, pull-off riffs, open parallel chords, the kitchen sink…lots of things going on but they flow together.
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Ice Cream- This is a really fun tune! Funky Jack Johnson vibe, with AC/DC style pull offs, a big dramatic middle section leading into the extended solo. Lots of layers compositionally. Fun also as some of the Dude supporters donated to the project for a chance to play a guitar part on the CD. Thanks to Genene Johnson, Mace Thomas, Jason Megraw and Greg Allen. Greg who is the dessert wine maker for Dolce, a Far Niente wine, supported the cause knowing he could not get to the recording studio. He wanted his part to go to a deserving student….I chose Chloe Valdez who did an excellent job! Actually all of them did a great job. The coolest thing was how much fun(and some anxiety) they had in the recording studio.
Ice Cream was a working title from my daughter. I told everyone a million times during the recording that the name would be changed…but by the time the CD was done the song was “Ice Cream,” and that is what it shall be for the ages.
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Jasmine (Sienna’s Song)- When my daughter was little we would always smell the jasmine flowers on our walks. I told her I was going to write a song called Jasmine and hear it is! Based on a simple chord progression with color tones on all chords for an ‘openness’ to the sound. A couple random metered measures because as my recording engineer, Jesse Johnson, would say…”It wouldn’t be a Mike song if it didn’t have some kind of twist.”
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Dude- Duuuude, Dude Double IPA from Oceanside Ale Works, Big Lebowski–however you interpret the Dude it was fun song to write. With the above influences in mind I went with a Mississippi Blues-esque sound. Tuning the guitar to an open Dmin chord let me play with a variety of sounds you don’t usually get on a guitar. That said, if you get a chance… try the Dude, Double IPA
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Human Nature
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D’ Auria
Mike Slayen ~ Guitarist 