Volume 2 of my "Lost & Found" series, this one focuses on "electric" or "full band" tunes.

I say "full band," but I mostly mean me playing all the instruments along to a drum machine I programmed. In some cases, these songs would definitely benefit from real drums. But in others, I think the electronic drums are part of the sound, and that sound is its own thing. But either way, these tracks are what they are, and there's no re-recording done here.

As with the first volume, these are songs that I've really liked over the years, but for whatever reason haven't released them, at least in "album" form on Bandcamp. But a few of these songs, like "Some Dreams" and "Silver Screen" were a big part of my live shows in NYC and also in Nashville when I got a band together in 2007 or so. In many cases these were songs I wanted to record should I do a proper studio album, but that just never came together.

So here are these tunes, in basically demo form, but very well-formed demos. I hope someone out there will enjoy them, as I've enjoyed revisiting them and putting them out.

1. Listen - This was one of my first original tunes that I really made a big effort to record in a full version after getting Pro Tools. The first thing I recorded was the second half of the X&Y Project, which was all Coldplay songs. So by the time I got to original songs, I was pretty familiar with the program. This is actually a remix of the original version, which had drums all the way through. I like it better this way, and it seems to fit the lyrics better.

2. Three Chord Rock Song - Kind of a simple rock love song, in the style of late 70s punk bands like the Ramones. There's nothing too complicated here, but that's by design.

3. Some Dreams - I was pretty excited about this song when I wrote it, and listening back I still really enjoy it. It's more of a big, pop/rock song than I usually would write, but it works. I rehearsed this with my band in Nashville, and it sounded great. I wish I had a better recording of that, but as it stands this is the best version available.

4. Lightning Road - This was recorded around the same time as "Listen," around 2006. The lyrics and vibe are an obvious nod to Bruce Springsteen, who was probably my biggest influence at that time. I never put this out before because I felt it wasn't terribly original, though I did like it. Listening back, there's still a lot to like, even though there are parts I wish I could do over. But we've already gone down that road.

5. Silver Screen - Here's a "full band" version of this one that I recorded as a demo for my band in Nashville. I released the acoustic demo version on the first volume of this series, and I still prefer that one, but I like this too. It was basically the vision I had for it, executed more or less how I wanted at the time.

6. Inside My Door - I included an acoustic duo version of this in the first volume, but this was actually the original recorded version. I think I was going for a bit of a Fleetwood Mac vibe, so that intro guitar is definitely a nod to "Go Your Own Way." At the time, I thought this was one of the best songs I'd written, and I think it works acoustic or electric.

7. Henry Poole is Here - This is another one I included in the first volume, as my original acoustic demo. This was recorded at my producer's studio in Queens as we attempted to make a more "professional" version to send to the movie contest. It took a bit of a different approach, with a reggae-style beat and keyboards added. While I kinda prefer the simplicity of the original, I also appreciate the more "produced" aspect of this one, too. I think my voice was tired by the end of it, and certain things could have been done better, but such is life.

8. Funky Swan - This was just a fun track I threw together one day as a silly thing to do, and it definitely sounds that way. I also got my buddy Renato to play keys on it, and then I overdubbed myself mimicking some of his parts. It remains funny (and funky) to me to this day.

9. Won't Lie Down - This is a song I wrote around 2010 as I was searching for a way to write songs like Tom Petty but with more guitar. I don't think it's one of my best songs, but I do still dig the overall vibe, and the jam section still kicks ass.

10. Apocalypse Dance NOW! - This is the instrumental version of a song I wrote about prospect of people just dancing through Armageddon. It seemed possible then, and it seems possible now. Looking back, I didn't think the vocal was particularly mixed or recorded well, and it was a tough song to sing in general. The music stands up on its on, particularly the solo section at the end, so I decided to release this as an instrumental. For those wondering though, the chorus was "All you people come and dance now, come and dance now, it's the end of the world now." You'll hear a bit of me doing my "old man voice" singing that at the end.

So that's it for the unreleased "electric" side of the Swan. Stay tuned for Volume 3, where things get a lot more country...