"The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range (1986)

It's Memorial Day 2025.

Back in 1988, my future wife agreed to take a trip with me to San Diego to visit the parents.

We were living in Los Angeles at the time.

That Memorial Day weekend trip started it all, for us.

The rest is history.

I had to really grind to learn something new here. The the second solo and outro to this song were not part of the original sheet music, so I had to watch YT videos to learn it.  

It's not perfect, but it's the real deal.

Bruce Hornsby was emphatic about the fact that he wanted to convey "a sense of place" in this song. He grew up in the Williamsburg, VA area. 

Who would have thought that a jazz infused, piano-based, rock song about civil rights in the Reagan era would become such a classic?

Anyway, I worked pretty hard to get this one.

And here's the good news . . . I didn't sing.

 © 2025 by Roy B. Santonil

"Aspen + These Days" from CAPTURED ANGEL (1975)

So I did it.

Here's the full cover version of the song, with both parts.

[These Days] includes me trying to sing, as well as the lyrics

Also, the YouTube channel will be under a pseudonym >>> Clarence Quemuel -- long story.

Don't be cruel.

 

YouTube is hassling me about copyrights and whatnot.

We'll see how long this lasts.

 © 2025 Roy B. Santonill

"Aspen" from CAPTURED ANGEL (1975)

The subject is angels.

This is one you can approach from different --- angles.

I do not want to be obtuse, so let me say: "It's Time."

My musical journey has arrived at 2025 with a 50-year backlog of lyrical stress relief, and finally, I'm happy to share it with you, reader, in this stream of consciousness social medium. 

I picked this as a first foray into YouTubery because, well, it's fairly simple to play, and more importantly there are no words! It may get worse if I start to sing, but it also might get better.

It took a couple dozen takes, and there's still a minor flaw at the end of the piece, but that's not important. Basically, I needed to learn how to properly edit videos. I used OpenShot software, and recorded on my Samsung Note 23 Phone. It's only a first effort and we'll see how this journey evolves.

Thanks in advance for (ahem) Liking, Sharing, and Subscribing. 

Oh, and also, NEVER GIVE UP. Happy Birthday and Happy Valentines Day to the love of my life.

© 2025 Roy B. Santonil