Audio

I'm infatuated with getting performances on "tape". As much as I enjoy live performance, there is nothing (for me) to compare with the studio process of tweaking and listening and getting a tune just right.

Here are some of the recordings I've made over the years.

1985; The Red River Ramblers

Back in 1985-87 I attended Central State University in Edmond, OK. Musically, that was a great experience for me. In 1985, I was playing clarinet with the Red River Ramblers. We were actually the second band (i.e. stepchildren) behind the renowned Civilized Tribe; a band that went on to do the unheard of that year: win the Southern Comfort National Collegiate Dixieland Band competition for a 2nd time (they'd also won it in 1982, I think). The 'Ramblers also entered that competition and finished just out of the finalists.

South Rampart Street Parade
Rippi-Tutti
Casanova's Lament
I can't remember the name of this tune

1986; The Red River Ramblers

My second year with the 'Ramblers, we were now the lead band. We entered the "big competition", made the finals, travelled to Atlanta, played our backsides off, and... were screwed.
Those aren't just sour grapes; we were told after the contest by one of the judges, the great Louie Bellson, that Southern Comfort wasn't expecting us to be so good, and it simply Could Not Be that a band from the same college win the contest 3 years out of 5. So we didn't win. What are you going to do?
The '86 Red River Ramblers were, without a doubt, the most versatile group I've ever played with. There were 7 of us:

John - our trumpet player, was actually a tremendous trombone player, slumming on trumpet. (hear his trombone skills on the recording La Fiesta below...)
Vince - our piano player, was a fabulous saxophone player (also played clarinet on one of these tunes, and the short soprano sax solo at the end of La Fiesta)
Robb - our drummer, also played piano
Dwight - our tuba player, played saxophone (and hated me, for a variety of reasons, some deserved)
Paul - our banjo player, was a great guitarist, as you'll hear
Marty - our trombone player was the only member not to play another instrument, but he was a great friend, which took some talent.
Me - I played clarinet, sax, trombone (in this band) and sang

Here are the tunes we played that year...

Big Bear Stomp

Honeysuckle Rose - Paul Price on acoustic guitar; what a great job. This recording contains the clarinet squeak I would most like in life to eradicate. It's a great recording but for that...

When My Baby Walks Down the Street (all the little birdies go, "tweet, tweet, tweet") - here is the one and only recording of me playing trombone. I was playing a little bit of trombone that year, and since Marty and John both played, we decided to have a little fun and add a short trombone trio.

Bad Actin' Woman - this recording contains the vocal "effort" I would most like in life to eradicate. Wow, am I a terrible jazz vocalist.

Swing Dat Music
- our big closing number.

1986; The CSU Jazz Band

Also from my time at Central State, this recording of the jazz band playing the Woody Herman arrangement of La Fiesta. There's a lot to like about this performance - the keyboard playing and my solo are not two of them. But the rest is so good I had to include it here. The trombonist is the great John Moak. On drums is Clyde Connor. The sax soloist is me.

1988; Chapter Eleven

In the late 80's I played with a great local cover band called Chapter Eleven (yes, that's a reference to bankruptcy). Here's our old demo tape of three tunes. I'm playing piano, saxes, tamborine and backing vocals.
Domino
Get Ready
Hold On, I'm Comin'

1994; Chris Morris and Robert Leahey

Chris and I collaborated on "...Also Hip on One", a sequenced extravaganza. Chris is on piano and organ; I played or programmed everything else.

1995; The Snippets

I produced some short tracks (around 20 seconds each) for a multimedia software product. Here are some of those tracks.
I play everything on these tracks, except for where noted. Thanks go out to Chris Morris; anything he plays on gets funkier.

Snippet 1 - Chrismo on clav.
Snippet 2
Snippet 3
Snippet 4 - Chrismo on piano
Snippet 5 - Chrismo on piano
Snippet 6
Snippet 7 - Chrismo on piano

At about this point, I was told that the client wanted more rock, less jazz...

Snippet 8
Snippet 9
Snippet 10
Snippet 11
Snippet 12
Snippet 13
Snippet 14
Snippet 15 - Chrismo on organ

1997; Goodbye Bobby New

My first serious solo work, this CD was recorded on a single 8-track ADAT recorder. Lots and lots of track bouncing later, I had a finished product. It's one of those projects where all instruments and vocals are performed by a single musician - I'm not sure I'd do it that way again. It was easier to do the work, but I think I'd prefer to have what a variety of players can bring to the table.
"9. Made direct..."
I Am Fallen
Faithful
You are the Main
Skyfall
Unexpected Result of a Deviated Septum
Paul's Song
April 17
7:15

2001; The Christmas CD

A family and friends CD project. A "one-off" project that I did in a single weekend. I keep intending to re-record this since the Irish Whistle is such a nice instrument, but nothing yet.
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Angels We Have Heard On High
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Good King Wenceslas
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
O Little Town of Bethleham
Silent Night
The First Noel
We Three Kings

2003-2005; The Lost Projects

Some have been asking me what I've been up to for the last few years - it seems to have been rather quiet around the Leahey studios...
Well, in 2005 my computer's hard drive, my back-up and 2 audio CD backups all failed me, thus losing almost all the material for two different projects I'd been working on for a while. I won't be resuming those projects, however, I did have a few rough mixes, some less complete than others, that I had made, so I'm including those here. None of these are particularly good mixes, and most of them include only scratch vocal tracks (i.e. vocals that were never intended to be heard in public), but I really like some of the material here, a drum track here, or a guitar sound there, etc. Maybe you'll find something interesting...

Evening Song
This is one of my originals. I was going to include it on one of these CDs, and I lost it's source audio as well. I will, however, actually be rerecording this one, when the time is right.

Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now
Here's a cover of an old Tower of Power tune. This is probably the most nearly complete of all these tracks.
This track was for a project that was to be a collection of acoustic versions of cover tunes. Not a lofty goal, I realize, but it was fun - until the project ended in flames, that is...
The really low horn you hear on here is a contra-alto clarinet. That thing can shake the rafters.

Father of Lights
This one is from a CD of church music arrangements that I was working on. I like the big drum entrance about half-way through the tune. There's a big gap about 2/3rds of the way through that was supposed to be a sax solo.
Scratch vocal track.

Give a Little Bit
From the acoustic cover tunes CD. This is me experimenting with how to get a 12-string acoustic guitar sound without actually owning a 12-string acoustic guitar. Very, VERY, VERY scratch vocals.

Family
Here's another doomed track from that church music CD - it has no vocals at all.
Hopefully you'll be able to sort of hear where I was going with this...

Message in a Bottle
From the acoustic cover tunes CD. This is a broody, slower version of the classic Police tune.
Scratch vocal tracks.

We Will Dance
Yet another from the church music CD. I really wanted to stand this tune on its ear. I've heard it played a number of different ways; all quite straight. I just wanted something with a less straight-ahead groove.
Scratch vocal tracks.

Goodnight
Here's a great old lullabye, of sorts, by the Rembrandts. I dig this tune.

Just What I Needed
I almost did not include this track, since the scratch vocals are really bad, and I'd planned to rerecord some other parts before the hard-drive fiasco, but hearing The Cars with acoustic guitar and bass, and with Irish Whistle earned it a place here.