aww thanks David, I'm so chuffed you like it and i know Rich will be too!

2026 calendar marked!
I'm watching out for when London FOP will be this year, though I need to travel to the States the last part of March, so it might be tricky.

Thanks for all your kind comments! Though I do need to point out that most of the melody on A Sun Warmed place was already in the piano part. I just stripped it out of the midi file so I could phrase it more freely. I do like those couple of V pedal tones I added near the end of the piece, however which was definitely more of a 'Liz' thing. Trust a bass player to know all the best pedal points!

Apologies for being unclear: it was the *incest* allusions that I thought were (relatively) vague; I think we both agree the *wanking* stuff was pretty overt.

[sorry, I just really wanted to write this comment and not elaborate because that would have made it the best comment ever. I'm not strong enough though. Thanks for listening, it really helps! Sorry I haven't been very attentive; I've been mainly listening to my own songs obsessively on repeat rather than listen to other people's: obviously indicative of fatally compromised moral fibre. I will definitely give all yours a proper listen before they shut up shop though.]

Hello again, David. Thanks for listening to "Invisible" and offering your kind comments. There's some smoothing out to be done on it post-FAWM.

Thanks for listening to Hyperion’s End and leaving such detailed comments about your take on it. Always appreciate you taking the time :)

Thank you for the lovely comment on my song 'no one shall sleep'

Just sent you my vocals for Sing Together. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you for all your lovely comments :) I'm really enjoying your stuff this year! (I will catch up! Also, I would love to sit and listen to some Randy record with you any time! I have endless time for Randy Newman.

Hey David, I see you’ve almost hit the goal of 14 songs too, and many thanks for your kind comment on my slide guitar improv!

Thanks, David, very gratifying coming from you whose musicality I admire enormously. I've always wanted to be in *your* band. A collab sometime would be fun!

Thank you for checking out my tune and your kind words! The bass is the only non-midi instrument on that one. Music Man direct in with a little EQ love.

Not a problem for me at all. I just thought it was funny that we both thought a Klon reference belonged in a song about guitar pedals. Maybe it's obvious, but it seems a bit esoteric to me. I guess we are in that same demographic, though. Anyway, thanks for the nice comments!

Thanks for the great comments about I Love You More Than My Guitar Pedals. And there actually is a reference to the Klon in the song! I guess you are the target audience for this!

cheers for the recommendation mention.
you have mail

Thanks for the feedback on Hollow dreams, getting to sing to Nadine’s masterful tracks is always a pleasure

Good playing on the bass. I like playing bass but my chops are so rusty. I also have a P bass. Logic updated their bass sounds and I've been very pleased. You can even choose between picks, finger, and which fingers! It's insane. You can choose the style of bass you want from Hofner to Music Man. So I've been relying on those to save time because it's much easier to play it on keys.

Sure feel free to pick "Buttery Vastness" as an album title. It is so hard for me to describe that impression of being a part of a BIG room with fluffy sofas where A LOT of things are moving, and not colliding. My mixes sound more like a small studio where 10 members play at the same time, and everybody fears to tread on cables (densely packed and highly efficient lol). I always struggle to mix songs that haves less than 15 tracks :O

I actually never used a tape plugin! I have no idea how and where to use them. And what the tape is doing physically (except for rotating and looking cool). When I heard of input gain issues my mind was already panicking! Are you talking about tape reverb? delay? saturizer?
I mostly use digital and algorithmic plugins. But maybe that's the mathematician in me, who actually calculates (!!!) pre-delay times and falls in love with a good graphical representation of transfer functions and phases.
Maybe we should nerd out after FAWM, would an interesting insight what we do differently and why...

Hey man - thank you so much for stopping by. Very much appreciated. I'm woefully behind on pretty much everything in FAWMland. So much going on right now, but I press forward. Have a great day!

Thank for hanging out with our little blues jam - "Blue Wailing"

I just checked with Theodore, and he's fine waiting awhile. (He's like that.)

Oh mam, I didn't hear that until you mentioned it. The first couple of intervals on the piano DO sound a bit poguey. Ach well, at least I don't use any bad words.

You are such a dear! Well, about the vocal chords, half the time I don't know what will make it out or how! Right now they're blown, but I'll find my way around the froggy.
Thanks for taking a listen to made of love. You're comments are most kind.
This place has become a much needed respite, especially now, so keep those fabulous sounds comin'!

Thanks, David, for the lovely comment on the Infinite Loop! I hope you're enjoying FAWM!!

I just want to say thanks for all the thoughtful comments this FAWM. I don't know how you are able to balance such amazing music making while being such an active listener and positive commenter. You are a gift to this community!

Thank you so much for your comments on "Hollow Dreams". Oh yes, this has been great fun to produce. @chrismyth02 contributed the hell of lyrics and vocals

Ok am uploading and emailing now, email will explain my edit, though it will be obvious.

Do you want raw files without eq, compression or reverb?

I did the vocal for the blues today and though I coughed up half my lungs it works all right. Am hoping to have enough energy to put a bass down after dinner then I’ll email it back. The complication is I felt moved to shorten the arrangement by one chorus so it has more of a build at the end of the last verse. If you are happy I’ll also send Google drive links to the individual Wav files.

Do it..I have a Sttrat and a tele..and you can't mistake that sound. You got the chops..I want to hear more Mr Taro pounding on a strat.

Thanks for another very perceptive comment, David. I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the song :) ... I was a bit too close and really wasn't sure. I hope you keep up the fantastic work, by the way. Loved the song you put out today.

re..journey of a mother. the whole story is that my mother was obsessed with native american culture, and i half believed that her spirit brought kelly and i together so that her fantasy of having native american blood in our family tree would come true. i was so sad that my mother never got to meet kelly, as they would have loved each other, but my mother had died a year before we met. so in the dream, my mother's spirit finds my house and hopes to meet her daughter in law, but she is too late. her daughter in law is not longer living. so my mother is eager to return to the spirit world to look for her. and I, the son, is hoping they will find each other there. i know it seems rather ridiculous, and i wouldnt share this with just anybody, but you have a poetic soul and i know you will understand it, if not on a literal, but o a poetic level.

See, I listen! lol I’m a good boy!

Reckon if I can get another four songs done today to claim my 14, I've got a whole half a FAWM to work on it. Either that or I descend into madness on Feb 28th never to be seen again.

Thanks for the kind words David, pretty happy with my output this year. Not gone too crazy

That's cool that you sensed the woozy Tom Waits feel. I had it in mind but didn't want to imitate his voice. So I tried my own thing. Thanks!

Thanks, David, as always. 'Sweet Mangos' may have a bit of Herbie's 'Cantaloupe Island' - a piece I learned years ago. Well spotted!

For sure. At least I'll be able to thank you for the music in person, rather than an almost-convincing uncanny valley version of you.

(Or will I....?)

Means a whole lot coming from you, my friend! Thanks for taking the time. :)

Thanks for the comment dude, I'm afraid the puppets are shop bought ;) but I'm flattered you think me capable of such feats!

Thanks so much for that flurry of boosts. Much appreciated.

And London, well, it was a genuinely close run thing between dropping you a note to say I was around and ABBA Voyage. Alas I was outvoted. I don't think you'd have made my cry as much though.

i think a fireproof floor protects you from the fires of hell comin up to getcha

Hi David - I’ve finally made it to FAWM! It looks like you are making great headway. Nice to see the studio rundown, some very nice gear there. Looking forward to digging in and having a listen.

Fellow UA world guy here! Firmly entrenched in their ecosystem! Drowning in ooey gooey analog plugin heaven! Can't beat 'em! Found ya by listening to your collab "The City That Killed Me Twice"! Really cool tune! Thanks for sharing and look forward to checking out your other stuff! Many Blessings!

Appreciate the ping on That's What I Know, David. Always a thrill to hear from you.

David you give the best comments! Thank you!

The east coast line was definitely from me. I am originally from the southeast of the US but LA is my home. So I had to throw in a little jab. 😀

For the "LA is undefeated" hook, I recorded myself, pitched it up until I found the right tone, about +4. Then I EQ'd the heck out of it and added delay. It's an amazing hook. On those old Dr. Dre tracks they always had old samples playing during the choruses but I didn't want to use samples. So I made my own sample!

Thank you so much for listening to my songs and for your lovely comments this FAWM xx

Thanks for your feedback about Lock and Key. I really appreciate you taking the time and I value your opinion. Thanks so much.

Hey, man--thank you so much for the kind and insightful comments about Memories of Me. I was also really moved by Bill's line about the bridges. He is quite the artist and I was proud to represent him on this one.

Oh sounds like you have a lot running in the background. And yet, I like the three songs you did this year (so far).

I did not plan to hit 14. Seriously not. I just tried to get rid of some bad emotions and couldn't keep my fingers from certain challenges. I may take a break this week. At least until I get some stem or lyrics to work with...

Are you going for a slow FAWM this year? Or is a lot running in the background?

I FAWMed heavier than I expected, but now I feel like taking a break. Maybe also because the next two weeks will have more work and life stuff...

Thanks for visiting my murder ballad. I've written my verses for the blues I'm just having to rest between every song I do at the moment due to COVID lungs!

Hey David! Thanks for stopping by for a listen on Dilemma. Very much appreciated. Hope all is well.

Thanks David for your very observant and thorough comment on 'Lydia'. Excellent advice too. Really appreciate it, thank you.... and full marks for guessing her profession (I tried to hide it between the lines).

Hey David - thanks for the comment on my sole effort (so far!). Yes, drums were on the 4-track. They're a randomly chosen EZ Drummer loop, that I tracked with live bass in stereo onto tracks 1 and 2, added rhythm guitar to track 3, bounced everything to track 4 while tracking the chorus guitar parts, recorded vocals to track 3 over the rhythm guitar, got bored and pulled it all into Logic and replaced the taped vocal with double-tracked vocal in the DAW. The drums you hear are mostly the single mono track 4 bounce of everything, with the original stereo drums/bass on tracks 1 and 2 giving a little brightness and width. You did ask! Drums and bass on tape are amongst my favourite things, they just sound great when you get it right.

I saw @beacon 's comment and feel I must interject - the 'Lake Earie' line came courtesy of @metalfoot (as did the idea of tying them together to make an ear-ring).

As you were.

Hey thanks for listening to Insomnia! I'm so happy you commented on the birdsong! It's probably my favorite detail. And mix compliments from you are like pure gold :)

Hi David. Thanks for engaging with "King of an Empty Castle". I always appreciate your comments....and your music, of course. I've been so busy cranking out tunes that I haven't done as much listening as I should. I'll be circling back to you for that purpose.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and encouraging comments. I'm enjoying your output a lot: can always count on you for a good listen. Yeah, it's hard to fathom that it's been nearly a year since the London FOP. Except that my then 11-month old grandson is now walking and knows most of his letters (though he doesn't speak much yet). The smaller you are, the faster time goes.

You nailed the 'duffer' reference exactly. Our main danger comes from incompetence; competence comes with experience; experience usually comes with a certain degree of danger.

Hello - ooh, I see you've done a new one, will give that a listen when I can. Thanks for saying nice things. I like the chorus on this one, but I can't think what to do with the harmonic development (fancy way of saying chord sequence?) - I think this harmony isn't quite what I want.
I couldn't believe I was the first person to ever use "knuckle the door" and a quick Google revealed that this is a commonly used arty way of saying "knock on wood". But I invented it in the sense that I didn't consciously lift it from someone. The solos were very heavily stretch and squashed because my timing was very bad and I couldn't be bothered to do a second take... and it doesn't sound accurate now...

The Lake Ear-ie line was (of course) originated by @stephenwordsmith .

Thanks very much for your comment on "Some Love." My son is prone to bedtime questions about mortality and worries about what he'd do without us, so I've written songs from both angles.

Hi, David, Loved your hatch tag suggestion for @gwynjones' part in our collab on Love Isn't Any Fun....@technogwyn! The man seems to know how to do everything well in every genre. (You'd know all about that!) Glad you enjoyed it!

Ha ha Davo you always comment on my trumpet uke thing! I wrote this and thought I hope Mr Taro likes it

Alright confession time: I really, REALLY love it when you shred on the axe, man. I mean I get serious goosebumps. I just wanted to put that out there. That is all.

Admittedly I kinda forgot until you mentioned EZ Drummer (because I actually purchased EZ Keys and have yet to utilize it). At any rate, I have my go-to’s working on a MM thing at the moment. But - I do have another request, but I’m gonna send it via email. Stay tuned.

Oh, man, thank you David, for the listen and kind comment about Take Your Time. Means a lot coming from a talented fellow like you.

It's times like FAWM that it'd be very useful to have an off-switch on the old brain. But hey, sleep can wait till March.

Oh thanks so much for that sweet review from your cousin (and little Sophie)! ☺️ That put a big smile on my face!

Hmmm...I came over here to ask a favor (of sorts) and I see that I missed a song of yours. I'm going to correct that error shortly. In meantime, would you be interested in programming drums for a tune I have in the jelly hopper?

I was thinking Short and Twangy would balance out. Short might be a draw and Twangy a deterrent. So funny about your open mic experience. 792 was just the music memos idea, which is a bit misleading (I have that many recordings but not nearly that many ideas) but also an easy way to locate it.

Sorry! I did a comment on my new song saying that I did the thing where I sang mad nonsense to get it down, then I listened to it repeatedly to see if I could male any sensible lyrics out of it. Was that Tweedy or Tweedy adjacent?

Sure thing! I’ll email you the Sophie demo to share with your friend ☺️ Thanks for asking!

thanks for you wonderful comments on so many songs. just for clarification. isela vega is a mexican actress who starred with warren oates in sam peckinpah' bring me the head of alfredo garcia. i saw her doing a striptease act for the winos and sailors in an old movie theatre in downtown los angeles. taking off the gloves and throwing them into the audience is a staple of the striptease act.

Thanks for all the kind words @davidtaro - That first one was a beast to write, but I'm pumped to have got it down. Really excited to hear your amazing work this FAWM! Cheers!

Thanks for the kind words about The Basement Couch. I appreciate your comments!

Am in! See my email reply…

whatever you got for me, bring it on, brother!

Have a good FAWM David, I'm not sure if I'm going to participate or not yet, but you have fun :-) Geoff

Maybe we could both start by sending something to the other and hopefully one of us will see a clear path to continuing.

How do you prefer to work? Are you more attached to lyrics or music?

Hey David! Can't wait to listen to your songs this year!

So happy you didn't take my comment too seriously xD Great song!

Thanks David! Haha. ;)

Yeah, you need a uke. The trick is being sure to get one that actually intonates properly and making sure it is set up properly with a good set of strings. OR find that cheap plastic one and wrestle a tune out of it. FUC? Yeah. 😉🎶

Awesome, that's really helpful thanks (it's a tiny detail in a novel but I want to get it right and it's been 30 years since I lived there).

Cheers for that! Actually I was being a bit too general, it's actually TFL updates I'm more interested in. Eg if there was an accident on the Overground?

Sent you a lyric for possible collab, David. At the email on your website. Cheers!

David - can I ask your opinion on a wee bit of London knowledge? What would a Londoner keep an eye on traffic and transport news these days? Is there a go-to app? Do the radio stations still do traffic bulletins?

Thanks a lot for your comment on "Hollow Dreams", David! So happy you enjoyed this song. It's the first time I tuned my guitar so low and follow my flow. I'm quite in a dark place right now, so I didn't want to write lyrics for it. Not sure yet if it's better instrumental or with vocals. Seems like I have to sleep some nights over that decision.

Hey David! Thank you for your wonderful feedback on Big Bad Scallywag! 😁🙏 Great to connect on here, I can't wait to hear your songs! Have a fab FAWM 2025! 😊

The Jelly Invasion is here! 😄

Get moving lazy bones, two days in, no songs, what are you doing man!

Hi, David! So glad to see you back here! I'm really looking forward to hearing your DT Extravaganzas this FAWM!

My dude. Just dropping a line to let you know I was thinking about ya. Hope all is well and look forward to some sonic goodness from you. All the best!

All right , my son? Thanks for giving Doris a listen. Always appreciate your thoughts. Good spot on Miles Davis btw. Since you asked...The first time I was in the US (1991) I spent the night in the airport waiting for a very early flight. It was the night Miles died and I found a radio station on my Walkman just playing his music all night. It was a very cool end to a kind of weird trip.
Now you know!

Glad to be doing this again.

Hey David! You well? Looking forward to some more juicy bangers from you this year. To be clear, I mean great songs, not sausages. Though sausages would be nice too - Richmond Meat-Free are my current favourite if you have time to knock some up with some white bread and red sauce. Thank you.

Great to hear you are FAWMing this year. Would love to collaborate if you are game?

Thanks for listening, David! Guess all these comments convince me to finish my song "Hollow Dreams". I just cant say if with or without vocals. The instrumental needs a bit of correction and clean up but I won't re-record. I'm too lazy to tab down all the riffs lol

my voice is in such an erratic state of decay. every day i have to adjust how i sing to the registers that are available. im singing a lot gentler now, as a soft delivery ensures a broader register. and i just recorded a song this afternoon in a voice a full octave lower than i have ever attempted. so it is interesting dealing with these variables. i have often found singers more interesting in. their decline. joan baez and billie holiday are two examples. when you have limited means, you tend to do more interesting things with what you have.

Cheers matey for your amazing comments. I tell ya. it was quite sparse to start with just acoustic, synth stabs with a choir backing, but i couldn't help myself at the end and added more strings and doubled electric guitar. All day effort i tell ya and thanking feb for starting on a saturday.

Thanks David for your kind and thorough comment. Very nice to see you here again. Last year was my first here and the very impressive recordings you created left quite an impression on me. I'm very much looking forward to hearing the mini-masterpieces you will no doubt unfurl for us in the coming few weeks. All the best and break a leg!

Thanks for the affirmative reaction David...looking forward to hearing what you come up with soon...it's bound to be great!

Hey dude, I am back! Though I'm not going to be very active this year as I started a doctorate in September :p still hoping to get a few songs out though. Have fun!

Exited to hear what you come up with this FAWM! Happy FAWMing!

Glad to see that you're back, David. Your songs are always a bright spot in my day.

Taro! Good to see you again sir.

I gotta ask, what's your setup and plug chain like for the WA-47? I've got one too and just got it out of storage but it's so much more microphone than I'm used to, having trouble getting it right.

DT!!!!!! Yayyyyyyyyyyy wooooooooooo yipeeee!!!

Hi David, you are very welcome. I absolutely love "All In The Moment". Thank you so much for creating your beautiful song and for sharing it.

Hi David, thank you for participating in sharing your song thread. I've just listened to All In The Moment. It's so gorgeous and so authentically yours. Love your music, lyrics, singing and playing. You've made me smiling ear to ear. I surely missed your songs. What a treat! Very tasty guitar solo too. Brilliant instrumentation and demo. Everything works a treat. Such a pleasure to listen to your song and feel as if I'm hearing it live seeing your smile. Your song lifts the moods. Thank you so much for creating it. You make life feel beautiful.

Hey David, thanks so much for your kind comment on "New Low"! I love your musical influences, that's an instant follow for me.
Edit: listening to your Soundcloud tracks now and I love them. This is my JAM.

Thank you. We are very proud of the song and the upcoming album

Hey David!!!! Let’s do this!!!

Definitely have an idea I'll work on for you...

So glad to see you here. I was just thinking that I'd love to do a collab. Let me know if you need a vocalist!

Hey David! A big hello to you! Looking forward to hearing some killer tunes from you! Always here to sing for you from silliness to serious.
See ya.:0)

Hey, David! Hope you have a terrific FAWM!

good to see you back mate! I am trying to do a fawm worth of collabs this year so will flick something your way , knowing your dance card is always full!

Superb!! So glad you’re going to get use out of the book in FAWM!! I’d love your opinion on it after you gotten some use out of it for sure.

Celine Ellis offer greetings to David Taro for this years merriment and frivolities!!!

Always up for a collab with my friend David ☺️

Hi David, are you ready to rock?

Great to see you back. You never fail to impress so I’m super excited to hear what you come up with this year. Happy fawming

Here we go again!

Hi David, Happy FAWM 🎵🎶✨️

DUUUUUUUUDE. Bloody great to be back and fully this time. Can't wait to hear your output and hopefully maybe even collab. I am England this year and not travelling for sure

Hello handsome! Can’t wait to view your…talents. Mmmmmmmmm…..very many talents.

Onward...

Thank you! Good point. I have to get some things out of my system before I come back to tackle my biggest challenges. This time I hope not to get overwhelmed!

Happy FAWM, friend!

i’m excited to hear your new stuff this year!

Welcome back David! Hope you are well :D Have a great FAWM my friend!

Hi David. Im looking forward to your new songs even as I continue to delight in last year's crop.

FAWM has blessed me with that delightful avatar as default this year and I couldn't be happier.

Can't promise smoooothness on my part but we'll see what happens :) Have a good one!

Welcome back David! Can't wait to hear some new David tunes 😀. Hope you have a blast this year.

Happy FAWMing David, looking forward to hearing your stuff this month! Hope you're charged up and ready to go.

Hi David. I’ll be up for anything you want to throw my way.