Welcome
to ShandorMusic.com, an MP3 download music
site where you can sample and/or buy
original songs on a pay-per-download
basis, to use with your MP3 player, or to burn onto
a CD as part of a compilation of your own choice of contemporary music to
play on your home or car stereo system. Riding a backbone
of driving and often, danceable, rhythms, my songs
blend (variously) elements of Rock, Light Jazz, Pop,
Swing, and Country -- with lyrics that span from the
complexities and mysteries of romantic attraction
through no-holds-barred social and political commentary
-- to deliver a unique fusion-type of sound
that's non-genre-specific.
At
ShandorMusic.com, besides
good songs to download, you'll also findlinks
to the websites of other independent music composers,
song writers, musicians, and performers from the San
Diego area (and, in a while, from other areas as well).
And, should you have interest in using a song in a movie,
documentary, or TV show, or to record for mainstream
distribution, there's information here about song licensing,
as well, on the
Licensing
page.
Influences
My
songwriting has been influenced by a large number of bands and
individuals. Some of these are (in no particular order): Crosby,
Stills, Nash & Young; Cold Blood; James Gang (Joe Walsh);
The Eagles; Cream (Eric Clapton); Eurythmics; Gato Barbieri; Sade;
U2; The Doobie Brothers; Santana; David Sanborn; Creedence Clearwater
Revival; Earl Klugh; The Doors; Steely Dan; Bob James; Acoustic
Alchemy; Gordon Lightfoot; The Police (Sting); The Rolling Stones;
Billy Vera and the Beaters; Allman Brothers; Grover Washington;
Jimi Hendrix; Seawind; The Beatles; The Crusaders; Van Morrison;
Bob Dylan; and the swing bands (like Tommy Dorsey's) of the "Big Band"
era. Click
Here to Listen to Full-Length Samples and Buy MP3 Music.
What's In My Music?
I
love rolling rhythms, memorable melodies, and the intricate interplay
of instrumentation (yes, and I like alliteration, too). Some of
my songs have a bare-bones, garage-band feel to them -- mostly when
I'm leaning more toward the Rock genre. Many of them, however, fall
into a non-genre mix of fused Rock and contemporary Light Jazz,
often incorporating a bit of the sounds of the Big-Band era -- when
I've added horns or strings (or, sometimes both). On occasion, I'll
throw in just a touch of Country -- for some additional heart. And,like
some of the older bands listed above, I also like longer songs...ones
you can crawl inside of and live with for a while. While I have
written some that are under five minutes in length, you'll find
that the majority of my songs range in length from 5 to 7 minutes
(hopefully you'll think of this as getting your money's worth from
your mp3 song download purchase!). Click
Here to Listen to Full-Length Samples.
Instrumentation
For
instrumentation on any particular song, I've used varying combinations of nine guitars, including an older, customized
Epiphone Dot Deluxe electric/acoustic, a newer, standard Epiphone Dot electric/acoustic, an Epiphone Casino Coupe, a customized Fender Telecaster electric,
a limited-edition Washburn Millenium acoustic/electric, an Ovation Celebrity acoustic/electric, a Takamine EG531SC acoustic/electric, an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, and a beautiful Guild D55 acoustic/electric
dreadnaught-- along with a Yamaha YPG-235 Portable Grand keyboard that allows me to produce a variety of other instruments' sounds. I
backbone most of the songs with crisp and driving drums, and then
I flesh-out the remainder of the instrumentation to yield
some "ear candy" to the listener (through the use of
special panning and/or filtering techniques). At times, I'll have
the instruments "talk back" to one another -- kind of like my own version
of dueling banjos -- at other times I'll set them up to complete each
other's phrases, to yield additional depth and texture to
the song.
Click
Here to Listen to Full-Length Samples and Download Songs.
Song Lyrics
In
college, I was an English major who also studied a lot of philosophy
and psychology, so the focus of my lyrics is generally ecclectic,
while the lyrics themselves are at times eccentric and, on occasion,
even a touch esoteric. I also like to tell stories in my songs --
their lyrics cover a broad range of subjects including, but not
limited to: different perspectives on the general human condition
(like explorations of the male/female interactions within relationships,
or, of the internal process of reconciling oneself with the results
of prior decisions and choices); specific, current issues in our
society (including both tongue-in-cheek and in-your-face political
and social commentary); and the situational craziness we all experience
as a normal, everyday part of living our lives.
(For those of you who are interested in reading them, all of my
songs' lyrics can be accessed from the Lyrics
page).
My
songs cover a wide range of styles and moods -- from hard-and-biting
to soft-and-beautiful -- you should be able to find at least few
of them that suit your particular musical tastes. Please feel free to sample and/or buy as many of these original songs as you
like!
Website
design and all content (c) 2010 - Robert E. Shandor
- All Rights Reserved
For questions or information about this site,
or the products sold on it, pleaseClick
Here
produce a variety of other instruments' sounds. I
backbone most of the songs with crisp and driving drums, and then
I flesh-out the remainder of the instrumentation to yield
some "ear candy" to the listener (through the use of
special panning and/or filtering techniques). At times, I'll have
the instruments "talk back" to one another -- kind of like my own version
of dueling banjos -- at other times I'll set them up to complete each
other's phrases, to yield additional depth and texture to
the song.