I've tried to write music since getting my first guitar back in high school. I've never been particularly good at it. For the most part, my early musical training focused so much on rhythm that harmony and melody fell by the wayside, and while I can play dotted-eighth/sixteenth-note patterns like a second language, I have nowhere near that command of chord progressions and the like.

At the same time, I played in a cover band a few years back called The Neighborhood, and while that was fun, we never played anything that I really wanted to play, particularly the rousing version of "Mexican Radio" from Wall of Voodoo that I had in mind.

So I took it upon myself to kill two birds with one acoustic guitar. I started working on some tunes and eventually got up on stage at Vaughan's Pub with a three-song set that consisted of the aforementioned "Mexican Radio," "Glory & Consequence" from Ben Harper, and Radiohead's "Karma Police." In retrospect, that might have been a bit ambitious, but over time, I've gotten better at gauging what I can actually play and/or sing, although I still cross that line with impunity. I also got bored rather quickly with playing my three or four songs and drinking the rest of the night, so I started bringing my djembe and a shaker and accompanying the house band and anyone else that would let me. The result is a pretty fun night, and eventually, solo gigs at various bars around town. It's already led to several drumming/percussion gigs as well.

I've tried to limit this list to just the songs I've either actually played so far, or would feel comfortable playing given current limitations of both my voice and my guitar ability...

SONG	ARTIST
867-5309/JENNY	Tommy Tutone
ADDICTED TO LOVE	Robert Palmer
ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER	Jimi Hendrix as done by Michael Hedges
ALL FOR SWINGING YOU AROUND	New Pornographers
AMERICAN LIFE	Primus
ANKLE BRACELET	Mike Keneally
ASHES TO ASHES	David Bowie
BEAUTIFUL DAY	U2
BEHIND THE WALL OF SLEEP	The Smithereens
BIG IN JAPAN	Tom Waits
BIG ME	Foo Fighters
BLOOD AND ROSES	The Smithereens
BLOW UP THE OUTSIDE WORLD	Soundgarden
BLUE JEAN	David Bowie
BOUND FOR THE FLOOR	Local H
CAN'T STAND LOSING YOU	The Police
CHERUB ROCK	Smashing Pumpkins
CLOCKS	Coldplay
CLOSER TO THE HEART	Rush
COLD DAY IN THE SUN	Foo Fighters
DANCE HALL DAYS	Wang Chung
DEAD MAN WALKING	David Bowie
DESPERATE BUT NOT SERIOUS	Adam Ant
DIAMONDS ON THE INSIDE	Ben Harper
DON'T CHANGE	INXS
DOWN UNDER	Men At Work
DRIVE	Incubus
EUROPA AND THE PIRATE TWINS	Thomas Dolby
EXCUSE ME MISTER	Ben Harper
EYES WITHOUT A FACE	Billy Idol
FALL OUT	The Police
FLAGPOLE SITTA	Harvey Danger
GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS	Peter Gabriel
GIRL	Beck
GIRLS ON FILM	Duran Duran
GLORY & CONSEQUENCE	Ben Harper
HATE TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO	The Hives
HEARTBREAK BEAT	Psychedelic Furs
HEY YA!	OutKast
HOLE IN MY LIFE	The Police
HOOVER DAM	Sugar
HOURGLASS	Squeeze
HOW SOON IS NOW?	The Smiths
HUNGRY HEART	Bruce Springsteen
HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF	Duran Duran
I CAN SEE FOR MILES	The Who
I DON'T CARE ANYMORE	Phil Collins
I HAVE THE TOUCH	Peter Gabriel
I MELT WITH YOU	Modern English
I RAN	A Flock of Seagulls
IF I CAN'T CHANGE YOUR MIND	Sugar
IN YOUR EYES	Peter Gabriel
IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM?	Joe Jackson
JEAN THE BIRDMAN	David Sylvian & Robert Fripp
JOE'S GARAGE	Frank Zappa
JUST LIKE HEAVEN	The Cure
JUST LIKE PARADISE	David Lee Roth
KARMA POLICE	Radiohead
KIDS IN AMERICA	Kim Wilde
LAWYERS GUNS AND MONEY	Warren Zevon
LIVE FOREVER	Oasis
LOLA	The Kinks
LOOKING AT THE WORLD FROM THE BOTTOM OF A WELL	Mike Doughty
LOOKING FOR CLUES	Robert Palmer
LOVE MY WAY	Psychedelic Furs
LOVE STINKS	J. Geils Band
LOW	Cracker
LUCKY MAN	Emerson Lake & Palmer
MAKING PLANS FOR NIGEL	XTC
MEGALOMANIAC	Incubus
MEXICAN RADIO	Wall of Voodoo
MONEY FOR NOTHING	Dire Straits
MURDER BY NUMBERS	The Police
NO NEW TALE TO TELL	Love and Rockets
NO ONE KNOWS	Queens of the Stone Age
NOT ONE OF US	Peter Gabriel
NOTHING IS WRONG	Gomez
ON ANY OTHER DAY	The Police
ONE VISION	Queen
OPEN UP	Dispatch
PEACE, LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING	Elvis Costello
POP MUZIK	M
PSYCHO KILLER	Talking Heads
PUT YOUR LIGHTS ON	Everlast
RADIOACTIVE	The Firm
REBEL YELL	Billy Idol
RED RAIN	Peter Gabriel
RITA	Los Lobos
ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS	Ben Folds
SAFETY DANCE	Men Without Hats
SCARY MONSTERS	David Bowie
SECRET JOURNEY	The Police
SEX AND CANDY	Marcy Playground
SIMPLY IRRESISTABLE	Robert Palmer
SO LONELY	The Police
SOLSBURY HILL	Peter Gabriel
SOMEONE TO TALK TO	The Police
SOMETHING ABOUT YOU	Level 42
SPITTING GAMES	Snow Patrol
STEAL MY KISSES	Ben Harper
STEPPIN' OUT	Joe Jackson
STONE IN LOVE	Journey
SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT	Corey Hart
TALK TONIGHT	Oasis
TEAR OFF YOUR OWN HEAD (IT'S A DOLL REVOLUTION)	Elvis Costello
THE BENDS	Radiohead
THE BREAKUP SONG	Greg Kihn Band
THE DAY I TRIED TO LIVE	Soundgarden
THE LOST ART OF KEEPING A SECRET	Queens of the Stone Age
THE ONE THING	INXS
THEOLOGIANS	Wilcom
THIS IS A CALL	Foo Fighters
THREE OF A PERFECT PAIR	King Crimson
TIMES LIKE THESE	Foo Fighters
TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS	Styx
TRIBUTE	Tenacious D
TROPICALIA	Beck
TURNING JAPANESE	The Vapors
UNDER THE MILKY WAY	The Church
VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR	The Buggles
WATCHING THE DETECTIVES	Elvis Costello
WEREWOLVES OF LONDON	Warren Zevon
WHEN YOU'RE FALLING	Afro-Celt Sound System
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE	Filter
YER SO BAD	Tom Petty
YOU BETTER YOU BET	The Who
YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING	Judas Priest