Paul Kimbrel's Musing

A little over 6 years ago, we were remodeling our living room. In a moment of stupidity I decided to put some drywall up myself. While trying to wrestle a sheet up onto the wall, I pulled just about every muscle in my back laying me out for a few days.

About the 3rd day, Tonya headed out for a doctor’s appointment and I had enough pain killers in me to allow me to wander into the studio. I decided I would write Tonya a song for her birthday that year. I sat down and wrote a song called “All I Need.” As I was preparing to do the vocals, our power went out - a rather frightening event when your in a sealed, sound proof room with the door closed. It got my attention and I pulled off the headphones. The lights immediately came on and the phone rang… it was Tonya announcing she was pregnant with our first son (Clayton).

That day the song took on new meaning for me as we entered into a new phase of our life together. It came to represent a reminder of how God, in his wisdom, left a little hole in my life unfulfilled that could only be filled with Tonya’s love.

It also needed a guitar solo.

*sigh* I’m not soloist. I’m really not that great of a guitar player. I play well enough to get other guys going, but this song had me playing the whole deal. I tried getting a few guys to help me out, but no one was really getting the feel of the song. I tried myself and even kept a small guitar part from my endeavor (the first “solo” in the song). However, the main solo kept the song from being declared “finished.”

6 years later, Steve Smith has completed this song. He came in tonight and recorded a fantastic solo that fits the feel and mood of the song and really adds an elegant flare.

I can finally say that after 6 years, “All I Need” is all done.

All I Need (mp3)

Now I just need to get the guitar solo done for “Where Are You Now”…

I just finished my latest tune. I was messing around with some drone chords and played for Steve - and true to form, he added a degree of emotion that I lack in my own playing. Same chords - more feeling. So, he played them for a while and I started mumbling out some words until the song took shape. Then we hit record and the rest is history… ancient history when you consider we did that several months ago. I just now got around to finishing the darn thing…

Who knows: [mp3]

…and if anyone comes back at me with a mathematcial solution to that question, I’ll slap you over the ‘net. But I’ve been working on a tune that’s been in my head for ever (like, 15 years or so…). I finally got it in a format outside of my head tonight. I was thrilled. Then I started working on CrossTalk stuff again and turned the internet radio on to Radio Paradise.

Well, wouldn’t you know it.

A Santana song comes on - one I’d never heard before (”Samba Pa Ti”) and the central rythm guitar riff is the same as mine! Not that it’s a big deal. My tune certainly won’t sound anything like his as the melody is totally different (as well as the pre-chorus and chorus chords). But I sang my own melody right along with a Santana tune. Wild.