Dave Coile Array Band Sampler

If you're looking to hire a band, check out the Dave Coile Array! Contact us at ThisMortalCoile@gmail.com 

New Single Dropped: "Goodbye"

It's my birthday! And what better way to celebrate than by releasing my very first official single. 

Produced by Robby Layton, with Robby also on lead guitar, Trish Applegate on harmony vocals and hand percussion, Jay Allen on bass, and Matt Cardenas on drums! I'm the guy singing and playing acoustic guitar... 

 I hope you enjoy the tune!

  

Lost Piñata Interview

 I was interviewed about Song-a-day January on the Lost Piñata podcast! 

Song-a-day January 2025 Is Complete!

 

Another Song-a-day January is in the books! This is the 6th time I've done this project, and the 5th time I managed to write 31 new songs in 31 days (one year I only wrote 20). Huge thanks to all of my co-writers: Josh Elioseff, Andy Ard, Peggy Kay, Anna Yale M French, Chad Mathis, Helen Peterson, Karen Finch, Todd Hawkins, Trish Applegate-Loetz, Robby Layton and Pony Lee! And also a huge thanks to Timmy Riordan and his Fearless Songwriter program, which provided prompts and community for the 2nd week of January. (P.S., if you're a local songwriter who wants to co-write with me, please feel free to reach out).

I'm going to take a little break from songwriting and songwriting-related activities for a few days, but I wanted to leave you with this word cloud drawn from the lyrics of all the songs.

If you want to listen again to any of the songs, or get caught up on ones you've missed, here's a handy dandy YouTube Playlist.

Also, if you're feeling generous and want to help support my creative endeavors (which also includes various podcasts and special shows), please consider joining my Patreon page or sending a one time donation to me via Venmo @DaveCoile or paypal.me/DaveCoile. 

This is my favorite project to do every year, because it's a chance for unfettered creativity, but also works as outreach and community building. It's also a great to start off the New Year actually accomplishing something. Thanks for being a companion on my journey!

Day 31: Somewhere In-Between (Song-a-day January)

Day 31: Somewhere In-Between

by David Coile

Lyrics:
I wanna have my cake and eat it, too
I wanna lie in the bed that I made
I wanna count my eggs before they hatch
I wanna fail the test but still make the grade

And you may think I'm crazy
Trying to have it both ways

I wanna mix my business with pleasure
Stir it up and pour it into a glass
'Cause that way I could take my shots
And nobody would think I'm an ass

But people think it's crazy
Trying to have it both ways

I wanna be rich but live like a peasant
Be a king who doesn't wear any robes
Or maybe be a starving actor
Who gets cast to play in all of the roles

It may be that I'm crazy
Trying to have it both ways

But I believe
It can be achieved
Finding my true meaning
Somewhere in-between

***

Details:

My requirements for the last song of any Song-a-day January is that it get done quickly. But it's also sometimes a confessional. This one is definitely dealing with some of the weirdness of trying to be a working artist; in a lot of ways, it feels like cheating the system. You're not supposed to live like this. But I'm greedy, I guess-- I want to find a way to live creatively without being completely poor, and to be productive but still have as healthy social life.

There are also issues with commitment. I've definitely committed to being creative, but hesitant to do all the things you're supposed to do to be successful at it. I have all sorts of mental blocks and emotional barriers to doing various things.

But one thing I love about this project is that it somehow brings together the creative, the social, and the business sides of things in a fluid fashion. It allows me to do what I really love doing, which is writing songs. When I co-write, it allows me to potentially make new friends and to maintain older friendships. And posting the songs everyday is a great marketing tool. It's not perfect-- I haven't figured out how to monetize it, yet. But it's a great example of how you can pull all these different facets together.

Anyway, back to the song. I was listening to the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" just before starting, and the chord progression and groove bear some resemblance. But the rest of the song goes in a completely different direction. I started out with a bunch of well-known idioms; I recognize that they don't all mean exactly what I want them to mean, but structurally, they're what I was going for. They'll get better in revision. I''d like to get all the verses to be kind of like the 2nd verse-- taking a cliche, but putting a spin on it.

Anyway, I"ll admit that this isn't anywhere close to my favorite song of the month, but I think it emotionally wraps up the project.

Thanks for listening!

Day 30: Turkey Hall of Fame (Song-a-day January)

Day 30: Turkey Hall Of Fame

By Pony Lee & David Coile

Lyrics:

Birds of a feather flock together
And so they gave them names
Tina and Louie, they were ready
To play some turkey games

They were playing peek-a-boo
Flew up to the second floor
They became the peeping toms
And would be forever more

Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
They loved them worms and grains
Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
In the turkey hall of fame

Doctors, nurses and patients
They loved them little guys
Every time they saw them
You know they'd get a rise

Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
They loved them worms and grains
Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
In the turkey hall of fame

Don't know why that mournful day
The turkey crossed the road
But Tina tried, got squashed and died
That's how the story goes

Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
They loved them worms and grains
Gobble gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
In the Longmont United Hospital
Same day surgery, post op
And recovery unit
Turkey hall of fame

***

Details:

Back in December, Pony Lee and I talked about writing a song together, and I suggested we set something up in January. About a week ago, he called me and said he wanted to write a song about a turkey that was the mascot for Longmont United Hospital. What's more, he wanted to write it at the hospital and sing it to the staff. So that's what we did...

Day 29: Novocaine Brain (Song-a-day January)

 

Day 29: Novocaine Brain
By Trish Applegate-Loetz, Robby Layton and David Coile

Lyrics:

Big bang trauma therapy
Stepping out of the crash
Sensory singularity
Life gone by in a flash

Who, what, when, where, why and how?
Is it even real?
Battered, bloodied and beaten down
But how come I can't feel?

Novocaine brain
It's keeping me sane
Novocaine brain
It's my only relief from the pain

Heading home in the usual way
Saw I had a green light
Looking forward to dinner at eight
Then came the truck from the right

Novocaine brain
It's keeping me sane
Novocaine brain
It's my only relief from the pain

Novocaine brain
It's killing the pain
But it's insane
Maybe it's time to feel the pain

***

Details:

Trish and Robby are both in my band, and we've written songs together as duos, but never as a trio. We haven't had a chance to catch up for a while, so it took us some time to get started, and when we did, we were really struggling to get mutually inspired.

We've all had politics on the mind lately, but weren't sure if we wanted to tackle it directly. But the world overall seems like a crazy place, and Trish got to talking about how dreamlike it is-- sometimes it's hard to believe it's even real.

Once we had the topic, it came together fairly quickly. We did spend a lot of time trying to figure out the chord progression, and ended up with this grunge-like guitar part, and we were a little inspired by Kurt Cobain's lyrical style. But the lyrics started out telling a more literal story, then got more oblique as we went forward.

I love my band-- they're great to work with! And I'm glad we got to write an original tune together. Next, we might try writing a song with all five of us.