The Cavan Project

As many of you know for about eight and a half years I have been writing and publishing an original song each month born out of the idea that creativity doesn’t need inspiration, it needs a deadline. You… Read More

Month 100 of the song-a-month project and a milestone achieved. Not exactly the song I’d like to go to the ton with, but a song nonetheless! It’s been an interesting month where my fingers have taken a beating… Read More

Month 99 of the song-a-month project and the first one done in a social distancing/isolation environment. These are strange times and it’s been an interesting challenge settling into a new routine. Which of course is a setup for… Read More

Month 98 of the original song-a-month project, and I’ve snuck this one in thanks mainly to the extra day in February!! I’ve been listening to a lot of hip-hop beats where there’s a more traditional rock style vocal… Read More

Month 97 of the original-song-a-month project, and one directly influenced by the bushfires we faced over December and January here in Australia. I quite like the way it has turned out by there were a few issues right… Read More

Month 96 of the original song-a-month project – a full eight years under my belt. This one was penned on the Gold Coast in November and combines the lessons one can learn in sport and how they apply… Read More

Month 95 of the original song-a-month project, and the first in what I plan to be a series of science songs. Working for an organisation that promotes all things STEM (The Royal Institution of Australia) exposes me to… Read More

Month 94 of original song-a-month project. The lyrics for this one came together while walking the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail, a 5-day hiking/camping trek. There’s something about being out in the wilds that does make you think a… Read More

Month 93 of the song-a-month project, – yep, inching ever closer to the century mark! I could pretty much say exactly what I did last month: another month scraping in by the skin of my teeth and all… Read More

Month 92 of the song-a-month project, and yes, another month another song. And yes, another month scraping in by the skin of my teeth. It’s all my fault though as The Light was pretty much complete bar a… Read More

Month 91 of original song-a-month project and a song based on the book Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller. It’s an interesting look at relationships and the way people interact. I’m quite happy with the music on… Read More

Month 90 of original song-a-month project. This one came together over a couple of cold Adelaide winter nights and is probably crying out for some more production work (I wonder if I will ever not say that about… Read More

Month 89 of original song-a-month project and a very simple piece – just two chords in fact. Sadly it’s another month where I haven’t had a great deal of time to play around with the song so the… Read More

I feel somewhat embarrassed that I’ve only just discovered the brilliance of Mike Posner. I’ve often referenced my favourite songwriting podcast, Sodajerker, and their reasonably recent interview with Posner can be found here. He’s a fascinating character and… Read More

Month 88 of the song-a-month project has me sounding like a broken record with yet more challenges attached. This time some computer problems are all I can blame, but there’s a song here so I shouldn’t complain too… Read More

Month 87 of the song-a-month project is another that had challenges attached. While last month’s song was in the midst of packing to move, this month has been about getting setting up in my new home to actually… Read More

Month 86 of the song-a-month project, and one that made it out despite some trying times! Moving house is never easy, so with most of my gear packed up I’m using this version of Long Gone that was… Read More

And so begins the eighth years of the original song-a-month project. Month 85 brings a song with an interesting story. I always try and write a song each flight I take (which is quite a few). On a… Read More

Seven years and 21 days ago I built this website to track the progress of writing, recording and publishing a song each month. It has been all about staying true to the edict that creativity doesn’t need inspiration,… Read More

Social media feeds over that past month or so have picked up on the amazing guitar made from coloured pencils, and it spiked an interest in me to find other guitars made from unusual materials. A couple of… Read More

Month 84 of original song-a-month project and a full seven years under my belt! This one is an interesting one in that one of my work colleagues asked me to write a song for their wedding! In the… Read More

I’m never happy unless I have something to build, and the latest project has been coming up with an effects pedal housing that’s a bit different to the norm. The goal was to make something cheap without a… Read More

Month 83 of original song-a-month project and one that has had the full Magnificent Companeros treatment. My original piece now has the skills of Will Berryman (bass and arrangement), Aaron Cliff (guitar), Tim Newsom (keyboard) and Sil Molnar… Read More

I’ve always got some project on the go and this time it’s a pedalboard hack. I’ve been through a lot of pedalboards in my time – big ones, small ones, homemade and professional. Right now for the pedals… Read More

Month 82 of original song-a-month project and another song that had to be squeezed out at the last moment! Again there’s been a flurry of Magnificent Companeros activity with a bunch of new songs being worked on but… Read More