Hit By Car

When I was 20 I made a decision to walk across the country, I would prepare for 2 years and go no matter what.  I wrote all these songs and taught myself the guitar out of boredom until about 6 months till deadline I had a panic attack, realizing my big walk could be my death, I put together this album to be my legacy.  I figured if I lived I would just keep writing music. I did not end up going on the walk, it was a pretty suicidal impulse but I put together CRNDLSM (50 songs on 5 albums) over the next 10 years to cope with the downward spiral.  Each album gets progressively crazier and crazier.

Click here to go to studio version

This is the first song I ever wrote, it’s called Charlie. 

Please enjoy!


I tell people this song took the longest to write, 10 freaking years. I needed the song for the project because of the guitar part, the title, the narrator, and the composition.  I knew it was garbage though but after a few very thoughtful critiques I edited the words and posted a video of the edit and someone else thought it was good enough to share on their own page so It was good enough for me.  So here’s the second song.


This used to be the fastest acoustic guitar playing in the world, but I’ve slowed down a lot since then.


It’ll take a year to get 50 songs up here at this rate, does this guitar sound as drunk as I am?


The first time I played this in a bar the host fell out of his seat laughing.  I’d have to tell people, no my mom has never had an abortion.


I wrote the second half first, and my friend Nick confronted me to ask if I talked to the girl he had just went on a date with cause the words were identical.  I said no then wrote the first half with him in mind.  He said I was a creep and this is a sad song and Nick is a happy name.  So I changed the title from Nick’s song.  A few years later he died going out in a boat.  It’s on the album, so I play it.


Halfway through the first album congratulations you made it!  Good ole fashioned finger picking, I don’t have time for practice so you get all the imperfections here, missed words slipped fingers in your face just like it’s live.


I thought it would be cool if people came up with their own versus to this song that I could add in on live performances.  I’ve had probably 4 other versus I cut for length and other reasons.  


This first album was originally 15 songs I’d put together from guitar exercises I made up when I was 20 years old under the impression that I would die on a suicidal walk across the country.  I cut one of the songs because it didn’t fit.  It’s really too old to edit but I honestly feel like if I had died on my journey then this album would have blown up in an underground indie scene because what sort of psycho human devotes his time and energy to this sort of thing, like Christopher McCandless or confederacy of dunces author .  Now it’s just a look at the world through the eyes of a suicidal but well meaning teenager. And pretty much obsolete.


I recorded this on a cassette tape and wrapped it in a shoe box with a letter and walk 4 miles at night to leave it under her window.  Her mom got it in the morning and mailed it to her in Austin cause she was in college.  She said she was scared to listen to it and locked herself alone in a closet to hear it, surprised by how nice it was.  Check out those chord progressions.


Jeez if this album wasn’t only 40 minutes I’d think it’s too long, these are painful to trudge through I do hope it gets better.  Doesn’t matter!  You’re getting the whole collection!   I love it because the breakdown in the middle is fun to play.


Now’s a good time of year to be angry at god right?  That’s not what this song is about though.


My timings a little off, I figured each song could represent a month in the year and here’s January again with a resolution to change and take charge of my life.


I’d thought I used so many words throughout, I closed the album with an instrumental.  When I worked at a vet HBC was a common code for hurt animals, since I walked everywhere I saw dead animals all the time. HBC, coulda been me, but there’s no words so you can decide if the narrator is dead or not.  

Anyways thanks for listening!


Hit By Car – Studio Recordings