Last year, my New Year's resolution was to try and record 1 song per week. I'm happy to announce that I was able to get that done.
I'm gonna keep it going in 2026.
This week... "Amira's Coffee Shop", by me, Steve Mohacey.
20 years ago, I was deployed with the 4th Infantry Division band to Iraq for OIF 5-7. While in Iraq, the band was tasked with many different duties and assignments. But the ONE assignment that kept us all going was this: we had a MUSICAL mission. Our little band of 37 (I believe that is correct... it's been a long time) musicians would head out to even the most remote Forward Operating Bases (FOB) and bring high quality, live musical entertainment, to our troops (the GREATEST audiences you could EVER play music for by the way). We wanted to bring them a few moments of peace, even if only for an hour. This was hazardous duty as we had to get from point A to point B. During my time in Iraq, we travelled more than 25,000 miles, through the most dangerous terrain on Earth at the time. But.. I did it with some of the most talented, and certainly most committed Soldier-Musicians ever assembled.
While many of our comrades were blogging about their time in Iraq, we decided to write music and create a musical blog of our experiences. My musical partners in jazz crimes, Joshua Distefano (keys), Chris Kerley (bass), Brian Archer (drums/sound), and I got busy writing music. We wrote so much music that we even recorded an album of Josh's music WHILE in Iraq during our scarce downtime.
I wrote "Amira's Coffee Shop" after we made a trip to Camp Prosperity. We went to Camp Prosperity for a 72-hour mission at the site of Saddam’s trial, but the war had other plans. When our return transport was diverted, 3 days stretched into 5. In the sudden, unexpected stillness of those extra days, we found Amira’s. It was a small coffee shop run by an Iraqi woman who, we were told, made the best Turkish coffee in the country. For the first time in nearly a 100 days, the clock stopped. We sat, breathed, and found gratitude in the steam of a cup of coffee. It wasn't just the best coffee I’ve ever had—it was the first time in months we felt human again.
I don't know what happened to Amira, but I truly hope she is alive and well.
I hope you enjoy, "Amira's Coffee Shop".
I REALLY wanted to use real tracks to create the entire recording. However, I wasn't able to find a bass track that would play what I wrote on the intro and head of the song. I did have Band in a Box play the bass part during the sax solo and right at the very end of the song. So, here is what I did:
I wrote the song and used Finale to save and engrave it. I saved the individual bass track from the arrangement in finale to .mid file. I recorded myself on Tenor sax throughout the song. I assigned the following sounds included in Logic Pro to cover bass on the intro, head on the way in and out: Punchy Bottom
The drum part came from this: Memo: This is a slow 50s pop 12/8 Style with acoustic piano & nylon guitar in triplets. Very simple bass & brushes. '!' smart guitar voicings, brushes. 5 instruments: piano, bass, brushes, guitar, strings. T=62 -Examples: Memories, Impossible Dream, Genre "Intensity" Score=70/100 -PERCY~.STY. Percy-Slow 12/8 50s Pop Real and MIDI. Quintet. Tempo=65 (50-85) Instruments: M-Acoustic String Bass, M-Ac.Piano, M-NylonGuitar, M-Strings, Drums RD: CountryShuffle: a: SideStick, HiHat b: Snare, HiHat :Shawn Soucy M33: Acoustic String Bass M1: Acoustic Piano M25: Nylon String Guitar M49: Strings
The saxophone was recorded using a Sennheiser 441 with the "FETHEAD" to boost the gain. The Sennheiser 441 is a dynamic mic. The Fethead gives it a 27db bump via the pre-amp built into my Focusrite Clarett++ 2pre. Dynamic mics do not require phantom power. The FETHEAD uses phantom power to boost the gain and just plugs into the XLR out on my mic.
Backing tracks via Band In A Box 2025 Ultrapak Plus for Mac.
Recorded in Logic Pro 11.
Selmer Reference 54 Tenor Saxophone. Mouthpiece- Dave Guardala Michael Brecker 1 (handmade). Boston Sax Shop Black Box 3 reeds (the BEST REEDS EVER!).
Greetings from France. That was really pleasant, Steve. What a nice song to listen to while having a coffee after a chilly morning dog walk with my 2 boys.
ThinkPad i9 32GB RAM 7TB SSD; Win11 Pro; RME Fireface UCX II; BiaB 2026 Ultra Bitwig Studio 6; Studio One Pro 7; Melodyne Studio 5; Acoustica Premium 7 Gig Performer 5; NI S61 MK3; Focal Shape 65; Beyerdynamic DT 880 & 770
Hi Steve! Thank you for sharing the background to this piece - that info brought a lot of humanity (human worth) to it. The piece does create a picture of normality in an otherwise abnormal situation. Great playing, and looking forward to your weekly instalments! Andrew
Greetings from France. That was really pleasant, Steve. What a nice song to listen to while having a coffee after a chilly morning dog walk with my 2 boys.
Thanks for giving my song a listen. Any walk with my dog and sons is pleasant. And when you add some coffee, it only gets better.
Hi Steve! Thank you for sharing the background to this piece - that info brought a lot of humanity (human worth) to it. The piece does create a picture of normality in an otherwise abnormal situation. Great playing, and looking forward to your weekly instalments! Andrew
Andrew- Thank you for the feedback. Band in a Box is such a great tool for making and recording music. I recorded a lot of jazz standards and some pop tunes (Stevie Wonder is an inspiration). But I could not post them here in the forum (not my songs). I guess I'll have to finish up a lot of my own songs this year.
Nice track indeed! Sax tone is primo! Good to hear you again.
It's good to be back. Last Fall was just crazy around here. Lot's of "life" happening. Let's hope the New Year brings some normality back. I've been recording, just not original songs (lot's of jazz standards, pop tunes, etc.). Just couldn't post them here. They are on my YouTube page though.
Good to hear you back, Steve. Very cool tune! Love your playing, and the arrangement is perfect.
The golden age of Army bands, before BRAC 2005 blew it all up, were awesome. Those were indeed the days...
DC Ron- I'm glad to be back. All of my assignments have been closed except 1st Cav at Ft. Hood and the Ft. Sam Band (and it's been on the chopping block twice since 2010 (sure hope it hasn't burned through all 9 lives yet).
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
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Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
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