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... "Donut of Misery", composed by me, Steve Mohacey.

Military humor is unmatched when it comes to coping with stress. During OIF 5-7 at the 4th Infantry Division headquarters, someone created an Excel sheet with a donut graph to count down our days left in theater.

The catch? There was no fixed return date. Everything depended on the mission. The date moved forward and backward constantly. One day you were weeks away; the next, you were months away. Naturally, the tracker became known as the "Donut of Misery".

Shoutout to whoever made the "Donut of Misery" Excel sheet. The goalposts moved so much that the graph became a psychological hazard.

So... I wrote a song about it. The 4ID jazz band, "Groove Coalition", performed it during our deployment. Be sure to watch all the way to the end for an example of the "Donut of Misery" graph. I hope you enjoy it.

The improvised solo section in the middle is ALL BIAB. You guys ROCK!

Memo: This modern reggaeton style has a layered beat, synthesizer sub bass, percussive synthesizer, and wah-wah electric guitar. -Examples: D√°kiti, Haw√°i, Genre "Intensity" Score=70/100
_CHAVOS.STY. Chavos Modern Reggaeton Beat
All RealTracks. Sextet. Tempo=90 (80-105)
Instruments: Syn.Bass, Multi-Drums, Synth, Loop, El.Guitar, Drums
RD: DancehallClassicWes^1-a:SyncSnare, Kick , b:SyncSnare, SyncKick :Wes Little
Multi-DrumsDancehall Classic w Ribbon Crasher
RT2969: Bass, Synth, DancehallSync Ev16 085 , Ed (Great Oz) Clare
RT2973: Synth, Rhythm DancehallPercussive Ev16 085 , Ed (Great Oz) Clare
Loop:House-Techno-Trance\House - main_room_128_drum_loop_c_sharp_minor ev16.wav
RT2525: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm FunkWahWahChords Ev16 100 , Greg Moore

I used finale to create some midi files of the bass line on the "head". These were imported into Logic and I used the Apple sounds and some loops on the "head" of the song. I used my Asturia Keylab Essential 61 to play the grand piano sounds (from Logic) on the "crunchy" chords in the head (they represent the frustration of watching that graph move).

The saxophones were 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 2026 Ultrapak Plus for Mac and Apple Loops in Logic Pro 11. Grand Piano crunch chords performed on Arturia Keylab Essential 61 midi controller and the grand piano patch in Logic Pro 11.

Recorded in Logic Pro 11.

Selmer Reference 54 Tenor Sax. Mouthpiece- Dave Guardala handmade MB1

Tenor Sax- Boston Sax Shop Black Box 3.5 reeds (the BEST REEDS EVER!)

Selmer Series III Soprano Sax. Mouthpiece- Dukoff D8

Soprano Sax- Boston Sax Shop Black Box 3 (did I mention that they are the BEST REEDS EVER!)

Filmed on iPhone 15 Pro Max.

This video was edited using Final Cut Pro

Last edited by Steve Mohacey; Yesterday at 10:04 PM.
Warmest regards,

Steve Mohacey
mohacey@satx.rr.com
https://www.reverbnation.com/stevemohacey