11. Hot Johnson
Level 10: Lava and Fire Balls
The title of this piece predates the music by about 10 years. The funk/fusion/jazz-rock band of my middle school days dubbed one of our one-key fun jams "Hot Johnson", and the title more so than the generic, forgettable music (which at the time seemed like the hottest shit ever) is what stuck with me over the years.

Back in 2006 during my senior year of college, I began writing the actual music that developed into this crazy little piece. The initial idea was a demented funk song in the odd time of 13/16. The time signature came from one of the riffs I was playing around with at my keyboard, not as a deliberate choice beforehand. The very fast and odd rhythm made it a real challenge for me to keep up the momentum of the piece beyond a series of short disconnected ideas.