Modern Problems In Reflected Living 20 Years Later

This month we released two albums of historic value, one was Town's Edge Rock and ten years later Modern Problems In Reflected Living came to be.  We focus on the latter.

I actually had an album done The First And Last Reunion when Jack Orbit came up to me and wanted to do a new album along with Ken Miller and Geoff Redding.   But I thought since I was working nights at the time, it would free up days so that we could actually record new songs and we did.

The majority of songs were recorded in June of 1993 at the duplex lovingly called Broadcast Manor.  Waste Of Time Wynna was the sequel to Pretender of Drive In Blues, I had this psycho chick at work that liked me but everytime I tried to ask her out, she would freak out and say she's engaged to this dude in Muscatine and bla bla bla and so basically this is a FOAD song aimed at Miss Wynna Witmer who's probably married and divorced five times already.  Somebody's guitar is way out of tune on this one.

Pillar Of Salt-a odd one but I think it was a co write with Ken Miller about a reaction we saw on Oprah that didn't set well with us.  I love the Geoff Redding guitar counterpoint as he strums to the offbeat.  Diggy Kat played this a few times on his show although I think we have better songs on this album he could put on instead.

Hard To Love You-One thing about Orbit's contributions to this band is that he likes plenty of backing vocals. I sing well it's hard, Geoff, Jack and Ken sing To Love You and then we all get together on the final tag line but I think we gave that up on later recordings.  I think Wynna may have been the target of ridicule on this song especially on the biological clock is ticking but as the years go on, the mind gets foggy.

How Far It Goes actually goes back to 1988 during the Postcards From The Edge, but none of the music fit the lyrics and we put them back into the closet till Geoff added a reggae guitar to the beginning.

Hey Bama-Something that I wrote down at DeSoda's on a fun filled Saturday Night.  Ken actually is using a glass side on the bass to give it a different sound than usual.  I think we were going for a Little Feat sound.  Geoff sits this one out, which is probably the only recording with the Town's Edge Rock lineup of me, Orbit and Miller.

Debbie's Winegarden-Named after the chick that supposed to be my duet partner on this song but she never showed up to do the recording so we went on without her.  Original intent was me to sing the first verse, her the second and both of us the final verse.  It would have been gangbusters.

Missing Her-Another song conceived on the dance floor and in the bathroom at DeSoda's.  Another song about a wasted weekend at the meat market.

Minor Miracle-Brian Mullahan's production on this album really came full circle as we used different methods of recording guitars and drums on this album. Although known as a perfectionist who would literately take apart other bands, he also recorded things as they happen, sometimes good and sometimes not so good and the drums are pretty sloppy to say the very least. Basically me and Geoff on this number.

Little Girl-Wynna again.  She used to work with us at the old place of workage and although I think there was some sort of attraction, she seemed to take great pride in pissing me off with her split personalities although not as bad as Isabella when I decided to cast my lot with her 8 years down the road.  The song is fun to do though.

Lies-When someone screwing you do you stop and say thanks.....how did we come up with that line? Oh the fun of observing folks at the singles bar and you can come up some interesting things as well.  It really sounds punkish to me.

Are You Gonna Be The One-Originally from First And Last Reunion I had to include this to Modern Problems since it sounded so good.

Long Way To Go-Replaces the overlong Her Lightning Ways on CD.  Something spur of the moment.

Away From You-One of the things that makes co-writing with Jack Orbit  is that he managed to bring in a zinger set of lyrics or music when he feels the moment is right and he gets credited for the yuk yuk yuk yuk guitar riff at the beginning of the song.  Another in a long line of infatuation songs that I tend to be good at that time.

Straight Laced And Gone- Aka Modern Problems In Reflected Living.  A silly ditty that was fucking impossible to get on tape.  Finally had to slow the guitars down to at least get the drums fit into the groove. Most of the lyrics is jive anyway.

Girl On Your Mind-Another Desoda's observation that became another song but I sang it in that hypnotic whine that was typical of the 1983-1985 era to which I was trying to find my voice.  Sometimes that Illinois southern drawl really is a liability.

Don't Let Me Know-Lyrics were written around 1987 and never used for Tales Of The Red Caboose but Jack and Ken came up with a nice little riff that fit the words hand in glove.  The stop and start of the chorus is fun to do live and usually the jam part we do extend it by a minute or two.

Frosted Flakes-Some perverted humor of watching some dumb show on TV and making fun of the ditz that was on that show, Road Rules maybe?  Geoff Redding's guitar riff counterpoint is perfect.

When The Night Comes-Wrote this with Ken about five years prior but we could never get the feeling right till finally on the next to last recording session finally did this with a very slow and deliberate off beat snare drum hit.  And for the first time ever, I actually did the lead guitar part.  Very simple but reeking of despair.

Sun Ra-Done as a tribute to the eccentric jazz artist who passed away a day before and we decided to do something off the cuff and something avant-garde   Amazing what a digital delay can do for you.

Modern Problems would be the final trilogy of a cycle of albums that began with Diamonds In The Skies and Drive In Blues ended with the pop rock style of MP but soon after the completion of this album I decided to put the band on hiatus while reunited with my old high school sweetheart of a life of being together, which only lasted about four weeks and endless days of rain which begin the flood of 93.  By then while recording we were finally mastering the art of recording music and I can hear it on this recording.  Hugh McConnell did wonders by placing the drum mic at certain spots and picking up everything

Broadcast Manor's recording room was my bedroom at the duplex and it was very cramped to say the very least, the amps were turned down fairly low and some of the songs we just plugged the guitar and delay into the four track itself. Worked out very well judging by how little space we had in there.  The old Realistic Mic really did a good job despite the fact that it was battery operated and the threads were just about stripped off from all the use but it did managed to hang together for another five records before retiring it for good.

20 years later it still holds up very well and I can listen to every song from start to finish.  Although some might opt for Diamonds In The Skies or Long Time Forgotten as the best of the TEs, I have to concour. All the 90s albums have something of value if they weren't they would have been retired long ago.  Modern Problems In Reflected Living, while quickly conceived and recorded remains one of my favorite Townedgers albums ever.  And that's saying a lot.