I hope 2015 will be a much better year than 2014. 2014 sucked from day one.
I have no idea what musical projects will be forthcoming. Acoustic Favors was done on the cheap and impromptu form. It's interesting to put up an album of new songs and take a day to do it. It may lead the way for more songs that will compile the next effort.
I tell Russell in our last get together that whatever we do will be not The Townedgers. The TEs are a controlled democracy with me dictating how things will go and sound. The TEs are Rodney Smith, just as Vufcup is Diggy Kat. It's called working for the man. Of course the biggest question is time to get together since nobody is on the same page and I admit I'm guilty just as the rest not to get together. Jam sessions are always encouraged. Russell says he knows a few musicians and I continue to tell him to get a couple and let's have some fun with it. Nothing more to say about this.
For the past three weeks I have a visitor in the year, a stray gray lap cat that nobody knows where it came from. I call it Callie Rustbucket, Callie was a name of Donna's cat (Brooksie) that I thought was a nice name, Rustbucket due to all the orange and brown spots on it's coat. I am not a cat person so it stays outside but she gets fed quite well by the neighbor next door or me sneaking snacks out there. I'd say she's about four to five months but is very very friendly, even to old crabasses like myself. I don't plan to keep her, my brother don't want her in the house either but she has free rein of the yard. She must have ESP, when I go out to get the mail, you don't see her, but coming back to get the mail, she's on the walk laying down. She knows when the door's open, she'll peek in and she knows the car well enough to run to it when I get home. Speaking of the devil, she's peaking in.. BRB.
One thing I do notice is that Callie not a big fan of the waterbed. Nor anything water.
But I would love to give her a good home, she's a good kitty cat.
Townedger Radio on Lucky Star has been a fun show and quite different and it's nice to play music that I want to hear. It's a month by month experiment and I have shows till March. It's the third Wed of the month at midnight CST. In other words, another show nobody listens to. I don't play Free Bird or Killer Queen or any overplayed garbage on Corporate Radio.
I guess the band highlight was the reunion of Paraphernalia in Facebook in January to which just about everybody that played in that band got together to remembrance the past and although we didn't play too often when we did, we were pretty good. Especially when fumbling through Free Bird on our last show, a song we never did beforehand. And never will again. The 30 year statue of limitations past this December with our final show in 84 so the band is now officially broken up. I hear rumors about Mike wanting to know when we're going to get together again from Russ, but coming from the source, he may have heard that in his dream. And I suspect that Russell will continue to think that way for another 10 to 20 years from now.
Forthcoming Trains is a better album than 30. There was more focus and we didn't labored too hard on the songs. I come to find it's best to revisit songs and see if they can fit better on a new album and I think I picked the right songs, which will be the norm for the next album. Nobody buys albums, nobody listens to albums and nobody cares about albums anymore but if I'd buy my albums if I seen them in stores. If I didn't have that mentality, then it would be pointless to tout the music. My albums are my diaries of that certain time, there's no throwaways, it's like chapters in a book. If it keeps you interested, then you keep listening. And that's what I want to do make music that people will continue keep listening to, like a book. If it don't work, you put it back on the shelf and go with something else.
I guess that's it for now, work beckons. On behalf of Martin Daniels, Russell Swearingen, Michael Swearingen, Geoffery Redding, Callie Rustbucket and the rest of the Townedgers crew I bid you all Happy New Year 2015.
Wednesday 31 December 2014
Sunday 14 December 2014
The Acoustic Route
Since it was 12/13/14 I figured I would come up with a few songs to work on, but in the end, it became another finished album. Recorded, Produced, Mixed and Mastered in one day by me and perhaps the only time I have done this with workable songs. The echophonic years are different, the old man had a reel to reel, tapes were cheap and I had some percussion and knocked a lot of them out. Most are unlistenable but I was in my early teens.
The Townedgers themselves, Geoff and Martin have taken to other tasks in life and the band has not recorded much together since 30. Martin continues to go into production and helping other bands get going, Geoff has his daughters and I have myself to contend with.
Like anything else, the Saturday recording session had problems right from the start. Somehow channel A on the four track is not working anymore and the six songs recorded had to be scrapped and recorded on another channel. And of course the other problems (Flubbed words, missed guitar chords etc etc), so basically I did a lot of improvising and came up with the songs of note.
Shooting Star
Star!
Better Days
Avenues
Still Strangers
Cocaine Train (R.Smith/R.Swearingen/D.Lancaster)
Somewhere Down The Line
Realitesville
Country Life
Wolfie
Dear Lisa
Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever (R.Smith/N.Passmore)
And a bonus track (Track 14) The Road You're On
I really didn't get too deep into the catalog, but rather on the songs that I could find the lyrics. Except where noted I wrote the songs. The idea was to simplify some of the longer versions of songs (Shooting Star and Star!) from their previous arrangements. Star! was the first time I attempted to do the song in about 20 years and basically I would have forgotten all about the song had I not stumbled upon the lyrics. The person in question was Melissa, a strip dancer that I was friends with when she came into town in 1990 and like any other naive person thought this would go somewhere. It didn't and this song came about after a falling out over something trivial. I would see her one more time in 1991 which the song Sweet Melissa was written. A much more fonder farewell than Star!
But there's song that I wanted to redo. Somewhere Down The Line was one of them with a tagged ending that differs from the original. And of course Wolfie which was the hit single from Forthcoming Trains. Somewhere Down The Line i had to redo four times, the third got erased by accident. Two songs were helped by other folks, Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever came from a set of lyrics and some words that Nicole Passmore, thought up when we met in St Louis around 2009 and started to see each other. She's not musically inclined but she does have a habit of thinking some lines up for song ideas. She helped me on a couple more songs. Cocaine Train, on the other hand goes way back to 1983 as a filler track for Living In The Twilight Zone and I didn't think much of the song till my BFF buddy Russell Swearingen picked it out, (to the fact that it had Cocaine for it, I donno) and Dennis Lancaster thought up of the guitar riff, I think he added another chord in there somewhere, but whenever I performed this song, I usually do the arrangement to what I know. The words are all mine, but Russ and Dennis gets credit for the music.
12/13/14 is the working title. A couple more songs come from the 1980s. Since I have a catalog of more than 20 albums from 3 decades to choose from, a few songs come from the early 90s since I have the notebooks of the lyrics from that time around. Some albums were left off, Town's Edge Rock was one, Modern Problems In Reflected Living another, so was The Road Less Traveled or Long Time Forgotten. I did pick two from Pawnshops for Olivia and two came from Diamonds In The Skies. The recording (when the recorder would work) was fairly easy, and the new CD Recorder that I did the mixing and mastering on, took about an hour to make it sound presentable. It was easy, I recorded into one channel with guitar and some delay effects to sweeten up the sound. It's a mono recording but I did pan things off to the right to give it somewhat of a stereo sound. No drums were used, no backing vocals or other guitars. Just me and my Guild Acoustic unplugged and stripped down arrangements. No hassles with outside producers or band members either.
I am not comfortable about using my name as a solo artist, I prefer The Townedgers be it me incognito or with other guys in tow but this is a solo record and I don't know if it's going to lead to the next recording as Rodney Smith. The Townedgers are owed one more album under that name. We'll see what the future holds.
But for now 12/13/14 is what it would be like if I played an coffee house or solo. It's not perfect but it's an presentation of how I would sound with guitar in hand and a few songs to sing. But I can live with the results.
The Townedgers themselves, Geoff and Martin have taken to other tasks in life and the band has not recorded much together since 30. Martin continues to go into production and helping other bands get going, Geoff has his daughters and I have myself to contend with.
Like anything else, the Saturday recording session had problems right from the start. Somehow channel A on the four track is not working anymore and the six songs recorded had to be scrapped and recorded on another channel. And of course the other problems (Flubbed words, missed guitar chords etc etc), so basically I did a lot of improvising and came up with the songs of note.
Shooting Star
Star!
Better Days
Avenues
Still Strangers
Cocaine Train (R.Smith/R.Swearingen/D.Lancaster)
Somewhere Down The Line
Realitesville
Country Life
Wolfie
Dear Lisa
Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever (R.Smith/N.Passmore)
And a bonus track (Track 14) The Road You're On
I really didn't get too deep into the catalog, but rather on the songs that I could find the lyrics. Except where noted I wrote the songs. The idea was to simplify some of the longer versions of songs (Shooting Star and Star!) from their previous arrangements. Star! was the first time I attempted to do the song in about 20 years and basically I would have forgotten all about the song had I not stumbled upon the lyrics. The person in question was Melissa, a strip dancer that I was friends with when she came into town in 1990 and like any other naive person thought this would go somewhere. It didn't and this song came about after a falling out over something trivial. I would see her one more time in 1991 which the song Sweet Melissa was written. A much more fonder farewell than Star!
But there's song that I wanted to redo. Somewhere Down The Line was one of them with a tagged ending that differs from the original. And of course Wolfie which was the hit single from Forthcoming Trains. Somewhere Down The Line i had to redo four times, the third got erased by accident. Two songs were helped by other folks, Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever came from a set of lyrics and some words that Nicole Passmore, thought up when we met in St Louis around 2009 and started to see each other. She's not musically inclined but she does have a habit of thinking some lines up for song ideas. She helped me on a couple more songs. Cocaine Train, on the other hand goes way back to 1983 as a filler track for Living In The Twilight Zone and I didn't think much of the song till my BFF buddy Russell Swearingen picked it out, (to the fact that it had Cocaine for it, I donno) and Dennis Lancaster thought up of the guitar riff, I think he added another chord in there somewhere, but whenever I performed this song, I usually do the arrangement to what I know. The words are all mine, but Russ and Dennis gets credit for the music.
12/13/14 is the working title. A couple more songs come from the 1980s. Since I have a catalog of more than 20 albums from 3 decades to choose from, a few songs come from the early 90s since I have the notebooks of the lyrics from that time around. Some albums were left off, Town's Edge Rock was one, Modern Problems In Reflected Living another, so was The Road Less Traveled or Long Time Forgotten. I did pick two from Pawnshops for Olivia and two came from Diamonds In The Skies. The recording (when the recorder would work) was fairly easy, and the new CD Recorder that I did the mixing and mastering on, took about an hour to make it sound presentable. It was easy, I recorded into one channel with guitar and some delay effects to sweeten up the sound. It's a mono recording but I did pan things off to the right to give it somewhat of a stereo sound. No drums were used, no backing vocals or other guitars. Just me and my Guild Acoustic unplugged and stripped down arrangements. No hassles with outside producers or band members either.
I am not comfortable about using my name as a solo artist, I prefer The Townedgers be it me incognito or with other guys in tow but this is a solo record and I don't know if it's going to lead to the next recording as Rodney Smith. The Townedgers are owed one more album under that name. We'll see what the future holds.
But for now 12/13/14 is what it would be like if I played an coffee house or solo. It's not perfect but it's an presentation of how I would sound with guitar in hand and a few songs to sing. But I can live with the results.
Sunday 30 November 2014
Thoughts Of The Townedger November
I have been enjoying my second career as a DJ on Lucky Star Radio, hosting Townedger Radio on the third Wednesday of each month that begins at midnight CST. But here we go with the latest installment of what I give my opinion and nobody gives a shit?
Since the weather has been shit, I turn my attention to recording what will be the last chapter of The Townedgers as a music collective. But we have no songs to speak of, and basically haven't thought much of putting new songs down, even though Radio Maierburg Records would like to have something for 2015. Really pointless to make albums outside of my own enjoyment. But I continue to promote the songs via Townedger Radio. Nobody else will promote them.
Don't look for a Tyrus reunion anymore. We have two extreme right wing viewed guitar players. They will still remain brother and arms but if I hear one of them bitching about Obummer they might get decapitated with a 22 inch swiss knocker. One plays whammy bar and the other a one note lead. The more reliable is making a decent living flying airplanes. He's moved on.
As I sat down to a Mexican dinner with Russell for the first time in months, we discuss ways of making one last attempt to get together and jam. When we stick with bar tunes, we are one and the same, not much so when it comes to my own stuff. It's a difference in styles that clashes with the simple melodies of The TEs. Then again I tend to really shy away from those who disagree with the melody philosophy of The Townedgers, they're not progressive rock, it's simple melody concurring with the thoughts of my mental state at that time. Some albums are very much a diary and I rather not have them being altered. And the personal nature of Pawnshops Of Olivia make it hard to revisit some of those songs. But Forthcoming Trains was, for the first time in years, an album that I just went on flow and feelings and what was written on the spot.
I do admit this, that paying more attention to see what I can find in the pawnshops or dollar bins at thrift stores took priority over my drumming and band activities and had I proceeded to translate that into my drum playing that perhaps I could rival Neil Peart or Gavin Harrison but I was a record collector first and musician second. Therefore The Townedgers were just that, a curio band that hardly anybody heard outside of friends and a couple fans. A hobby but it's a hobby that I happy to play from time to time and be happy with the results. Not all of it works but the ones that do stand out sound good on the radio when played. Perhaps I'll put the best together to make a decent best of. Hopefully I can find the right 12 songs for that. Maybe somewhere down the line I might get some faraway fans to seek me out for a comeback, just like they did with Rodriguez.
When you reach the 50s, time becomes more precious than when you were 30 or 40 and that there's no guarantee that you'll be around tomorrow. I don't think I am punishing Russell or blowing him off when talk of getting us back together to jam, shit happens in life and it has happened in bunches this year. We have work, he has golf on the weekends when the weather is over 40 degrees and basically lives a full life with his wife, doggie and cats. I'm not much of a cat fan and even less so when I'm around cats with attitudes. I'd love nothing more to wall Louie up in the bass drum and get a double bass petal and do Slipknot solos. There some cats I like, Bud and Lovie up at my brother's work place, Cosmo a few examples, but Louie creeps me out half the time. Which explains why I don't show up much over at my best friend's place. Plus he lives way across town.
I sold Matt, Russ's son my old Yamaha drum set to which Russ mentioned that they're now over at his place since Matt has gotten married and living a full life of work and school and no time for drums. So actually I'll be playing my old set that was a big part of the classic record years of the early 90s up to 2003's 20 before the DW replaced that set. So at least I won't have to tote my drums down there. The question remains of finding time from our busy life and playing together. But while my best friend continues to dream about a world tour and big recording career just like the old days, I'll be content with just getting together and jamming and perhaps maybe get to the corner bar for a fun filled evening and having a good time. And picking the best 3 cymbals instead of the usual 49 that I used on the last Tyrus show. I still have to haul these things without any help and I'm 53 now.
The Townedgers themselves, Martin continues to produce and record up and coming acts, Geoff is playing in his daughters band and we have not done much communicating since Forthcoming Trains wrapped up. Geoff played all over 30 but not as much on Forthcoming Trains which left me to do a lot of the guitar parts. But I have done that in the past as well. A band collective means anybody shows up gets credit for the album but I don't really reveal who played what on the songs. But we all know who did what on them.
It's a been 15 years when I first met Lisa and it was a year ago that we last emailed each other. Things happen in life and you either grow together or grow further apart. But I do give her credit for inspiring me to write a great album based upon our time together. We were not destined to grow old together but all the same I enjoyed the time we did spend with each other.
My favorite albums of 2014? Not a very long list but the ones that stood out was the Dylan Basement Tapes Raw album and The Strypes Snapshot. The worst one? Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence, I didn't get that one at all.
Going to St Louis was a fun time and I went there between the Ferguson riots but my place of sanctuary The Chain Of Rocks Bridge has been neglected once again. Some fuckers defaced and tagged up the fire engine and the once pretty Route 66 sings. Can't have anything nice down there. Nobody cares anymore.
The future of the TEs after the next album, I can't say. One day at a time.
Since the weather has been shit, I turn my attention to recording what will be the last chapter of The Townedgers as a music collective. But we have no songs to speak of, and basically haven't thought much of putting new songs down, even though Radio Maierburg Records would like to have something for 2015. Really pointless to make albums outside of my own enjoyment. But I continue to promote the songs via Townedger Radio. Nobody else will promote them.
Don't look for a Tyrus reunion anymore. We have two extreme right wing viewed guitar players. They will still remain brother and arms but if I hear one of them bitching about Obummer they might get decapitated with a 22 inch swiss knocker. One plays whammy bar and the other a one note lead. The more reliable is making a decent living flying airplanes. He's moved on.
As I sat down to a Mexican dinner with Russell for the first time in months, we discuss ways of making one last attempt to get together and jam. When we stick with bar tunes, we are one and the same, not much so when it comes to my own stuff. It's a difference in styles that clashes with the simple melodies of The TEs. Then again I tend to really shy away from those who disagree with the melody philosophy of The Townedgers, they're not progressive rock, it's simple melody concurring with the thoughts of my mental state at that time. Some albums are very much a diary and I rather not have them being altered. And the personal nature of Pawnshops Of Olivia make it hard to revisit some of those songs. But Forthcoming Trains was, for the first time in years, an album that I just went on flow and feelings and what was written on the spot.
I do admit this, that paying more attention to see what I can find in the pawnshops or dollar bins at thrift stores took priority over my drumming and band activities and had I proceeded to translate that into my drum playing that perhaps I could rival Neil Peart or Gavin Harrison but I was a record collector first and musician second. Therefore The Townedgers were just that, a curio band that hardly anybody heard outside of friends and a couple fans. A hobby but it's a hobby that I happy to play from time to time and be happy with the results. Not all of it works but the ones that do stand out sound good on the radio when played. Perhaps I'll put the best together to make a decent best of. Hopefully I can find the right 12 songs for that. Maybe somewhere down the line I might get some faraway fans to seek me out for a comeback, just like they did with Rodriguez.
When you reach the 50s, time becomes more precious than when you were 30 or 40 and that there's no guarantee that you'll be around tomorrow. I don't think I am punishing Russell or blowing him off when talk of getting us back together to jam, shit happens in life and it has happened in bunches this year. We have work, he has golf on the weekends when the weather is over 40 degrees and basically lives a full life with his wife, doggie and cats. I'm not much of a cat fan and even less so when I'm around cats with attitudes. I'd love nothing more to wall Louie up in the bass drum and get a double bass petal and do Slipknot solos. There some cats I like, Bud and Lovie up at my brother's work place, Cosmo a few examples, but Louie creeps me out half the time. Which explains why I don't show up much over at my best friend's place. Plus he lives way across town.
I sold Matt, Russ's son my old Yamaha drum set to which Russ mentioned that they're now over at his place since Matt has gotten married and living a full life of work and school and no time for drums. So actually I'll be playing my old set that was a big part of the classic record years of the early 90s up to 2003's 20 before the DW replaced that set. So at least I won't have to tote my drums down there. The question remains of finding time from our busy life and playing together. But while my best friend continues to dream about a world tour and big recording career just like the old days, I'll be content with just getting together and jamming and perhaps maybe get to the corner bar for a fun filled evening and having a good time. And picking the best 3 cymbals instead of the usual 49 that I used on the last Tyrus show. I still have to haul these things without any help and I'm 53 now.
The Townedgers themselves, Martin continues to produce and record up and coming acts, Geoff is playing in his daughters band and we have not done much communicating since Forthcoming Trains wrapped up. Geoff played all over 30 but not as much on Forthcoming Trains which left me to do a lot of the guitar parts. But I have done that in the past as well. A band collective means anybody shows up gets credit for the album but I don't really reveal who played what on the songs. But we all know who did what on them.
It's a been 15 years when I first met Lisa and it was a year ago that we last emailed each other. Things happen in life and you either grow together or grow further apart. But I do give her credit for inspiring me to write a great album based upon our time together. We were not destined to grow old together but all the same I enjoyed the time we did spend with each other.
My favorite albums of 2014? Not a very long list but the ones that stood out was the Dylan Basement Tapes Raw album and The Strypes Snapshot. The worst one? Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence, I didn't get that one at all.
Going to St Louis was a fun time and I went there between the Ferguson riots but my place of sanctuary The Chain Of Rocks Bridge has been neglected once again. Some fuckers defaced and tagged up the fire engine and the once pretty Route 66 sings. Can't have anything nice down there. Nobody cares anymore.
The future of the TEs after the next album, I can't say. One day at a time.
Wednesday 29 October 2014
Thoughts Of The Townedger-October
On Monday, I checked myself into ER after going through chest pains and stayed in the hospital for a couple nights. The prime result was high blood pressure and I basically took it easy among walking around in those skimpy gowns the hospital gives you when you go there. So I'm supposed to take it easy, so here I am, a couple hours released from the hospital. Being tired somewhat from not sleeping very well, nobody ever sleeps in a hospital, I believe that I will make it.
Lucky Star Radio has been very helpful in promoting the new TE album, with key album tracks being played at random. Diggy Kat has been gracious in giving me my own show on net radio, called (what else) Townedger Radio, to promote the TEs and other forgotten music. The first show went on without any problems and if I'm not dead yet, more shows will be on the way, third Wednesday night of every month at Midnight CST.
I'm committed to put out a new TE album next spring as well. Hasn't been much going on in discussions with Martin or Geoff, being that Geoff is more into getting his daughters' band going more than hanging with the TEs. But there's no riff between him and Martin. It has also been proven that we could do it on without Geoff on a complete album. Highway Home and Pawnshops For Olivia come to mind. My best friend Russ has expressed a desire to help out on anything new and if there's a song that's right for him to play on, we'll give it our best shot.
There's not much for extra tracks from Forthcoming Trains left. I used End Of It All, an outtake for the first TE Radio show and got good feedback from it. There's a couple alternative takes of some songs but we were working on a strict time limit to get things done and only used two cassettes for the four track recordings. Richard Dennanbaugh is a bit more different as producer than Hugh McConnell who busted our butts on Forthcoming Trains, he lets me take my time better in making new albums than McConnell, but then again McConnell had the same theory as he did when he worked on the 20 album or Weather On The Nines although while the latter album took about 6 months to complete, the majority of it came from a straight two week bunch of sessions in late October, early November.
Other things, Russ is doing his best for us to get back together again and jam with a couple new guitar players he knows about. None of them Alex Ballantyne, a co worker who wanted to get something going but never got back to me about doing anything. One thing for sure, he plays a mean air guitar.
Every Hour On The Hour, the 1986 farewell shows of here before a failed move to Arizona I came across by accident while compiling TE Radio, has not been transferred over to CD. Problem was the original master to that has been misplaced leaving only a cassette copy that I played a lot when I was living in Tempe that year. Upon listening to it, I just didn't feel it was worth to issue on CD. The old cassette to cassette recording of it really was piss poor and the performance of the songs was a product of the times. It shall remain cassette only and out of print.
Likewise the Tyrus farewell Live Under A Full Moon. I still insist that Tyrus/Paraphernalia was one of the best live bands of the 80s but there's not much of a market for bar band rehashes of Sharp Dressed Man or Rocky Mountain Way. We would have gotten better had we all stayed together but LUAFM only hints of what could have been. Having reunited with Shawn Ster via Facebook was a fun event, but his political thinking is a bit too right wing, especially the Obama put downs he usually posts. I don't think he'd be a good fit if Tyrus would reunite on stage. But don't hold your breath on that happening. We have a couple of guitar players who are very right wing and FOX news watchers. They tend to not focus on the music. Politics was a reason why the band got put on a hiatus that hasn't changed in 30 years. Of course it's easier to blame it all on the POTUS and not on a worthless congress that sits on their hands and ass either. And I'll doubt it will be any different either. It's like Sammy Hagar rehashing Van Halen Reunion rumors, more or less the Me factor. As long as everybody is still alive, there's always the chance of reuniting. In our collective minds of course. Reality, not much so. Unless it's a slow news day and somehow the topic gets brought up.
On a positive, Shawn says he's given up drinking and is an a relationship once again. From what I remember of Shawn when he was in the band that he did consumed a lot of beer and did some drugs upon hitting the stage. He has his own acoustic show that he plays around the area from time to time. For musicians like us who are past 50 years of age, there's still a few that still hit the jam sessions and bands in the area but each year we lose a couple more, Scott Murray comes to mind. He passed away earlier in this month. Looking back perhaps I should have done more jamming around the area and being more acquainted of the area's fellow musicians, but I more inclined to follow my own music muse. It didn't make me rich, but it did allow me to make some decent homemade recordings of Route 66 who eventually became the Townedgers because of many other bands using Route 66. If I had the cockiness of Shawn, chances are I would be better known. But I was cursed by shyness and hid behind the scenes. And behind all them cymbals.
With that said, I do think Forthcoming Trains is one of the best albums of 2014. My best of list will probably be the only site that gives mention to this album. Diggy Kat and Lucky Star Radio has had Wolfie in their regular rotation the past month and I thank them for continuing to play it and anything else off the new project.
Lucky Star Radio has been very helpful in promoting the new TE album, with key album tracks being played at random. Diggy Kat has been gracious in giving me my own show on net radio, called (what else) Townedger Radio, to promote the TEs and other forgotten music. The first show went on without any problems and if I'm not dead yet, more shows will be on the way, third Wednesday night of every month at Midnight CST.
I'm committed to put out a new TE album next spring as well. Hasn't been much going on in discussions with Martin or Geoff, being that Geoff is more into getting his daughters' band going more than hanging with the TEs. But there's no riff between him and Martin. It has also been proven that we could do it on without Geoff on a complete album. Highway Home and Pawnshops For Olivia come to mind. My best friend Russ has expressed a desire to help out on anything new and if there's a song that's right for him to play on, we'll give it our best shot.
There's not much for extra tracks from Forthcoming Trains left. I used End Of It All, an outtake for the first TE Radio show and got good feedback from it. There's a couple alternative takes of some songs but we were working on a strict time limit to get things done and only used two cassettes for the four track recordings. Richard Dennanbaugh is a bit more different as producer than Hugh McConnell who busted our butts on Forthcoming Trains, he lets me take my time better in making new albums than McConnell, but then again McConnell had the same theory as he did when he worked on the 20 album or Weather On The Nines although while the latter album took about 6 months to complete, the majority of it came from a straight two week bunch of sessions in late October, early November.
Other things, Russ is doing his best for us to get back together again and jam with a couple new guitar players he knows about. None of them Alex Ballantyne, a co worker who wanted to get something going but never got back to me about doing anything. One thing for sure, he plays a mean air guitar.
Every Hour On The Hour, the 1986 farewell shows of here before a failed move to Arizona I came across by accident while compiling TE Radio, has not been transferred over to CD. Problem was the original master to that has been misplaced leaving only a cassette copy that I played a lot when I was living in Tempe that year. Upon listening to it, I just didn't feel it was worth to issue on CD. The old cassette to cassette recording of it really was piss poor and the performance of the songs was a product of the times. It shall remain cassette only and out of print.
Likewise the Tyrus farewell Live Under A Full Moon. I still insist that Tyrus/Paraphernalia was one of the best live bands of the 80s but there's not much of a market for bar band rehashes of Sharp Dressed Man or Rocky Mountain Way. We would have gotten better had we all stayed together but LUAFM only hints of what could have been. Having reunited with Shawn Ster via Facebook was a fun event, but his political thinking is a bit too right wing, especially the Obama put downs he usually posts. I don't think he'd be a good fit if Tyrus would reunite on stage. But don't hold your breath on that happening. We have a couple of guitar players who are very right wing and FOX news watchers. They tend to not focus on the music. Politics was a reason why the band got put on a hiatus that hasn't changed in 30 years. Of course it's easier to blame it all on the POTUS and not on a worthless congress that sits on their hands and ass either. And I'll doubt it will be any different either. It's like Sammy Hagar rehashing Van Halen Reunion rumors, more or less the Me factor. As long as everybody is still alive, there's always the chance of reuniting. In our collective minds of course. Reality, not much so. Unless it's a slow news day and somehow the topic gets brought up.
On a positive, Shawn says he's given up drinking and is an a relationship once again. From what I remember of Shawn when he was in the band that he did consumed a lot of beer and did some drugs upon hitting the stage. He has his own acoustic show that he plays around the area from time to time. For musicians like us who are past 50 years of age, there's still a few that still hit the jam sessions and bands in the area but each year we lose a couple more, Scott Murray comes to mind. He passed away earlier in this month. Looking back perhaps I should have done more jamming around the area and being more acquainted of the area's fellow musicians, but I more inclined to follow my own music muse. It didn't make me rich, but it did allow me to make some decent homemade recordings of Route 66 who eventually became the Townedgers because of many other bands using Route 66. If I had the cockiness of Shawn, chances are I would be better known. But I was cursed by shyness and hid behind the scenes. And behind all them cymbals.
With that said, I do think Forthcoming Trains is one of the best albums of 2014. My best of list will probably be the only site that gives mention to this album. Diggy Kat and Lucky Star Radio has had Wolfie in their regular rotation the past month and I thank them for continuing to play it and anything else off the new project.
Monday 13 October 2014
Last Dance
Last Dance (Smith/Orbit)
It was homecoming and I arrived alone
Couldn't drive then so instead I walked
When I got there then came the feeling
That I didn't belong and wanted to go home
Then a voice in my head said that you'll never know
There maybe someone there waiting just for you
So in a mist of it all those stares I decided to stay
But for how long till the end of the show
And then somebody said first chance for romance
Grab a sweetheart and get closer than this
Well you can't go out and dance by yourself
So I grabbed a drink and begin to look and see
Anybody there that didn't have a date
But it seemed to me there was no one to take
And then someone said 2nd chance for romance
Hold your honey it doesn't get any better than this
So tell me what I'm doing here
I should be somewhere where I can have fun
There's a girl there unattached
I could ask but I don't want to be turned down
It was midnight and time ran out on me
As I got ready to take the long walk home
And as I walk on the tracks back into town
Came the voice as it cut through the wind
Last dance last chance for romance
Grab your honey and kiss her goodnight
Maybe next time
Another night
I won't worry
I'll sleep at night
(C) 1995
In the early 90s, the songs I wrote were a diary of happenings long time ago. Chance of love failed. This particular number came during Homecoming 1977 when I arrived at the old Best Western a day early before the actual dance itself. My mom dropped me off and I had these pointy toed dress up shoes. This song came upon previous dances when I showed up alone and too shy to ask anybody out.
Not one of the better TE songs, this was found like After You Go, in a pile of papers while cleaning out the hoarder house. This did appeared on These Things Must Pass.
It was homecoming and I arrived alone
Couldn't drive then so instead I walked
When I got there then came the feeling
That I didn't belong and wanted to go home
Then a voice in my head said that you'll never know
There maybe someone there waiting just for you
So in a mist of it all those stares I decided to stay
But for how long till the end of the show
And then somebody said first chance for romance
Grab a sweetheart and get closer than this
Well you can't go out and dance by yourself
So I grabbed a drink and begin to look and see
Anybody there that didn't have a date
But it seemed to me there was no one to take
And then someone said 2nd chance for romance
Hold your honey it doesn't get any better than this
So tell me what I'm doing here
I should be somewhere where I can have fun
There's a girl there unattached
I could ask but I don't want to be turned down
It was midnight and time ran out on me
As I got ready to take the long walk home
And as I walk on the tracks back into town
Came the voice as it cut through the wind
Last dance last chance for romance
Grab your honey and kiss her goodnight
Maybe next time
Another night
I won't worry
I'll sleep at night
(C) 1995
In the early 90s, the songs I wrote were a diary of happenings long time ago. Chance of love failed. This particular number came during Homecoming 1977 when I arrived at the old Best Western a day early before the actual dance itself. My mom dropped me off and I had these pointy toed dress up shoes. This song came upon previous dances when I showed up alone and too shy to ask anybody out.
Not one of the better TE songs, this was found like After You Go, in a pile of papers while cleaning out the hoarder house. This did appeared on These Things Must Pass.
After You Go
After You Go (Smith/Orbit)
The walls will remain the same
And the room is empty as it seems
One less smile at the end of the day
It will be like that after you go
The eyes I long to see are missing
No more spoken words, less the kissing
The love that was made is now history
The bed is all mine again, after you go, after you go
You will never know who loves you more
Maybe it's best that you don't know at all
Sometimes I think it's best never to love
Than to share someone that you'll never have
you'll never have.
Lovers never know how to share themselves
In the moments together few and far between
I only wish I could have express myself a little better
Than to wait till after you go, after you go
(C) 2003
Something from the 20 album. Found the lyrics while cleaning the basement.
The walls will remain the same
And the room is empty as it seems
One less smile at the end of the day
It will be like that after you go
The eyes I long to see are missing
No more spoken words, less the kissing
The love that was made is now history
The bed is all mine again, after you go, after you go
You will never know who loves you more
Maybe it's best that you don't know at all
Sometimes I think it's best never to love
Than to share someone that you'll never have
you'll never have.
Lovers never know how to share themselves
In the moments together few and far between
I only wish I could have express myself a little better
Than to wait till after you go, after you go
(C) 2003
Something from the 20 album. Found the lyrics while cleaning the basement.
Thursday 28 August 2014
Thoughts From The Townedger-August
Away we go.
I don't have much hope for this country, especially where things are going and where we're heading at. Thank our lucky stars we don't live in Louisiana or Florida. The Koch Brothers are evil and throwing this world into chaos. Makes you want to pray for that meteor to this planet and start all over again.
The last Townedgers album will be called Fitting Finales. If and when that gets done will be the final chapter to The Townedgers. There'll might be one or two more before that but only God knows. And me.
So you want to be a rock and roll star? Good luck with that: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2014/09/02/music-industry-99-problems?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook&doing_wp_cron=1409676814.1383891105651855468750
The more pressing issue is a Tyrus Reunion which already happened in January in Facebook. I actually established some communications with Shawn Ster on Facebook and of course that leads to speculation from my BFF Russ about a possible reunion. We talk, I suggest doing attending some jam sessions and nothing gets done about that. Or playing for fun till suggestions about Rush songs come up and I throw my hands up in the air. Same as it ever was. A couple of things: Shawn has his own solo acoustic show that he plays from time to time, if we can make it to a popcorn or bacon jam we can try a couple of the bar classics and see what transpires. I wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms during the last session but then again I stayed in the shadows. If I make more of an effort next time then I can show what I can do. Second: I hate the name Tyrus, it was a dumb name to begin with, but it was the only one we could agreed upon. The majority of guys are still living in town believe it or not but the more important member is now a pilot making better money than being in a slightly above average bar band. I am all in favor of getting together and having fun, but if our bass player is out hitting the golf course or hanging at the the Mexican restaurant drinking margaritas and suggestion hard to play Rush or Dream Theater numbers, that's not going to go over very well. People don't want to hear that, they want the familiar and the overplayed. And I'm still chomping at the bit to show the jammers how to do Keep Your Hands To Yourself, the way it's meant to be played.
Nevertheless, Forthcoming Trains has done as well as 30 did. Which tends me to wonder if even writing new songs or new albums is even worth it for the world to hear if nobody gives a shit anymore. I love the album myself, if I didn't think so, it would have never been issued to the world. We lost valuable playing time when Diggy Kat left Radio Buzz'd for his new station Lucky Star Radio and what promo we have set up to do has been lost, the June Floods didn't help at all. So our A and R director has been sidetracked with other important things and I was left trying to clean up the basement again. Once we waterproof the basement next month, that will be a big thing to never worry about. I did issued two singles off the album, Wolfie and Just Enough Love but since net radio hasn't played either one, there won't be a third single released. The way it goes in life.
Like last year The TE 3 decades tour has been postponed due to rain and more rain. Nevermind the fact that it didn't rain most of July and August when we get a definite date of playing, the rains start up again. A New Bo outdoors show has been postponed on Labor Day weekend. With no make up date either. To which we say the hell with it. It ain't going to work now, it won't work later.
The Robin Williams suicide has been on my mind most of the time. And depression is always a ticking time bomb when you have it. Getting Parkinson's as well doesn't help either. I heard arguments about Williams being selfish when he did himself in, but it also brings memories of a musician I knew that had both depression and Parkinson's beginning and he didn't want to burden his family with his illness so he excused himself in the same way. Or Bob Welch of Fleetwood Mac fame, getting an illness that would be a life changer for himself. It's sad.
My take on this: I have lived with Depression for most of my life now and kept it hid quite well. Somewhere during high school it begin, the feelings of being an outcast, never fitting in with any crowd. I tried out for sports and quit three times, once in football, twice in basketball. Somewhere in my gene pool, there wasn't enough x or y chromosomes to make me stand out in either. I tried baseball, and never got a fucking base hit whatsoever, either a strike out or a walk and of course during that summer of 75 I lost both grandparents and gave my heart to some Jackson town girl. that I would only see one more time in this life before she told me to bugger off and get knocked up at age 15. And then getting into fights with upperclass idiots every day and being led all wrong by the Freshman girls didn't help at all.
The only thing I was ever good at was record collecting or playing drums. Oh I did my best doing those old echophonic recordings of cardboard boxes and coffee cans and out of tune guitars, but what voice I had in choir was long gone replaced by a goofy tenor sounding something like Jerry Lewis. I think the lyrics of Home speak volumes of what I think about this life. For 30 years, I have continued to try to get better at my craft of singing songwriting and playing drums and trying to come up with music that I can listen to. I did my best work the past 20 years but you'll never hear it on the radio anymore. But I do thank Diggy Kat for a giving me an hour's worth of hearing The Townedgers on his show and for that rare time I was happy.
Depression makes me an perfectionist in a imperfect world and imperfect body. The slight aggravation will anger me to a point of F bombs. It's like that at work, or when I turn on the TV and hit all the commercials just right, or when we get hit with floods. Or having a rock from a fucking quarry truck come flying out and crack the new windshield of my new car. Every set back is taken personally and it has gotten much worse over the years. Whereas I should be enjoying myself and life more, I'm flying off the handle more than ever. When you have depression, you make a lousy boyfriend and I think that goes all the way back to 1975 and Jeanette and then Janice a year later. And since then, never getting on the same page with anybody that I end up with. I have had good women, the last one was perhaps the best one I have ever been with. But there's this loner in me that needs to ride away and be by myself at some time. Like I said I had some great GFs, I was just a bad boyfriend.
When you down upon yourself all the time, you're not a lot of fun to be with. I know that. I look at pictures of myself and don't like what I see, a goofy smile, the big mile high nose that I absolutely hate. When you have depression you take into stock the defectives that is you, the big honking nose, the oddball grin, the weird way I look in pictures and I can see why people do off themselves. Too much dwelling on the negatives, cussing out everytime I have to backspace to write things, tripping over things, farting way too much, it goes on and on and on. And then looking outside and seeing it rain once again. And I wonder when does it end? When does life end? When its not fun? It certainly hasn't been fun the past decade and half. I'm not a lot of fun and depression is a big part of it.
Didn't mean to go deep into this subject but since the fans are few and far between nobody reads this anyway. All I can do is try to do my best, against all odds, and hope I don't go ballistic. Martin and Geoff from The TEs; God bless them for putting up with my ever changing moods. I don't forsee a Tyrus stage reunion, but what I'm saying is that I'm in favor of getting together to jam on a couple of songs and then take assessment of the situation. And take things one day at a time. That's all I can promise.
I don't have much hope for this country, especially where things are going and where we're heading at. Thank our lucky stars we don't live in Louisiana or Florida. The Koch Brothers are evil and throwing this world into chaos. Makes you want to pray for that meteor to this planet and start all over again.
The last Townedgers album will be called Fitting Finales. If and when that gets done will be the final chapter to The Townedgers. There'll might be one or two more before that but only God knows. And me.
So you want to be a rock and roll star? Good luck with that: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2014/09/02/music-industry-99-problems?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook&doing_wp_cron=1409676814.1383891105651855468750
The more pressing issue is a Tyrus Reunion which already happened in January in Facebook. I actually established some communications with Shawn Ster on Facebook and of course that leads to speculation from my BFF Russ about a possible reunion. We talk, I suggest doing attending some jam sessions and nothing gets done about that. Or playing for fun till suggestions about Rush songs come up and I throw my hands up in the air. Same as it ever was. A couple of things: Shawn has his own solo acoustic show that he plays from time to time, if we can make it to a popcorn or bacon jam we can try a couple of the bar classics and see what transpires. I wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms during the last session but then again I stayed in the shadows. If I make more of an effort next time then I can show what I can do. Second: I hate the name Tyrus, it was a dumb name to begin with, but it was the only one we could agreed upon. The majority of guys are still living in town believe it or not but the more important member is now a pilot making better money than being in a slightly above average bar band. I am all in favor of getting together and having fun, but if our bass player is out hitting the golf course or hanging at the the Mexican restaurant drinking margaritas and suggestion hard to play Rush or Dream Theater numbers, that's not going to go over very well. People don't want to hear that, they want the familiar and the overplayed. And I'm still chomping at the bit to show the jammers how to do Keep Your Hands To Yourself, the way it's meant to be played.
Nevertheless, Forthcoming Trains has done as well as 30 did. Which tends me to wonder if even writing new songs or new albums is even worth it for the world to hear if nobody gives a shit anymore. I love the album myself, if I didn't think so, it would have never been issued to the world. We lost valuable playing time when Diggy Kat left Radio Buzz'd for his new station Lucky Star Radio and what promo we have set up to do has been lost, the June Floods didn't help at all. So our A and R director has been sidetracked with other important things and I was left trying to clean up the basement again. Once we waterproof the basement next month, that will be a big thing to never worry about. I did issued two singles off the album, Wolfie and Just Enough Love but since net radio hasn't played either one, there won't be a third single released. The way it goes in life.
Like last year The TE 3 decades tour has been postponed due to rain and more rain. Nevermind the fact that it didn't rain most of July and August when we get a definite date of playing, the rains start up again. A New Bo outdoors show has been postponed on Labor Day weekend. With no make up date either. To which we say the hell with it. It ain't going to work now, it won't work later.
The Robin Williams suicide has been on my mind most of the time. And depression is always a ticking time bomb when you have it. Getting Parkinson's as well doesn't help either. I heard arguments about Williams being selfish when he did himself in, but it also brings memories of a musician I knew that had both depression and Parkinson's beginning and he didn't want to burden his family with his illness so he excused himself in the same way. Or Bob Welch of Fleetwood Mac fame, getting an illness that would be a life changer for himself. It's sad.
My take on this: I have lived with Depression for most of my life now and kept it hid quite well. Somewhere during high school it begin, the feelings of being an outcast, never fitting in with any crowd. I tried out for sports and quit three times, once in football, twice in basketball. Somewhere in my gene pool, there wasn't enough x or y chromosomes to make me stand out in either. I tried baseball, and never got a fucking base hit whatsoever, either a strike out or a walk and of course during that summer of 75 I lost both grandparents and gave my heart to some Jackson town girl. that I would only see one more time in this life before she told me to bugger off and get knocked up at age 15. And then getting into fights with upperclass idiots every day and being led all wrong by the Freshman girls didn't help at all.
The only thing I was ever good at was record collecting or playing drums. Oh I did my best doing those old echophonic recordings of cardboard boxes and coffee cans and out of tune guitars, but what voice I had in choir was long gone replaced by a goofy tenor sounding something like Jerry Lewis. I think the lyrics of Home speak volumes of what I think about this life. For 30 years, I have continued to try to get better at my craft of singing songwriting and playing drums and trying to come up with music that I can listen to. I did my best work the past 20 years but you'll never hear it on the radio anymore. But I do thank Diggy Kat for a giving me an hour's worth of hearing The Townedgers on his show and for that rare time I was happy.
Depression makes me an perfectionist in a imperfect world and imperfect body. The slight aggravation will anger me to a point of F bombs. It's like that at work, or when I turn on the TV and hit all the commercials just right, or when we get hit with floods. Or having a rock from a fucking quarry truck come flying out and crack the new windshield of my new car. Every set back is taken personally and it has gotten much worse over the years. Whereas I should be enjoying myself and life more, I'm flying off the handle more than ever. When you have depression, you make a lousy boyfriend and I think that goes all the way back to 1975 and Jeanette and then Janice a year later. And since then, never getting on the same page with anybody that I end up with. I have had good women, the last one was perhaps the best one I have ever been with. But there's this loner in me that needs to ride away and be by myself at some time. Like I said I had some great GFs, I was just a bad boyfriend.
When you down upon yourself all the time, you're not a lot of fun to be with. I know that. I look at pictures of myself and don't like what I see, a goofy smile, the big mile high nose that I absolutely hate. When you have depression you take into stock the defectives that is you, the big honking nose, the oddball grin, the weird way I look in pictures and I can see why people do off themselves. Too much dwelling on the negatives, cussing out everytime I have to backspace to write things, tripping over things, farting way too much, it goes on and on and on. And then looking outside and seeing it rain once again. And I wonder when does it end? When does life end? When its not fun? It certainly hasn't been fun the past decade and half. I'm not a lot of fun and depression is a big part of it.
Didn't mean to go deep into this subject but since the fans are few and far between nobody reads this anyway. All I can do is try to do my best, against all odds, and hope I don't go ballistic. Martin and Geoff from The TEs; God bless them for putting up with my ever changing moods. I don't forsee a Tyrus stage reunion, but what I'm saying is that I'm in favor of getting together to jam on a couple of songs and then take assessment of the situation. And take things one day at a time. That's all I can promise.
Saturday 16 August 2014
Observations from the past
Funny how old pictures can stir up memories of the past. Some good, some not so good and the rest fall in between. And sometimes the ones you see from 40 years ago seem like only yesterday it happened.
I have bittersweet memories of the last picture from the last blog, it brings out the good and the bad in me. For the most part, I haven't connected with any of the girls in the picture and only one remains a friend of mine from a distance, Jenny Hanson.
There's one missing from that Motley Crue of 1977, Anne Luzum. One of Janice's best friends Anne was in that fateful American Studies class and like Janice managed to drive me insane throughout the year. I have no idea looking back, what provoked Anne nor Janice to see something in me to chase me around the building, perhaps it was a freshman girls thing, they all seem to have crushes on the upper classmates. There was nothing special about me; I was a loner, kept to myself and if associated with anybody it was the outcasts of Marion High School. I loved record collecting, beer can collecting and playing records, I was not into dating anybody although if I liked somebody enough I'd walk them home from school. That meant something to me. Anne was attractive, but one of those snooty kind of girls that you would later see hanging at around the country club, she did get a job at a bank soon after high school. But I certainly wasn't attracted to her at all.
Martha Balster I liked a lot, Sue Barker was more reserved, which leaves us with Sue Raue Boyd. She was the big mouth but she was a liberal thinking kind of girl. But out of all of the girls in the pic, she was the one I asked out to the homecoming thing, which she turned me down. She said go ask Janice. I never did, don't ask why.
Out of all the girls of that class, it was Janice that was the one, the quintessential it girl, the most madding that I ever come across in this lifetime. Perhaps the most compatible out of them all, the one that had a super crush on me through that time but at same time we never ever got on the same page about even dating or asking out. What was it about her to this day continues to haunt me when I think too much about it. She may have been the most nerdy of this girl group, she was thin as a stick, she was a honor student, she had that Farah Fawcett do that all the girls seemed to have, she was a cheerleader, what processed her into thinking about being a part of my life?
It is pointless to ask her today and my thinking is that when she left town, she erased every memory of this and started a new life in Texas. And she really has done well. I can only go on heresay and what I think about the situation. And I do believe that she did liked me a lot to really want to be my steady in high school. I have a memory of her in class sitting on my lap. I don't know how that happened she mentioned she wanted to, I dared her, she did that it was history too bad somebody didn't have a smartphone to put on You Tube. She sat across the aisle from me in American Studies, Ann was behind me, and I basically had to get it both ways from these girls.
The question remains why I never bothered to take up after Janice right off the bat, simply of the fact I was more committed to Jeanette, a summertime girl friend from Michigan to which I would never see after the summer of 1976, I thought she was the one. And we all knew how that turned out. Looking back upon this, had I known that Jeanette would never be back in my life, this life would be a much different story.
Janice had the most beautiful and most intimating eyes that I have ever seen. She had a good smile. And I admired her from afar, even though I kept telling her I already had a steady, she didn't quite believe me on that. That made her try a bit harder, with help from her friends of course (namely Anne and Sue Boyd) and the more they tried, the more they annoyed me.
But I also thought that they did care about me, maybe even they love me in their own way, after all somebody gave me a valentine from them with their phone numbers. The biggest regret that will haunt me till the day I die is the not asking Janice out when we were alone in each other presence. Somehow I couldn't do that, it's really easy just go up and ask if they want to do something, hang at the record store, go to a drive in, get a grease bomb burger from Ole's Ham And Egger, or sit in the park and watch trains go by.
Or hell, walk Janice home from school and talk. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?
But anyway as time went on, it seemed evident that Jeanette forgot all about me and perhaps maybe I should take up Miss Berns and see what would happened. There was this dance in late spring I believe and everybody was there saying Janice wants to dance with you, my future guitar playing conserative buddy doug mentioned that, thought he was full of shit. Sue came around, said the same thing, so I figured, well, I guess I'm up to it. And the so the beginnings of Colour My World by Chicago started up, and I looked her with head looking straight down, embarrassed as heck and reach out and snatched at Janice's hand and then.
I didn't do it right I guess, she snatched her hand back. That wasn't supposed to happen, pissed me off I told her where to go at the next turnoff and proceeded to head for the exits but somehow, it's a blur to me, I ended up slow dancing with Sue Boyd instead. After that I walked home disgusted as hell. The next day I was at the swingset over in Longfellow and somehow Janice and Sue were walking by (don't know why Longfellow is a bit out of her way) and we proceeded to yell at each other bout that little episode the night before. Somehow in the exchange that she did mentioned that she did love me. But somehow we managed to call a truce and keep in touch throughout summer. And somehow Janice (along with Sue) and I did ride a tilt a whirl machines when Marion had a uptown summer fair days in 1977 but looking back I didn't do a very good job in keeping in touch or taking it further. The Homecoming 77 affair came up, I think she wanted me to ask her out, I ended up getting cold feet and asking Sue Boyd out, you know the story but throughout my junior year I couldn't escape Janice's angry looks when I walked down the hall. Perhaps it was poetic justice for her when we got jobs at Applegate's Landing when she became a cook and I ended up being a fucking dishwasher. I guess I didn't do her any favors anyway and it's divine intervention that gave her the upper hand job wise. But looking back, I didn't ask anybody out outside of Sue, if I did they all said no. Only my best friend's sister bothered to ask me out in my time in High school. I really really was a loner.
As far as I knew, if Janice dated anybody in high school when I was there, I was not aware of it or really cared that much. But I do recall one day driving in the neighborhood in 1980 after graduation and playing Bill Amesbury's Lucky Day and she was arm and arm with somebody. And she had that "this could have been you" look. I felt liberated for about 5 seconds, then had the worst feeling I ever experienced. But with that, the spell was broken, I did see her a couple times in the 80s, she dated one of my brother's best friends for a time and then took off for Texas with a classmate. And then life happens. I do find it interesting that she doesn't have any of her classmates as facebook friends. Maybe the memories of high school for her was a time to forget. Pick of the wrong boy will do that too.
But my final thoughts to this, since I know that Janice and I will never cross paths again, and maybe leaving her with a bitter taste of indifference may have her blacked that out forevermore. But being a young and confused brat, and choosing the wrong one back then didn't help me either. I had to deal with fucking bullies most of my time there, and if I wasn't fighting somebody in the alley, I was fighting somebody in the hallway. Except for the dumbfuck that i should have stabbed right in the heart when the time was right. High school was the low point of my life, poor grades, fighting and dealing with freshmen girls and upper classmen, it's a surprise I didn't hang myself at that time. The regret: I didn't tell nobody about my plight and the bullies who continued to fuck me over or spit in the damn seat like a fucking five year old would. I basically kept it all in, and kept my feelings to myself, even to ones who would have liked to know what was going on with me. Thank God and our lucky stars, we didn't have social media and the internet and cellphones back then. That would have been holy hell for me. And also thank our lucky stars we didn't have shitty top forty or rap dominating the air waves.
That said, Janice (and the rest of that gang) will always have a place in my heart. Yes, I loved Janice as much as she loved me but like her we could never get on the same page or at the same time. To which I say I'm sorry that I didn't treat her better when she was a part of my life. But then again 15 year old boys don't make very good boyfriends anyway, not that 53 year old guys are much better. I am not sure that Janice would enjoy having a 53 year old drummer music hoarder around the house bitching about traffic and crappy radio stations, but even back then, I never doubted her for a second that she would have been a good woman to be with. But she found her soulmate in 1986 and she got what she wanted out of her life. She got herself a very good man. And we'll never see each other again. It's been over 30 years since I last seen her.
If we could live our lives all over again (and I really really don't want to) it would be nice to correct past mistakes and not being the self imposed loner that I was back then. It didn't pay off then and it sure doesn't now. But I do wish that I could have taken Janice to Homecoming or even if we made it that far to the prom. I also wished that she would have taken that first step too and did the slow dance on Colour My World with me instead of Sue doing damage control. That would have been the steps toward a new beginning.
But that's history. Life goes on. She'll never know it, but I was glad that she got me through American Studies and made my Sophomore year one to remember. As well as Sue, the other Sue, Martha and Jenny. And Anne, whereever she may be. I wish you well.
...
I have bittersweet memories of the last picture from the last blog, it brings out the good and the bad in me. For the most part, I haven't connected with any of the girls in the picture and only one remains a friend of mine from a distance, Jenny Hanson.
There's one missing from that Motley Crue of 1977, Anne Luzum. One of Janice's best friends Anne was in that fateful American Studies class and like Janice managed to drive me insane throughout the year. I have no idea looking back, what provoked Anne nor Janice to see something in me to chase me around the building, perhaps it was a freshman girls thing, they all seem to have crushes on the upper classmates. There was nothing special about me; I was a loner, kept to myself and if associated with anybody it was the outcasts of Marion High School. I loved record collecting, beer can collecting and playing records, I was not into dating anybody although if I liked somebody enough I'd walk them home from school. That meant something to me. Anne was attractive, but one of those snooty kind of girls that you would later see hanging at around the country club, she did get a job at a bank soon after high school. But I certainly wasn't attracted to her at all.
Martha Balster I liked a lot, Sue Barker was more reserved, which leaves us with Sue Raue Boyd. She was the big mouth but she was a liberal thinking kind of girl. But out of all of the girls in the pic, she was the one I asked out to the homecoming thing, which she turned me down. She said go ask Janice. I never did, don't ask why.
Out of all the girls of that class, it was Janice that was the one, the quintessential it girl, the most madding that I ever come across in this lifetime. Perhaps the most compatible out of them all, the one that had a super crush on me through that time but at same time we never ever got on the same page about even dating or asking out. What was it about her to this day continues to haunt me when I think too much about it. She may have been the most nerdy of this girl group, she was thin as a stick, she was a honor student, she had that Farah Fawcett do that all the girls seemed to have, she was a cheerleader, what processed her into thinking about being a part of my life?
It is pointless to ask her today and my thinking is that when she left town, she erased every memory of this and started a new life in Texas. And she really has done well. I can only go on heresay and what I think about the situation. And I do believe that she did liked me a lot to really want to be my steady in high school. I have a memory of her in class sitting on my lap. I don't know how that happened she mentioned she wanted to, I dared her, she did that it was history too bad somebody didn't have a smartphone to put on You Tube. She sat across the aisle from me in American Studies, Ann was behind me, and I basically had to get it both ways from these girls.
The question remains why I never bothered to take up after Janice right off the bat, simply of the fact I was more committed to Jeanette, a summertime girl friend from Michigan to which I would never see after the summer of 1976, I thought she was the one. And we all knew how that turned out. Looking back upon this, had I known that Jeanette would never be back in my life, this life would be a much different story.
Janice had the most beautiful and most intimating eyes that I have ever seen. She had a good smile. And I admired her from afar, even though I kept telling her I already had a steady, she didn't quite believe me on that. That made her try a bit harder, with help from her friends of course (namely Anne and Sue Boyd) and the more they tried, the more they annoyed me.
But I also thought that they did care about me, maybe even they love me in their own way, after all somebody gave me a valentine from them with their phone numbers. The biggest regret that will haunt me till the day I die is the not asking Janice out when we were alone in each other presence. Somehow I couldn't do that, it's really easy just go up and ask if they want to do something, hang at the record store, go to a drive in, get a grease bomb burger from Ole's Ham And Egger, or sit in the park and watch trains go by.
Or hell, walk Janice home from school and talk. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?
But anyway as time went on, it seemed evident that Jeanette forgot all about me and perhaps maybe I should take up Miss Berns and see what would happened. There was this dance in late spring I believe and everybody was there saying Janice wants to dance with you, my future guitar playing conserative buddy doug mentioned that, thought he was full of shit. Sue came around, said the same thing, so I figured, well, I guess I'm up to it. And the so the beginnings of Colour My World by Chicago started up, and I looked her with head looking straight down, embarrassed as heck and reach out and snatched at Janice's hand and then.
I didn't do it right I guess, she snatched her hand back. That wasn't supposed to happen, pissed me off I told her where to go at the next turnoff and proceeded to head for the exits but somehow, it's a blur to me, I ended up slow dancing with Sue Boyd instead. After that I walked home disgusted as hell. The next day I was at the swingset over in Longfellow and somehow Janice and Sue were walking by (don't know why Longfellow is a bit out of her way) and we proceeded to yell at each other bout that little episode the night before. Somehow in the exchange that she did mentioned that she did love me. But somehow we managed to call a truce and keep in touch throughout summer. And somehow Janice (along with Sue) and I did ride a tilt a whirl machines when Marion had a uptown summer fair days in 1977 but looking back I didn't do a very good job in keeping in touch or taking it further. The Homecoming 77 affair came up, I think she wanted me to ask her out, I ended up getting cold feet and asking Sue Boyd out, you know the story but throughout my junior year I couldn't escape Janice's angry looks when I walked down the hall. Perhaps it was poetic justice for her when we got jobs at Applegate's Landing when she became a cook and I ended up being a fucking dishwasher. I guess I didn't do her any favors anyway and it's divine intervention that gave her the upper hand job wise. But looking back, I didn't ask anybody out outside of Sue, if I did they all said no. Only my best friend's sister bothered to ask me out in my time in High school. I really really was a loner.
As far as I knew, if Janice dated anybody in high school when I was there, I was not aware of it or really cared that much. But I do recall one day driving in the neighborhood in 1980 after graduation and playing Bill Amesbury's Lucky Day and she was arm and arm with somebody. And she had that "this could have been you" look. I felt liberated for about 5 seconds, then had the worst feeling I ever experienced. But with that, the spell was broken, I did see her a couple times in the 80s, she dated one of my brother's best friends for a time and then took off for Texas with a classmate. And then life happens. I do find it interesting that she doesn't have any of her classmates as facebook friends. Maybe the memories of high school for her was a time to forget. Pick of the wrong boy will do that too.
But my final thoughts to this, since I know that Janice and I will never cross paths again, and maybe leaving her with a bitter taste of indifference may have her blacked that out forevermore. But being a young and confused brat, and choosing the wrong one back then didn't help me either. I had to deal with fucking bullies most of my time there, and if I wasn't fighting somebody in the alley, I was fighting somebody in the hallway. Except for the dumbfuck that i should have stabbed right in the heart when the time was right. High school was the low point of my life, poor grades, fighting and dealing with freshmen girls and upper classmen, it's a surprise I didn't hang myself at that time. The regret: I didn't tell nobody about my plight and the bullies who continued to fuck me over or spit in the damn seat like a fucking five year old would. I basically kept it all in, and kept my feelings to myself, even to ones who would have liked to know what was going on with me. Thank God and our lucky stars, we didn't have social media and the internet and cellphones back then. That would have been holy hell for me. And also thank our lucky stars we didn't have shitty top forty or rap dominating the air waves.
That said, Janice (and the rest of that gang) will always have a place in my heart. Yes, I loved Janice as much as she loved me but like her we could never get on the same page or at the same time. To which I say I'm sorry that I didn't treat her better when she was a part of my life. But then again 15 year old boys don't make very good boyfriends anyway, not that 53 year old guys are much better. I am not sure that Janice would enjoy having a 53 year old drummer music hoarder around the house bitching about traffic and crappy radio stations, but even back then, I never doubted her for a second that she would have been a good woman to be with. But she found her soulmate in 1986 and she got what she wanted out of her life. She got herself a very good man. And we'll never see each other again. It's been over 30 years since I last seen her.
If we could live our lives all over again (and I really really don't want to) it would be nice to correct past mistakes and not being the self imposed loner that I was back then. It didn't pay off then and it sure doesn't now. But I do wish that I could have taken Janice to Homecoming or even if we made it that far to the prom. I also wished that she would have taken that first step too and did the slow dance on Colour My World with me instead of Sue doing damage control. That would have been the steps toward a new beginning.
But that's history. Life goes on. She'll never know it, but I was glad that she got me through American Studies and made my Sophomore year one to remember. As well as Sue, the other Sue, Martha and Jenny. And Anne, whereever she may be. I wish you well.
...
Wednesday 30 July 2014
Thoughts From The Townedgers-July
It has been a very cool and quiet July here. With the floods of June pretty much taking up our time and effort, the new album had to wait till things got better around here. I'm hoping for a interview from Diggy Kat on that when he gets his new net radio station going soon. Thanks to Radical Radio for their promoting Just Enough Love, our second single from Forthcoming Trains. Wolfie remains in regular rotation as well.
Sad to hear Dick Wagner passed away yesterday, he was 71 and remains one of the best guitar players in rock history. You can hear him in his full glory on Rock And Roll Animal from Lou Reed and Welcome To My Nightmare by Alice Cooper.
Ian Anderson made a valid point that music today. Basically the most influential stuff came out in the 60s and 70s but it has been slipping since the 90s ended and Nu Metal started up. It has gotten much worse with Bro Country music. I don't forsee a breakout band of the ages anymore, the PIG 3 major labels (good word for them) has sucked the life blood out of many many start up bands and resort to rehashing the classics. As a music lover and music maker, I continue to make albums for something for me to listen to. And I know that I can listen to my music and if I was a casual fan checking out The Townedgers for the first time I'd buy their albums. Or download. But let's face the facts: there's no money to be make with the music that I make. For 30 plus years it's been a hobby of my idea of rock and roll. And *sigh* I know I could have made a so so living being a bar band or playing hair metal or country but at my younger age, I rebelled against that. I never figured I last this long to continue to make new music, but since I'm not good at love or relationships and the only thing I know is record buying and playing music I ended up being that elusive loner.
The songs of the past reflect the failures of love or life itself, of course but sometimes I could come up with a love song for the love interest at that time. In some ways it kept their memory alive or remembering that cold November day on the river and Lisa wrapped me up in her coat and kept me wrong since I ended up wearing my old jacket and hat and that didn't do the trick. And when she managed to brave 10 below temps at the end of 1990s to be with me in Dubuque to celebrate New Year's and the end of the century, that turned to be the highpoint of that time. She got phenomena so bad that she was still was hacking and coughing when I visited her one last time in March of 2000. She found somebody much closer to home and was more financially stable than I was. Like the song said, we were one but come the next day she'd be gone.
But we managed to continue to talk for another decade and a year before she decided that it was best we go different ways. Looking back, Pawnshops For Olivia was the final note of what we had once and it remains a sad farewell all down to Beyond The Sun. In other words if you read between the lines, the answer was we are never ever getting back together again. Sometimes you have to let go, it's over and tomorrow's another day. But then again I've been known to hang on longer than I should.
Forthcoming Trains, was done without a love interest and with any pressure on me whatsoever. A lotta songs were done in one take, I decided to go wherever the music went and if I messed up or change the song mid stream, we went with it. The question from Bob Lefsetz saying the album format is dead is not true. But with the aging of life, we simply don't have time to listen to subpar crap. Today's artist is competing with just about everything that has been recorded and made to the internet. Infinite music but we don't have as much time as we did 20 or 30 years ago. Signing up on Sound Cloud to promote the best songs hasn't been much either. It's out there, the links are up and songs are available. That's all I can do is get the word out and say it's there. But I don't forsee much happening and basically Geoff Redding has his daughters growing up and they got their own band going and he's a proud dad to help them too. They got their best years ahead, mine has passed. I can still get on the stage and bash away on the drums and remain as radical as I did back in 1983. Today's musicians have their work cut out for them, they have to work twice as hard to get paid twice as less. You certainly have to be in it for the music and the love of music and interaction with the fans. There's plenty of bedroom rockers out there, but like myself they'll never be discovered outside a few.
Whatever I had planned with Alex has fallen apart. He went to days and didn't bother to keep in touch. Doesn't look good either for anything with Mike or Russell. Don't look for anything with Doug Bonesteel either. The hard core Tea Bagging Guitar player and the left leaning Russ and Mike will not allow any more reunions outside of the Facebook get together in January. Doug gets way too involved with FOX news even for me.
I think in September we'll release a third single from Forthcoming Trains. Not sure what song it will be.
Sad to hear Dick Wagner passed away yesterday, he was 71 and remains one of the best guitar players in rock history. You can hear him in his full glory on Rock And Roll Animal from Lou Reed and Welcome To My Nightmare by Alice Cooper.
Ian Anderson made a valid point that music today. Basically the most influential stuff came out in the 60s and 70s but it has been slipping since the 90s ended and Nu Metal started up. It has gotten much worse with Bro Country music. I don't forsee a breakout band of the ages anymore, the PIG 3 major labels (good word for them) has sucked the life blood out of many many start up bands and resort to rehashing the classics. As a music lover and music maker, I continue to make albums for something for me to listen to. And I know that I can listen to my music and if I was a casual fan checking out The Townedgers for the first time I'd buy their albums. Or download. But let's face the facts: there's no money to be make with the music that I make. For 30 plus years it's been a hobby of my idea of rock and roll. And *sigh* I know I could have made a so so living being a bar band or playing hair metal or country but at my younger age, I rebelled against that. I never figured I last this long to continue to make new music, but since I'm not good at love or relationships and the only thing I know is record buying and playing music I ended up being that elusive loner.
The songs of the past reflect the failures of love or life itself, of course but sometimes I could come up with a love song for the love interest at that time. In some ways it kept their memory alive or remembering that cold November day on the river and Lisa wrapped me up in her coat and kept me wrong since I ended up wearing my old jacket and hat and that didn't do the trick. And when she managed to brave 10 below temps at the end of 1990s to be with me in Dubuque to celebrate New Year's and the end of the century, that turned to be the highpoint of that time. She got phenomena so bad that she was still was hacking and coughing when I visited her one last time in March of 2000. She found somebody much closer to home and was more financially stable than I was. Like the song said, we were one but come the next day she'd be gone.
But we managed to continue to talk for another decade and a year before she decided that it was best we go different ways. Looking back, Pawnshops For Olivia was the final note of what we had once and it remains a sad farewell all down to Beyond The Sun. In other words if you read between the lines, the answer was we are never ever getting back together again. Sometimes you have to let go, it's over and tomorrow's another day. But then again I've been known to hang on longer than I should.
Forthcoming Trains, was done without a love interest and with any pressure on me whatsoever. A lotta songs were done in one take, I decided to go wherever the music went and if I messed up or change the song mid stream, we went with it. The question from Bob Lefsetz saying the album format is dead is not true. But with the aging of life, we simply don't have time to listen to subpar crap. Today's artist is competing with just about everything that has been recorded and made to the internet. Infinite music but we don't have as much time as we did 20 or 30 years ago. Signing up on Sound Cloud to promote the best songs hasn't been much either. It's out there, the links are up and songs are available. That's all I can do is get the word out and say it's there. But I don't forsee much happening and basically Geoff Redding has his daughters growing up and they got their own band going and he's a proud dad to help them too. They got their best years ahead, mine has passed. I can still get on the stage and bash away on the drums and remain as radical as I did back in 1983. Today's musicians have their work cut out for them, they have to work twice as hard to get paid twice as less. You certainly have to be in it for the music and the love of music and interaction with the fans. There's plenty of bedroom rockers out there, but like myself they'll never be discovered outside a few.
Whatever I had planned with Alex has fallen apart. He went to days and didn't bother to keep in touch. Doesn't look good either for anything with Mike or Russell. Don't look for anything with Doug Bonesteel either. The hard core Tea Bagging Guitar player and the left leaning Russ and Mike will not allow any more reunions outside of the Facebook get together in January. Doug gets way too involved with FOX news even for me.
I think in September we'll release a third single from Forthcoming Trains. Not sure what song it will be.
Monday 30 June 2014
Thoughts From The Townedger June
Must be June in Iowa. Fucking water in the basement. Diggy Kat gets to interview me as I promote my new album Forthcoming Trains. Being A and R of the band, he pointed out I omitted Drinking Again on the album cover. Fuck me running.
I still hope to partake in The Bacon Jam in the near future. If and when that happens remains to be seen. As for Alex and that get together, nothing has happened and if we don't connect before he goes to days next month it ain't going to happen. There's been a lot of bitterness of Mike toward his ex wife. There's a time you have to let go and a time to moan and a time to complain about it. I know he's hurting and truly angry. Better to write a song about it rather than continue to badmouth via the social networks. That never got nowhere with me. As much as I would like to, I doubt if Mike will return to do any new songs with me or the band anymore. He rather do Karaoke. His choice but not mine.
I think it's pointless to talk about the past loves of my life. They made good songs for that certain place and time. The majority of them can be found on social networks. I recall Janice wanting that family life back when she was chasing me around high school but really we couldn't have been more opposites. Besides we don't look the same as we did back then. We're both old. And not exactly good looking anymore.
I miss Donna Will, she was a good friend when talking music and glad to see her in DC ten years ago. She's kinda disappeared from the computer the past year and hope she's still around.
The next project, I'll be using the Zildjian lineup of the Road Less Traveled for cymbals. Out of all the Z lineup's they're my favorite. However, I do have the Paiste cymbals all locked away for the right project. I do have to say though, the Paiste cymbals used for the 30 album (The 3000s, 2002 and Signature all added a bit more aggressive sound. Any cymbal lineup can work for you. Even the copper tins of beginner cymbals, Paiste PST 7 highly recommended.
http://www.grassrootsy.com/2012/02/22/an-open-letter-to-venues-that-exploit-their-musicians/
I still hope to partake in The Bacon Jam in the near future. If and when that happens remains to be seen. As for Alex and that get together, nothing has happened and if we don't connect before he goes to days next month it ain't going to happen. There's been a lot of bitterness of Mike toward his ex wife. There's a time you have to let go and a time to moan and a time to complain about it. I know he's hurting and truly angry. Better to write a song about it rather than continue to badmouth via the social networks. That never got nowhere with me. As much as I would like to, I doubt if Mike will return to do any new songs with me or the band anymore. He rather do Karaoke. His choice but not mine.
I think it's pointless to talk about the past loves of my life. They made good songs for that certain place and time. The majority of them can be found on social networks. I recall Janice wanting that family life back when she was chasing me around high school but really we couldn't have been more opposites. Besides we don't look the same as we did back then. We're both old. And not exactly good looking anymore.
I miss Donna Will, she was a good friend when talking music and glad to see her in DC ten years ago. She's kinda disappeared from the computer the past year and hope she's still around.
The next project, I'll be using the Zildjian lineup of the Road Less Traveled for cymbals. Out of all the Z lineup's they're my favorite. However, I do have the Paiste cymbals all locked away for the right project. I do have to say though, the Paiste cymbals used for the 30 album (The 3000s, 2002 and Signature all added a bit more aggressive sound. Any cymbal lineup can work for you. Even the copper tins of beginner cymbals, Paiste PST 7 highly recommended.
http://www.grassrootsy.com/2012/02/22/an-open-letter-to-venues-that-exploit-their-musicians/
Wednesday 4 June 2014
The Bacon Jam
Every Wednesday Night at Checker's Tavern in Cedar Rapids is the Bacon Jam, a collective of some of the legendary musicians of the area get together from 8 to 11 and jam for about 3 hours. I have talked about going to this and see what goes on but can't do it since I work nights. Tonight I decided to check it out and hopefully get on stage.
For the most part, the musicians Tom Bruner, Dan Johnson and a cast of a few have made this a selective event for over the hill rockers past their prime to do the classic rock overplayed stuff and tonight was no exception. The first notable chords of Margaritaville, the old Kansas City classic song and Can't Get Enough and plenty more. It's all fun.
But I sat there in the background jamming to the beat and playing table drums, basically pounding my hands on the table to keep the beat whereas some of the drummers would over do drum rolls or fills. The best drummer was the guy that works in the drum section at Guitar Center. Some kid could spin his sticks just like Tommy Lee but couldn't keep the beat and made a mess out of a simple 4/4 Keep Your Hands To Yourself, or miss the breaks of Can't Get Enough and when I heard them do Dead Flowers, I was chomping at the bit to bumrush the stage and show them how to actually do it. I haven't done many jam sessions over the years but from what I heard, I don't think I would have embarrassed myself at all if I made it behind the drums for a jam session. Even after all these years I remain a mystery to the rest of these musicians, doesn't matter if I made a new Townedger album or get played on Radio Buzz'd. But I always been a eccentric anyway. I doubt if I will ever change but who knows, perhaps the next session they might bite the bullet and let me sit in on a few numbers.
I might surprise them and even myself.
Come to think of it, the waitress never did bother to give out some of that free bacon either. And I gave her a 2 dollar tip from the pizza burger!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE6zEmlnwaM
Look for a cameo of myself at the 20 and 33 second mark. Told you I was there.
For the most part, the musicians Tom Bruner, Dan Johnson and a cast of a few have made this a selective event for over the hill rockers past their prime to do the classic rock overplayed stuff and tonight was no exception. The first notable chords of Margaritaville, the old Kansas City classic song and Can't Get Enough and plenty more. It's all fun.
But I sat there in the background jamming to the beat and playing table drums, basically pounding my hands on the table to keep the beat whereas some of the drummers would over do drum rolls or fills. The best drummer was the guy that works in the drum section at Guitar Center. Some kid could spin his sticks just like Tommy Lee but couldn't keep the beat and made a mess out of a simple 4/4 Keep Your Hands To Yourself, or miss the breaks of Can't Get Enough and when I heard them do Dead Flowers, I was chomping at the bit to bumrush the stage and show them how to actually do it. I haven't done many jam sessions over the years but from what I heard, I don't think I would have embarrassed myself at all if I made it behind the drums for a jam session. Even after all these years I remain a mystery to the rest of these musicians, doesn't matter if I made a new Townedger album or get played on Radio Buzz'd. But I always been a eccentric anyway. I doubt if I will ever change but who knows, perhaps the next session they might bite the bullet and let me sit in on a few numbers.
I might surprise them and even myself.
Come to think of it, the waitress never did bother to give out some of that free bacon either. And I gave her a 2 dollar tip from the pizza burger!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE6zEmlnwaM
Look for a cameo of myself at the 20 and 33 second mark. Told you I was there.
Monday 2 June 2014
Forthcoming Trains Album Notes
For the record:
Side 1
How Hard It Is (Smith/Willard/Swearingen/Redding/Daniels) 4:00
Midnight Run 3:33
We All Sleep Alone (Smith/Orbit) 3:12
Endless Highway 3:00
Just Enough Love 3:03
Light Years Away (Smith/Redding) 3:11
Faygo 2:33
Side 2
Long Time Gone 2:48
Something To Believe In (Smith/Orbit) 3:20
Drinking Again (Smith/Daniels) 4:45
Are You Gonna Be The One 3:05
Wolfie (Smith/Redding/Daniels) 3:30
Knockin On Heaven's Door (B.Dylan) 5:03
Home 2:05
Total Time 47:30
Produced by Rodney Smith and Hugh McConnell
A & R: Diggy Kat
Songs written and composed by Rodney Smith: Music by The Townedgers except where noted.
Copyright control except track 13 (Ram's Horn Music BMI)
Recorded at the Hoarder House Of Hits-Stone City IA March 2014
Engineers: Hugh McConnell, M.D. R.S. Assisted by David Kilkenny
No Pro Tools used in the making of this recording.
The old Pearl Snare, used in the Paraphernalia records years ago was brought back to life.
Vintage Zildjian Cymbals from the 80s was also used. Main drum set remains the DW.
The 1988 Red Fender Strat was the main electric guitar of choice.
Mixed and mastered at MRK by Martin Daniels and R. Smith
Knockin' On Heaven's Door dedicated to the memory of Dennis Pusateri. Ride on brother.
Thanks to the usual crew of family, friends and spirits who kept this going.
C 2014 Townedgers Music Emporium
Side 1
How Hard It Is (Smith/Willard/Swearingen/Redding/Daniels) 4:00
Midnight Run 3:33
We All Sleep Alone (Smith/Orbit) 3:12
Endless Highway 3:00
Just Enough Love 3:03
Light Years Away (Smith/Redding) 3:11
Faygo 2:33
Side 2
Long Time Gone 2:48
Something To Believe In (Smith/Orbit) 3:20
Drinking Again (Smith/Daniels) 4:45
Are You Gonna Be The One 3:05
Wolfie (Smith/Redding/Daniels) 3:30
Knockin On Heaven's Door (B.Dylan) 5:03
Home 2:05
Total Time 47:30
Produced by Rodney Smith and Hugh McConnell
A & R: Diggy Kat
Songs written and composed by Rodney Smith: Music by The Townedgers except where noted.
Copyright control except track 13 (Ram's Horn Music BMI)
Recorded at the Hoarder House Of Hits-Stone City IA March 2014
Engineers: Hugh McConnell, M.D. R.S. Assisted by David Kilkenny
No Pro Tools used in the making of this recording.
The old Pearl Snare, used in the Paraphernalia records years ago was brought back to life.
Vintage Zildjian Cymbals from the 80s was also used. Main drum set remains the DW.
The 1988 Red Fender Strat was the main electric guitar of choice.
Mixed and mastered at MRK by Martin Daniels and R. Smith
Knockin' On Heaven's Door dedicated to the memory of Dennis Pusateri. Ride on brother.
Thanks to the usual crew of family, friends and spirits who kept this going.
C 2014 Townedgers Music Emporium
Tuesday 27 May 2014
Thoughts From The Townedger May Edition
I have been extremely lazy this month. And laid up from three weeks of allergies and the flu, so basically I have pissed off on the cover art of the Forthcoming Trains album. The record label isn't too happy with me it seems but I promised (this time for real) that the album will be in store first week of June. And you can hear only on Radio Buzz'd.
There's a treasure chest full of unreleased stuff that I hope bring out to see the light of day later in summer as well as a formidable best of the early years before renaming the band to The Townedgers. But then again when there's talk of cover art, I just go, why don't we just release the CD as is and let the fans design their own cover art?
It's finally springtime here in Iowa, the fucking gnats are out in full force. It's hard to do an outdoors event and have 10 of them buggers are going into your mouth while trying to sing.
If I can ever catch wind of it, I'd love to do some jamming on those infamous Bacon Jams that they have in CR. It's funny how 30 years flies by and the old Tyrus band trying to get their foot in the door. I'm surprised by the crazy drumming style that I used to do in that band, the smash and crash method but in this day and age I can't do that anymore without getting a heart attack. I can still maintain the beat as well as before, in fact my playing is better now than it was back then but still I amazed of how I managed to pull off some of those drum rolls and cymbal crashes back then.
There's talk of doing a 30th anniversary edition of Live Under A Full Moon, our final show as Tyrus. I may have Martin Daniels mix that one from the original copies. It would mean sitting through the whole thing and picking out the best songs. Awful lot of filler and missed notes and words and nobody wants to hear Free Bird anyway.
The best Rocky Mountain Way version we did was the Squaw Creek reception but Dong Bonesteel forgot to bring the recorder so that's committed to space, time and memory. I really have no idea why we decided that song was going to be our main theme between all the cymbal crashes and Mike trying to keep up with the vocals. Still, I look at the Tyrus years like I do The Big Crash Years. It's fun to revisit but I don't see a major market for this, except for fanatics of the band. And I would like to meet these fanatics if they do exist.
Mike has actually been going through a bad time, I guess Maj, his wife left after 12 years and he's not taking it too kindly either. Don't know the whole story behind that and as they say, please respect our privacy as we go through this crisis. I probably said too much.
Sometime in July, I should get together with Alex to see if there's any chance of a new and exciting music project coming from this. I'm thinking of adding Russ to the band for emotional support. We do play very well together.
The inspirations that shaped some of my earlier songs are no longer viable anymore. Why write about somebody that you haven't seen in over 30 years and haven't lived in town as long as that too? The songs about Janice served a purpose but nowadays we are total strangers and doubt if I would know her if I've seen her in this day and age. She doesn't have that Farrah Fawcett hair cut anymore. Ancient history. And not a good one at that either. Look for a new revision on Running In The Rain should we play that live.....
I'm sure if I would have used the Paiste cymbals on the latest album, they would be cutting though a lot more louder than the Z's. It's a matter of choice, both Z's and Pies are great cymbals. If I pose the question again about what to use, I'm sure the majority would still want Zildjians. The next project I'll use Impulse lineup for the 1986 tour. Still have most of them.
I've heard that Marco's Pizza has returned back to CR, which would be great. If I know where the new location is at I'll be a regular visitor again. Always love their pizzas the best. Naso's I love as well but they're too expensive anymore. Little Ceasar's 5 dollar specials are good for snacks. Zio Johnnos' pizzas suck.
Happy birthday to my DJ rock and roll buddy and sometimes TE conspirator Diggy Kat, the number one fan and sometimes inspiration for his band Vufcup. 'Ears to ya bro. Cheers!
There's a treasure chest full of unreleased stuff that I hope bring out to see the light of day later in summer as well as a formidable best of the early years before renaming the band to The Townedgers. But then again when there's talk of cover art, I just go, why don't we just release the CD as is and let the fans design their own cover art?
It's finally springtime here in Iowa, the fucking gnats are out in full force. It's hard to do an outdoors event and have 10 of them buggers are going into your mouth while trying to sing.
If I can ever catch wind of it, I'd love to do some jamming on those infamous Bacon Jams that they have in CR. It's funny how 30 years flies by and the old Tyrus band trying to get their foot in the door. I'm surprised by the crazy drumming style that I used to do in that band, the smash and crash method but in this day and age I can't do that anymore without getting a heart attack. I can still maintain the beat as well as before, in fact my playing is better now than it was back then but still I amazed of how I managed to pull off some of those drum rolls and cymbal crashes back then.
There's talk of doing a 30th anniversary edition of Live Under A Full Moon, our final show as Tyrus. I may have Martin Daniels mix that one from the original copies. It would mean sitting through the whole thing and picking out the best songs. Awful lot of filler and missed notes and words and nobody wants to hear Free Bird anyway.
The best Rocky Mountain Way version we did was the Squaw Creek reception but Dong Bonesteel forgot to bring the recorder so that's committed to space, time and memory. I really have no idea why we decided that song was going to be our main theme between all the cymbal crashes and Mike trying to keep up with the vocals. Still, I look at the Tyrus years like I do The Big Crash Years. It's fun to revisit but I don't see a major market for this, except for fanatics of the band. And I would like to meet these fanatics if they do exist.
Mike has actually been going through a bad time, I guess Maj, his wife left after 12 years and he's not taking it too kindly either. Don't know the whole story behind that and as they say, please respect our privacy as we go through this crisis. I probably said too much.
Sometime in July, I should get together with Alex to see if there's any chance of a new and exciting music project coming from this. I'm thinking of adding Russ to the band for emotional support. We do play very well together.
The inspirations that shaped some of my earlier songs are no longer viable anymore. Why write about somebody that you haven't seen in over 30 years and haven't lived in town as long as that too? The songs about Janice served a purpose but nowadays we are total strangers and doubt if I would know her if I've seen her in this day and age. She doesn't have that Farrah Fawcett hair cut anymore. Ancient history. And not a good one at that either. Look for a new revision on Running In The Rain should we play that live.....
I'm sure if I would have used the Paiste cymbals on the latest album, they would be cutting though a lot more louder than the Z's. It's a matter of choice, both Z's and Pies are great cymbals. If I pose the question again about what to use, I'm sure the majority would still want Zildjians. The next project I'll use Impulse lineup for the 1986 tour. Still have most of them.
I've heard that Marco's Pizza has returned back to CR, which would be great. If I know where the new location is at I'll be a regular visitor again. Always love their pizzas the best. Naso's I love as well but they're too expensive anymore. Little Ceasar's 5 dollar specials are good for snacks. Zio Johnnos' pizzas suck.
Happy birthday to my DJ rock and roll buddy and sometimes TE conspirator Diggy Kat, the number one fan and sometimes inspiration for his band Vufcup. 'Ears to ya bro. Cheers!
Sunday 25 May 2014
How I Spend My Saturday Night In Quad Cities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyqUeJgFlPM&feature=youtu.be
Thought I go to Davenport for a Saturday Night game to see the Cedar Rapids Kernels playing the home team the Quad Cities River Bandits. Pretty good game, CR had 2-1 lead and Matt Christensen robbed a Quad Cities player of a HR. But another walk and Conrad Gregor came up to bat.
It's a hour and 20 minute drive to the QC from where I'm at and usually I go to Cedar Rapids to see the Kernels play but the last three games I have been going to Davenport. They got a nice stadium and for 6 dollars you can watch the game from the center field wall. Last three times I been out there I have had the damn ball flying toward me be it fair or foul or Home Run. I couldn't do the river walk, the Mississippi is over its banks and have inundated the trail behind the park with muddy water.
But anyway, the game was somewhat a pitchers duel and kinda boring till the bottom of the sixth and I was out there in in the fence with a couple folk around me. One of the folk was Conrad's dad Marty who was from Indiana and in town watching his son play. At that time he didn't hit a home run prior before getting a pitch and hitting it far.
As I saw it in the setting sun, it looked like it was coming towards me. Since I couldn't catch the fucking thing when I played baseball, I really wanted nothing to do with it but I heard his dad calling for the ball. I pointed to him and said You catch it, I'm not. Knowing my luck it probably hit me upside the head or me dropping it. But Marty made a heck of a catch and we congratulated each other with handshakes and high fives and chatted a bit before he said he was heading to Burlington to see his son play the next day. Anyway Cedar Rapids got swept by the River Bandits 5-2 after Tyler White hit another HR after Conrad did his. But Quad Cities got swept by Burlington today whereas the Cedar Rapids Kernels won 6-5 over Beloit.
I hope to return to Davenport a couple more times before the season is over. In the meantime, here's further proof that I was there. You can tell who Marty is. (the guy with the ball). I'm the one in the green jacket.
Thought I go to Davenport for a Saturday Night game to see the Cedar Rapids Kernels playing the home team the Quad Cities River Bandits. Pretty good game, CR had 2-1 lead and Matt Christensen robbed a Quad Cities player of a HR. But another walk and Conrad Gregor came up to bat.
It's a hour and 20 minute drive to the QC from where I'm at and usually I go to Cedar Rapids to see the Kernels play but the last three games I have been going to Davenport. They got a nice stadium and for 6 dollars you can watch the game from the center field wall. Last three times I been out there I have had the damn ball flying toward me be it fair or foul or Home Run. I couldn't do the river walk, the Mississippi is over its banks and have inundated the trail behind the park with muddy water.
But anyway, the game was somewhat a pitchers duel and kinda boring till the bottom of the sixth and I was out there in in the fence with a couple folk around me. One of the folk was Conrad's dad Marty who was from Indiana and in town watching his son play. At that time he didn't hit a home run prior before getting a pitch and hitting it far.
As I saw it in the setting sun, it looked like it was coming towards me. Since I couldn't catch the fucking thing when I played baseball, I really wanted nothing to do with it but I heard his dad calling for the ball. I pointed to him and said You catch it, I'm not. Knowing my luck it probably hit me upside the head or me dropping it. But Marty made a heck of a catch and we congratulated each other with handshakes and high fives and chatted a bit before he said he was heading to Burlington to see his son play the next day. Anyway Cedar Rapids got swept by the River Bandits 5-2 after Tyler White hit another HR after Conrad did his. But Quad Cities got swept by Burlington today whereas the Cedar Rapids Kernels won 6-5 over Beloit.
I hope to return to Davenport a couple more times before the season is over. In the meantime, here's further proof that I was there. You can tell who Marty is. (the guy with the ball). I'm the one in the green jacket.
Wednesday 30 April 2014
Thoughts of the Townedger-April
April showers brings may flowers and too much fucking rain. Once again like last year I had to put a hold on the new album by dealing with another flood in the basement and hoping that we can get the GD motherfucker dried one time before I'm dead and gone. Getting too old to keep doing this shit year in and year out. Time to fix the cracks in this leaky assed basement.
A tip of the cap to Diggy Kat for his help on the Soundcloud site. Of course only me and him have been the regular visitors
It didn't help that I was sick most of the month after my brother got the flu on his 50th birthday. Think I had the fucking flu in some way all month and now am in the process of using vacation time since my sick time is used up.
I think Alex at work is really jumping at the chance to get together and do some jamming. If he's real interested of starting a new band, I can probably grab Russ to do bass, provided if I get him off the golf course this summer.
I have been very selected in what I hear for new music. The new Kaiser Chiefs album is not that great but I do like the new Black Lips, love the Strypes and Len Price 3 new efforts and admire the latest from Leon Russell. In comparing the new Beck Morning Phase to his Sea Change, I like his latest much more. But then again I find Beck Hansen to be acquired taste at times although I have come to like Mellow Gold more now than 20 years ago.
In going to Davenport I was dismayed at the fact that the place I got my DW's from Griggs Music, didn't have any DW drum sets around. I had aspirations to trade my set in for a new set but will have to wait.
With Forthcoming Trains, it was a trip to yesterday since I used the Pearl Snare for the first time since 1986 and it sounded excellent on some tracks. Somehow on the recording the Zildjians used didn't stand out in front like the Paiste set did on 30 and Pawnshops For Olivia. But I think on the next project the Z's will be the choice once again but on the next set, I'll dig out the ones that I used on The Road Less Traveled and 20. And go with a ride with a more definite ping than the old Sizzle Ride which didn't stand out very well for a ride after all. Can't figure that one out. I might unretire the Impulse Ride (used on all of the 90s albums up to Road Less Traveled).
April marked 20 years since I started up a relationship with Clarise (which ended in Valentine's Day 1998) April 12th it was when I ran into her at the old SkyWalk in down town Cedar Rapids. I could remember that day, however I can't remember her birthday at all. Her youngest turns 20 in May. Haven't seen her since picking the car up, (three car payments late and one step ahead of the Repo Man and a bad credit rating) in 99 but I do wish her well.
Let's hope for dry weather.
A tip of the cap to Diggy Kat for his help on the Soundcloud site. Of course only me and him have been the regular visitors
It didn't help that I was sick most of the month after my brother got the flu on his 50th birthday. Think I had the fucking flu in some way all month and now am in the process of using vacation time since my sick time is used up.
I think Alex at work is really jumping at the chance to get together and do some jamming. If he's real interested of starting a new band, I can probably grab Russ to do bass, provided if I get him off the golf course this summer.
I have been very selected in what I hear for new music. The new Kaiser Chiefs album is not that great but I do like the new Black Lips, love the Strypes and Len Price 3 new efforts and admire the latest from Leon Russell. In comparing the new Beck Morning Phase to his Sea Change, I like his latest much more. But then again I find Beck Hansen to be acquired taste at times although I have come to like Mellow Gold more now than 20 years ago.
In going to Davenport I was dismayed at the fact that the place I got my DW's from Griggs Music, didn't have any DW drum sets around. I had aspirations to trade my set in for a new set but will have to wait.
With Forthcoming Trains, it was a trip to yesterday since I used the Pearl Snare for the first time since 1986 and it sounded excellent on some tracks. Somehow on the recording the Zildjians used didn't stand out in front like the Paiste set did on 30 and Pawnshops For Olivia. But I think on the next project the Z's will be the choice once again but on the next set, I'll dig out the ones that I used on The Road Less Traveled and 20. And go with a ride with a more definite ping than the old Sizzle Ride which didn't stand out very well for a ride after all. Can't figure that one out. I might unretire the Impulse Ride (used on all of the 90s albums up to Road Less Traveled).
April marked 20 years since I started up a relationship with Clarise (which ended in Valentine's Day 1998) April 12th it was when I ran into her at the old SkyWalk in down town Cedar Rapids. I could remember that day, however I can't remember her birthday at all. Her youngest turns 20 in May. Haven't seen her since picking the car up, (three car payments late and one step ahead of the Repo Man and a bad credit rating) in 99 but I do wish her well.
Let's hope for dry weather.
Friday 18 April 2014
The Townedgers Are Now On Sound Cloud
I have been very busy of late putting together the new album and after getting 7 and half inches of rain last weekend, had to deal with water in the basement issues once again so everything got put on hold. But my good friend and big band supporter Diggy Kat finally got me to open up our very own Sound Cloud site of where you can hear some of our "hits". For the most part, Diggy Kat has a his own show on Radio Buzz'd and Thursday Morning he paid tribute to The Townedgers by doing a full hour of our music!
I'm not worth a shit on MP3s but Diggy has a way to convert the music over to MP3 files. This computer does WAV and the files are way too big for me to put songs on Sound Cloud but he can. Anyway, this will be the site where we show off our wares and have new music as well as my favorites from the past on this site.
Check it out whenever you can!
https://soundcloud.com/thetownedgers
I'm not worth a shit on MP3s but Diggy has a way to convert the music over to MP3 files. This computer does WAV and the files are way too big for me to put songs on Sound Cloud but he can. Anyway, this will be the site where we show off our wares and have new music as well as my favorites from the past on this site.
Check it out whenever you can!
https://soundcloud.com/thetownedgers
Thursday 3 April 2014
Home
A forthcoming train coming down the track
Moving due west and not looking back
As I sit back and watched the sights
A passenger, dreaming away far from home
In my youth I went out for baseball
Had ambitions to make it to the hall
But in the end I couldn't hit the ball
Bases loaded, swinging away, struck out at home
Playing guitar in a empty bar
Realizing that I didn't get too far
But in my mind I am a star
Singing songs that nobody knows, thinking of home
Yes I know I got no expectations
I'm dealing with life's frustrations
The more I try, the more I fail
It's getting old
Leave me alone
Take me home
I'm getting old
Leave me alone
I'm going home
(C) 2014 Townedger Music Emporium
Moving due west and not looking back
As I sit back and watched the sights
A passenger, dreaming away far from home
In my youth I went out for baseball
Had ambitions to make it to the hall
But in the end I couldn't hit the ball
Bases loaded, swinging away, struck out at home
Playing guitar in a empty bar
Realizing that I didn't get too far
But in my mind I am a star
Singing songs that nobody knows, thinking of home
Yes I know I got no expectations
I'm dealing with life's frustrations
The more I try, the more I fail
It's getting old
Leave me alone
Take me home
I'm getting old
Leave me alone
I'm going home
(C) 2014 Townedger Music Emporium
Monday 31 March 2014
End Of The Month Thoughts From The Townedgers
Finishing up the loose ends on the Forthcoming Trains and amazingly the drum tracks were all done over the weekend. But I did add some more supportive vocals on three songs in the late hour and didn't wake my brother up. Score!
When working with Hugh McConnell, we have a time limit to get things done and this album is no exception. I recall when we did 30 it was done in three weeks as well, and Weather On The Nines, the 1994 album with him was done in 4 weeks. Pawnshops and 30 both took about three months to complete. Kind of sense of urgency to get this one done it seems but everything came together quite quickly. Also helps to have a back catalog of lyrics and songs to have as well.
Forthcoming Trains does have a direct link with the Paraphernalia since I used the Pearl Snare from that time on this recording. It sat gathering dust in the basement and after the Tyrus Reunion on Facebook, I managed to revive it to use on the new album. For the cymbals used, the old 12 inch K Splash returns from the dead as well as the other survivor of the bar band years the 16 inch Zildjian Rock Crash. the old Medium Thin Crash was sold off years ago and I found a replacement that I really didn't use much when I first got it. I believe that the 18 inch K Session Crash sounded more like the old Medium Thin than the latest Medium Thin Crash The old A Swish Ride (including rivets) was the main ride, I probably would have been better off with the Armand Ride, but on the recording I didn't substitute any other cymbals this time out, unlike changing over to RUDEs from the 2002 on 30. With the nostalgia out of the way, I'll end up using another cymbal lineup. Not sure which ones.
Drinking Again was a one take number, which is why it ends abruptly, and Martin playing the bass tag line ending. Light Years Away was about 20 to 25 although on the tape I made a smartassed comment about being the 40th take. The first version was a much faster version but doubt if we'll use that one. The last couple albums we overloaded on cover versions, most which didn't make the final lineup, this time I covered our catalog instead. It made better sense rediscovering and re-imagining the songs in a different arrangement. Come to think of it, How Hard It Is was done in one take too.
2033 will be the 50th anniversary of Town's Edge Rock, but I'll doubt if I'll be alive to see that special occasion. Why we keep bringing that record up? Because it was the first actual proper album of actual songs, not that So Much For That wasn't that, I was still trying to get a feel of this new found freedom of writing my own stuff, rather than the one take throw them out in the open songs of Big Crash Collection.
The only things that will remain will be this blog and a handful of albums that did get out there in the free market that nobody knows about. Or cares.
The story about Isabella losing her methadone in the pizza place on our last get together is a true story. I remember it well since I wasn't feeling all that great and needed to head to the bathroom for about 10 minutes, then having her crawling back on hands and knees making a scene about misplacing her stash while everybody looked at her with disbelief. Good to know she's still alive after all these years.
I'd love to return back to the great Northwest but I don't forsee that in the future.
I'm not buddy buddy with neither but I have great respect for Craig Erickson and Billy Lee Janey, the two best known musicians from Cedar Rapids. I've seen Erickson in Half Priced Books from time to time, he's usually stocking up on blues CDs. For up and coming folks Samantha Fish is the best blues guitar player I have seen and her stock keeps going up.
For myself, I'm not the wild Crash Meister as from the Paraphernalia days and even the first two decades of Route 66/Townedgers. When you're playing along to the finished guitar tracks you have anticipate where you're going to do the drum rolls and cymbals accents at and if I go too wild, I'll miss coming on the right beat and being off a step. When I do listen to the old bar band stuff I still wonder how the hell did I actually do those crazy rhythm drum roll and cymbal crashes.
Since January the Tyrus talk has died down. I'm open to suggestions about if they want to get together to do something but since it's spring and the weather is getting better to hang outside more often, and golf season is here, Russ is focusing his energies on the back 9. Mike is feeling better but we haven't done anything since 1992 and there's nothing on the horizon about getting back together again either. Time and age are against us. So basically it's the Townedgers for me.
I think everybody has neighbors from Hell and we got one next door, he's always shooting dirty looks from the other side of the fence, mostly at my brother and his car collection outside. Then again everybody hates the freak next door anyway.
My brother and me, we get along fine together and he's the biggest supporter of Townedgers Music by providing the room and tolerance for drum solos and oddball guitar work. He has become the ultimate Mountain Man, growing his hair out and regrowing his bushy beard. I don't think he'll get to Dusty Hill ZZ Top propositions, it don't bother me as much it does for Mom. Used to be she used to get on my case for long hair but since I'm becoming more bald anymore, I been more to Super Cuts than bro, simply of the fact that I look like Doc from Back To The Future if I do grow it out. I can't be the hippie anymore. But my brother can. Ain't generics wonderful? Wish I had his hair (although it's mostly gray which maybe I don't want it).
I am thinking of going to Arizona again this year and hanging at the usual haunts but I haven't even looked for plane fares this year, I'm thinking of St Louis if I don't want to fly this summer, I haven't been to The Chain Of Rocks bridge since 2009. It's time to return there.
Heath permitting.
R.S.
When working with Hugh McConnell, we have a time limit to get things done and this album is no exception. I recall when we did 30 it was done in three weeks as well, and Weather On The Nines, the 1994 album with him was done in 4 weeks. Pawnshops and 30 both took about three months to complete. Kind of sense of urgency to get this one done it seems but everything came together quite quickly. Also helps to have a back catalog of lyrics and songs to have as well.
Forthcoming Trains does have a direct link with the Paraphernalia since I used the Pearl Snare from that time on this recording. It sat gathering dust in the basement and after the Tyrus Reunion on Facebook, I managed to revive it to use on the new album. For the cymbals used, the old 12 inch K Splash returns from the dead as well as the other survivor of the bar band years the 16 inch Zildjian Rock Crash. the old Medium Thin Crash was sold off years ago and I found a replacement that I really didn't use much when I first got it. I believe that the 18 inch K Session Crash sounded more like the old Medium Thin than the latest Medium Thin Crash The old A Swish Ride (including rivets) was the main ride, I probably would have been better off with the Armand Ride, but on the recording I didn't substitute any other cymbals this time out, unlike changing over to RUDEs from the 2002 on 30. With the nostalgia out of the way, I'll end up using another cymbal lineup. Not sure which ones.
Drinking Again was a one take number, which is why it ends abruptly, and Martin playing the bass tag line ending. Light Years Away was about 20 to 25 although on the tape I made a smartassed comment about being the 40th take. The first version was a much faster version but doubt if we'll use that one. The last couple albums we overloaded on cover versions, most which didn't make the final lineup, this time I covered our catalog instead. It made better sense rediscovering and re-imagining the songs in a different arrangement. Come to think of it, How Hard It Is was done in one take too.
2033 will be the 50th anniversary of Town's Edge Rock, but I'll doubt if I'll be alive to see that special occasion. Why we keep bringing that record up? Because it was the first actual proper album of actual songs, not that So Much For That wasn't that, I was still trying to get a feel of this new found freedom of writing my own stuff, rather than the one take throw them out in the open songs of Big Crash Collection.
The only things that will remain will be this blog and a handful of albums that did get out there in the free market that nobody knows about. Or cares.
The story about Isabella losing her methadone in the pizza place on our last get together is a true story. I remember it well since I wasn't feeling all that great and needed to head to the bathroom for about 10 minutes, then having her crawling back on hands and knees making a scene about misplacing her stash while everybody looked at her with disbelief. Good to know she's still alive after all these years.
I'd love to return back to the great Northwest but I don't forsee that in the future.
I'm not buddy buddy with neither but I have great respect for Craig Erickson and Billy Lee Janey, the two best known musicians from Cedar Rapids. I've seen Erickson in Half Priced Books from time to time, he's usually stocking up on blues CDs. For up and coming folks Samantha Fish is the best blues guitar player I have seen and her stock keeps going up.
For myself, I'm not the wild Crash Meister as from the Paraphernalia days and even the first two decades of Route 66/Townedgers. When you're playing along to the finished guitar tracks you have anticipate where you're going to do the drum rolls and cymbals accents at and if I go too wild, I'll miss coming on the right beat and being off a step. When I do listen to the old bar band stuff I still wonder how the hell did I actually do those crazy rhythm drum roll and cymbal crashes.
Since January the Tyrus talk has died down. I'm open to suggestions about if they want to get together to do something but since it's spring and the weather is getting better to hang outside more often, and golf season is here, Russ is focusing his energies on the back 9. Mike is feeling better but we haven't done anything since 1992 and there's nothing on the horizon about getting back together again either. Time and age are against us. So basically it's the Townedgers for me.
I think everybody has neighbors from Hell and we got one next door, he's always shooting dirty looks from the other side of the fence, mostly at my brother and his car collection outside. Then again everybody hates the freak next door anyway.
My brother and me, we get along fine together and he's the biggest supporter of Townedgers Music by providing the room and tolerance for drum solos and oddball guitar work. He has become the ultimate Mountain Man, growing his hair out and regrowing his bushy beard. I don't think he'll get to Dusty Hill ZZ Top propositions, it don't bother me as much it does for Mom. Used to be she used to get on my case for long hair but since I'm becoming more bald anymore, I been more to Super Cuts than bro, simply of the fact that I look like Doc from Back To The Future if I do grow it out. I can't be the hippie anymore. But my brother can. Ain't generics wonderful? Wish I had his hair (although it's mostly gray which maybe I don't want it).
I am thinking of going to Arizona again this year and hanging at the usual haunts but I haven't even looked for plane fares this year, I'm thinking of St Louis if I don't want to fly this summer, I haven't been to The Chain Of Rocks bridge since 2009. It's time to return there.
Heath permitting.
R.S.
Saturday 29 March 2014
Drum Tracking On The New Album
And so we begin the next step in finishing Forthcoming Trains; the drum tracks and I managed to get through 11 songs, but feel a need to re do Drinking Again. Starting working around 1 and finished up before 6, not bad considering we're fighting the damn 4 track for a decent drum sound. But I do think that the majority of the songs it did come away fairly good.
I'm surprised on how fast this album has taken shape over the three weeks in March. It came fairly quickly by revisiting the old lyrics that I have stored up and rearranged some of the other tracks from other albums into a whole new version of the song. I didn't want to just do cover versions like we did on No Exit, with the exception of Knocking On Heaven's Door, I covered myself, even going back to 1979 on a drums only track and rearranged it with some new words and with the help of the capo that Diggy Kat got me a few years ago made it into something it wasn't back then. With myself strumming a few chords the lines of Seems To Me You Have Changed came into my mind and I started singing the original song How Hard It Is (to find that you're finally gone). The original version was done with some coffee cans and an cymbal that seen better days before I got a hold of it. It's not a final go on the album but so far what I heard it sounds worthy enough. Anyway I still have to deal with another 10 songs before we start chopping things down to a selection of 12 songs.
While Jack Orbit's name pops up on the original lyrics and credits of said song, Jack hasn't been in person in the makings of this album and Geoff Redding for the most part has played some electric guitar and some acoustic but it has been myself and Martin Daniels piecing things together. However while on a conference call with Jack, he did give his blessings and hopes he can hear the finished product too.
Some songs of that past I wanted badly to redo and Midnight Run was one of them. In 1985 the original version was on the R.Smith/Route 66 album and it was a fucking bitch to do a straight ahead 1/2 beat, instead of the usual 4/4. We tried to redo it for the 20 album but the guitars were too fast for the drums to catch up. This version is more true to the 1985 arrangement.
Another reworked version was Somewhere Between You And Me, which was the final song recorded and while the 1989 version had a straight reggae beat (or attempted to do that), this version is straight ahead acoustic rock and roll. It's much easier in this day and age to do acoustic rather than electric songs, I follow better on the drums on the recording the tracks afterward. Ever since A Long Time Forgotten, a lot of the Townedgers albums have gone more acoustic than electric, not by accident but rather by not having to deal with loud amps and trying to shout over the noise. Last years album 30, had the fewest acoustic numbers but still I did enough of them to give a bit of variety to the flow of the album. But even with the finished product I'm still tinkering with it to see if I can make it sound better. Or get valued opinions from Martin or Geoff or the producer at hand, in this case Hugh McConnell who I have worked with for over 20 years off and on.
There's variations in McConnell's production work then Richard Dennanbaugh or Brian Mullahan, but in Hugh's case when he works on a TE project he's cracking the whip to get it done, whereas Richard would be more of a laid back approach, or if I produce it, I tend to work until I either get bored and shelve it or in the case of Pawnshops For Olivia have a creative spark and finish the album in record time. I had to, I had to keep my mind off the GD floods that was commonplace that year, just like last year. But still if McConnell wasn't on my case getting it done, the other guys were.
Spring has arrived and I took time to go out to the Nature Center and count the trains that run through the area and seen 5 of them today, double than the last time I was out there. I gave myself the window of a week to do drum tracks and they're half done after one day. A good sign. Which leaves the rest of the time to either add some more backing vocals to the completed tracks. Once done, the next weekend will be mixing the songs for radio consumption and for my pleasure since the albums don't sell. I suppose if I was more outgoing rather being the introvert that I am, that the music would speak for itself more often than not.
But it takes forever to get the right take down pat, we rarely ever get a first take done although on the new album there are a couple songs that are first takes. If they're good enough they'll be on the album.
I'm also aware that being over 50 that my years of rock and roll are just about up. It's hard to write new songs when you really don't have the hunger like you used to have and believed that we could make a difference with rock and roll, but it's a hobby nowadays and don't pay the bills like a real job does. I don't forsee myself 10 years from now doing new songs, I don't think I'll have the capability to do that. What's a 63 year old dude going to write about that hasn't been written or played before. You can't write about high school girls without sounding creepy, so can't do that. But you can still write a song about love gone bad, or yet another train song or a song for the road or protest songs about Dick Cheney being a asshole that should drink his own fracked water. It's sad seeing the world that I used to know being drowned in spilled oil in your river or lake, watching honey bees being eliminated due to Monsanto poisons and week killers. And seeing fewer and fewer music stores to hang out.
But I still play music because I still have fun with it, just like hearing the results of a finished album. And so here we are again adding the drum tracks to the numbers and hoping that something will be played on the radio. If the stars align just right, the album will be out by the end of May maybe.
I'm surprised on how fast this album has taken shape over the three weeks in March. It came fairly quickly by revisiting the old lyrics that I have stored up and rearranged some of the other tracks from other albums into a whole new version of the song. I didn't want to just do cover versions like we did on No Exit, with the exception of Knocking On Heaven's Door, I covered myself, even going back to 1979 on a drums only track and rearranged it with some new words and with the help of the capo that Diggy Kat got me a few years ago made it into something it wasn't back then. With myself strumming a few chords the lines of Seems To Me You Have Changed came into my mind and I started singing the original song How Hard It Is (to find that you're finally gone). The original version was done with some coffee cans and an cymbal that seen better days before I got a hold of it. It's not a final go on the album but so far what I heard it sounds worthy enough. Anyway I still have to deal with another 10 songs before we start chopping things down to a selection of 12 songs.
While Jack Orbit's name pops up on the original lyrics and credits of said song, Jack hasn't been in person in the makings of this album and Geoff Redding for the most part has played some electric guitar and some acoustic but it has been myself and Martin Daniels piecing things together. However while on a conference call with Jack, he did give his blessings and hopes he can hear the finished product too.
Some songs of that past I wanted badly to redo and Midnight Run was one of them. In 1985 the original version was on the R.Smith/Route 66 album and it was a fucking bitch to do a straight ahead 1/2 beat, instead of the usual 4/4. We tried to redo it for the 20 album but the guitars were too fast for the drums to catch up. This version is more true to the 1985 arrangement.
Another reworked version was Somewhere Between You And Me, which was the final song recorded and while the 1989 version had a straight reggae beat (or attempted to do that), this version is straight ahead acoustic rock and roll. It's much easier in this day and age to do acoustic rather than electric songs, I follow better on the drums on the recording the tracks afterward. Ever since A Long Time Forgotten, a lot of the Townedgers albums have gone more acoustic than electric, not by accident but rather by not having to deal with loud amps and trying to shout over the noise. Last years album 30, had the fewest acoustic numbers but still I did enough of them to give a bit of variety to the flow of the album. But even with the finished product I'm still tinkering with it to see if I can make it sound better. Or get valued opinions from Martin or Geoff or the producer at hand, in this case Hugh McConnell who I have worked with for over 20 years off and on.
There's variations in McConnell's production work then Richard Dennanbaugh or Brian Mullahan, but in Hugh's case when he works on a TE project he's cracking the whip to get it done, whereas Richard would be more of a laid back approach, or if I produce it, I tend to work until I either get bored and shelve it or in the case of Pawnshops For Olivia have a creative spark and finish the album in record time. I had to, I had to keep my mind off the GD floods that was commonplace that year, just like last year. But still if McConnell wasn't on my case getting it done, the other guys were.
Spring has arrived and I took time to go out to the Nature Center and count the trains that run through the area and seen 5 of them today, double than the last time I was out there. I gave myself the window of a week to do drum tracks and they're half done after one day. A good sign. Which leaves the rest of the time to either add some more backing vocals to the completed tracks. Once done, the next weekend will be mixing the songs for radio consumption and for my pleasure since the albums don't sell. I suppose if I was more outgoing rather being the introvert that I am, that the music would speak for itself more often than not.
But it takes forever to get the right take down pat, we rarely ever get a first take done although on the new album there are a couple songs that are first takes. If they're good enough they'll be on the album.
I'm also aware that being over 50 that my years of rock and roll are just about up. It's hard to write new songs when you really don't have the hunger like you used to have and believed that we could make a difference with rock and roll, but it's a hobby nowadays and don't pay the bills like a real job does. I don't forsee myself 10 years from now doing new songs, I don't think I'll have the capability to do that. What's a 63 year old dude going to write about that hasn't been written or played before. You can't write about high school girls without sounding creepy, so can't do that. But you can still write a song about love gone bad, or yet another train song or a song for the road or protest songs about Dick Cheney being a asshole that should drink his own fracked water. It's sad seeing the world that I used to know being drowned in spilled oil in your river or lake, watching honey bees being eliminated due to Monsanto poisons and week killers. And seeing fewer and fewer music stores to hang out.
But I still play music because I still have fun with it, just like hearing the results of a finished album. And so here we are again adding the drum tracks to the numbers and hoping that something will be played on the radio. If the stars align just right, the album will be out by the end of May maybe.
Sunday 23 March 2014
Recording Session Saturday
I just got done finishing up another session and two more songs to add to the album for consideration. We have 19 songs to choose from but will get down to the necessary 12 for the album. We're just about done.
The first song I did was Home. It's basically a looking back at a life that hasn't been so fulfilling, noting of the time that I went out for baseball hoping to become a big star, but only end up striking out with the bases loaded. And then moving to playing songs nobody knows about in a empty bar and the last verse a summary of the way things go. I have too many demons in this life that rob the fun out of me and everything that goes wrong gets noted in some way. It's getting old, leave me alone I'm going home.
The other song dates back to 1979 and was a smart ass drum only number called How Hard It Is, and back then I gave co writing credits to my best friends Russ and Steve, even though they didn't contribute. This time out while Geoff was playing a guitar riff I started singing Seems to me you have changed and with a little revision and update from Martin we turned this into another sad song about begging a lover wronged to take another chance and of course the outcome would be that she moved on. I think I prefer the 1979 smart ass version myself.
Took a break in the afternoon to go do errands, and to the recycling center to get rid of some things, getting rid of a old beer clock sign that didn't work anymore. It used to be a nice beer sign but the clock quit working years ago and it was taking up space. To my amazement, I didn't run into many idiots going into Cedar Rapids. For the first time I went out to the Nature Center to hear two honking Canadian Geese making a racket and flying overhead of myself and Martin. In the chilly afternoon we sat and waited for trains that never came and while the sun was setting, the Geese that flew over our heads came back with about 10 more honking buddies, but fed up with lack of train watching, we took in a Mexican supper in Anamosa before coming back to the studio and listening to the playback and making notes here and there. Working with Hugh McConnell once again and in true fashion has managed to make the album get done. I recall we didn't take much time to do on 20, the last time he co produced. After 2 weeks, we got the songs done and now the second step in putting drums on them will be coming up in the next week. And then mixing it down and finishing it up before the end of April.
But for a hobby of sorts, the music isn't selling, just like 30 didn't sell either. It got airplay on Radio Buzz'd but the Radio Maierburg Records didn't get any sales, despite a meet and greet and and Q N A session on the After Dark special on Radio One. It's like that for a lot of bands out there, there's so much music and so little time and you basically are competing with over 100 years of recorded music as well. I haven't talked to Diggy about how the Songs That Made An Impact 2014 is faring. But I think he used the version of Cannery Row from the No Exit album rather than the better mixed version that appeared on 30. I wasn't impressed with how the song sounded when it came on the Impact 2014 version. I suppose if I lived out on the West Coast Diggy Kat would be setting fire to my butt to play some of the music showcases out there, here in Iowa, there's hardly any place to play. But since I continue to fight myself in the studio, doing take after take of songs that I either fuck up by playing the wrong chord or singing the wrong words that I haven't made myself available to the public during jam sessions. Plus having stage fright doesn't help either.
But I have good supporters in Geoff and Martin and Diggy Kat and they continue to help me through the crisis that is recording Forthcoming Trains. 30 plus years of doing this and it's still never easy to get through a song on the first take. The more you work on something, the more you mess up and the song takes a different turn. Knocking On Heaven's Door, there's such a resigned frustration that it does sound like I am knocking on heaven's door, even towards the end to which the ending gets fucked up and so we improvised and turn it into part of a song. Even if we had pro tools, I still fear we would be fighting everything just to get a suitable take.
I donno if there's any other band or musicians out there that have to fight everything just to conceive and make a good album that I have to do. Why do I continue to do this? Because I'm still a fan of this music and I still enjoy hearing the past efforts. I still hold out some kind of hope to be discovered down the line by some out of country fans who make it a pilgrimage to seek out the artist. After all that's the only thing left, I'm too old for the major labels and our music isn't for corporate radio. It's for the fans out there, even though I could count on them with one hand. I probably had a better chance playing in bar bands and playing Mustang Sally for the drunken crowd, even though I would have preferred our originals. You make good money still in this day and age playing Talk Dirty To Me or Taking Care Of Business but to myself it would feel like a job rather than fun.
But in the meantime, I'll continue to shape Forthcoming Trains into a type of album that I'd play on a daily basis. It's the only thing that keeps me going.
The first song I did was Home. It's basically a looking back at a life that hasn't been so fulfilling, noting of the time that I went out for baseball hoping to become a big star, but only end up striking out with the bases loaded. And then moving to playing songs nobody knows about in a empty bar and the last verse a summary of the way things go. I have too many demons in this life that rob the fun out of me and everything that goes wrong gets noted in some way. It's getting old, leave me alone I'm going home.
The other song dates back to 1979 and was a smart ass drum only number called How Hard It Is, and back then I gave co writing credits to my best friends Russ and Steve, even though they didn't contribute. This time out while Geoff was playing a guitar riff I started singing Seems to me you have changed and with a little revision and update from Martin we turned this into another sad song about begging a lover wronged to take another chance and of course the outcome would be that she moved on. I think I prefer the 1979 smart ass version myself.
Took a break in the afternoon to go do errands, and to the recycling center to get rid of some things, getting rid of a old beer clock sign that didn't work anymore. It used to be a nice beer sign but the clock quit working years ago and it was taking up space. To my amazement, I didn't run into many idiots going into Cedar Rapids. For the first time I went out to the Nature Center to hear two honking Canadian Geese making a racket and flying overhead of myself and Martin. In the chilly afternoon we sat and waited for trains that never came and while the sun was setting, the Geese that flew over our heads came back with about 10 more honking buddies, but fed up with lack of train watching, we took in a Mexican supper in Anamosa before coming back to the studio and listening to the playback and making notes here and there. Working with Hugh McConnell once again and in true fashion has managed to make the album get done. I recall we didn't take much time to do on 20, the last time he co produced. After 2 weeks, we got the songs done and now the second step in putting drums on them will be coming up in the next week. And then mixing it down and finishing it up before the end of April.
But for a hobby of sorts, the music isn't selling, just like 30 didn't sell either. It got airplay on Radio Buzz'd but the Radio Maierburg Records didn't get any sales, despite a meet and greet and and Q N A session on the After Dark special on Radio One. It's like that for a lot of bands out there, there's so much music and so little time and you basically are competing with over 100 years of recorded music as well. I haven't talked to Diggy about how the Songs That Made An Impact 2014 is faring. But I think he used the version of Cannery Row from the No Exit album rather than the better mixed version that appeared on 30. I wasn't impressed with how the song sounded when it came on the Impact 2014 version. I suppose if I lived out on the West Coast Diggy Kat would be setting fire to my butt to play some of the music showcases out there, here in Iowa, there's hardly any place to play. But since I continue to fight myself in the studio, doing take after take of songs that I either fuck up by playing the wrong chord or singing the wrong words that I haven't made myself available to the public during jam sessions. Plus having stage fright doesn't help either.
But I have good supporters in Geoff and Martin and Diggy Kat and they continue to help me through the crisis that is recording Forthcoming Trains. 30 plus years of doing this and it's still never easy to get through a song on the first take. The more you work on something, the more you mess up and the song takes a different turn. Knocking On Heaven's Door, there's such a resigned frustration that it does sound like I am knocking on heaven's door, even towards the end to which the ending gets fucked up and so we improvised and turn it into part of a song. Even if we had pro tools, I still fear we would be fighting everything just to get a suitable take.
I donno if there's any other band or musicians out there that have to fight everything just to conceive and make a good album that I have to do. Why do I continue to do this? Because I'm still a fan of this music and I still enjoy hearing the past efforts. I still hold out some kind of hope to be discovered down the line by some out of country fans who make it a pilgrimage to seek out the artist. After all that's the only thing left, I'm too old for the major labels and our music isn't for corporate radio. It's for the fans out there, even though I could count on them with one hand. I probably had a better chance playing in bar bands and playing Mustang Sally for the drunken crowd, even though I would have preferred our originals. You make good money still in this day and age playing Talk Dirty To Me or Taking Care Of Business but to myself it would feel like a job rather than fun.
But in the meantime, I'll continue to shape Forthcoming Trains into a type of album that I'd play on a daily basis. It's the only thing that keeps me going.
Thursday 20 March 2014
Walk A Thin Line
Spare me a loan on your time
Take me where you go
Whip out your key of theory
Show me what's in store
Now spare me no memory
When you speak for yourself
Don't take all day to tell me
Cause the world runs on a tilt
Why don't you walk a thin line
You can do it if you wanna try
Why don't you walk a thin line
Hold out a little longer
One more minute will kill you
Bear out all the guilt
The results will thrill you
It's the way that you feel babe
Not what you say or do
For all the bottled up feelings
In the long run, you'll be a fool
Why don't you walk a thin line
You can do it if you wanna try
Why don't you walk a thin line
And when you're dead and gone (Walk A Thin Line)
You'll be on your own (Walk A Thin Line)
All alone, all alone (Walk A Thin Line)
drive on.
(c) 1987 Townedger Music Emporium
Take me where you go
Whip out your key of theory
Show me what's in store
Now spare me no memory
When you speak for yourself
Don't take all day to tell me
Cause the world runs on a tilt
Why don't you walk a thin line
You can do it if you wanna try
Why don't you walk a thin line
Hold out a little longer
One more minute will kill you
Bear out all the guilt
The results will thrill you
It's the way that you feel babe
Not what you say or do
For all the bottled up feelings
In the long run, you'll be a fool
Why don't you walk a thin line
You can do it if you wanna try
Why don't you walk a thin line
And when you're dead and gone (Walk A Thin Line)
You'll be on your own (Walk A Thin Line)
All alone, all alone (Walk A Thin Line)
drive on.
(c) 1987 Townedger Music Emporium
Sunday 16 March 2014
Recording Oncoming Trains and Life's failures
On Tuesday, I started work on the new album and managed to get four songs done. The next session it took me about 20 takes to do one song and then the next day managed to do another 25 takes of Light Years Away.
The problem of recording anymore nowadays and this takes the fun out of recording when you have to redo take after take due to the usual rules. I miss a chord here, miss pronounce a word there, or my voice would give out. Even got to a point that a case of flatulence was heard in the background so had to stop and redo that take all over again. Of course it didn't help that I was coming from Madison in a blizzard to start doing the fucking song a couple hours later. About the 40th time and take it was finally done.
It's been this way for 31 years. The constant fighting to get the arrangements right, the song right and everything else that might work but I fight a lotta recording demons, my fingers and brain and mouth can't get the signals right, I can't read the handwriting of the lyrics and all kinds of what goes wrong goes wrong comes into play. I tell myself this is supposed to be fun, I'm doing this because I love music and I love hearing my music on the stereo or on the radio whenever the net radio stations play it. People say I'm fighting a losing battle anyway, nobody buys the music, nobody listens to it and there's so much out there that you can listen to in the first place. I guess it goes all the way back to which I came out of the womb and into a world that hasn't accepted me in the first place.
I don't know if life has passed me by or I stayed too long in fantasyland to really do anything else in life. Whatever I have done I failed. I discovered football and wanted to be the star QB that lead the team to the state championship but ended up getting on the b to c to d squad and finally gave up on that. I tried out for little league baseball in the attempts to have fun and make a difference but unfortunly fate had other ideas. Either I struck out or walked, nice to know in life that I never got a base hit in baseball. And had a few baseballs go between my legs to a lose a game. Basketball same thing, couldn't hit free throws, couldn't play defense. My grade school girlfriend became a damn good basketball player, she could run circles around me in 5th grade. True to form, I quit that too in high school.
But perhaps the biggest failure was trying to be a good boyfriend and that didn't work either. The biggest mistakes in my life was in the year 1975 when I decided to try out for little league and see the year of shit begin with both grandparents that died and going to Michigan and falling head over heels over some younger girl that tended to fart about 5 times after she chased me around the yard. After 1976 I never saw her again. The other big mistake was Janice and letting her get to me over the years.
The 1980s were a joke, I dated nobody and when I did I was overbearing. I gave my heart away to the most undesirable girls I would come across. The ones that did find me attractive I blew them off, the girl in my Public Relations class that I saw at Kitty's and smiling at me and basically blew her off and watched her go home crying away. Thought I could find her and explain my actions but that never happened. There was Belinda, a good girl with a good heart.
In the 1990s I finally had a dating life and managed to date a good woman who had three boys but still thought a lot of me but after my appendix attack in 1996, she got too high maintenance and eventually went behind my back to date somebody for six weeks before deciding I was to go. And there was the psychopaths, the strip dancer from Denver, the snake lady of Spokane, the woman from the rainy state that was the inspiration of some of my greatest songs ever written and of course the brat, who may have been the most loving of all. We shared the good times, endured the bad and I'm sure she has found a more compatible guy that can keep up with her. I miss her, she was a part of writing a couple songs with me and will always be a part of me.
Sometimes in life you don't get the girl in the end, nor do you settle down and get married and bring children in the world so you can teach them values of life and maybe get them to learn an instrument and start a band. But as I go through these recording sessions it appears to me that I would be the weakest link and probably would be replaced. A rocker at heart but get on stage with guitar in hand and I will fuck it up be it the words or the music. It has happened time and time again.
Which is why when I play live I play behind the drums. I don't know what happened in this life that I wanted to be a rockstar but ended up sounding like a dork everytime I took the lead on songs. Or do a station ID and sound like a dork. I feel like giving it all up. I'll never be the guy that plays live and gets all kinds of nookie at the end of show. As a drummer I did get a phone number from a girl but she gave her numbers all out to everybody in the band and I was the one not into the joke.
For the most part Geoff and Martin has been the most supportive guys that I have ever known. Most everybody would have been out the door after the first blowup but bless their hearts they stayed through the 80 takes of Light Years Away and telling me things will be all right. But we're all fighting a losing battle, fighting outdated recording equipment that fucks up the tape after a while, or having the new technology's hard drive go out and they can't repair it. I think I'm more inclined just to stick to the more safe songs of the back catalog just to complete Forthcoming Trains but I'm stubborn enough to finish it, and knowing it won't sell but at least I have something new to listen to.
The Big Crash Collection over and done with, the three albums served their purpose. So it's on to Forthcoming Trains, I promised Diggy Kat, my A&R director that I'd would finish it for him to spotlight on his radio show. The album so far is acoustic but we'll be working on the electric stuff in the next couple weeks. We're looking to get this completed in about 3 weeks. That is if I don't take a shotgun to myself by then.
I am hoping for things to get better.
The problem of recording anymore nowadays and this takes the fun out of recording when you have to redo take after take due to the usual rules. I miss a chord here, miss pronounce a word there, or my voice would give out. Even got to a point that a case of flatulence was heard in the background so had to stop and redo that take all over again. Of course it didn't help that I was coming from Madison in a blizzard to start doing the fucking song a couple hours later. About the 40th time and take it was finally done.
It's been this way for 31 years. The constant fighting to get the arrangements right, the song right and everything else that might work but I fight a lotta recording demons, my fingers and brain and mouth can't get the signals right, I can't read the handwriting of the lyrics and all kinds of what goes wrong goes wrong comes into play. I tell myself this is supposed to be fun, I'm doing this because I love music and I love hearing my music on the stereo or on the radio whenever the net radio stations play it. People say I'm fighting a losing battle anyway, nobody buys the music, nobody listens to it and there's so much out there that you can listen to in the first place. I guess it goes all the way back to which I came out of the womb and into a world that hasn't accepted me in the first place.
I don't know if life has passed me by or I stayed too long in fantasyland to really do anything else in life. Whatever I have done I failed. I discovered football and wanted to be the star QB that lead the team to the state championship but ended up getting on the b to c to d squad and finally gave up on that. I tried out for little league baseball in the attempts to have fun and make a difference but unfortunly fate had other ideas. Either I struck out or walked, nice to know in life that I never got a base hit in baseball. And had a few baseballs go between my legs to a lose a game. Basketball same thing, couldn't hit free throws, couldn't play defense. My grade school girlfriend became a damn good basketball player, she could run circles around me in 5th grade. True to form, I quit that too in high school.
But perhaps the biggest failure was trying to be a good boyfriend and that didn't work either. The biggest mistakes in my life was in the year 1975 when I decided to try out for little league and see the year of shit begin with both grandparents that died and going to Michigan and falling head over heels over some younger girl that tended to fart about 5 times after she chased me around the yard. After 1976 I never saw her again. The other big mistake was Janice and letting her get to me over the years.
The 1980s were a joke, I dated nobody and when I did I was overbearing. I gave my heart away to the most undesirable girls I would come across. The ones that did find me attractive I blew them off, the girl in my Public Relations class that I saw at Kitty's and smiling at me and basically blew her off and watched her go home crying away. Thought I could find her and explain my actions but that never happened. There was Belinda, a good girl with a good heart.
In the 1990s I finally had a dating life and managed to date a good woman who had three boys but still thought a lot of me but after my appendix attack in 1996, she got too high maintenance and eventually went behind my back to date somebody for six weeks before deciding I was to go. And there was the psychopaths, the strip dancer from Denver, the snake lady of Spokane, the woman from the rainy state that was the inspiration of some of my greatest songs ever written and of course the brat, who may have been the most loving of all. We shared the good times, endured the bad and I'm sure she has found a more compatible guy that can keep up with her. I miss her, she was a part of writing a couple songs with me and will always be a part of me.
Sometimes in life you don't get the girl in the end, nor do you settle down and get married and bring children in the world so you can teach them values of life and maybe get them to learn an instrument and start a band. But as I go through these recording sessions it appears to me that I would be the weakest link and probably would be replaced. A rocker at heart but get on stage with guitar in hand and I will fuck it up be it the words or the music. It has happened time and time again.
Which is why when I play live I play behind the drums. I don't know what happened in this life that I wanted to be a rockstar but ended up sounding like a dork everytime I took the lead on songs. Or do a station ID and sound like a dork. I feel like giving it all up. I'll never be the guy that plays live and gets all kinds of nookie at the end of show. As a drummer I did get a phone number from a girl but she gave her numbers all out to everybody in the band and I was the one not into the joke.
For the most part Geoff and Martin has been the most supportive guys that I have ever known. Most everybody would have been out the door after the first blowup but bless their hearts they stayed through the 80 takes of Light Years Away and telling me things will be all right. But we're all fighting a losing battle, fighting outdated recording equipment that fucks up the tape after a while, or having the new technology's hard drive go out and they can't repair it. I think I'm more inclined just to stick to the more safe songs of the back catalog just to complete Forthcoming Trains but I'm stubborn enough to finish it, and knowing it won't sell but at least I have something new to listen to.
The Big Crash Collection over and done with, the three albums served their purpose. So it's on to Forthcoming Trains, I promised Diggy Kat, my A&R director that I'd would finish it for him to spotlight on his radio show. The album so far is acoustic but we'll be working on the electric stuff in the next couple weeks. We're looking to get this completed in about 3 weeks. That is if I don't take a shotgun to myself by then.
I am hoping for things to get better.
Saturday 1 March 2014
The Big Crash Collection
This month brings full circle of the early years back in print. In 1980 I bought a Zickos drumset in order to record music and between that and So Much For That, I recorded a bunch of reel to reels that were edited down to cassette tape with the highlights of the songs that stood out. While So Much For That and anything else later (Except Every Hour On The Hour which I cannot find the tapes to) have made it to CD form, the three albums have not. But after spending yet another snowed in weekend, I decided to finally mix and put the three albums out on CD this month. Subtitled the Zickos Collection, (in tribute to my long gone drum set) the three albums are known as R. Smith Tonight, The Power Of Positive Thinking and Bizarre Behavior.
I have no intention of issuing the pre 1980s stuff on CD, they are too rough and better versions were done later but I love the power of the drums on these recordings. Plus they're fun to listen to as I try to do one take versions of songs, red light running and hoping that they sound good.
The albums themselves:
Rodney Smith Tonight! (MHS-24027) 1980
1. Medley (13:36)
It's Me Tonight
That Girl I'm Gonna Make Her Mine If It Takes All Night
I Want To Get Closerthanthis With You
2. The Will Of Me 7:11
3. Who Asking Questions 4:22
4. Black Wind 4:02
5. Out Of Gas 4:35
6. Drums On Fire 5:55
7. Movin On To Better Things (Smith/Willard) 3:23
8. Ain't It Oblivious 3:42
9. Takin' For A Ride 4:28
Produced By Rodney Smith
Recorded at Maier Studio Summer 1980
Recorded by R.Smith, Mel Strobie and Ken Miller
All other songs written by Rodney Smith except where noted.
THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING (1981) MRK-24129
1. Who Sez 3:33
2. Heart Of Ice (Smith/Gray) 5:04
3. The Power Of Positive Thinking (Smith/Glarington) 2:53
4. Out And Out 2:20
5. All Night Dancing 4:20
6. Reggae Rock 4:05
7. Down The Road Blues 4:21
8. Who What Where And Why 5:42
9. Champagne Bottles In The Cupboard (Smith/Orbit/Glarington) 4:11
10. Jazztime 1:55
11. Fool For Thinking (Smith/Evans) 3:23
12. Same Old Thing 1:35
All songs written by R.Smith except where noted
Recorded at Maier Studio June 25-27 1981
Recorded by Mel Strobie, Gene Littell and Ken Miller
Produced by Rodney Smith and Mel Strobie
BIZARRE BEHAVIOR (1982) MRK 24130
1. Living After Midnight 3:28
2. Throw That Beat In The Garbage Can 4:10
3. Trans Elusive Express (Smith/Orbit/Miller/Glarington) 5:28
4. Victim Of Circumstances 1:55
5. In A Trance 5:15
6. Sidewalk Sale Woman (Smith/Swearingen) 3:13
7. Rock That! 1:27
8. Fade Away 2:10
9. Thunderfoot 3:40
10. Roll A Rock 4:25
11. Diesel Breath 1:55
12. Bizarre Behavior 2:00
13. Heart Of Stone 4:00
14. How Can You Say That I Loved You When You Knew I Was A Liar 4:20
15. Goodbye Freelance Dream (Smith/Glarington) 2:40
16. Telling All 3:52
Songs written by R.Smith except where noted
Recorded July 1982, Maier Studios
Recorded by Ken Miller, Gene Littell and Perry Langhurst
Produced By Neil Fulbright
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reissue Credits:
For the most part, all selections were used from the original dubbed cassette copies that were found in the Radio Maierburg music archives and with the exception of Same Old Thing were EQed in the way they were recorded. Granted, some of the selections were found via the Rodney Smith's Greatest Hits (MRK 24175) cassette and that tape had a higher quality tape which brought out the more brighter sounds. The tape master used of Same Old Thing, the source copy wasn't that great to begin with and the reel to reel wasn't much better but we compressed it to make it sound better. The more rougher mix that you hear are from the original reel to reel mixed to an old outdated Realistic player which did a fine job at the beginning but later in the 80 it recorded music much faster and when transcribed to other cassette players the sound dragged more. The four track used to record and mix, has brought things up to speed.
All sections features myself playing guitar and drums and on a rare occasion Harmonica. Ron Glarington, who co wrote a few songs, arranged the songs There was some numbers included by Paraphernalia and Russ Swearingen played bass on a couple of instrumentals but were not included. There was were some omissions of songs off the cassette (Hit Me (hit a wet towel), Mr Questionmark, Shine On, Anger, Wide Turn Blues, Four O Clock Sunrise, In Search Of The Girl Of My Dreams, Pizza Inferior) that would have hampered the flow of the album so they were left off. Good intentions really at that time but really have dated very badly over the years.
For most of February, I worked with my original producer Mel Strobie on reviewing tracks. Since he played a role in recording most of these albums I felt that he should be included on the reissues. We both attempt to preserve, as best as we could, the sound and performance of these albums. But tape usually ages over time, and there's some drop out of sound and other wow and flutter issues.
The Big Crash Collection, while uneven and ragged at is gets, these three albums do show the transgression of novices attempted rock stars into something more compatible and bridges the gap between the past and the latest album 30. A history lesson.
But I still get a kick out of hearing those wild drum solos though ;-)
I have no intention of issuing the pre 1980s stuff on CD, they are too rough and better versions were done later but I love the power of the drums on these recordings. Plus they're fun to listen to as I try to do one take versions of songs, red light running and hoping that they sound good.
The albums themselves:
Rodney Smith Tonight! (MHS-24027) 1980
1. Medley (13:36)
It's Me Tonight
That Girl I'm Gonna Make Her Mine If It Takes All Night
I Want To Get Closerthanthis With You
2. The Will Of Me 7:11
3. Who Asking Questions 4:22
4. Black Wind 4:02
5. Out Of Gas 4:35
6. Drums On Fire 5:55
7. Movin On To Better Things (Smith/Willard) 3:23
8. Ain't It Oblivious 3:42
9. Takin' For A Ride 4:28
Produced By Rodney Smith
Recorded at Maier Studio Summer 1980
Recorded by R.Smith, Mel Strobie and Ken Miller
All other songs written by Rodney Smith except where noted.
THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING (1981) MRK-24129
1. Who Sez 3:33
2. Heart Of Ice (Smith/Gray) 5:04
3. The Power Of Positive Thinking (Smith/Glarington) 2:53
4. Out And Out 2:20
5. All Night Dancing 4:20
6. Reggae Rock 4:05
7. Down The Road Blues 4:21
8. Who What Where And Why 5:42
9. Champagne Bottles In The Cupboard (Smith/Orbit/Glarington) 4:11
10. Jazztime 1:55
11. Fool For Thinking (Smith/Evans) 3:23
12. Same Old Thing 1:35
All songs written by R.Smith except where noted
Recorded at Maier Studio June 25-27 1981
Recorded by Mel Strobie, Gene Littell and Ken Miller
Produced by Rodney Smith and Mel Strobie
BIZARRE BEHAVIOR (1982) MRK 24130
1. Living After Midnight 3:28
2. Throw That Beat In The Garbage Can 4:10
3. Trans Elusive Express (Smith/Orbit/Miller/Glarington) 5:28
4. Victim Of Circumstances 1:55
5. In A Trance 5:15
6. Sidewalk Sale Woman (Smith/Swearingen) 3:13
7. Rock That! 1:27
8. Fade Away 2:10
9. Thunderfoot 3:40
10. Roll A Rock 4:25
11. Diesel Breath 1:55
12. Bizarre Behavior 2:00
13. Heart Of Stone 4:00
14. How Can You Say That I Loved You When You Knew I Was A Liar 4:20
15. Goodbye Freelance Dream (Smith/Glarington) 2:40
16. Telling All 3:52
Songs written by R.Smith except where noted
Recorded July 1982, Maier Studios
Recorded by Ken Miller, Gene Littell and Perry Langhurst
Produced By Neil Fulbright
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reissue Credits:
For the most part, all selections were used from the original dubbed cassette copies that were found in the Radio Maierburg music archives and with the exception of Same Old Thing were EQed in the way they were recorded. Granted, some of the selections were found via the Rodney Smith's Greatest Hits (MRK 24175) cassette and that tape had a higher quality tape which brought out the more brighter sounds. The tape master used of Same Old Thing, the source copy wasn't that great to begin with and the reel to reel wasn't much better but we compressed it to make it sound better. The more rougher mix that you hear are from the original reel to reel mixed to an old outdated Realistic player which did a fine job at the beginning but later in the 80 it recorded music much faster and when transcribed to other cassette players the sound dragged more. The four track used to record and mix, has brought things up to speed.
All sections features myself playing guitar and drums and on a rare occasion Harmonica. Ron Glarington, who co wrote a few songs, arranged the songs There was some numbers included by Paraphernalia and Russ Swearingen played bass on a couple of instrumentals but were not included. There was were some omissions of songs off the cassette (Hit Me (hit a wet towel), Mr Questionmark, Shine On, Anger, Wide Turn Blues, Four O Clock Sunrise, In Search Of The Girl Of My Dreams, Pizza Inferior) that would have hampered the flow of the album so they were left off. Good intentions really at that time but really have dated very badly over the years.
For most of February, I worked with my original producer Mel Strobie on reviewing tracks. Since he played a role in recording most of these albums I felt that he should be included on the reissues. We both attempt to preserve, as best as we could, the sound and performance of these albums. But tape usually ages over time, and there's some drop out of sound and other wow and flutter issues.
The Big Crash Collection, while uneven and ragged at is gets, these three albums do show the transgression of novices attempted rock stars into something more compatible and bridges the gap between the past and the latest album 30. A history lesson.
But I still get a kick out of hearing those wild drum solos though ;-)
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