Album Archives: Infnite Loop

In 1984 I was playing drums for Paraphernalia/Tyrus, and since my drumset was over at Dennis Lancaster's house I really didn't practice much for new tunes.  While it was nice to play in a bar band, we were not making any money at it and I wasn't too happy about not being able to create new songs. At this time, the Kirkwood learning of how to DJ wasn't working and my folks were ready to throw me out of the house, so I started over at Hamilton Business College, later the great scam for profit college Kaplin University in learning Computer Programming.  Our teacher Pam Trombley basically laid it out in black and white that we were not going to get jobs so why not do some partying over at Bulicek's on break.  Half the time we were trying to get Pam home in one piece, one night she somehow gave me a kiss on the cheek.  I fell in love with that.

My love life was confusing. Teresa was long gone and some girl that I had in my Public Relations class took a liking to me and somehow we met at Kitty's one May night.  Perfect chance to get to know her, I sat in my chair and smiled and paid attention more to the band.  She left the bar crying to her friend that I didn't even try.  So over the weekend I promised to go find her at Kirkwood and explain myself and hope things would work out for the best.  I'm still looking for her to explain myself.

Tyrus played about 45 minutes at a graduation party before the cops shut us down.  My folks said I sounded pretty good from where they were at, from the front door of the house while we played six blocks down.  It started out to be a rainy cloudy day before we took to the makeshift tent and the clouds disappeared.  I've been told I was heard as far as Lindale.  And my drums were not even miked up.

With the band taking a couple weeks off, I decided it was a perfect time to come up with a new album of songs.  If anything Infinite Loop is as stripped down as it gets, two microphones, my 50 dollar K Mart guitar and amp combo and my old trusty Zickos set.  Infinite Loop is famous for miking the drums from the ground.  I sat one on them underneath the snare drum, the other over by the base tom and it gave out a distinct drum sound that I have used to this day.  I love to hear the snap of the snare on this album.   The songs themselves came from various sources.  Love Like Backfire is the only song that Dennis Lancaster and I ever wrote together, he had a bunch of lyrics in his note book and I picked this one out as the best of what he had.  Russ Swearingen had a few lines of a song that I took from and patched it all together.  It may have been a juvenile song (about scoring pussy no doubt and the dude getting cold feet at the end) but I do like the riffs that I put in the song.  Although I wrote all of the songs, I did put down a few of my friends names so they can get in the fun of seeing their name scrawled upon a LP label, or at least on the cassette label.  Certainly Ken Miller got lots of credit on songs he didn't have much to do, or Claire Parman or even my other BFF Steve Willard, on Just Having Fun.  Willard really did not play music or write songs.

The album was recorded in my bedroom, known as Sunshine Studios at that time (Maier Studios was the better known name), sessions begin on May 30 and ended on June 12, 1984 before the guys in Paraphernalia Tyrus wanted to get back together.  A August 26th recording date ended up being the Contractual Obligations EP.  Glen Tallible producing those sessions.  The Infinite Loop album was issued to the world on June 2, 1984.  When I listen to the album, I'm surprised on how well it sounded and so did the songs but the record wasn't perfect.  I couldn't find the right line to sang on the song Highway 94 and later retakes showed me with different lyrics but 31 years after the fact, it still annoys me that I couldn't make that song work.  The stop and start of Cash And Carry is perhaps some of my best drum work and Long Time Gone, later appears in a better version on Forthcoming Trains.   If nothing else, Infinite Loop would be the first in a long line of albums that I worked with Brian Mullahan an adventurous dude with an eye for sonic detail and doing oddball things.  Unlike Love Sucks or TE Rock, there was no backing vocals, I did lead vocals and played guitar and overdubbed the drums on the second go around.   The cassette version has both Infinite Loop and Obligations but the CD version  is Infinite Loop only.    Although my vocals still remain whiny and off colored, Infinite Loop still holds up over time on certain songs.  With the other band getting on my case about getting back to the bars, this turned out the be the only album that I did in 1984.  Tyrus would finish up the year at the OK Lounge with a live double cassette of the final performances, Russ would reenlist for another five years in the Marine Corp and I'll be back focusing my energies on my own solo stuff, under the Route 66 banner.  1985 would provide more interesting obstacles among the way.

Songs:

Love Like Backfire (Smith/Lancaster/R.Swearingen) 4:31
Cash And Carry (Smith/Miller)  3:07
It's Not Easy (Smith/Orbit/Parman) 3:23
Just Having Fun (Smith/Willard) 5:33
My Next Song (Smith/Orbit) 3:39
Maquoketa Woman (Smith/Mullahan) 5:14

Long Time Gone (Smith/Miller/Castleman) 4:43
Midnight Drive (Smith/Miller)  4:38
Nashville (Smith/Orbit/Parman) 3:12
Nu Clear Days (Smith/Miller) 5:30
On Highway 94 (Smith/Orbit) 3:15
We Love You (Smith/Orbit) 4:20

Notes:  My Next Song was deleted for a drum solo song called This Is Peace And Quiet?  but actually came from the aborted 1983 echophonics album produced with Jack Orbit.  The final track Going Home, a minute thirty five of shutting things down appeared on original cassette copies when came out but those too are rare and hard to find.

The songwriting credits basically are me with the lyrics and the co writers not adding much but their name.  It was supposed to be a democratic way of spreading the music wealth but again the royalty checks are not even worth the print on the check itself.  Dennis Lancaster and Russ Swearingen did help in the lyrics of Backfire.


All instruments on Infinite Loop are played by Rodney Smith.
Recorded May 30-June 12, 1984 at Sunshine Studios, Marion Ia
Recorded by Rodney Smith, Ken Miller and Mel Larsen
Produced by Rodney Smith, Jack Orbit and Brian Mullahan

Released as Maier Records MRK-24265



The EP Contractual Obligations

Songs:

Sail Away (Smith) 4:24
The Infinite Loop (Smith) :45
Amtrak Baby (Smith/Orbit/Miller/Castleman)  2:30
Correspondence (Smith/Orbit)  3:17
Escape From The Infinite Loop (Smith) 1:05

Recorded August 26, 1984  Maier Studios Marion IA
John Castleman-Guitar on Amtrak Baby
Ken Miller-Bass
Rodney Smith-Guitar and vocals

Produced by Glen Tallible and Rodney Smith
Engineered by Rodney Smith

All songs (C) R. Smith and The Townedger Music Emporium (1984) 

Notes:  Sail Away and The Infinite Loop were tacked on side 1 of the cassette version of Infinite Loop after Maquoketa Woman , Amtrak Baby, Correspondence and Escape on side 2 after We Love You.    Only Sail Away and Amtrak Baby were used as bonus tracks for the CD version Love Sucks (MRK 24237).   Also of note My Next Song and This Is Peace And Quiet were left off the CD reissue in 1998.  I didn't think they were good enough for inclusion, however This Is Peace And Quiet was tacked on the CD version of Bizarre Behavior when I issued that as part of the Big Crash Collection.