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Song background and inspiration for "Now Appearing at the Breakfast Show."
Some of the songs on the album date back to my college days in my early twenties. Stone Cold Stare was one of the first songs I had written that started with the chord riff and me just blurting out some lyrics (That is how a lot of my songs come about.) I used to play this song in my very first band, Rosemary, in Hayward, Ca. We only played live once at my friend' Cayce Howe's Moreau High School talent show. My goal at the time was to write songs that were rooted in the Blues that had a modern alternative feel. At the time everyone I knew was into heavy metal or funk rock The bay area in the 80s and 90s was a hot bed for that type of music. So I tried to fit in.
Fish In The Sea was written first as a poem in a bar in Dublin, Ireland in 1992 about lost love and contemplating other prospects who were in the bar. I wrote the music to the song after I got home to the US. I really liked how this song turned out. At first I thought it was going to be more laid back and jazzy. It turned out real funky with a more modern feel.
Red Hot Mama came about by me trying to remember how the Ronnie Dawson song "Red Hot Mama" went. Ronnie Dawson, who was a great rockabilly musician, would always start his shows with Red Hot Mama which I loved.  I started playing this song while waiting for my wife, Judy, to get ready so we could go out. Again, I didn't know how the Ronnie Dawson song went so I just started blurting out some lyrics. My original lyric mentioned living in a shack in East Soquel. I changed it to Watsonville after I moved there in 2000. When playing this song live I generally change the lyrics around to relate to the city where I am playing in. I usually take great liberty to improvise when playing this song live. Improvisation is something I really enjoy and constantly challenge myself to do. That is the only way I can grow as a musician and stay interested.
I Want You to Show Me is a recent song that again started with some chords and a blurt out. The lyrics were inspired by my wife who says that I can't just say I love her, I have to show her. This song kind has a bluesy country sound to it. Kind of sums up my music style.
She Is Beautiful To Me is a song I wrote for my wife, Judy, when we were dating. I loved the modern rock era of the eighties (Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure etc) and it still influences the songs I write today. This is a love song that will always be dedicated to Judy.
Itty Bitty Titties was born with just the title. I just liked how those words fit together and tried to build a song around it. Totally fiction but I've been told this happens more than you might think :-) I received some help from my friend, John Cirillo (a much better lyricist than me, he actually cares about it). I played a rough version for him and he came up with the line "going from double D's down to single A's" which is brilliant. I don't think John remembers this. In any case, I like novelty songs. I am a big fan of Merle Travis who used to write a ton of novelty songs like Fat Gal, So Round So Firm So Fully Packed, Smoke Smoke Smoke That Cigarette etc. Junior Brown also carries on the novelty song tradition. This song makes some people feel uncomfortable which is fine with me.
The song Go My Bail took the longest to finish. I had recorded a rough demo of the chorus about 10 years ago. Then about 5 years ago I recorded the base track that you hear today with just some mumbling for the verses. The song has an AC DC vibe to it and is played in Open G a la Keith Richards. I had the toughest time coming up with lyrics for this and kept putting it off. Finally I wanted to complete this album so I quickly put something together. There are a couple of Stones song references in there. You will notice several song references to other artists throughout the album. That great harmonica sound is from my friend Russ Van Scoy who called me out of the blue. I was thinking of calling him to lay some harmonica tracks down and then he called. This happened again a couple of months later. There is some synergy there.
What I Need started with a rough version of the chorus. I thought this would originally be a country/bluegrass song with banjo etc. I didn't know what to do with it so I just let it rest. There are many musical ideas that I have stored away either in my head or recorded that I just keep around until some other idea comes around that may go well together. It is kind of a musical idea library, easily accessible when needed. I was listening to a bluegrass show on a non-profit radio station and there was a bluegrass gospel song playing. I was inspired by that and immediately wrote the melody and lyrics around a religious kind of theme.
When putting songs together for this album I was worried that I would be straying too far from the music that I am known for playing ie traditional american roots music. I thought it might be too rock or alternative and thought it needed a more straight ahead country song. Shame on Me, Shame on You was a phrase that was flying around in my head for a while and thought it would fit well in a song. I think it was inspired by George Bush's funny mis-speak about the common saying Fool Me Once, Shame on You. Fool me twice, Shame on Me. I merged this idea with another line that I had in my head "It's coming on like a Tidal Wave" and thus the song was born. Shame on Me, Shame on You has a kind of Johnny Cash feel to it which wasn't planned but I "Guess Things Happen That Way."
Mousetrap was a song I wrote while playing with the first band I was in, Rosemary. It started as a poem written in College class. This was another attempt to merge blues with a modern alternative feel. The end has a Primus inspired bass line. I had forgot about this song for a long time. I couldn't remember how some of the verses went so I re-wrote the last 2 verses. I remembered this song because we recently had a problem with mice at my house.
Edge of the Sea was literally born at the edge of the sea in Pacifica on Jan 1, 1994. My wife Judy and I were dating at the time and we were sittng on a ledge overlooking the ocean and she started saying phrases like "who am I, I am you" etc. I helped out. I am not sure if this was intended to be song lyrics at the time or just poetry but I took these ideas and secretly wrote music for it and completed the bridge. On our wedding day a year and a half later I surprised her by singing this song with my sister, Anita, during the ceremony. That is my sister, Anita Winter, you hear on this track as well. We always wanted to record a nice version of this song and finally got around to it about 5 years ago. I remember having trouble with the drums. That is my brother, Dipendra, on the drums played on a Casio type keyboard trying his best. |
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