| This is a collection of songs mostly written during the years I lived in New Braunfels, TX (a few were written in Wisconsin) and was first learning to play the blues. I decided to re-record them because a.) I use them all in my live show and b.) I can play them better now than I could when I first wrote them. Only the first track, "The Skeptical Kind" is a new composition. Low-Fi MP3 files are available for sampling .. if you like them, please support homegrown music and buy them from one of my online stores .... :-) |
| The Skeptical Kind |
A friend of mine in Texas released a song a few years ago called "The Spiritual Kind", which explained the world from the point of view of a believer. I decided it was time to write a song that explained the world from the point of view of a Skeptic .... |
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| Drink, Dance, Fight & Fornicate |
I was playing a gig at a roadhouse in Texas, where I witnessed two cowboys get into an argument at the bar, go outside and punch each other out, and return later to continue drinking together as though nothing had ever happened. The bartender, an aging biker babe, explained it by telling me "These cowboys just wanna drink, dance, fight & f**k". I needed extra syllables to make the rhyme work, so I substituted the word "fornicate". Other than that, it's pretty much a true story of Texas barroom romance. |
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| I'm A Cop |
I wrote this one evening after getting stopped by a local cop who was just looking for an excuse to raise revenue. Fortunately, I escaped without being fleeced, but I was nonetheless motivated to write this psychological profile of your average, gun-toting government enforcer. For those of you who went to government schools, here's a brief biography of Big Bull Connor. |
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| Traveler's Lament |
A true story. The big old triple-chinned walrus of a woman who kept me pressed against the cabin wall on a flight to San Antonio gets credit for having inspired this tune. After that it kind of wrote itself. |
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| Havin' A Bad Day |
When I was first learning the basic I-IV-V chord progression and standard blues turnaround, I wrote a whole bunch of different lyrics to practice with. This was written right after Albert King died. The rest is generally stuff that people in New Braunfels told me happened to them. |
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| Think For Yourself |
As a secular, libertarian skeptic , I value independent thought very highly. Correspondingly, I had to write an anthem in which I could succinctly make my point. I wrote this while living in Wisconsin as a protest against corn-fed midwestern conformity. |
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| Two Note Power Chord Rock-n-Roll Star |
This was written for a particular person in New Braunfels who showed up frequently to jam night, where he only played power-chord rock hits. He played them very well, but a.) he had absolutely no sense of humor about it and b.) he could only play what he knew and couldn't improvize to save his life. Hence, when I wrote this song, I attempted to capture his philosophy of music while incorportating as many of the song titles he covered into the lyrics as possible. |
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| Just Like My Dog |
This was written for Brew -- a mutt of indeterminate genetics we adopted who had the IQ of a turnip but nonetheless lived a better 13-year life than billions of humans ever did. I doubt the sentiment is original, but this is my take on it. |
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| They Can't Wait |
I wrote this one evening when I was playing a gig and a couple close to the stage damn near started playing bedspring poker right there in the bar. Being a naturally sarcastic person, it seemed like the thing to do at the time. |
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| You Gotta Believe |
This song examines the belief that belief is inherently good. The next time you're confronted with a bunch of junk in your garage that you don't use anymore, or a politican who lied, or someone who claims to have a personal relationship with [insert name of diety here], think about it. |
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| He's Drunk |
A true story. This person really did exist, and aside from a few exaggerations for the sake of humor, most of this song is just telling his story. |
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| Long Haired Blues |
Another of my learning-to-master-the-I-IV-V tunes. The story is a bit exaggerated, but generally true. Far too many people, in my humble opinion, get far too worked up over hairstyles. |
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| 1-900-BIG-WANK |
This tune was a response to the early days of late-night phone sex commercials in the 1990's. These ads always had absolutely awful music playing in the background. I figured they would give me big money for writing a catchy tune to promote their businesses. I was wrong. |
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