Llamas in Salem, Oregon

Llamas in Salem, Oregon

Just a couple of blocks from our brand new apartment building in Salem, Oregon some ten or so years ago was open farmland. We’d walk down the major street with lots of traffic, turn down a side street and these llamas were the first things we’d encounter. We could actually see this field from our apartment window. We were the first to rent this apartment after it was built, and the combination of modern convenience and being a stone’s throw from a rural environment was a combination you just don’t see too often. Many fond memories (and a few videos, which I’ll be posting over the weeks and months to come).

The Hermit

I have no idea why I wrote this weird little ditty, much less recorded it, yet here it is. Make of it what you will. And when you speak of this in years to come, and you will, be kind….

Only Ashes

Only Ashes

This one started out as a poem about folks who get lost in the past, sucked out of the moment and into reverie. Written in my twenties, I saw a lot of old folks drifting away from involvement in the here and now and wanted to pen a tome about the dangers of dropping into that rabbit hole. So, now that I’m an old person, here I am spending all my time recycling my old artistic creations instead of making anything new. How’s that for poetic irony. Hmmm… “poetic irony” – that’s a new creation. WooHoo! Not Dead Yet! (Mostly).

Tarnished Karma (Straight As An Arrow)

I was still in high school during the summer of love in 1968 and didn’t graduate until 1971. So, though I adopted the hippy dress code just a little bit, I was a tad too young (coming from a loving family) to run off to Haight Ashbury. In fact, I didn’t get involved in much anything in those days, preferring to keep to my own company other than organized events my parents got me involved in (with a few exceptions). And looking back years later, once I had developed more of a social conscious, I wrote this song as a mantra against lack of involvement. I originally called it Tarnished Karma, but when I decided to take that for my performance name, I changed the name of the song to Straight As An Arrow, which seemed very Republican somehow, and (from what I’ve seen of late) was not all that inaccurate. Anyway, here ’tis…

Mindi In Her Crib

Mindi In Her Crib At Mariposa Street

Mindi in her crib. Hand-me-down crib from Keith. I think a family member bought this when Keith was born, but not sure if they did or we did? Anyone remember? Anyway, this was at our first rented house in Burbank. Happy kid she was! Still is, even in the face of everything and whatever, still that positive outlook and cheery energy.

Squirrel Jam

As I was writing this one, I was thinking of what it would sound like if a couple of squirrels clambered in from an open window and onto my piano. I can picture them chasing each other around the keys, feigning, striking poses, mashing and bashing their way up one scale and down the other.  I added the percussion (again) by pasting the midi from the melody into the drum track which creates the same chaotic frenzy intended by the music.  This is also another one of my cyclical tunes in which the ending can be attached back to the beginning and continue without missing a beat (that’s why the hard ending).  I like the concept of mobius music.

On The Streets

This one is inspired by the television series, Miami Vice, which was playing new episodes at the time.  I wanted to see if I could compose something in the style of Jan Hammer who wrote the score for the series.  While I wrote this I was picturing Crocket and Tubbs, all scruffy and chic at the same time, driving through the rougher parts of town on their way to meet some drug lord as undercover agents posing as distributors to make a buy.