Jeff: This  song is apparently about our Vegas trips and my, uh, “reputation.”  Apparently.  Anthony wrote the lyrics, so I’m guessing.  I wouldn’t want to assume anything….

Anthony: Well it’s getting to be that time again. The next Vegas trip is on the horizon and it sure helps get you through those weeks when you’re swamped at work and sick to boot. So as I sat remembering Vegas trips past I recalled a particlular scenario that has always provided us with laughs…unfortunately at Jeff’s expense. See he has this habit of just sorta disappearing from bars and then being gone for God knows how long. Truly only God knows because by the time we realize he’s gone no one is sure when he left. And of course when we find him he’s shamed us all in some form or another. But don’t go thinking this is a slam on Jeff. As I told him when I wrote it, it’s truly a love song. Cuz we love laughing our asses off at him. Enjoy.

Crossposted from http://fawm.org/songs/4494/

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Lyrics:

Can’t say I remember
Exactly when
Somewhere between
Beers 9 and 10
I noticed the gap
Between me and Floyd
An empty barstool
No one filling the void
I couldn’t believe
He’d gone off and left
So I turned to Floyd and I said, 
“Where’s Jeff?”

In typical fashion
Floyd looked around
Up at the ceiling
Down on the ground
Then saw his beer
Sitting there on the bar
Took a big drink
And thought real hard
Then he seemed to forget 
And he seemed to go deaf
Cuz he looked at me and yelled,
“Where’s Jeff?”

(Chorus)
Where’s Jeff?
Where’d he go?
When’d he leave?
I dunno
Well whaddya think?
Should we stay here and drink?
Or go see if we
Can find Jeff?

Now leaving was easier
Said than done
Cuz them barstools were taller
Then when we’d begun
So I scanned the bar
And saw lotsa faces
None of them Jeff’s
I’m sorry to say-ses
So I whistled as loud
As a Super Bowl ref
Got their attention and yelled,
“Where’s Jeff?”

The patrons weren’t happy
I’d spoken so firm
But they went back to yellin’
On their own terms
And I sat back down
On my drunken ass
Then Floyd leaned over, smiled
And clanked my glass
There in his hand
What he’d found on the floor
Made me not worry
‘bout Jeff anymore

(Chorus)
Who’s Jeff?
To Jeff!
He’s gone 
But he’s left
His wallet behind
I’m sure he won’t mind
If we drink in his honor
To Jeff!!

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A Chacon/Reynoso Thing

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Jeff (from FAWM):    This song is a collaboration with my best friend and sometime lyrical collaborator, Anthony, who’s not in FAWM.  I told him I was doing this and he said, “I can’t really help you because my job is crazy and the only words I can think of at the moment are of the four letter variety.”  So I challenged him to write lyrics about how we’re going to Vegas in 2 months and how that’s keeping him going, and this is what he sent me.  I think they’re great lyrics, so here we are.

Mostly. I’ve learned two things already through FAWM:

1) I can’t write a country song to save my life. This song BEGS to be a country tune, with a sing along chorus and some honky tonk guitar, but that is apparently my kryptonite, because I couldn’t figure out to get there with the tools I have.
2) I can’t dote on a song like I normally would when only putting up one song a week on my blog. My math says we should all have 3.5 songs in the can right now if we’re going to hit 14, but I only have 2 because I spent a bunch of time trying to put this song into a country groove….so I finally just said, “Okay, it is what it is, let it go and move on.” So it’s a typically quirky Jeff C. production, a little poppy, a little something something…..I think I’ll revisit it in a month or two and see if it wants to be a country song, but because it’s February and I’m a little behind, here it is. Enjoy.

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Lyrics:

The fact that I know 
Its eight weeks away
Tells you something about  
Where my mind is today
The fact that I know
In 56 days
All of my demons          
Will be swept away
In a sea of bright lights
Waves crashing with delight
As all the pain floats away
Bye-bye

I’m waitin’ on Vegas
Cuz it’s gonna take us 
Countin’ on Vegas
To intoxicate us
Balloon drinks at Paris 
Karaoke at Harrah’s
Just hangin’ ‘round Mandalay Baaaaaaay
I’m waitin’ on Vegas 
Cuz it’s gonna take 
Away

I just need to hang on
Keep banging my head on
This desk
Hope it all goes away
But I know it’s a lost cause
So I take a long pause
Count to 56
And dream of the day
All of this crap
Takes a long weekend nap
And I can go off and play
Night-night

I’m waitin’ on Vegas
Cuz it’s gonna take us
Bettin’ on Vegas
To emancipate us
I can’t lose at Wynn
Love the sights at Venetian
Just gotta last 56 daaaaaaaaaays 
I’m waitin’ on Vegas 
Cuz it’s gonna take us 
Away

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A Chacon/Reynoso Thing

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Jeff: Well, here’s a newer version of last week’s song – as you can tell, when we get a song idea we like, we tend to work on it for a while.  And we like this one.  So enjoy.  Next week, Pirates!

Anthony: The lyrics weren’t actually written in commemoration of anyone’s birthday. It’s more about going through life and, essentially, reaping what you sow. Everyone’s familiar with the phrase “circle of life”; well, this more like the “circle of karma”. Groovy, man.

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Lyrics:

I was twenty
Life was good
And plenty
But I told one lie too many
She left me wondering when she’d
Come around

I was thirty
Love was fun
And dirty
But too many girls were “purty”
And too many of them heard me
Sneaking ‘round

There ain’t no bars
But I’m doing time
In solitary
For my crimes
Crimes of passion
Crimes of excess
All in fashion
Signs of success
Have given way to
Signs of my crimes

Now I’m forty
Life’s a very
Different story
Less of someone else and more me
Like a revolving door she’s
Finally come around

When I’m fifty life will be nifty.
I won’t be cheap I’ll be thrifty
When I’m dying
Who’ll be smiling?
Who’ll be crying?
Don’t wanna still be tryin’
Just wanna know that I have
Come around

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A Chacon/Reynoso Thing

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Jeff: Well, it’s Anthony’s birthday week (everybody wish him a happy 29th birthday!) and he wanted to work on this song, so here it is, in progress.  Basically, so far, I’ve outlined just the melody lines and music with my acoustic guitar and my voice, based on Anthony’s words.  Eventually, within the next couple of days, it’s going to turn into a Dwight Yoakum meet Lynyrd Skynyrd kinda thing.   So come back for that.  And enjoy this regularly scheduled program, already in progress.

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Lyrics:

I was twenty
Life was good
And plenty
But I told one lie too many
She left me wondering when she’d
Come around

I was thirty
Love was fun
And dirty
But too many girls were “purty”
And too many of them heard me
Sneaking ‘round

There ain’t no bars
But I’m doing time
In solitary
For my crimes
Crimes of passion
Crimes of excess
All in fashion
Signs of success
Have given way to
Signs of my crimes

Now I’m forty
Life’s a very
Different story
Less of someone else and more me
Like a revolving door she’s
Finally come around

When I’m fifty life will be nifty.
I won’t be cheap I’ll be thrifty
When I’m dying
Who’ll be smiling?
Who’ll be crying?
Don’t wanna still be tryin’
Just wanna know that I have
Come around

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A Chacon/Reynoso Thing

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Jeff: This song was totally improvised one night back in the day with a tape recorder running, and it has stuck with me ever since.  I don’t remember that we ever played it at a gig or anything, but it’s always been one of my favorite lost treasures from that time period.  And while I can’t find the tape with the original recording, the song has stuck with me enough that I was able to re-create it and re-record it for posterity.  It’s an atmospheric piece, rich with end-of-the-day emotion and possibilities of tomorrow; if I ever shoot a film this song will be the last song in that film.  This is also the first appearance of ambient sounds in a song (outside of ambient sounds for comedy reasons), which is something I’ve wanted to try.  I think the rain adds a bit of pathos to the proceedings, don’t you?

Anthony: As I recall, Jeff started playing something and I just sorta sang the first words that came to mind.  And that’s all I got to say about that.

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Lyrics:

Goodnight, my lullabye baby.
Sleep tight.
Goodnight, my lullabye baby.
Sleep tight.
I wanna see you in the morning.
I wanna see you at night.
Goodnight, my lullabye baby.
Sleep tight.
Goodnight, my lullabye baby.
Sleep tight.
I wanna see you in the morning.
I wanna see you at night.

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A Chacon/Reynoso thing.
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Anthony: Well, we’ve been promising it for awhile but at long last Chinese Democ…uh, “Miranda’s Right” is ready for audio consumption.  By now it’s no secret that this is a tongue-in-cheek homage to our most favorite Las Vegas bartender.  Beats me why we spend so much time hanging out with someone who damn near kills us every time we visit her but such is the mystery of the Miranda.   So all I really want to say is happy b-day Miranda and thanks for being such a great friend and for putting up with us.  As Jeff has said, it’s nice to go to Vegas and be able to have a place to go where you’re amongst friends.  So thanks to both you and Rich (the owner) for all the great beer and fun and happy b-day.

Jeff: Okay, so “Miranda’s Right” is now officially the song I’ve spent the most time on….ever.  Usually, a song is written and the first idea is the one that sticks.  But this time, because I lost my voice, we had lots of extra time to mess with it, so there are now about 4 different versions of the song in the studio.  Truly, this song has a piano version, a garage band version, a ZZ Top version (kinda by accident), and now this version, which is the version we have chosen to foist upon you.  And here’s why: drinking alcohol in Vegas is a messy proposition.  Well, maybe just for me.  But you drink in Vegas, you have no responsibilities or cares outside of “make sure I get to my bed tonight and don’t choke on my own vomit,” which leads to a certain debauched attitude that you normally don’t have have in your ordinary life.  Again, maybe it’s just me.  But it really doesn’t help when you know a bartender and you can see said bartender when you go to Vegas and you know said bartender is going to be friendly and is going get you drunk.  Which makes drinking alcohol in Vegas an even messier proposition.  For me.

And this is a messy version of this song.  ‘Cuz when I think of messy rock and roll, I think of The Faces, The Rolling Stones, and the Black Crowes.  And that’s the vibe I tried to put on Anthony’s lyrics, and I left it all a little messy, so it would convey the idea that you, the listener, were among friends getting drunk.  Which is how I feel around Miranda.  Granted, my voice is still hoarse and the vocals really aren’t great (I’ll re-record them when I stop sounding like I’ve been smoking cigarettes for 80 years), but here it is.  For your listening – and drinking – pleasure.  Enjoy.

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Lyrics:

Miranda’s right when she says have another
She fills it up and says this one’s on me
Don’t know who bought the last
But I know better than to ask
Just drink on up and know it ain’t for free

Miranda’s right and she’s the one who’s pouring
So I sit right down and have myself a drink
Don’t know how I’ll get back
It’s coordination that I lack
She pours stuff down me like I was a kitchen sink

Miranda’s right she’s always right
She’s outta sight she’s dynamite
When she says everything’s all right
You know she’s right
Miranda’s right

Don’t argue with Miranda that’s a fact
Even when she wants to play Fleetwood Mac

Miranda’s right when she breaks out the bottle
And pours a shot even though I say, “Please no”
But that’ll only make it worse
And on you she’ll put a curse
You’ll leave the bar but you’ll never really go

Miranda’s right she’s always right
She’s outta sight she’s dynamite
When she says everything’s all right
You know she’s right
Miranda’s right

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A Chacon/Reynoso Thing

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Jeff: Well, being that I’m still coughing up dinosaur-egg size phlegm balls and talking like your grampa after a carton of smokes, “Miranda’s Right” is on hold for another week.  Sorry, Miranda.  We really wanted to make our favorite Vegas bartender as happy as she makes us, but I guess that’ll have to wait.  Apparently, not all things are going our way at the moment.

In the meantime, here’s a goofy little thing for you all.   We used to do this in practice as a lark and because Anthony has such a nice falsetto.  I mean, really, it’s hard to tell if it’s Anthony singing or Madonna singing, don’t ya think?  Seriously, dress him up in a wedding dress and roll him around on the floor and you’d never know the difference!  It’s truly awful and yet oddly hilarious, all at the same time.  Enjoy.

Anthony: See?   This is why it’s good to be the guy who maintains the website.   If your voice is anything less than 100% you can always go into the archives and throw your collaborator under the bus.  And while I may be powerless to stop this travesty rest assured that at some point we’ll be back in Vegas and somebody will need my unimpaired sense of direction.

Jeff (a day later):  After further review, we might have been drunk when we did this.

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Jeff: We have a bit of an unusual situation here at haveuheardthisone.com this week, and it’s something we didn’t think we’d run into.  You see, I’ve lost my voice – or, as some might say, I sound like a cross between Barry White and a frog.  It’s a cold thing.  Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, ‘cuz we’d just pull out an old tape of something and put it up for you or I’d lay down some wicked guitar instrumental or something.  But today is somebody’s birthday and we wrote a song specifically for that occasion and the song is almost ready….except for the vocals.

So here’s what we’re going to do:  We’re going to put up an early instrumental version of the song in progress for your enjoyment, where you’ll hear the chord changes and the melody line on the piano.  Then, we’re going to wish Miranda, our favorite Vegas bartender, a happy birthday, and I’m going to go rest my pipes and hopefully, within the next few days, I’ll be able to record the vocals and put the song up in its final version.   So happy birthday Miranda!  Enjoy this bit of music and come back in a few days and we’ll have the thing done.

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Jeff: This week, we’re going to battle the din of everyday life (or maybe it’s my hangover) with an instrumental.  Yes, friends, sometimes there just aren’t enough words to throw around, and sometimes there are too many words, so we take some time and just chill with music.  This song I wrote with my Snipehunters bass player, Miss Kathy Olsen, during a practice or something.  The specifics are lost on me, but not totally necessary.  It’s an atmospheric piece, and it’s one of my Old Skool favorites, because it sounds like it belongs in a David Lynch film.  And I’m a big fan of Mr. Lynch and the way music affects his films, so naturally I’d say that.  This piece of music can suggest to you whatever you’d like, but for me it’s an open road song.  An open road in the desert, with nary a city to be seen.  And there’s an old white 1950s car, the kind with the big fins, being driven by a guy who’s just left his diner waitress girlfriend behind to “go float with the world and find his dreams.”  He’s sad because he knows he’ll never find a diner waitress girlfriend like her ever again but, at the same time, he knows he’s doing the right thing.   And who knows, maybe one day, when he’s done floating and he’s ready to settle down, he’ll come back for his diner waitress girlfriend.  He’s loyal like that.  Loyal to his dreams and loyal to his girl.

If that’s not what this piece of music suggests to you, leave a comment about what it does suggest to you.  It’d be fun to hear other people’s interpretations.  Enjoy the music and here’s Kathy’s comment. She’s concise and effective:

Kathy: I think the government should change all crosswalk signs to switch from “Walk” to “Float.”

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A Chacon/Olsen Thing

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Welcome to Song 14, where we raid the vaults for a song with lyrics and singing by Anthony and music and guitar by Jeff:

Anthony: Lyrically, this was a weak attempt to write a love song a la The Replacements.  This is actually about the same girl who inspired “So Many” from week 3.  She and I had a weird non-relational relationship going on at the time.  Wasn’t my idea; I was all for a relational relationship.  Anyway, in terms of writing love songs I was trying to expand my thinking away from simply “mush” and trying to see relationships for what they were at the time; fun, pain, frustration, humor, angst, and a whole lotta confusion.  Nobody ever put all that into a song better than Paul Westerberg.  As for the recording itself, this seems to be a very rough, early cut and it sounds like we were still trying to correlate the music, lyrics, and melody.  Would you agree, Jeff?

Jeff: Yeah, this is an early version of it, but this has always been one of my favorite Snipehunter songs; it has the same qualities that “So Many” has – poignant lyrics and a catchy melody, courtesy of Anthony. Which, really, is what pop music should be, right? If it doesn’t stick in your brain like moss to a rock, it’s probably not “pop” music for you. Anyway, when Anthony brought the lyrics and the melody, I just played some guitar chords that sounded good. Pretty much, I was trying to keep up and complement the song without taking away from it. It’s a pretty little ditty and one that I’m quite proud of, honestly. Mostly because years after it was written and recorded, I still like it a lot. It’s moss in my brain. Enjoy.

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Lyrics:

You make a mystery of simplicity
A mockery of your audacity
You crawl up close to me
But then you
Face the other way

You hold a moment like a diamond
Then you hold me close
And I am
Helpless in your arms
Helpless to get away

So visual
So feeling
So powerful
So revealing
And yet so beautiful
So beautiful
Beautiful
Beautiful for me

You wear a smile of impunity
You revel in your immunity
To the one who gets inside you
Just for now

You keep a promise like a scar
Then you look up find a star
And ask if I’ll share it with you
But how?

So volatile
So divine
So sensual
So alive

And yet so beautiful
So beautiful
Beautiful
Beautiful for me

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A Chacon/Reynoso Thing

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