These are the songs I think still hold water today. This would be my mixtape. But in a different order. This goes most recent to oldest.
The political theme, and lines like “we are patriotic by design,” were surely rooted in the first term of George W. Bush. It was 2002; after all.
This was a demo and I played many of the instruments myself, but Mike Squires pitched in with bass and lead guitar.
Another song we developed from a demo of mine, this one features us beating on the air ducts with sticks to make percussion loops.
Revisiting an earlier demo, this time it sounded a lot more like it should. RC plays great drums, I do my best Elvis Costello impression on the keys.
Pitch for a theme song for Sara Lee Corporation, but the song was too “edgy” and was not actually “played” for them.
Tried to rework a year or two later with a band, didn’t work. Too moody. This song wants to be a happy one. So smile already.
Around this time I’d started recording some music with a band, and I had found myself unemployed, so I took advantage of all that free time to make an album. It was a concept album only in the sense that I made the whole thing in a short period of time, so it kind of all fit together.
Figured it would be a good album opener. Basically making up the lyrics as I went. This was my “Hey Bulldog.”
Not only did this track provide us with a name for our act, but the laid-back groove gave us our second video, which is sufficiently abstract that I think it holds up pretty well.
