Paris Street

I went to my old stomping grounds in Tampa last week – stopped by the small park that is at the end of Lambright Street, my last address before moving to Tennessee – the song below is about that park – it’s about some other things, too – I have no idea when I recorded this – since it says ‘first demo’, I’ll assume it was a while ago.

Enjoy.

Paris Street – Untitled Song About Rivers And Parks (First Demo)

Tõnis Vint is an Estonian artist. This song was inspired by a 1975 painting of his called Girl In Circle. I can’t find the painting anywhere online (above is a different Vint painting, which you’ll have to make do with) – a picture of it can be found in John McPhee’s book, The Ransom Of Russian Art. Someday, I’ll gently cut out the picture from the book, scan it, and post it online so all can see why it spurred me to write about it.

Anyway, this song is about the painting. It’s also about dissident artists in the Soviet Union and how they had to be very discreet in exhibiting their works. I consider it my ultimate homeless song, as it doesn’t fit into any other project I’m working on.

Words by me. All instruments by me as well. It includes an uncharacteristic guitar solo and some pretty piano. Enjoy.

Paris Street – Tõnis Vint

Wuz bored one night at a Motel 6 with no internet in a New York town called Horseheads. With nothing better to do, I cobbled up a beat using the Burnstudios Audiotool, then whipped out my keyboard to come up with the rest. It’s dance-y, or maybe dance-ish. I don’t know – I like it a lot, though.

Enjoy.

Paris Street – Drimdrim

By the way, it’s called ‘Drimdrim’ because I spelled ‘drum’ wrong when originally saving the file.

This was part of an email I sent to my friend Casey three weeks ago:

I met a gal last night at a bar in Winooski, Vermont – 40 year old PR rep from Manhattan who came into town ’cause she needed to recharge her batteries, get away for awhile, get her groove back, etc. Ran into her again tonight at the same bar and she was dancing her ass off, at a bar which – according to the bartender – does not usually have any dancing, especially on a Monday night.

And this is the song I decided to write about her, as sung from her point of view. The bar was the one pictured above, McKee’s Pub. I recommend it if you’re in the area.

After several false starts, the song was recorded today in Room 27 of the Central Avenue Motel 6 in Albany, New York (which, oddly enough, is the very same room where I recorded this song a month earlier).

Enjoy.

Paris Street – Janice In Winooski

For five weeks, I was traveling around the northeast with the above keyboard in my luggage. I had yet to use it because . . . well, I couldn’t figure out how. After a weekend afternoon spent fiddling with it, I finally realized that it wasn’t compatible with the recording program I was using. A couple downloads later, I had a new recording program and was finally ready to go. This song is basically me messing around, getting my brain around the thousands of different sounds I can make with it. All sounds were made with the keyboard with the exception of my mumbly ‘do-do-do’ and the melody that begins at the 16 second mark, which was made using the Burnstudios Audiotool. It was recorded on May 13 in Room 320 of a Motel 6 in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Enjoy.

Paris Street – Framingham

I drove into Burlington, Vermont last weekend via a state road that began at the Canadian border. The drive took longer than usual because – at various points along the way – the waters from Lake Champlain found there way onto the road. I found out later that – earlier in the day – the lake reached a point three feet above flood level, a new record.

The next day, I was walking along the lakeside near downtown Burlington when I took the above picture of a statue in the water. Back at my motel, a bit of googling turned up two things: (1) the statue is called The Lone Sailor, and (2) the statue is not supposed to be surrounded by water. Here he is in drier days:

So I decided to write a song from the point of view of The Lone Sailor, watching the waters get closer and closer and wondering if they will get high enough to flow over him and possibly loosen him from his base and send him drifting out to sea. Something like that.

The music and the majority of the lyrics were written that same weekend in Room 320 of the Motel 6 in Colchester, Vermont. The rest of the lyrics were finished last night, also in Room 320 of a Motel 6 in Framingham, Massachusetts. Things were recorded and mixed earlier today.

Enjoy.

Paris Street – The Lone Sailor Ponders His Fate

I was in Brooklyn last weekend. On a rainy Saturday morning, I slipped into a Bedford Avenue store called New York Muffin, ordered a large coffee and a cranberry orange muffin, and started writing this song. The words were finished a week later, then everything was recorded at my current location – Room 27 of the Central Avenue Motel 6 in Albany, New York. Recording of the vocals was delayed slightly because some guy decided to stand outside my room while arguing with his ladyfriend over the phone.

Enjoy.

Paris Street – Bedford Avenue

Lyrics:
Walking Brooklyn in a never-ending rain
Wondering if the Spring will ever come again
The bobbing of umbrellas along Bedford Avenue
Is a lovely thing to view

Slip inside a coffeeshop though I am not thirsty
Just looking for a place to dry off and rest my feet
And try hard not to think of you, my sweet lady
Please Brooklyn, distract me

And every bite of some wonderfully tasty food
And every drop of beer locally brewed
Cannot make me forget that you are far from here
I miss you so much, dear

So many folks here remind me of friends I have back home
An incessant reminder that I am here alone
Watching pigeons from inside the coffeeshop
Waiting for the rain to stop

I’ve been in Jersey all week. Really don’t like it here. The Motel 6 that I stayed at for three nights in Piscataway, though, was surprisingly nice. Here’s a song whose music I wrote while there. It was recorded on April 18 in Room 177 of the aforementioned Motel 6. The words were written and the vocals were recorded on April 21 in Room 136 of the Red Roof Inn in Parsippany. Enjoy.

Paris Street – Piscataway Rah Rah

Just a quick ditty recorded during the interminable wait for the motel’s wifi to get going again.  Written and recorded on April 12 from Room 132 of the Motel 6 in York, Pennsylvania.  If I’m lucky, I’ll never end up here again.

Paris Street – York Instrumental

The Hop is a nightclub next to the Motel 6 in York, Pennsylvania. It’s been there for quite a while. I’ll leave it to this Yelp review to describe it for you:

Oh The Hop…

If you are looking for any of the following… you may be in luck…
Creepy, older men to hit on you
Grungy strung out older women to hit on you
Expensive drinks
Poker
Karaoke
Condoms in the snack machine

This song is about two youths who would sneak off to The Hop every now and again. Since the place has an older clientele, they knew that none of their other compatriots would be there. They also knew that no one else there would know who they were, so they were free to dance like fools all night long.

It was written and recorded on April 10 from Room 118 of the Motel 6 next door. Enjoy.

Paris Street – The Hop (York, Pennsylvania)