Tuesday, December 26, 2006

a couple of songs

These aren't exactly high fidelity, but they sound great to me. 'Maybe Wyoming' rocks! where can you hear singing like that? 'Patience is a Virtue' is a waltz, on the poignant side.

I think the band here is: Mary O'Neil, Matt Sullivan, Matt Royston, Wally Sound, and Steven Strauss. On accordion, film reviewer Richard von Busack.

1 comment:

Steven Strauss said...

A few weeks after this recording session, Richard Von Busack handed me a cassette with only a file folder label on it reading "Wannabe Texans 10-87 - recorded direct to two track - go thou and do likewise." It was a dupe from a dorm room dubbing deck, and the speed/pitch had drifted noticeably from standard, with a few generations of cassette tape hiss piled on. Still, I loved to crank this tape up louder than anything I owned. The thought that the presumably pristine master tape is walking distance from my home town DMV kick starts my scheming brain.

If memory serves, the drummer on this session was a handsome rake with a painted tie who smoked cigarettes and flirted negligently with the girl singer on the date. A pair of wire brushes and a standing snare were his complete equipment, not counting the smoldering looks. Had you been there to see it you might have married years earlier.

Prior to this recording "Maybe Wyoming" had been performed with something like the boom-flang-a-lang-a feel of "Saint Patricio's Battalion." I can't recall how soon before this take we were when we tried this twist party rhythm, but it did seem to, uh, free things up some. It's some breathtaking stuff, and I am proud that I got to hold up a corner.

I came home from my first experience of playing with Wannabe Texans and told my girlfriend, "I think America has a Pogues of its own."

Let's go see Wally about that master tape!