When I was a kid I was very idealistic. One of my first acting gigs was performing the Chicago Free Street Theatre. It shaped my life – it shaped the lives of everyone involved. We went into turbulent South Chicago neighborhoods to bring them THEATRE. During the show we would hand over the stage to neighborhood talent of singers, dancers or whatever, and often they were better than we were. Yet we did - unwittingly - put ourselves in very dangerous situations. It was night, and the stage was lit. One woman was shot at 56th and Green Street during a show, and I was knocked out in Peoria by a crack on the head with a half-gallon wine bottle. We found ourselves in a situation where times were tough, many people were being evicted and the neighborhood was angry. We had attracted a problem. We learned more than we had ever expected, but Lately, I don’t Know.

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During the time I was writing “Burning Bush,” I woke up in the middle of the night thinking of this song. Hey . . . David Rice and I wrote Dear Mary years ago and, in my dream it was still a pretty good song. This live version is OK, but I would love another shot of getting into a studio and giving the song some atmosphere. It’s gone through a few changes as well. I used a couple of the chords I found for the song “Our Star.”

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This is my first song in a D tuning. I have listened to an insanely talented guitar player, Eric Gales. (That’s What I Am is so far his best album.) I saw him live 3 times – he is jaw-dropping GREAT. Yes, yes he plays lead guitar with a stinging, ferocious tone, but it’s his rhythm guitar playing that is the drive. Humbly, I approach D tuning and lucked out on discovering some new open chord voicings. I finished the song a few times, but the lyrics just didn’t live up the emotion of the melody. Then I thought, Hey! What about all those stories my Mom has told me about how she and Dad fell in love during World War II? The war separated the newlyweds, but Dad had a brilliant way for them to communicate across the ocean. I had always wanted to write of my Mother’s ability to convey her love. She’s a Beatle, ya know? She lives the words, All You Need Is Love.

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I write letter after letter to the L.A. Times concerning the administration, the war, the lies, the obvious wrong decisions that are insanely debated in this new America. Staring at a blank sheet of paper with a pretty nifty chord progression, I thought “Jeez, what am I going to sing about?” Well, since the L.A. Times did not publish my most recent letter, I figured I could vent with this song. It’s really just an olde-tyme bluegrass wail of How You Done Me Wrong, with jangly dissonant open chords. Bush is not a new phenomenon so the song is bigger than Bush or Bin Laden. Although I do think Bush is one of the more ignorant despots that the world has ever seen. ooops – my bad???

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I went to the opening of a play because I knew the lady playing the lead. At the wrap party, amid the hubub of hype, the Lady was delivered a rose from a secret admirer. Our eyes met, and I could tell she thought that rose was from me. NOOOOOOOOO! O GOD It wasn't me. I just left the party before the real admirer kicked my ass for using his offering as my own. But I thought, "What a great lyric situation." We all know that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but what of a rose with no name? It's a beginning, middle and end of a love affair and the singer is definitely worse the wear for going through it. I have always loved the lyric "My mirror haunts me 'bout you"

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This is my flat-out Love Song. A person finds they have a chance to rekindle a love that they dreadfully botched in the past. Many times I compose a first verse within 15 minutes and then spend literally months trying to write lyrics that measure up to that first verse. I worked out a chorus for the song but discarded it because I needed more than one voice to make it work. In rehearsal, my brilliant friend Lonnie Smith saw the old chorus and sang it over the new chorus and, VOILA! - they worked together like a charm. Now it could be a Broadway musical tune. Melissa and I had not planned to record the old chorus because we didn’t have Lonnie with us; he was busy making a movie. We added some very fast overdubs in the studio (thanks, Lindy) that add great tension to the end of the tune. It’s almost like a lead guitar break.

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I was born into a family that loved country music. All the Hanks, Johnnys, Louvin Brothers, Carter Sisters, Mary Robbins, Ernie Tubbs and others were played at full volume on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Fish fries and beer were the excuse to bring your guitar over to Cully’s, Bob’s or Chuck’s house and sing your heart out. It was a big deal for a fiddle, mandolin or steel guitar player to join in the festivities. The harmonies swirled and joy was the obvious outcome of the evening. I feel that these family and friend jam sessions steeped my soul in country & bluegrass. “Mission Belle” is my version of a 3-chord country song (only with more than 3 chords…I tried, really I did) but the song kept evolving. Melissa’s harmonies are reflective of our Mom harmonizing with Dad. In the studio she harmonized twice on every line and it was very tempting to just push all the rich harmonies forward on the mix. Like I remember listening to growing up…

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This chord progression has had many lives. At one time, the lyrics were about pirates. A friend had an idea about a pot smuggler that meshed with the drive of the progression better than singing about pirates. The only problem was that the song was short; less than 2:30. I was doodling around with 32nd notes and hammer-ons and I came up with the opening instrumental part just to make the tune longer. My sister told me that this is a perfect prologue. In music, it tells the story of the smuggler’s high before he comes crashing down, where the lyrics begin.

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I went to see a friend sing back-up for Susan Anton at the Viper Room. I was dragging my feet because I could not, in my wildest imagination, suppose that Susan Anton would be able to sing a note. Susan and my friend crushed me with their vocal prowess. Who’da thunk?? The only problem was that there was no original material. I asked Ms. Anton if she had songwriters begging her to sing their songs. I couldn’t believe it when she laughed and told me no. Her voice is huge. She could stand and deliver with Tina Turner – big drama in her delivery. I told her that I would write a song just for her and she laughed again and said “OK.” Through my friend, I got her a copy of “It’s A Sign.” I have yet to hear back from her so I recorded it myself. I had to stretch my vocal chords to sing this song. It developed my voice to a wider, more muscular range. I never belted out a song until this one. I figured that Ms. Anton could relate to a love that had gone very bad. The singer has become stronger since the breakup but is still raw from being treated so badly. It’s my Anti-Love song.

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This song should be sung by a woman, but so far none have risen to the challenge. I once watched a woman, who could have cared less about falling in love, being pursued by a younger man. He was doing everything in his power to woo her, but with all his charm he was having trouble cracking her code. She was obviously the one having the most fun with the situation. I wrote this song from her point of view; a mature, liberated, sensual, intelligent woman. Does he even stand a chance? Well, they are still together. I like putting different music styles together and "Fire & Ice" starts with a bit of a boogie-woogie riff. I have always been a sucker for a bass boogie woogie riff and here it's in the chorus. For the verse I switch gears to a bossa nova "Girl from Ipanema" type of feel. I would love to hear a woman sing this song. I've always heard a kind of Patti Page type of sultry, sexy, teasing voice. Thankfully, Melissa’s harmonies add a nice woman’s touch to my less-than-feminine vocal.

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