The Rules of Clone

As of late, my co-workers and I have been plagued with a league of nutcases, screwballs, and ranters exclaiming bizarre family histories, intruding on our typically otherwise fine work situation. Whether the local Kinko's is kicking all of the nutters out or the finally-arrived heat of summer is causing some mass brain fever, I don't know. All I know is that I am slowly turning into one.

This morning, as I was brewing tea and cooking up some fresh grain oatmeal, this song popped into my head (strange enough I was contemplating a dooowop version of Deep Purple's "Sweet Child of Time" - tha twill come later perhaps).

Here it is:

Good night.

Uke Song (via JC Penney Intercom Mic)

All right! Two recordings online in two days. Different microphones yielding different results, but nonetheless fun for me.

Today I loaned out my AKG C1000S to my pal Deependra (a fine musician) for some overdubbing he is conducting this week, and found myself wanting to produce another platinum-selling, top-of-the-charts hit for online perusal. What to record with? The only viable option at this time was an old J.C. Penny intercom microphone I picked up a few years back at some junkstore for just a nickel (a nickel?? SHH - that's right). Sorry, I have nary a model number to provide to any techophiles out there, I scrapped the base containing all of that info after my buddy Kieran re-wired it. He hoped to create a gritty sounding harp mic, but alas and alack, he created a crisp and clean little bullet, which I used for this recording.

As with yesterday's post, I recorded the uke first, and overdubbed the vocals. However I did not have the optimum buffer settings plugged in and received some snaps, crackles and pops in the vocal track. Oh well, good to have some filters to play around with to help alleviate, or at least disguise it somewhat. A little distortion here, some resonance added there, and "Al-la Peanut Butter Sandwiches"...! Good enough for me. For now. I will probably play around more later and re-record the vocals, though I am pretty happy with the scat solo - it is easier to do the mess-around vocally when you are not madly whackin' at your ukulele.

Lyrics:

I recall the morning at the reunion hotel
We were up and yawning
Some coffee could help
Descending the stairs came
a Guy with a Uke
"Nice Uke" - You observed
(he did not rebuke)

he said:
"A larger guitar once
had a home in my hands
Til I found this honey
in the the Hawaiian Islands
Compact design and
only four strings
the Ukulele Goddess has got me singing:

once you get one you never go back
once you get one you never go back
cut me some uke strings
and tighten the slack
Once you get one
oh oh oh"

I thought not much of it
in fact it all left my mind
when on Maui
in Hawaii
what does lucky-I find
with a case and a chord chart
(The tuner I've got)
I decided to get it
and give it a shot

once you get one you never go back
once you get one you never go back
cut me some uke strings
and tighten the slack
once you get one you will never go

Practice time increases abilities grow
I'm knocking off socks like so much so-and-so
A larger guitar Is not a place I wanna go
I don’t acknowledge knowledge
But there’s one thing I know:

once you get one you never go back
once you get one you never go back
cut me some uke strings
and tighten the slack
once you get one you never go back

Music and Lyrics Copyright 2009 Mark Allen Johnson

Habitat Song

This little ditty has been floating around for a while in me head, and though it has previously seen the light of day, thanks to this blog it has also now seen the light in the recording booth - or at least the moth battered light outside of my living room window.

I wrote this at the request of my good friend Nettie who, once upon a time, was working for LandPaths, a local land-stewardship organization. She built up and lead their IOOBY (In Our Own Backyard) program which took school kids out into our local open spaces, and taught them all about the wonderful animals and plants to be found and cared for in order to make this planet that we rent a little bit nicer. Nettie has since run away to join the circus, and to this day has not actually heard this song.

Hopefully this blog will reach all the way to Mendocino county and get her listening....



Lyrics:


I gotta little house a ways up the street
Where I cook up my food Where I kick up my feet
Keeps me dry Keeps me warm
Just the kinda home Where I belong

Gotta a garden Where I grow food to eat
Gotta store on the block For other stuff I need
Keeps me warm And well supplied
Just the kinda home That’s perfectly mine

Your home is a habitat
that's where you dwell
So many
variations
From what I can tell

If there’s food for you belly And you never thirst
And your safe from yer foes Or if the weather gets worse
You are staying safe out of the storm
It’s the kinda home where You belong

You might like it in the water or like it in a tree
You might like it in between And that’s a lot like me
perhaps you build it or found it formed
It could be exactly your Kinda home

Your home is a habitat
Your living space
Depending on your needs
It could be
almost
anyplace

Your habitat contains
the range you roam
that’s as far as you travel
to and from your home

Could be as
big as you can see
Or as far as you can fly
or as
simple as a crawl
from where your born
to where you die

Music and Lyrics Copyright 2009 Mark Allen Johnson