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“Like the rush of rock and roll,
It’s the sweetest taste I’ve ever known…”
- Stephen Trask (Sugar Daddy)

Verbosity for the Sole Purpose of Refreshing the Author’s Memory Hereafter (and not because you should take the time to read it):

File under: Country Garage Rock (though there are maybe occasional hints of influence from Cowpunk, Honky Tonk and perhaps even some Swamp Rock while still finding it rough to escape those Lo-Fi roots)…

Recording-wise (and the practices for that) it was at least five years in the making (2017-2022), most of which was made long before 2022, a project with so many
persistent obstacles I think if I had to do it again I wouldn’t even have attempted it. It was originally an attempt at making a pure unadulterated country, and country only, album although it turned into something else altogether.

Two songs were written two decades ago, or more, and another song was written a decade ago, all of which were written with the intent of ending up soon on a country album. Funny how life happens instead.

More Specific Influences:
Rolling Stones (specifically Beggars Banquet to Exile on Main Street (1968-72), Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Frank Black and the Catholics (who although from the 90’s often sound like they took a lot of influence from those same years of The Rolling Stones, especially the essential FB&TC album Dog in the Sand), and last but not least, but chronologically next in line, the massively underrated Savannah underground legends of live performances, Superhorse (who I wouldn’t be surprised took influence from all of the above, and really it would just be nice to one day learn how to be that next link after them, maybe just being a Superhorse cover band if we had to).

We cover the recently deceased John Prine (RIP), and Steven Trask (from the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch), two songs chosen because you can’t write a better country song than either of those. We try and try but we just can’t.

Track 4 sounds like a kid wrote it (according to the Twelve Year Old). Track 8 is about our dog that loves belly rubs and was written right before dinner where we were drinking Martinellis’ (carbonated juice) and about to watch television (hence the lyrics). Track 10 was supposed to be a fake John Prine song, but now only is lyrically and not so much musically, but was written immediately after his death while only listening to Prine for a few weeks (besides the local Jazz station, KMHD). Track 11 has a surprising amount of truth in it and is closest to being the most autobiographical (Grandpa Called Me a Little Bitch Again - yes he did flick my member and yes he does like big titties). Track 2 (my personal favorite) was written by zapp ROWSDOWER and track 7 was written by zapp ROWSDOWER, skid MARKS, and joe FITZ on almost vacant/almost desert roads back from ridiculous performance in Reno where we somehow won yet another award for our music video for Sparky (skipping the awards and getting high instead in our free hotel room, rock star style, yet we didn’t make a mess at all, like total squares).

But this album was also about paying homage to a magical period in music itself (1967-1969) whether it be the The Kinks, The Velvet Underground, Captain Beefheart, The Band, Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Dr. John, not to mention essential country legends from that time: Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Townes Van Zandt, and Merle Haggard…

Hard to beat those years of 1967-1969, arguably the greatest quantity of not only great, but influential music, specifically 1968. One day, just one day, if we can just make an album that people think was from 1968, we may meet some success…

“Give my feet to the footloose
Careless, fancy free
Give my knees to the needy
Don't pull that stuff on me
Hand me down my walking cane
It's a sin to tell a lie
Send my mouth way down south
And kiss my ass goodbye
But please don't bury me
Down in that cold cold ground
No, I'd druther have 'em cut me up
And pass me all around
Throw my brain in a hurricane
And the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don't mind the size”
- John Prine (Please Don’t Bury Me)

Special thank you’s to band mates (former and present), guests, friends, and fans. This thing wouldn’t have gotten made without the helping hand of numerous folks, and for their support I’m very grateful. And an extra special thanks to Haukur for inspiring me to add for more fuzz than I’d originally planned…

⁃ joe FITZ

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