Music: The Deuce
I've recorded a lot of music under
the nickname "The Deuce." Click on the links to hear the songs. (I know I don't have the greatest voice in the world, and that is perhaps being charitable. As Roy Orbison used to say at his concerts, "I've got a lot of requests — but I'm going to sing anyway.")
Original Music
(Scroll down for covers)
They Say They All Have Boyfriends — an instrumental in search of lyrics — but I like the way it sounds as an instrumental. The main guitar is a Strat into a Fender Reverb unit directly into the tape deck.
Pugs' Groove (Featuring Olive and Leena Marie) — the soundtrack to my life. Recorded in December 2009 with the help of GarageBand and two furry friends. Naturally, a dance music track has to have a remix version.
The Invasion — this is the main title theme to a science fiction movie that doesn't exist yet. This was created entirely in GarageBand in March 2010 with the aid of a Korg nanoKEY and nanoPAD.
It's a Hit (Gary Wilson in Japan) is a tribute to Gary Wilson. If you've never heard Gary Wilson, check out his albums, You Think You Really Know Me, Forgotten Lovers, Mary Had Brown Hair and Lisa Wants to Talk to You. To say he sounds like no one else is an understatement.
Alone In My Room was written in the late 1970s and originally peformed by The Lines. This version was recorded in 1990 by Howard Lieberman and myself. It was originally written as an homage to the sound of the Talking Heads, but seems to have taken on a life of its own over the years. It's a song about the fact that two lovers can never know everything there is to know about one another — which is what keeps things interesting.
She'll Never Be Mine was originally done by The Lines around 1980; however, no recording of playing the song with The Lines exists. This early-'90s rendition was performed along with Howard Lieberman, who did the Roland drum and bass programming and played live drums. This version is more faithful to what the song should sound like anyway.
Robot Love — recorded in 2008, it started out as an obvious tribute to Kraftwerk, but wound up sounding like a cross between me, them and Tonto's Expanding Head Band. That's a Moog Etherwave Theremin at the end.
Relationship — Written in 1977 and recorded some time between 1977 - 1978, featuring Joe Stiff.
The Heike Crab features abstract guitar on top of a spare rhythm track. I really didn't know what scales or modes I was playing on the guitar, or what I was doing on the outro synth chords, and could never play the song this way again. Sometimes you just have to go for it. This was recorded around 2005.
I'm in the Love Zone This track was the result of borrowing a Yamaha synthesizer from pianist Hyperion Knight one afternoon in the mid-1990s and seeing what it could do. Other instruments include a Casio SK-5 sampling keyboard and Oberheim OB-8.
This Time Around — A song about learning from the mistakes you can make in a relationship, and not repeating them.
Stay Around is based around a melody that popped into my head one day. Unlike too many other melodies and song ideas, I recorded this one before I forgot it. Featuring the mighty (and sadly, now relegated to history) Oberheim OB-8, along with a Casio SK-5, Telecaster, Hughes and Kettner Cream Machine Alesis SR-16 and other devices.
Under the Impression — this track includes fuzz guitar, Oberheim OB-8, Alesis SR-16 drum machine and Casio SK-5 sampling keyboard, the latter two being key ingredients of the unique, yet seldom-heard sound of the elusive electro-pop duo The Schill-Maschine.
Laceration is the musical story of Phineas P. Gage, one of history's most famous head cases. Featuring David Doris on vocals and sax, Lorraine Whittelsey on Prophet-5 synthesizer, and some other people who were in the room at the time.
Multum In Parvo is a techno-dance tribute to the late Satch the pug. It was created using Techno EJay software from Voyetra with overdubbed voices. "Multum In Parvo" is Latin for "Much In Little," and is a phrase that is written into the official AKC breed standard for the pug.
We're Having Fun Together features Paul Bai on keyboards and a cool little Yamaha portable synthesizer.
Map No. 7 — something whipped together as a guitar freakout showcase. Recorded using a tiny, close-miked Marshall MS-2 battery powered ampifier and a Fender Stratocaster.
Covers
Red Rubber Ball — The song made famous by the Cyrkle in the '60s, written by Paul Simon! Streetlight Manifesto just released a terrific version. Recorded in April 2010 using GarageBand and an M-Audio Fast Track Pro computer interface, along with a Yamaha PSR-E213 keyboard and a Fender Telecaster through a Princeton Reverb.
Physical — Yes, the Olivia Newton-John song that was pivotal in defining the sound and sensibility of the '80s (or something like that). Recorded in December 2009 using GarageBand, and featuring Helium Breath on vocals. Joan Rivers meets Carlos Santana.
Ventura Highway — I recently played this and "Tin Man" with some of the BaCCA (Babylon Citizens Council on the Arts) musicians and had so much fun it inspired me to record both songs in November 2009. This was done using GarageBand, along with a Larrivee D-03R, Precision Bass (with flatwounds and played with a pick for that Joe Osborn sound), Yamaha PSR-E213 (for the drum track), a Jay Turser SG copy guitar, one of those plastic egg shaker things and a hi-hat.
Tin Man — Recorded using GarageBand and the M-Audio Fast Track Pro, along with a Larrivee D-03R, '70s Ventura J-200 copy acoustic guitar (I should have used it on Ventura Highway!), Precision Bass, Yamaha PSR-E213, Jay Turser SG copy, bongos and plastic egg shaker.
Rock and Roll (Part 2) is a cover of the Gary Glitter song, recorded in 2009. This is more than 13 minutes long, and most of that is guitar soloing. Recorded using a Fender Stratocaster, Fender Blender, VOX V-847 wah wah pedal, Voodoo Lab Micro Vibe and Fulltone '69 fuzz, straight into the board. Other instruments include a Rickenbacker 4001 bass, Oberheim OB-8 synthesizer, Yamaha DD-20 and Alesis SR-16 drum machines, and real drums.
Enola Gay — a cover of the new wave smash by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, created using Techno EJay software along with a Casio SK-5 and Oberheim OB-8.
"Rock and Roll (Part 2)" written by Gary Glitter. "Ventura Highway" and "Tin Man" written by Dewey Bunnell."Red Rubber Ball" written by Paul Simon. "Physical" written by Stephen Alan Kipner and Terry Shaddick. "Alone In My Room," "She'll Never Be Mine," "It's a Hit (Gary Wilson in Japan)," "They Say They All Have Boyfriends," "This Time Around," "Stay Around," "Under the Impression" "Map No. 7," "Pugs' Groove" and "The Invasion" written by F. Doris. "I'm in the Love Zone" and "The Heike Crab" written by M. Doris and F. Doris. "Multum In Parvo" was created using sounds provided by Voyetra's Techno EJay software. "Enola Gay" written by Andy McCluskey. "Under the Impression," "I'm in the Love Zone," "It's a Hit (Gary Wilson in Japan)," "The Heike Crab" and "We're Having Fun Together" feature The Schill-Maschine. Copyright/all rights reserved for all selections.