Song 1 “(It All Started On The) Dragon Coaster” (Michael Shelley

Song 1 “(It All Started On The) Dragon Coaster” (Michael Shelley)

When I was in the midst of writing songs for this album I thought it would be good

idea to take a look at songs I’d already written and see if there was some way to

update them, or write some kind of sequel, or re-write them from the point of

view of a 15 year old girl.

It immediately occurred to me that my song “Rollercoaster” (from 1997) might be

just right for an update with a more innocent romantic teen focus. “Rollercoaster”

was a creative turning point for me, the lyrics we slightly less linear and literal

than my usual, and much of it written by closing my eyes and trying to see what

the characters were seeing, a method I used on this new song as well.

“Dragon Coaster” takes place “down the shore” which is what people in norther

New Jersey call the towns, beaches and boardwalks of Jersey Shore, but in my

mind I was definitely picturing the Playland amusement park in Rye, New York, of

my childhood. The rides mentioned (The Whip, Bumper Cars, Mighty Mouse and

Dragon Coaster) are all Playland old-timers, and the park is also on the shore of

Long Island Sound, so the mixed locations just jelled together in my mind.

The whole thing was mostly written in one evening, with some lyric polishing

which came after playing the first version for Juniper. This became the typical way

songs got refined, Juniper would provide feedback about what words, phrases

and lyrical ideas she did and did not relate to, and I’d go off and work up

alternatives for her to pick from.

Originally the feel of the song was much slower, and I imagined it as a kind of a

dramatic Roy Orbison-esque ballad. But the feel evolved as we practiced it, which

we did over and over.

Generally, I’d sing a new song for Juniper once, then hand her the lyric sheet &

she’d try it a few times (she’s a quick melody study). After a few days of this we’d

cut a simple demo. In the days leading up to the initial recordings session we ran

through all the songs daily, so every song got sung 50+ times, and being that

familiar with the songs was a leg up when recording time came.

This was one of seven songs that we recorded basic tracks for at Storybook Sound

in Maplewood, NJ with Scott Anthony engineering.

Storybook is mostly known as a top of the line mastering studio, but Scott likes to

do a bit of recording for fun, and he was enthusiastic about booking these

sessions. Steve & John and Juniper & I met there on a Thursday in late August

2019. I had sent Steve & John the demos and chord sheets and it was obvious that

they had put some time into listening & working up parts, because as soon as we

started playing it was apparent we would get quite a lot done that day. Songs

were worked up quickly, with everyone providing arrangement and feel

improvement ideas, and all the songs were cut in just a few takes.

I got the tracks home (my first time ever working with mixing multi-track drums at

home – quite a learning curve) and we started to add overdubs, still not quite

knowing quite what the palate of the album would be, or how we’d flesh out the

very solid tracks from Storybook. We quickly realized that many of the songs

would benefit from musicianship, instrumentation and musical input originating

outside of our basement.

Rochester, New York’s Greg Townson was very much on my mind, as I’d recently

seen him with Los Straitjackets backing Nick Lowe, and was heavily getting into

his band The Hi-Risers, and it seemed he’d be the perfect guy to play this solo on

this slight throwback-vibed song. He was the first special guest I approached to be

on the album, and he listened to the rough mix and said “yes” immediately,

agreeing, he was the man for the job. He emailed back a solo and some wonderful

additional guitar parts, and it all fit so well, and took the song in directions I never

would have. And (importantly) it really helped set the template – I now knew I

wouldn’t play any solos, but would try to match each song’s solo with the right

player. So, we were off to a great start with this wonderful sounding memorable

guitar work from a super nice guy, and unique guitarist.

In the basement we have a Farfisa, and a wonky Baldwin organ, but I knew this

tune needed more of a Hammond sound, and I asked Atlanta’s multi-talented Jay

Gonzalez if he might be able to lend a hand. He’s a monster musician and WFMU

listener who sent me his fantastic solo lp “Mess Of Happiness” and listening to it I

knew we had grown up listing to the same records. We corresponded and

eventually met up for a beer when his band The Drive By Truckers played a

theater a few blocks from where I live. Jay’s organ really lifts up the second bridge

of the song.

Which reminds me – this song really has an unusual structure (like a lot of the

songs on this album). It goes verse, verse, bridge, solo, bridge, verse. There’s no

real chorus. Also, this is one of the few songs on the lp with only one vocal track –

no harmonies, no background vocals.

The recording ends with a snippet of a recording of a roller-coaster ride taken

from the same sound effects album that I used on 1997’s “Rollercoaster.”

Also, picking which song would open the album was the toughest part of

sequencing. There was no clear opener. This one seemed to work really well, but

I’m still not quite sure we picked the right song.

You can listen to the final product here:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=zeQGgjtL9eU&feature=share

Here’s a link to one of my favorite of Greg’s guitar solos (it’s really something):

https://nicklowe.bandcamp.com/track/you-inspire-me-2

Jay Gonzalez’s site:

http://www.jaygonzalez.com

Greg’s site:

https://www.gregtownson.com

1997’s “Rollercoaster”:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=azlk4GXdCt0&list=RDAMVMazlk4GXdCt0

Jay Gonzalez - Hammond Organ

Steve Goulding - Drums

John Lee - Bass

Juniper Shelley - Vocals

Michael Shelley - Electric Guitar

Greg Townson - Lead Electric Guitar

Song 2: “The Kids On My Corner”

Kids On My Corner (Simon Roberts & Joff Winterhart and Juniper & Michael

Shelley)

The original idea for the album was to have four songs Juniper and/or I would

write, four covers of ‘60s pop songs and four songs written just for this project by

friends and songwriters we admired. A good plan, but the main reason for it was

that I could not imagine that Juniper and I would be able to write more than a few

songs ourselves.

It turned out very different than imagined.

We did record four covers, but decided to only put one on the album (more on

that later), but we did get four songs by friends, and this was the last one to come

together.

I’ve been a HUGE fan of the Bristol, U.K. band BUCKY since the first time I heard

their brilliant album “All The New Mistakes.”

Their sound is unique (just drums & guitar) as is their style and point of view.

Highly recommended.

Drummer/lyricist Joff (also a multi-talented artist, who also did the album’s

wonderful illustrations but is perhaps best known for his graphic novels, one of

which “Days Of The Bagnold Summer” has been turned into a movie!) and I

developed a correspondence and I interviewed him on my radio show. Lots of

Bucky songs have adolescent themes, and they were one of the first writers I got

in touch with asking for a song for the Juniper project.

Joff and Simon sent us a demo, which we liked, but – Juniper had made a couple

of rules about the songs: 1. No mentioning technology, 2. No trying to explain her

generation.

We had sent invites to a bunch of great songwriters, and it was uncanny how

many of the great songs we received broke one or both of those rules. Somebody

could make a great album of just those songs!

But, Juniper just didn’t feel right singing certain kinds of lyrics. This led to changes

in many of the songs I was writing for her, and subtle changes in some of the

covers. We added a bunch of lyrics to “Kids On My Corner” and Joff insisted we

share credit saying “I so love this kind of collaboration.”

Since we’d already recorded the bulk of the basic tracks at Storybook, Steve

Goulding took the train from Brooklyn to our New Jersey basement with his snare

and cymbals, and after a breakfast at the diner, he recorded the drums for this

track (with two microphones, and only after removing the back head of the kick

drum, and covering all the toms with dish towels), overdubbing onto guide track

I’d prepared with a drum machine.

Since the tempo of the bridge slows down, in the guide track there is a pause

before the bridge, then another, slower, count in, then a pause, then a new count

in for the end of the song. I wasn’t quite sure it would all stitch together

seamlessly, but it did.

I quickly added a bass and two guitars, thinking I’d probably replace them, then

Juniper added the vocals. Adding the wonderful harmonies on the choruses were

her idea.

Interestingly, every time I tried to add anything or re-do the basics tracks, it made

it sound worse, and I took that as a sign and soon gave up trying to adorn this

one. So, the finished product is one of the least produced tracks on the album.

Although we love the way it turned out (we were sort of shooting for a 1978 Stiff

Records sound), we did not predict it would be one of the most played and loved

and written about tracks on the album.

Bucky have released their demo of this song, look for it on Bandcamp:

https://buckytheband.bandcamp.com/

We ended up making a video for this song using Playskool Little People that my

wife has had since her childhood:

https://loudwomen.org/2020/10/08/juniper-kids-on-my-corner-video-of-the-day/

Steve Goulding - Drums

Juniper Shelley - Vocals

Michael Shelley - Bass, Electric Guitar

Song 3 “Everybody’s Got A Crush On Chad” (Michael Shelley)

Another one written very quickly. The only hang-up was deciding on the name

Chad, which was not the first one we tried, but it had a few decent rhymes and

was Juniper approved.

Like many of the songs on this album this was came about by asking “What kind

of feels are missing… what kind of songs do we need to fill this album out?” And

that stutter T-Rex shuffle groove was one of the answers.

This is another one with an unusual (and hard to describe) song structure. Verse,

verse, bridge, verse, bridge, verse and then a weird extension (2

bridge?) at the

end (the “Eight Days A Week Part”). No real chorus, no solo.

That extension is interesting, because it features the first appearance of a C# in

the song. The bridges have a C# minor, so turning that major really lifts that end

bit up.

The instruments were recorded at Storybook Sound, and I believe this is the

second take. The first take ruined because I had not quite dialed in my recent

EBay purchased ($19 from China) fuzz pedal, and someone had the idea to add

the quarter note accents (the “London Calling” part) to the second bridge.

At home we added the handclaps, otherwise this is a 100% live recording. There

was some talk about re-recording the vocals, or adding harmonies, but in the end

we liked the feel of the simple live vocals.

Another of the less produced tracks, and one I thought turned out really well.

In the mastering session at Sterling Sound, Greg Calbi asked if we wanted to fade

this out. I’m sure we were intending a fade as we recorded it, but I got used to the

natural end and kept it in through the mixing. To fade or not to fade was a tough

decision… a 2:23 song with a fade out would have been nice, but one thing I

learned making this record is that there are infinite ways to do everything, and

not beat yourself up for your choices.

Hear it here:

https://juniperssongs.bandcamp.com/track/everybodys-got-a-crush-on-chad

The fuzz pedal has gone up in price, but not by much. Get your own by searching

EBay for “Twinote Fuzz Pedal.”

Steve Goulding - Drums

John Lee - Bass

Juniper Shelley - Vocals

Michael Shelley - Electric Guitar

Song 4 “Best Kept Secret” (Tommy Dunbar & Kyle Vincent)

One of the writers I reached out to, looking for song for this project, was Tommy

Dunbar. Tommy formed the nucleus of The Rubinoos with Jon Rubin when the

two were Juniper’s age, and they’ve been making hook and harmony filled pop

music in The Bay Area for fifty years.

Tommy has done a lot of writing and producing for all kinds of acts and he sent us

three songs that were demoed, but never connected with a project. This one was

co-written by Kyle Vincent, another journeyman pop music maker.

I can remember getting the email with the demos attached from Tommy, and

listening to the three songs on my phone, and Juniper immediately picked “Best

Kept Secret.”

One thing I realized is that the subject matter that’s appropriate for a fifteen year

old to sing about is very finite. We didn’t want anything too racy, or anything too

trite. This was perfect timeless romantic pop.

It should be noted that the demo featured a very 80s drum machine, and sounds

like it could have been a huge 80s hit with a small polish – our arrangement varies

only slightly from their excellent demo, we mostly just adjusted the groove.

Another one with basics cut at Storybook. There’s an exciting moment at the end

of the bridge – the chord chart said “E/F#” for the last four bars of the bridge, and

after some experimenting trying to figure out what this notation meant, bassist

John Lee suggested that after the line “keeping it inside” the guitar would switch

to E, while the bass stayed on F#. The first time we tried it, it kind of blew our

minds.

One of the acts Tommy said he had pitched songs to around this time was Belinda

Carlisle, and the idea of a lost Belinda Carlisle song was definitely in my mind as

we put this recording together.

I have know Chris Geddes from the Glasgow band Belle & Sebastian since the late

‘90s when he played on my “Too Many Movies” lp and we did some U.K. gigs. A

great guy with a great vintage keyboard collection, and his bubbly synthesizer on

the choruses was the first overdub, and really got the track moving in the right

direction and helped me detach from my usual “making a rock record” mode or

production.

Then neighbor and musician/children’s book author Daniel Kirk came over and

laid down some acoustic guitar. Sometimes you get sick of the sound of yourself

and own instrument and it’s nice to hear how someone else would do the part.

I wasn’t sure what to do about the hole left for the solo, and was thinking

Marshall Crenshaw (who I’d met when I opened a tour of Japan for him in 2000)

would be the right guy for a super melodic pop solo. I was quite pleasantly

surprised when he returned four guitar parts that come out of nowhere and take

the melody for a ride. When I was having trouble balancing the parts in the mix,

he send me a screen shot of his mixing board, so I could get it right.

Dave Amels is true musical genius, and I’ve been lucky to have him playing with

me for so long, in fact he’s the only musician who plays on all of my albums. He

brought a car full of vintage keyboards to my basement and knocked out all his

parts in an afternoon. So much of the collaboration on this project was done

remotely, and it was a real pleasure to have Dave here in person. Besides the

synth on the choruses, Dave plays the organ on the bridge – which (due 100% to

my error) was not noted in the credits on the cd/lp. (Sorry Dave!)

A lot of the background vocals were suggested by Tommy & Kyle’s demo, but

Juniper took a special interest in helping arrange the background vocals for the

album, and the night before April, Megan & Rebecca (who all have wonderful solo

recordings!) came over to sing, Juniper and I sat together and plotted out all the

background parts she was hearing.

The background vocal session was a lot of laughs, with many good arrangement

and harmony ideas contributed by the singers, who all sang around one mic,

double (and triple and quadruple) tracking their parts. The session went quick

with seven songs learned and recorded in an afternoon. The backgrounds were

one of the last things we added and they really made the tracks sound finished

and full and became one of the signature elements to the album.

I’m pretty sure this is the recording with the most tracks on the album. As the list

of musicians below will bear out, there’s a lot going on in this recording.

I’d love to make an 80’s Ah-Ha style video for this one.

Hear it here:

https://open.spotify.com/track/5I7lpa9rl2BuJSAjUdSGBF

The Rubinoos:

https://open.spotify.com/track/5vCLmuAzXx1XecQYYUumKO

Some of my favorite of Chris’ Belle & Sebastian keyboard work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4t0w2Z7uHs

Daniel Kirk:

http://danielkirk.com/

April March:

https://www.instagram.com/aprilmarch.official/?hl=en

Megan Reilly:

https://www.meganreilly.com/

Rebecca Turner:

https://rebeccaturner.net/

Side note - interestingly, in the 90s The Rubinoos released a completely different

song by the same title.

Dave Amels - ARP Solus Synthesizer, Hammond Organ

Marshall Crenshaw - Guitar Solo

Chris Geddes - Roland Juno Synthesizer

Steve Goulding - Drums

Daniel Kirk - Acoustic Guitar

John Lee - Bass

April March - Background Vocals

Megan Reilly - Background Vocals

Juniper Shelley - Vocals

Michael Shelley - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar

Rebecca Turner - Background Vocals

Song 5 “Boys! Boys! Boys! Boys! Boys!” (Michael Shelley)

When Juniper was 8 or 9 years old I was recording the “Jimmy’s Corner” album in

our basement, and she asked if she could record a Christmas song, which we did,

and sent to family members. This started an annual holiday tradition, evolving

from me playing all the instruments, to Juniper playing all the instruments.

After the Christmas of 2018 she asked “Can we record a non-Christmas song?”

And shortly after I wrote “Boys! Boys! Boys! Boys! Boys!”

The trick to writing this was to sort of imagine it was already written, and asking

myself how it went. I had the title and vividly remember thinking “It’s one of

those songs that goes ‘Who starts all the trouble at the school? Boys! Boys! Boys!

Boys! Boys!’ ” As if I was adding to an already existing well known genre of songs.

Juniper’s stories about 8th grade were the inspiration for much of the lyrics.

The only hang up was coming up with the third part (the “So frustrating…” part),

that came late in the process and until I had it, after the second part of the verse

it went to what I thought was the chorus – the part that just says “Boys” about a

million times, but with the addition of the third part that chorus became the

bridge/extension at the end.

So, yet another song with an unusual and hard to describe structure. The verses

each have three parts, ending in the refrain “Boys! Boys! Boys! Boys! Boys!” and

there are three verses in a row (with the 1

part of the third verse taken by the

solo) and then, at the very end, what I call the bridge. So, a refrain, but no real

chorus, and a bridge at the end.

Steve Goulding laid down the drums in our basement (with two mics) while

listening to a guide recording. Overdubbing tom toms that are low in the mix, but

effective.

The bass on this track is me, and I’ll say I do Iove playing bass, but what I hear in

my head does not come naturally to my fingers. I recorded the first version of the

bass for this in a very simple style, and the only parts I liked, upon further

reflection, were the few parts where the bass moved off the root notes, so the

next day I spend hours and hours figuring out how to add more movement to the

part, and recorded that – which also (upon further reflection) seemed to need

even MORE movement. I spent the entire next day working in it, without quite

nailing a take. After a night’s sleep, dreaming bass, I was able to cut the final part

quite quickly – so the final product took almost three days. The chord changes

aren’t that tricky, and I’m sure a real bass player could have knocked out a bass

line in no time, but there is something to be said for occasionally going for the

outsider working hard approach. Note: this was recorded with a hard to tune

Maya bass I bought in high school from a kid named Jeff Hoffman for $25.00.

Juniper added the Farfisa organ tracks and I asked Chris Geddes specifically for a

Mellotron solo. He sent one track of synth and one of Mellotron – both of which

were absolutely fantastic stand-alone solos. The joy we felt listening to them was

really unprecedented – they just elevated to song so high. How to mix the solo

was something we went back and forth on, but in the end you hear the full

Mellotron solo and the second half of the Synth solo. Also, Steve’s decision to

breakdown the drums during the solo, and his decision to build up on the “They

crave attention…” part, were just wonderful spur of the moment creative

decisions on Steve’s part, they were not in the guide recordings.

The only thing missing were the low notes, which I was imagining below a guitar’s

range, and above a bass’ range. I’d known Keith Yaun from his mesmerizing guitar

work with The Bakersfield Breakers, and he brought his baritone guitar to the

basement and added the missing piece of the puzzle.

The song was mixed and we started posting it and sending it to people in May

2019. I thought it captured something unique, kind of exciting and interesting,

but we didn’t really have any expectations for it, except for pleasing our friends.

But a bunch of WFMU DJs started spinning it, and then a bunch of other radio

stations, and folks kept requesting we digitally release it so they could hear it on

Spotify, etc. It was this overwhelming positive reaction that inspired us to

consider making a whole album, an idea that had not previously occurred to us.

Pre-pandemic Juniper did play one full band gig at WFMU’s Monty Hall, and I will

say one of my greatest on-stage moments happened that night. Juniper

introduced “Boys!” and as we launched into it, there was a palpable and audible

reaction from the crowd. It was an amazing moment.

When we were cutting the background vocals for the album, I had the singers add

their harmonies, so the lp version is slightly different from the single version.

Speaking of versions… there’s also an instrumental version! During the drum

sessions, as we were listening to the playback Steve started playing along in a Ska

style (he loves this beat, and at rehearsals may launch into it at any moment). I

quickly hit record and asked him to do it again. Though it follows the original

version exactly, I think the only parts the two have in common are the bass (not

quite the final version), a few bits of Mellotron, and some of the original drums.

Watch the video with art by Matthew Maley and animation by Greg Harrison:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSLO9aGu_hk&list=PLcH6AJQhTwB-

Dcxgr9etQ0dO6D5tmX-Rt&index=5

The dub version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOyl6JIWP84&list=PLcH6AJQhTwB-

Dcxgr9etQ0dO6D5tmX-Rt&index=13

Keith Yaun in action with The Bakersfield Breakers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B1jHYEbnlQ

Chris Geddes - Mellotron, Mini Korg Synthesizer

Steve Goulding – Drums

April March - Background Vocals

Megan Reilly - Background Vocals

Juniper Shelley - Farfisa Organ, Vocals

Michael Shelley - Bass, Electric Guitar

Rebecca Turner - Background Vocals

Keith Yaun - Baritone Guitar

Song 6 “Sticking With My Henry” (Michael Shelley)

Before writing “Boys!” I hadn’t written a song I really liked in couple of years. But

as soon as we started considering the idea of making a Juniper full length release

thing started getting seriously inspired.

My most prolific time as a songwriter was when I was in my early 30s and had just

been signed to my first record deal. I’d made some changes to my life and

lifestyle, and somehow started to tap into creative powers and inspirations that

had previously eluded me. During that time I was regularly waking up in the

middle of the night, struck with ideas, and working on songs… and writing lyrics in

the back of books I was reading on the subway… and bringing a notebook to the

bar I worked at, customers would have to wait while I scribbled. Not all the songs

were good, but feeling that creative energy overtake you is really something. And

figuring out how to take observations and emotions and make a song out of them

was an amazing, helpful and healthy process for me.

And from the moment “Boys!” was written that same feeling was fiercely back. It

is a bit like being possessed, and there were times when I think my wife was

genuinely surprised at seeing heretofore unseen behavior from me.

Juniper and I wrote down a lot of song idea, and subject matter possibilities. And

as the number of finished songs grew, many of the next songs were inspired by

the idea of trying to figure out what would complement what we already had, or

what kind of a song or message or story was missing from the album.

I can say with certainty that “Sticking With My Henry” would not have been

written if we had not stopped while driving up to Cape Cod for a vacation to look

for books at a Goodwill thrift shop, and seen a small nylon string guitar for sale

($14.99). I picked up that guitar, in the store, and started strumming that G chord

in the rhythm of the song. In our Cape Cod rental the vague idea I had for a song

about a girl who sticks with a nice guy came pouring out,

Once again, no real chorus, but verses with a refrain. Verse, bridge, verse, bridge,

solo (on ½ a verse and a bridge), then a ½ verse with two extra Henry refrains. The

best part of the song (from a writing pop hooks point of view), is (in my mind) the

D chord that comes out of nowhere at the end of the song (after the line “No

trouble”).

Sam Elwitt (incredible musician/producer who also joined the live band) recorded

the tremolo guitar at his home studio, and the drums were cut at the same

basement session as “Kids On My Corner” with the kick drum and ride cymbal on

the solo section overdubbed. Afterword, Steve hung around and added claps and

assorted tambourines and percussion to a bunch of songs. Interestingly, when I

made the guide track for Steve to drum along to, I did not use any metronome or

drum machine, just me strumming that little guitar and Juniper singing.

Mark Spencer has been on my radar since he first blew me away with his guitar

work when a band I was in was on a bill at CBGB with his band The Blood Oranges.

Since then I’ve seen him working with an endless array of artists, and he’s always

right on the money. I sent him the track and he send back four jaw dropping

solos, the finished product features the best moments of each.

The piano is me answering the question “What would NRBQ’s Terry Adams play?”

Though at least one review has referred to it as a Fender Rhodes, it’s actually a

much less cool Yamaha P-95.

Juniper made the very charming (and Covid friendly) video at our kitchen table.

Watch Juniper’s video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s74a2PCNsYA&list=PLcH6AJQhTwB-

Dcxgr9etQ0dO6D5tmX-Rt&index=6

Mark Spencer:

https://sonvolt.net/bio/

Sam Elwitt:

http://www.nutleybrass.com/

Sam Elwitt - Tremolo Guitar

Steve Goulding - Drums

Juniper Shelley - Vocals

Michael Shelley - Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Piano

Mark Spencer - Guitar Solo

Song 7 “Girls Just Want A Boy To Rest Their Head Upon” (Juniper Shelley &

Michael Shelley)

This one is definitely a favorite of both mine and Juniper’s. She came up with title

and the idea “Brian Wilson style ballad” immediately came to mind. The bulk of

the music came pretty fast, but sorting out the trickier chord changes took a

while. Once again, what I heard in my head took a bit of time to find on the guitar.

I’ve always felt that one thing that sets some songwriters apart is their ability to

hear very subtle differences in complex chords, or voicings, and to use those

juxtapositions to set off the melody and make the sound richer. So, that’s what

we were attempting here. As always with this project, refining the lyrics so they

were neither too mature nor too naive took some care, and Juniper was helpful

with that.

Once again, no chorus, just a refrain at the end of the verse.

The harp is a straight up Beach Boys steal, and the Argentinian harpist, Mercedes

Bralo, was one of the first musicians I found on-line (on fiver.com). We emailed, I

sent her a rough mix, and she sent back a bullseye harp part. It turned out that

use of worldwide on-line collaborators became another of the defining traits of

this album.

Dave’s incredible organ and the background vocals (which just come in for the

bridge) are from previously mentioned basement sessions, and Keith brought his

baritone back as well - it can be hard to identify, but it comes in with the harp

solo & I think really sets that section off. Also, Juniper deserves special mention

for nailing the lead vocals on this one.

Hear it here:

https://juniperssongs.bandcamp.com/track/girls-just-want-a-boy-to-rest-their-

head-upon

Dave Amels - Hammond Organ

Mercedes Bralo - Harp

Steve Goulding - Drums

John Lee - Bass

April March - Background Vocals

Megan Reilly - Background Vocals

Juniper Shelley - Vocals

Michael Shelley - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar

Rebecca Turner - Background Vocals

Keith Yaun - Baritone Guitar

Song 8 “Poke Your Eye Out” (Kim Shattuck & Lisa Marr)

When I was reaching out to songwriters, asking them to write a song for Juniper, I

wrote to both Lisa Marr and Kim Shattuck. I’d loved Kim’s band The Muffs since

the first time I heard them and always considered her a very special songwriter,

and Lisa’s wrote great songs with Cub and her co-writes with Joe Queer for The

Queers are among my favorite pop songs ever created.

Lisa wrote me back and said that she and Kim would be working together, which

was not a total surprise, since they had been in a band, The Beards, together.

What I did not know was that Kim had ALS, and though her body was slowly

shutting down, her mind was as creative as ever. In the summer of 2019 Lisa and

Kim wrote two songs for Juniper, which Lisa sent us demos of, with just her voice

and a ukulele.

Juniper immediately zeroed in on “Poke Your Eye Out” and because the demo was

so spare, it was the only song that we were not sure of what the basic feel would

be until we were in the studio recording it. We quickly ran through a few different

approaches, but when Steve started playing that beat on the tom toms, and I put

down my electric and picked up that $14.99 acoustic, it all fell into place

immediately. With bass, drums, guitar and lead vocals all recorded live there was

not too much else to do to this one minute and forty nine second song.

We had left a hole for a solo, and it took me a while to imagine what should fill it.

The answer was a super talented requinto player from Ecuador, Jose Luis Ushina,

who just brought something spectacular. Again, I felt like I was lucking out.

Brazilian conga player Vinas Peixoto added some spice to the bridge and outro

and after repairing our ailing Farfisa Dave Amels added some great counter

melody organ parts, and the combination of that beat and that guitar and bass

with that unexpected organ sound really wakes the song up.

The more songs we recorded the better Juniper got at hearing, creating and

recording harmonies with herself, and on this one she harmonizes just a few lines,

but to my ears those small touches go a long way.

When I started mixing the record I was doing it on my old home stereo speakers,

and after taking rough mixes up to our kitchen’s boom-box and my car’s cd player,

I quickly realized that my speakers were not accurate or reliable, and so 99% of

this record was mixed on headphones. Not ideal, but at least they were

consistent, but it’s songs like this, with a lot of drums and no electric guitar to eat

up the frequencies, that I do wish I’d had a chance to mix on a huge set of very

loud studio monitors.

Kim Shattuck died in October of 2019. I sent her a rough mix of this, but I’m not

sure if she had a chance to listen to it, but I like to imagine it gave her a reason to

be happy during tough times.

We recently started recording the other song that Kim and Lisa sent us, “Taste

The Soup,” and we hope to release it at some point.

Poke your eye out here:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3ZKCraX4CcrilY0pK3Qmi2

Jose Luis Ushiña Equador in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aev5wwoyZtw

Dave Amels - Farfisa Organ

Steve Goulding - Drums

John Lee - Bass

Vinas Peixoto – Congas

Juniper Shelley - Vocals

Michael Shelley - Acoustic Guitar

Jose Luis Ushiña - Requinto Guitar Solo

Song 9 “Gotta Draw The Line” (Richard Barrett)

As I said earlier, we were originally planning to have four covers of 1960s songs on

this album, but we ended up with just this one.

We did record versions of “Little Miss Stuck-Up” an amazing pre-Bread David

Gates song which he released as Del Ashley, and “My First Heartbreak” a 1966 B-

side by little know Cincinnati duo 2 of Clubs.

The better of the two was “Heartbreak” and Juniper REALLY wanted to include it

on the album. It’s ferocious and unique sounding, and I hope it comes out

somewhere eventually, but (to me at least) “Gotta Draw The Line” just fit on the

album better. I guess we could have had 13 songs, not 12, but I just thought it

worked better with 12.

“Gotta Draw The Line” was written by Richard Barrett who might be best known

for recording the first version of "Some Other Guy," (a co-write with Leiber &

Stoller) which was covered by many bands, including The Beatles.

Our arrangement of “Gotta Draw The Line” combines ideas from three very

different versions. The Barrett produced 1965 version (a B-side) by The 3°

Degrees, in which the antagonist is referred to as “Honey,” and two varied takes

on it by The Swinging Blue Jeans (one acoustic, one Beatles-y), who sing to

“Sidney,” which luckily is also a common name for females.

The drums were recorded by Scott at Storybook in September 2019 by The

Smithereens' Dennis Diken who played along to a guide tape I’d prepared. Frank

Caira of the groovy Brooklyn band The Above added the bass, Juniper added the

organs and the vibes on the final verse were another easy on-line hire, Andrew

Nittoli of Pennsylvania, USA, and once again the background singers really add so

much likability.

This one was mixed a few different ways, and in the end I took a less is more

approach, not using most of the electric guitar tracks I'd recorded, trying to make

it sound like one of those not too fussed over 60s album tracks by some obscure

band.

Hear it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyL6EDAZBJQ&list=PLcH6AJQhTwB-

Dcxgr9etQ0dO6D5tmX-Rt&index=9

by The 3° Degrees

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODaf-Bn25O8

The Swinging Blue Jeans Later:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ8PYdP2mH8

The Swinging Blue Jeans early:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BByb74RJ74c

Frank Caira - Bass

Dennis Diken - Drums

April March - Background Vocals

Andrew Nittoli - Vibraphone

Megan Reilly - Background Vocals

Juniper Shelley - Farfisa Organ, Lowrey Organ, Vocals

Michael Shelley - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar

Rebecca Turner – Background Vocals

Song 10 “How Long She Gonna Stay In That Room?” (Michael Shelley)

This was the second song I wrote for this project. Though it only has three chords

and a pretty standard format (verse/chorus) and a very repetitive bass line, there

is something about how this one moves, and the way the instrumentation comes

in and out that makes you not realize how simple it is.

I remember playing it for Juniper and Jordon (my wife), just me and an unplugged

electric guitar, and them liking it, but there was a look on their faces like they

were not sure I was serious, maybe because the simplicity, and maybe because

the idea of an album was completely hypothetical at that time, and with only

“Boysx5” as a starting point, none of us has any really had any idea of what the

songs would sound like or be about.

So, I started to make a demo to flesh the song out and see what instrumentation

would work, and in doing so went internet searching for a tom-tom heavy drum

beat to use for the demo. There are many web sites with free drum loops that I’ve

used for this purpose in the past, but I was having trouble finding a loop with the

right feel at the 134bpm tempo I needed, so I ended up buying (from drum-

drops.com) one song’s worth of loops from a collection called “60s Motown

Drops.” The beat is based on Barrett Strong’s “Money” and it was recorded in a

U.K. studio and played by a human drummer named Timmy Rickard.

The drum loops came in folders titled “Intro,” “Chorus,” “Middle Eight,” etc., and

they are recorded with the idea that what made the Motown drums sound

unique was leakage, so these drums were recorded with a "brass section" and a

"vocal" mic, etc. It took me a while to figure it all out, but eventually, with a steep

learning curve, I was able to edit together a whole drum part that fit the

arrangement I had in mind. All along I was thinking I’d replace the drum loops

with “real” drums, but in the end I kept Timmy’s fine (and excellently recorded)

tracks, and not one person who heard them (including Steve Goulding) noticed

that the drum part was constructed.

I added most of the rest pretty quickly in the basement (thankfully this one is in a

key I ‘m decent at on the organ) and played a rough mix for a friend who

suggested girl-group style background vocals. That suggestion turned a light on,

because it opened up a whole world I had not previously considered, and I invited

neighbor and girl group sound authority April March over to sing some

background parts. We eventually fleshed those parts out with the trio, but April’s

suggestions really helped wake me up to the big part that the background vocals

would play on the rest of the recordings. And, special note must be made of

Juniper’s harmonies, which are pop perfection.

I never intended the solo to be the wah-wah guitar, but while recording the wah-

wah parts on to the verses, after a few bars of waiting for the solo section to pass

I got bored and played a few figures, assuming they would be replaced with a

proper solo. But, everyone who heard rough mixes said they loved the non-solo

solo, and so it stayed.

In some ways I think this is the most catchy song on the album.

Hear it here:

https://juniperssongs.bandcamp.com/track/how-long-she-gonna-stay-in-that-

room

Check out this promotional video for the drum loops I used, you can see the see &

hear the exact drum track I used:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpgyE-dJoc4&feature=youtu.be&t=127

April March - Background Vocals

Timmy Rickard - Drums

Megan Reilly - Background Vocals

Juniper Shelley - Vocals

Michael Shelley - Bass, Electric Guitar, Farfisa Organ

Rebecca Turner - Background Vocals

Song 11 “Punk Rock Boy” (Francis Macdonald & Michael Shelley)

Francis Macdonald is a multitalented musician who drums for one of my favorite

bands, Glasgow’s Teenage Fanclub. Francis and I have written a bunch of songs

together, including many on the 1998 album “Four Arms To Hold You” that we

released as the duo Cheeky Monkey. Recorded and mixed in four days, it is a fun

pop lp that I would not hesitate to recommend to Juniper fans.

I had a feeling Francis might have a great song up his sleeve for Juniper and as

soon as we heard his demo for “Punk Rock Girl” we knew it was perfect for the

project, and stylistically it filled a missing genre slot the album, but one that

meshed perfectly with the existing songs. Francis made it clear that we were free

to rewrite and rearrange as needed, and in the end he graciously called our lyrical

additions a co-write.

This was the first tune we recorded at the Storybook Sound session. I used the

theory that I sometimes use when constructing set lists for live gigs: pick an

opening song with a very easy to grasp feel that has a lot of arrangement bits in it

– the idea that even if the band has not quite warmed up and acclimated to the

space or the sound, an arrangement heavy song is more likely to sound tight and

together than something requiring a more subtle groove.

A few seconds before we started recording Steve suggested we stop after every

line in the first verse, the last hook added to this hook filled arrangement that

someone in the press labeled “Bubblegum Punk.”

So, once again we had a very solid bass, drums, guitar and 100% live vocals as a

base. The first thing I added was Don Fleming’s guitar. Don has made, produced

and played on a ton of records and I knew he was just the guy to beef up the

rhythm track. He brought his vintage (and beat up looking) Big Muff pedal to the

basement and did just that. Matt Clarke, also from The Above (and a WFMU DJ)

added the 12 string guitar that comes out of nowhere on the broken down third

verse, and Fountains of Wayne front man Chris Collingwood (one of Juniper & my

favorite bands) added some great (and out of nowhere) background vocals.

Dave’s organ drops in only for the second verse, and if you listen carefully you can

hear me playing one note over and over on a Casio I got for $2 at a yard sale

during the bridge.

Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan seemed the perfect candidate to tackle Punk Rock Boy’s

solo section. We traded emails and my only guidance was that the solo begin with

an A note (though the key of the solo is B) and Ira wrote back “Expect a solo that

starts on A!” We met one night in WFMU’s Studio B in Jersey City, NJ where Ira

recorded his wonderful contribution.

As the song fades you can hear Steve doing some great long drum fills. I employed

a “no crash cymbal” rule on the recording of this album, and nowhere is that lack

of crash more evident than at the ends of those long fills.

Hear it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv4DTSHoZQE&list=PLcH6AJQhTwB-

Dcxgr9etQ0dO6D5tmX-Rt&index=11

Francis Macdonald:

https://www.francismacdonald.com/

Dave Amels:

http://daveamels.com/

Yo Lo Tengo:

https://yolatengo.com/

Chris Collingwood:

http://lookparkmusic.com/band

Dave Amels - Farfisa Organ

Matt Clarke - 12 String Guitar

Chris Collingwood - Background Vocals

Don Fleming - Electric Guitar

Steve Goulding - Drums

Ira Kaplan - Guitar Solo

John Lee - Bass

April March - Background Vocals

Megan Reilly - Background Vocals

Juniper Shelley - Vocals

Michael Shelley - Electric Guitar, Casio MT 36

Rebecca Turner - Background Vocals

Song 12 “I Don’t Want To Dream About You” (Michael Shelley)

I was thinking of possible subject matter for songs for Juniper and that lead me to

the reviewing great teen songs that have stood the test of time, which lead me to

The Everly Brothers’ “All I Have To Do Is Dream.”

A lot of the songs on the album mention experiences, or come from a point of

view, that do not mirror Juniper’s experiences and point of view completely, and

it took her a while to be at ease with that, and to embrace the concept that the

character telling the stories in the songs, was not necessarily her.

As a writer I definitely saw Juniper (the character, not the person) developing,

song by song, in a certain direction, and that character would never sing “All I

Have To Do Is Dream.” As a songwriter, that kind of information is uniquely

inspiring. To me, there was no choice but to turn the idea around, and write a

song about an independent minded girl who had no desire whatsoever to dream

about some jack-ass guy.

This all struck me while saying goodnight to Juniper in her room one night. I

remember speeding down the stairs and starting work on the music and lyrics. I

was doing well on the verses but I had the idea that the bridge would be a dream

sequence and I was stuck musically, I kept writing chords that moved so far from

the verses that I could not figure a way to get back. I finally realized, if ended the

second verse with a different chord then I ended the first one verse on, I’d have a

head start on getting back, and it all worked out. There’s nothing for me as

satisfying songwriting-wise as a bridge that gets you back safely, but in an

unexpected way.

Note: once again we have a song with no chorus, just a refrain. So: verse, verse,

bridge, verse.

This track is another good example of this album’s balance of fairly consistent and

simple basic track instrumentation with less predictable overdubbed parts.

Augmentation started with Jay who sent in his electric piano part for the verses,

and Mellotron for the bridge. Keith recorded his great sitar part for the bridge in

his basement session, (I’ll never forget Greg Calbi’s reaction when that sitar

popped up, “Is that a sitar?!”) and Juniper added some organ and flute to the

bridge.

I started these notes observing that I’m still second guessing my choice for the

album’s opening song, buy pretty much every person I solicited an opinion on the

album sequence from choose this song to finish the record. It’s a nice way to wrap

the whole thing up.

Hear it here:

https://open.spotify.com/track/1mz4ps4I2z67X245HVH3KG

Jay Gonzalez - Wurlitzer Electric Piano, Mellotron

Steve Goulding - Drums

John Lee - Bass

Juniper Shelley – Farfisa Organ, Flute, Vocals

Michael Shelley - Acoustic Guitar

Keith Yaun - Electric Sitar