Crickets

crickets.
frightening sounds.
invasions and piles.
black hoppers.
black hoppers.
the odor of crickets.

crickets.
looked down the hall.
too early for empty nest blues.
echoes of machines.
echoes of machines.
the clicks.

crickets.
hazardous for lead singers.
poor Peggy Sue.
from Buddy to Box.
from Buddy to Box.
that'll be the day.

crickets.
the sound of nothing.
an afterthought.
instigator of action.
instigator of action.
nothing else.

amgx3
d7gx3

Rainout Beers

     like cats it came down.  the October rain was relentless and loud as we sat on the two rows patio in Allen, Texas.  no tennis this night, just some rainout beers with keck and billy vita.  just as well.  we were all in some state of chaos, confusion, or discernment.  keck and his recent brush with tennis humility.  max King had destroyed him.  6-1, 6-0 old style scoring method.  his credentials were discovered only later and included professional status and bent tree certifications.  keck was talking about this guy's game, just better and smarter.  and he was older.  max King was 55, keck estimated.  always pushing forward, always putting shots away at the net.  and spin, and drop shots, and extreme angles.  his was not a game we knew.  and we knew.  keck promised to start working on his net game and asked billy and I for our best pointers.  somehow, I had been blessed with quick feet and soft hands.  once I learned to take a final hop and set myself before my opponent hit an attempt at a passing shot, net play had come easy.  the punch, developed early, and constant forward play only enhanced my ability to win matches.  the kramarian approach, as I've only since discovered.  my advice to keck was just that.  mainly, encouragement was what he needed. being on the losing side of our last mahut, the spur mahut, must have been on his mind as well.  the rainout likely saved me from a wrath.  a keck tennis wrath.  I was happy we were drinking rainout beers instead.  the patio was nice and dry.  the air was cool, but muggy.  the beer menu included Tupps northbound 75, but they were out.  inquiring further, the nice young, smiling, waitress mentioned something about updating the beer menu on which Tupps would not be included.  offended slightly, I politely ordered a dos xx because it was Mexican night.  This was the wednesday before hurricane patricia had everyone worrying and praying for the mexicans and non-mexicans on the mexican west coast.  a dos xx seemed appropriate.  was more offended when she asked me if I knew of tupps, "a little brewery in mckinney."   keck loudly mentioned the sticker on his car.  I said something about swaying California brown and iron art.  where is the loyalty?  updating your beer menu?  from then on, I ordered what keck ordered.  it was all good.  and the waitress was forgiven, especially after she informed us she was not of drinking age, she had never been to Tupps.  she had never seen Chris day's iron.  she had never tasted the black.  delicious.
     Billy's net game advice was more in depth.  I learned a lot sitting at that table.  always go for the center of the net.  the odds are greater.  the angles much better.  and the deep approach of course.  middle, side, either way, just keep the approach deep. he explained in detail the lead up to the hop skip.  his instruction-filled mind and knowledge of the game was apparent.  he had spent time in a classroom, learning from the tennis masters of Philadelphia.  he had learned the game at another level.  he has wisdom to impart.  he watches the tennis channel all day long as he takes conference calls and strings racquets.  cutting edge in everything, especially new technologies.  he is our coach.  but, he had more important and relevant matters on his mind.  his mother-in -law, Bernadette, was in poor health, lung cancer, and her passing, and likely continuing, seemed near.  prayer for the Irish Bernadette, and her family, especially sweet Mary.  lord, be with her.  billy vaped and drank and detailed for keck a net game strategy.  this temporary diversion was healthy for him, knowing the stoicism to come.  obliged or compelled, all will know.
     my own tennis humility came just a week prior.  at the racquet of billy himself.  I had played well and it didn't matter.  billy broke through.  we had at least 40 deuces in our 20 game mahut.  it went on and on. in the end, billy won more important points and left me trounced, 7-13.  some proactive coaching advice from earlier in the day had me thinking about the psychology of it all.  it is a dangerous place to lurk, but it is required to keep up with the likes of billy vita or his brother Joe or keck or Frank Friday or any tennis royal from the past.  perhaps even one day, max King.  point to point, hour to hour, day to day, year to year.  time will stop if we let it.  it will go away, and shall.  his return of serve has made obvious improvement and his serve is a controlled weapon. his advice was appreciated as KOtC6 was only a month out.  playing as a royal will be new.  this could be it unless I can win again.  perhaps Duke is a possibility this time.  the field may have thinned out.  the likes of King stone, King the Todd, and King james are missing due to other conflicts, some USTA sectional type of sanctification.  and, in King James' case, a road trip to see the once-promising cowboys play the buccaneers in Tampa.  King the Todd sent his brother Marty in his stead, a friend to the Isner methodology and culture. Serving as teammate and coordinator and coach of the Blowfish, we teamed up earlier in the year, along with King the Todd and others, to claim the revered fries cup.  Prince fess is a definite threat to all and everything, he is a determined fighter and hater of evil.  an Earl to Duke ascention would be noteworthy, but it will take big game.  and billy vita wants the Duke.
     all who participated in kotc4 remember last November.  all were witness.  the sad sight of keck worrying about the rain and the dry 5 hour window that followed.  Huffman, driving in from grapevine hardly able to see, having faith in tennis.  Vito, Roy, Berco, Fosters, a Dane and Luu too.  many are chasing royalty, but only four will emerge, all led by the King Of The Court.  don't expect rainout beers, there is no cancellation plan.  the beers wait for after.  At Tupps, of course.  A little brewery in McKinney.  Mahut!!!

Spork

got a salad and some soup.
wondering what to do.
all I really need is a spork.

morning, noon, or night.
wrapped and sanitized.
yes I do, yes I love a spork.

you might call me a dork.
but I love a spork.
yes I do, yes I love a spork.

c
f
gfc

Spicy Jambalaya

cg
fc
fcgc
gc

got more air in my hair, oh no.
got more air in my hair, good god.
now I don't care about my hair
wake up happy just to be here.
more air in my hair, alright.

hot tubs are required all the time.
hot tubs are required to clear my mind.
powerful jets to loosen my neck.
keep it going even though I'm a wreck.
hot tubs are required alright.

the yawning starts about 10 o'clock, don't you know.
the yawning starts about 10 o'clock, yaaaawwn.
if I get still, let's be real.
grab a blanket cause I got the chills.
yawning starts about 10 o'clock, alright.

that spicy jambalaya takes me down, it sucks.
that spicy jambalaya takes me down, can't eat it.
fires in my belly, can't hold it steady.
to eat it again would be just silly.
spicy jambalaya takes me down, alright.

Same Old Road

...the sky seems different now
see the dust smell the clouds...

...all the stars getting through
far away ones we never knew...

...caught up in the Milky Way
out there in the center of space...

...constellations never named
they were there just the same...

...seen at night a long time ago
walking down the same old road...

Standing Where Buzzards Fly

...bank robbers and oil barons...standing where buzzards fly...the first hill was tough...the second peak must be climbed too...pay it forward with barbque...varieties of dunkels and Colorado bulldogs.. this place could make it...real buffalo herds and gypsum rock everywhere...the deer skinning was shocking...quartered up and put on ice...tamales and jalepeno beans...pumpkin shots...twenty dollar buy in went quick...heartbreak ridge...weird white people in mad max...cot sleeping...forehand was unstoppable...signed the trophy with permanent black ink...throwing footballs through the trees...the kraut and the chops...the okies left Dallas crying again...heavy metal afternoon...that cross bow is easy...pull it all the way back...one big night...chess is out...leave the dishes in the sink...these cards have gone cold...

A Sensible Design

...gift of the senses.

before feeling, things were never felt.
things should be felt, so we feel.

before seeing, colors were wasted.
colors should not be wasted, so we see.

before tasting, eating was a bore.
eating should not be a bore, so we taste.

before smelling, scoundrels could not be sniffed out.
scoundrels should be sniffed out, so we smell.

before hearing, all the valleys were silent.
valleys should not be silent, so we hear.

...a sensible design.

Just Before The Thinking Starts

on the other side of the horizon, just before the thinking starts.
when we're still dreaming and the cares of this world are gone.

this place is quiet.
holding on to night.
then it disappears.
the night, it disappears.

the stars are only invisible my babes, they still guide the day.
more time for living and loving, until time just goes away.

CG
FC

FC
FC
GFC

This Spacefolk Music Floats

**from the notebooks of the men from nantucket, paul gorman and mark ball**

the journey, this float, never lasts forever.  eventually, we will reach land.  before we reach land, however, we will see the land.   on the horizon, in the distance, clear as a blood red moon.  seen with telescopes and high powered binoculars.  home is free.  we might encounter resistance, but we will land on the land.  and so it is with the men from nantucket.  as we have done all along--searching, finding, landing, only to do it over again.  until one day, when we sink the boats.  we see the land clearly now, our visions not the same as before, but better, because they are now real.  and this reality may be warped, as all realities are warped says steinbeck, but it is the reality of the men from nantucket.

these are the final musical preparations as we enter the harbor, before we hit the dock.  the adjustments to the final drafts of the men from nantucket greatest hits volume one:

*as a general statement the vocals should be undoubled...should echo, reverb, delay.  not too much. but that is the vocal effect needed.  the doubling brings it down.  this spacefolk music floats.

*another general statement on volume in the mixes.  vocal and lead tracks should be at the same level.  the rhythm track should be diminished even though it carries the bottom.  being spacefolk, the bottom is less important.  the rhythm track should be there clearly, in the middle.  lead guitar parts need to be especially louder in nonvocal space.  this spacefolk music is loud.

*the bass guitar instrument will not be on men from nantucket greatest hits volume one. our bad idea to force it from the start.  specific feedback regarding .in this jar. and .novocaine. will elude to this.  this spacefolk music goes high, not low.

*specific feedback regarding novocaine:  this song is being removed from the final record.  men from nantucket greatest hits volume one will be a 9 song record.  it could reemerge down the road as a waltz, but it is canned for now.  the whole boat must have been sea sick, gets rough out in the ocean.  we tossed it the bermuda triangle as we were taking a shortcut back home.  this spacefolk music is already numb.

*removal of some percussion tracks.  The final refinement of these songs, and of us preparing to dock, is to gather up the unneeded cargo and toss it overboard.  some of the beats and bangs belong back to the ocean, keeping only enough to perfectly add distinction and motion as we glide in.  the need for percussive acceleration is diminished in space.  this spacefolk music bangs in the back.



hopefully, these general notes are helpful as the final versions of each song are mixed and mastered.  below, each song is considered separately with more specific deletions, adjustments, and refinements.  these notes are based on what we heard on the final drafts, and after the men from nantucket met in the hull a few nights ago to decide the final course.  also, this is the order of the songs on the album:

1.  At The Rio Blanco.
...the above mentioned vocal and volume adjustments.  especially more lead volume during non vocal space.  also, all percussions are deleted.

2.  Okie 69.  
...the above mentioned vocal and volume adjustments.  also, all percussions are deleted.

3.  Two Tone  Ride.
...the above mentioned vocal and volume adjustments.  percussions remain on this song but should be more in the background.  also, the percussive guitar through the song is very cool.  very nantucket, but from 3:20 to 3:44, remove completely and crank the organ lead.  love this song.

4.  Hounds And Babes.
...the above mentioned vocal and volume adjustments.  removal of percussions.

5.  Hog Killing Weather.
...the above vocal and volume adjustments.  keep the percussion as is.  sounds like sounds of hog killing time.  my grandmother would have been proud.

6.  Quakes Like That.
...the above vocal and volume adjustments.  removal of percussions.

7.  Turbulence.
...the above vocal and volume adjustments.  Keep percussions, slightly diminished.

8.  In This Jar.
...the above vocal and volume adjustments.  removal of bass and percussions.

9.  Sink The Boats.
...love this.  the above vocal and volume adjustments.  percussions diminished, but kept.  love the fact it's a long song.  need a fade out ending.  being the final song we leave the distinct impression that the men from nantucket play on, despite the end of the record.  please keep as much length as possible as it fades.  also, the dialogue part starts with 'look in my eyes'.

All Caught Up In Moods And Vibes

...when all the moods are in alignment...
...each helping the other and understanding...
...it is the same with circles of association too...
...different individuals together for some reason...
...each with their own mood balance to consider...
...a family, a team, a class, a gang, a band, a congregation...
...each individual associated with all the others...
...although an actual relationship may not exist...
...or broken with the feelings being mutual...
...somewhere in between sadness and acceptance...
...anger and frustration are horrible and dark...
...predictable actions followed by predictable regret...
...righteous wrath is not anything we can deliver...
...our wrath is inspired by resentment, envy, and insecurity...
...get back to our place and understand our fate...
...these blinks of years will pass as our eyes melt away...
...sunrises and sunsets are stacking up in a glorious tower...
...the ride is in full motion and we are holding on...
...our souls captured here for now...
...associations and relations are riding too...
...all caught up in moods and vibes...