74. AIRBORNE - and...
75. I MISS BEING YOUR SLAVE - which are alternate takes &/or mixes.
When we played at Jellybean's in Geneva, NY, on Halloween, 2003, the show was simulcast on WEOS-FM. They also recorded it. The recording is of slightly-better-than-average bootleg quality but the performance was inspired (and included original drummer, Chuck Randall, subbing for an unavailable Bob). We chose three songs for an EP release that were especially fiery performances and sonically slightly superior. "Dance of the Fire Girl" contains:
76. LAST TIME (Jagger, Richards)
77. SHAKIN' ALL OVER
78. NOT FADE AWAY
For two and a half very happy years Static Cling was also The Skeleton Crew, the back-up band for NYC punk-rock queen, Helen Wheels. We recorded one full-length studio CD with her before her passing. "Helen Wheels & The Skeleton Crew" contains:
79. ...& IT'S A DRAG (Draheim, Wheels) - Lee Groban ("Zip Code Man") was (is?) a street poet from Chicago. This song is loosely based on my dim recollections of his 500+ page poem, "It's a Drag". Helen wrote the words to the bridge.
80. USELESS (Wheels, Draheim) - I presented Helen with the inactive Static Cling song, "The Note". She re-titled it, suggested slowing it down and wrote her own new autobiographical lyrics.
81. IF YOU HAVE GHOSTS (Roky Erickson) - Helen had never heard Roky. I knew his songs would be perfect for us. Helen agreed and picked this one.
82. THE ONE WHO DARES (Wheels, Draheim) - The first song we wrote together. Helen's songs are so damned inspiring, honest, real. This was her anthem of coming out of retirement - and it was a bitch to pull off live.
83. FOR A FAN (Wheels, Rigg, Draheim) - This is a song Helen brought to us from her past. We added the middle section with the spoken part and the long Glenn Phillips guitar solo. I asked Glenn for something elegaic that ended with the sound of a motorcycle crash - not a request most guitar players would feel comfortable with.
84. TIMES SQUARE AIN'T THERE (Wheels, Draheim) - One of the coolest things about playing with Helen was getting to be a way harder rock band than Static Cling ever was.
85. A LIE TAKES A LIE (Wheels, Draheim) - One of my biggest regrets because, while this song is good, Ron has since written a much better ending for it and made it great. We performed the version with the new ending at the memorial show for Helen in NYC that also featured performances by 3/5 of the original Blue Oyster Cult, 2/5 of the original Alice Cooper and all of The Dictators. That show is slated for a near-future DVD release from Cellsum Records.
86. HOLY LAND (Birmingham) - A plea for tolerance from Bob. I get to be Johnny Ramone on the verses and Johnny Thunders on the bridge. Cathi and Helen's voices intertwine like snakes.
87. FIVE DOLLAR FANTASY (Wheels, Rigg) - Another song from Helen's past (with anachronistic outrage at $5 movie ticket prices!) My favorite parts? John Reilley's great sax throughout and the bubbling interplay of the bass and drums.
88. GRAVEYARD DOWN THE ROAD (Wheels, Draheim, Raymond) - I brought Helen an inactive Static Cling song called "Goon" (which actually went back to my days with a band called The Gurls and a riff originated by Jimmy "Goon" Raymond). Helen wrote her own lyrics inspired by her exploration of old, abandoned graveyards in upstate New York.
89. RELENTLESS (Wheels, Draheim) - Chicago Static Cling had a song called "Don't Believe It". New York Static Cling took the words from it and gave it new music. That left orphaned music drifting around in my head. Helen rescued that music for this libidinous, nearly-thrash-metal romp.