112. MY 3RD HEART ATTACK (Alber, Erangey, Draheim) - Randy and Tony wrote the music. I only came in with lyrics after we tried it for awhile as an instrumental. I dig how the fast and slow parts overlap at the end (my idea).
113. NIGHTMARE ALLEY (Draheim, McAvoy) - A lot of songs I've written over the years have started out as Steve McAvoy songs. Then they get forgotten. Then they get remembered - but I only remember a riff or a title or a line or two - and I end up writing a more-or-less new song. That was the case with this epic Doors homage. We must have done a good job of imitating the Doors on this because I've had more than one person tell me that they own the Doors album that this song is on.
114. SAVE YOUR LOVE FOR SUSIE (Draheim, Erangey) - The story-line of this song mirrors that of "She Loves You". Tony and I sat on the communal band couch and spent a Saturday afternoon writing it - a true collaboration in all aspects. Probably the best overall band vocals on this one - Tom, Tony and myself.
115. THE BOYS AND THE GIRLS (Draheim) - Again started from a McAvoy idea but all I remembered from his song was the title. This might be my only love song that isn't about heartbreak, betrayal, abandonment, desperation, etc. Great vocals from Tom Townsend. Rhythm guitar is a cherry-red, hollow-body, Vox tear-drop 12-string that I later sold way too cheap.
116. THE NOTE (Draheim) - Influenced by The Damned. In the Helen Wheels band we slowed this down, she wrote new lyrics and it became "Useless". (That's a song title, not a description.)
117. TRAILER PARK ROCK (Draheim, McAvoy) - How much of this is Steve's? The idea, the vibe, the intro, the first verse - I think I wrote the rest.
For the last few years I have worked in a residential treatment program for troubled teens. I have run a music group for some of the kids wherein we write and record songs together. We've done a few of these - and while they all have their moments and are of therapeutic value - there is one that came off so well that I would recommend it. I play guitar, sing back-up and co-wrote the song with the kids. They called themselves "Guidance". Due to confidentiality laws I can't list writing credits.
118. DRASTIC MEASURES - It's a rap-rock song with pretty sophisticated, interesting and angry lyrics written by a couple of 15-year-old boys.
This might be a good place to say "thank you" to Dave Henninger of the metal band, Spater. Dave put this website together for us. We got to know Dave because Spater covers the Static Cling song, "The Brady Bunch". When they asked permission to include it on their "Festering Memoirs" CD I said, "Sure, as long as I can play on it" - which I did...guitar, theramin and vocals.
119. THE BRADY BUNCH - The Spater version.
That's all of the songs we have out on disc so far (03/03/05). The list from this point forward are all songs that we haven't recorded (yet)...or recorded & released after the above date.
120. DEAR MR. FANTASY (S. Winwood, J. Capaldi, C. Wood) - The Traffic tune. We wrote (and then re-wrote) our own end/jam section. At one point Ron was kind enough to point out to me that the chords I'd come up with were basically "What's Goin' On" by 4 Non-Blondes. Yikes!!!!!!!! (Um, we've changed it since then.)