The UnderTure was and is to this day, a triumph. It was released under my own name because I wanted to give the name "Kikwizard" an early retirement (soon to be lifted).  In true cyclic fashion, this album in some small way resembles The Spiral Staircase. Being highly collaborative, and the use hip-hop delivery of the lyrics mark both a turning point in my career as well as a flash-back of a by-gone era. The album could not have been half of a success if it weren't for the many talented and risk-taking artists that I was honored to work with on this effort.  With regards to other recent albums of mine (and what others have told me about it), this one has scored a close second to 'The Fantastic Voyage', but in my opinion is considerably better (probably due to advancements in songwriting and recording techniques).

1. Presidential Address
2. Song of the Kikwizard
3. The Future - Lyrics
4. Fly Yen Guy
5. While you were away - Lyrics
6. Proga Humana
7. Newscast 6
8. Pimp Juice
9. Pan Fruit
10. Message to Saucey
11. Tunnel - Lyrics
12. Science Religion Nature Art
*hidden track -> Denmore



Notes:

The Presidential Address is a bit of an ironic statement and commentary on our current political situation. Sorry if
I offend anyone, but its something that I wanted to put out there.

Song of the Kikwizard was recorded completely on the fly. I got the idea to just whip out a quick guitar riff and put
the poetic (non-rhyming) lyrics to it. I recorded it in one shot and live (singing and playing the guitar at the same time).
I guess the song's scope is to put an end to Kikwizard's career; or moreover to call a retirement to the entity.  Will he return?  probably.
 

The Future features Ross the Sauce Conklin and is pretty much a straight up sonic assault. The premise was for us to do a song that had the feel that a lot of songs we've done in past had, just adding our latest twists and skills. Even though its track 3 on the album its really just the start of whats to come.

Fly Yen Guy prepare to bounce. This one features the fabulous guitars and keyboard work of Justin "Jergin / Moosey" Deutsch (of Alien Red). As far as the album goes, this is probably one of (if not) the top songs.  It was his idea to do a reggae sounding track and it came out surprising the hell out of me when it was done. I like to think I did the bass line justice. The drums and the vocals for myself were where they were supposed to be. Check out the panning tambourines.

While you were away features Eileen Schmidt on backing vocals. The song came about after a large group of our friends went to the Outer Banks for vacation and we were stuck home thinking of things to do. Nuff said.

Proga Humana. Start meditating! The name means "progressive yoga for the humans". an unnamed Cromley L. (of fame with Felix Sarco) and I worked almost all day on this one. Features nothing but hand drums, Mr. L's keyboard thingee, and some unusual sounding objects found in the recording process. Definitely an epic track.

Newscast 6 features both the vocal talents of Amanda Keeler I love you, Keel... and I miss you and Mark Polster. A skit of this caliber was long over-due in
my life, so it was very necessary. Chuck Bacon is my hero.

Pimp Juice was a long-running song that Camden Pardue and I produced. Two takes of this bad boy exist. Check out the double solos (basses and guitars) in two different parts of the song.  This particular track is almost perfectly in the middle of the road with regards to the album.

Pan Fruit was the brain-child of Lindsay Nulton (of Alien Red) and I after several hours of throwing ideas around on what we could do. The vocals are both haunting and humorous. The Keys are Lindsay, the drums myself. Both of us perform the vocal tracks.  As an F.Y.I., Pan Fruit is an imaginary fruit that has some unusual origins (like windmills) and can have some adverse results if you eat it (death).

Message to Saucey is an actual message I left Ross on his answering machine. Thanks to Eileen for not erasing it.

Tunnel is one of the few tracks on the album that is a solo piece of work. Its goal was to be dark and introspected.

Science Religion Nature Art is the penultimate track on the album. It was written not too long after I finished And for my
next Trick. I originally wanted to throw this song out because it was too sappy/ballady, but I just couldn't let it go. This
song is a take 3.

Denmore (the hidden track) is a throw-in. I like the song, but I felt it didn't fit with the rest of the album. I decided it
worked well as a hidden track.