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I've only written one piece of country music in my life. But, immodest of me as it may be to say so, I think "I've Been to Guerrero" is a pretty darned good first effort. . . . "Restless" started out as a folk song. It didn't end up that way, but that's okay with me, because I really like the tension between the bleak, confessional lyrics and the cheerful pop arrangement that evolved in the process of recording it. . . . I've always liked the blues spiritual "Motherless Children" -- and it just happened to fit my mood at the time, so I decided on the spur of the moment to cut my own version. It's pretty good. . . . "I Am a Desperate Man" is a tune about being on the run from the law. I think it's a great driving song -- the kind that makes you want to put the hammer all the way down as you fly along the freeway. . . . When I first moved to Mariposa, I made it a point to make the acquaintance of Cousin Jack Franklin, the honorary Mayor of Mariposa, because he owns the only music store in the county. As musicians will when they're getting acquainted, we promptly sat down over a couple of guitars and started playing music together. About an hour into that process, Jack leaned across his guitar, looked me in the eye and said, "Thom, you ought to learn some cowboy songs." So I learned "Streets of Laredo". . . . "Along the Mighty Merced" is an instrumental. I play all the instruments. . . . Three months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, I started writing a song about the way I was feeling. In late February, 2002, I began recording that song. It's called "They Fell Down" and I finished mixing it down around 9:00am, Saturday, March 9, 2002. I had a good deal of help from my friends, "Cousin Jack" Franklin, Kurt Iversen, Dot Ramirez and, especially, "Chairman Ted" Williamson, but the blame for any mistakes, excesses, oversights or self-indulgence is entirely mine. . . . I've also made available four songs from my demo tape for Norman Carburetor, my old Bay Area rock band, if you're interested in my older stuff:
(Copyright© 2002 by Thom Stark--all rights reserved) |