I’m a part of a private Phish community on Facebook called Sanity. One of the administrators of the page asked me to contribute to the groups’ ongoing music series “Songs for Sanity.” Each morning for 7 days, I selected a song and shared why it’s meaningful for me. Enjoy!
A huge shout out of gratitude to JOSH FINK for warmly inviting me into his tribe at live shows (first was Circles Around the Sun at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, CA), then this Sanity FB group, and now as a trusted contributor for this “Sanity Song of the Day” series.
A bit of context about me… Since 2001 I’ve been the co-founder and CEO of creative branding, marketing and technology agency located in Santa Barbara, CA called Oniracom (literally means ‘communicating dreams’). For the first decade of running Oniracom we served the music industry, working with all the major labels, management groups and even some artists directly. During this time, I had the privilege of touring for many years with Jack Johnson as his merchandise manager (among other road jobs). It was through international touring that our company learned about the music industry and how music truly inspires fanbases in every corner of the globe in the same way, despite cultural or language differences. Our mantra was “super serve the super fan,” and as a rabid Phish fan since the late 90s, I truly understood what it takes to make an authentic connection between artist and fan. Jack Johnson certainly embodies this as well, as each decision he and his wife made brought environmentalism and eco-friendly actions of positive disruption to the touring industry, venues, promoters, venders and fans.
SO I am honored to have a voice here, and hope I don’t let you all down this week with my selections.
Sanity Song of the Day: Day 1 - “K’NAAN - T.I.A.”
Given the racial injustices that are being pushed squarely to the forefront of America’s COVID-landscape —and the world— it is only appropriate that I begin where we all come from - Africa. K’NAAN’s T.I.A. (This Is Africa) message to America’s hip/hop and gang culture is to look to Africa for true roots connections. It’s critical for us all to feel connections of history and culture to where we all come from.
“Around here we only bumping Fela Kuti
Tupac, or Bob Marley, Lucky Dube.
So we don't really give a fuck about your groupies
This Is Africa, Hooray.”
This is not merely a “dark continent” as western colonialism would have us believe. This is a vibrant continent full of music, people, cultures and languages that span 54 nations. A mirror for America to see that we are also made up of many flavors of music, cultures and people.
“Used to be at peace but now we using T-Shirts / And it reads RIP cause the peace dead.”
Sanity Song of the Day: Day 2 - “Tortoise - The Equator”
Moving from an Africa inspired tune to a contemporary American jazz instrumental feels like a fitting progression. With deep roots in jazz structure, Tortoise tears down conventions and reimagines what music can be in an era deeply in transformation from analogue to digital recording, arrangement and production conventions.
As a review on Pitchfork aptly describes this group of Chicago based post-rockers:
“Instead, Tortoise floats free, a planchette moving over a Ouija board guided by 10 sets of fingers, where everyone watches the arrow float in one direction but no one is quite sure how it gets there or who is doing the pushing.”
I’ve spun “TNT” hundreds of times, possibly more than any record. I would listen to it each night drifting into dream space for quite a while. The mix of electronic atmosphere, polyrhythms and jazz structures makes for a creative environment, and stimulates flow state. Through this soundtrack I have worked out the worlds problems in my mind’s eye, and I encourage you to do the same as we contextualize our existence in 2020.
Sidenote: If Tortoise does it for you, feel free to trip and fall down the Thrill Jockey rabbit hole where you will find such gems as The Sea & Cake, Matmos, Sam Prekop, Mouse on Mars and so many others.
Sanity Song of the Day: Day 3 - “Boingo - Change”
Okay, here we go, time to settle in a bit and dive deep into our souls. It’s day 3 and I resisted the first two days sharing this life changing track. From Danny Elfman’s spitting lyrics and minor key orchestration to its “Taxman” nod and jammed out B and C sections, this song embodies everything that formed my musical taste in my teen years. I would seek out 15+ minute studio tracks after hearing this (which I discovered prior to Pink Floyd’s Echoes and the like).
Now why the name change? Oingo Boingo is now just Boingo? Whaaa’ happen? Well Danny Elfman was deep in his transition from punk rock star to film & television composition master (thanks Tim Burton for taking a chance on Danny for Pee-wee’s Big Adventure!). The band lineup was slightly different on their 8th and final studio record. By the time this album Boingo was released in 1994 Mr. Elfman had written soundtracks for Pee-wee, Bettlejuice, Midnight Run, Batman, Nightbreed, Dick Tracy, Darkman, Edward Scissorhands and many others. He simultaneously wrote "The Nightmare Before Christmas" with “Boingo”— and you can certainly hear parallels between these two brilliant pieces of music and lyrics.
And to bring forward this song to 2020 when it feels like everything is changing before our very eyes. Perhaps humanity is on an evolutionary fork, a split, the fear driven lizard brains vs the love driven progressive brains. Fear driven people like stupid shit to remain:
“I like my stupid life just the way it is
And the chaos that surrounds me like a flock of screaming pigs
And it hurts my brain to think of all the stupid things I've said
And if I could change the future I would change the past instead“
Can the love driven brains outweigh the fear driven brains to force progressive and positive changes? My hunch is humanity’s got one more good shot, and the upcoming election is quite an important one.
“Do you really want to change?
Testaments and growing pains. Tranquilizers for the soul.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained - evolution's cruelest joke
Why is everyone upset? I once knew but I forget. Something happened,
Something strange, something it appears has changed
Hey . . . Don't you know? We're just products of our times
And hey, what d'ya say? Show me yours, I'll show you mine”
PS - Be sure to listen to the cover of “I Am the Walrus” on Boingo. Scratch that, listen to the whole damn record, again and again….
Sanity Song of the Day: Day 4 - “Jack Johnson - All At Once”
When quarantine began and we started to realize live music (and everything fun) would be postponed for an indefinite amount of months or years, the overwhelming feeling certainly washed over our household. It was as if All At Once, nearly 8 billion people were slapped simultaneously to think about our relationship with our environment and with one another. Hand washing, mask wearing, social distancing - a few attempts to make sense of how individual actions multiplied by millions creates global change.
This is exactly the mantra of Jack Johnson’s global eco-focused initiative called At At Once which supports hundreds of environmental nonprofits around the globe. “An individual action, multiplied by millions, creates global change.” Based on his “Sleep Through the Static” tune of the same name as this initiative, Jack wrote some of my favorite lyrics for this opening track that helps quell my anxiety. An advisor once asked me of the problems sitting in front of my face “will these problems still matter in 5 years? If not, then know you’ll navigate through this and grow from it.” And this too shall pass.
“I wanna take
The preconceived
Out from
Underneath your feet
We could shake it off
Instead
We'll plant some seeds
We'll watch em' as they grow
And with each new beat
From your heart
The roots grow deeper
The branches
Will they reach for what
Nobody really knows
But underneath it all
There's this heart
All alone”
What we assumed is reality will finally be questioned by more than just the questioning-minded individuals. Our systems are being exposed for what they really are. From the macro to the micro, the lessons easily apply - we keep asking ourselves are we really strong enough?
Of course we are! We have community, we have each other. The love driven progressive brains will win. Our future is being shaped today, here and now.
“There's a world
We've never seen
There's still hope
Between the dreams
The weight of it all
Could blow away
With a breeze
If your waitin'
On the wind
Don't forget to breathe
Cause as the darkness
Gets deeper
We'll be sinkin'
As we reach for love
At least somethin'
We could hold
But I'll reach to you
From where time
Just can't go”
Sanity Song of the Day: Day 5 - “Supertramp - Oh Darling”
Happy Friday, time for a bit of a throwback to one of the greatest and underrated classic albums of the 20th century, Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America.” Rather than select one of the obvious choices — Goodbye Stranger, Logical Son, Take the Long Way Home — the tune that resonates most during this era is “Oh Darling” (no, not Paul McCartney’s version).
I’m seeing a metaphor of Richard Palmer’s lyrics describing American’s relationship with America in the midst of this critical period.
“The news is all over town
You better not let me down
Keep telling me you're feeling good
As good as you ever could
Please tell me that you'll never go, ah ah no no
Tell me that you'll never go, never go”
We’re split as a society, perhaps on separate evolutionary tracks. One longing for the past America which supposedly was great at one time (but is not anymore), and another longing for a bright future based on the core principles America stands for. Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
“I’m gonna (I'm gonna) I'm gonna (I'm gonna)
I'm gonna (I'm gonna) I'm gonna catch you lady
I'm gonna (I'm gonna) I'm gonna (I'm gonna)
I'm gonna (I'm gonna) I'm gonna catch you lady”
YES WE ARE. YES WE CAN. YES WE WILL.
Sanity Song of the Day: Day 6 - “Weird Al - Genius in France”
We’re deep into Saturday evening, almost as deep as this 9 minute homage to one of the all time great mixologist of music and comedy, Frank Zappa. Weird Al understands the importance of Zappa in the context of music history, and pays special attention to the nuance of Zappa’s genre-bending styles and aesthetic.
Growing up Weird Al was my second love, after the Beatles, and before I found classic rock, dove deep into Jazz, and ultimately discovered my soulmate Phish. My first concert as a kid was Weird Al in San Diego, and I’ve seen him every few years since. When Poodle Hat” was released in 2003 I couldn’t believe what I heard as the final track, “Genius in France” as I’d become quite the Zappa fan years prior (especially since Fishman’s “Zappa Picks” came out the year prior).
Most know Weird Al for his parody, but I’m a fan of his pastiche even more than his brilliant parody songs. Pastiche imitates other artists’ style, genre or period of time. (Extra Credit: Weird Al’s Talking Heads pastiche “Dog Eat Dog”). Attempting to pull Zappa’s multi-decade career, intricate compositions, zany lyrics and ripping guitar solos into one track is quite the undertaking.
If you’re into Zappa, I doubt you will be disappointed. Hell, even Dweezil Zappa shreds guitar on the track, which confirms Mr. Yankovich’s stamp of approval.
Are you wanting to go deeper into Weird Al’s catalogue? DM me and I’m happy to send you some deep cuts that include both Al originals as well as parody / pastiche.
Sanity Song of the Day: Day 7 - “Matthew McAvene - Prayer”
I’m not a religious man (outside of Phish of course), but to round out my week of Sanity Songs this Sunday I’ve decided to share a prayer.
I present to you… My dear friend of nearly 2 decades, puppet creator, sculpture, painter, creature costume maker, musician, master of many mediums, Matthew McAvene.
Matthew inspired me to start my own record label Oniric Records in 2005 in support of his debut professionally produced album “777.” We recorded it at our home office / studio with friends and captured a moment in time here in Santa Barbara. We toured through California for a couple years, culminating with Solutions for Dreamers Festival where Matthew played to a sold out Arlington Theatre, and shared the stage with Jack Johnson, Michael Franti, ALO, Culver City Dub Collective and more.
When Matthew and I were making a TV show pilot in 2004, I asked him what we should use for the soundtrack, and he suggested maybe I take a listen to his own songs. “You have your own songs?” And Matthew proceeded to tell me about his 3,000+ songs and snipers he had saved on a home cassette recorder over the course of many years through a process he called the One Take Sessions. The ultimate disciplined songwriting framework of surrounding to the flow. “You what? Okay we need to release an album. Hmmm what record label? How about we start our own?” Next was a curation process where we selected 15 songs for his debut release.
“Prayer” is quite possibly the song of his album meant for 2020’s global pandemic, racial justice movement, and everything tied to the consciousness shift. Human consciousness, I bless you, god bless you, god bless human consciousness. If 15 years after recording these tunes can inspire even one more of us to act, then amen!
A huge shout out to JFINK for allowing me to contribute these past 7 days. THANK YOU FOR GIVING VOICE!
“Time
Self reflection
Introspection
Climbing the holy ladder
Improvement of the soul, through the mind you know
Incredible receiver of information
Cosmic dreams, shower on these things
And make everything grow in light
Towards what’s right
Human consciousness
I bless you
God bless you
God bless human consciousness
Like a blank paper blowing in the wind
Open pages within your destiny
God please heal this race, this place, these days
Our ways, holy days wash away the concrete maze
God please heal this race, this place, these days
Holy days wash away the concrete maze
And help us to heal
Help us use our hands for constructive purposes
Rather than the opposite and you know what that is
Oh defuse the bombs and see –
That love is the only explosion we need
Love is the only explosion we need
Love is the only explosion we need
Love is the only explosion we need”