As our performances of late have been generally void of commentary, we
thought we'd do the cover note thing on this one, as it might not such a bad idea to say a thing or two.
"You Zaphnar My Life" is a song co-written by Mike
Bolger and his good friend Mike Uhler. If features the Korg Synthe Bass on the intro, and is a stylistic
hybrid of samba & funk. Also new to the Electone's sound is the Fender Rhodes piano. This song
was actually titled by legendary bassist Tom Fowler (of the Mothers of Invention) during a musical
collaboration, and draws on the extensive space/sci-fi cosmogony of Bolger from his CalArts years.
"Stinky" is a hard hitting funk tune written by Jason Myers, which
features Pipkin quite nicely. "Space Church" is (we think) our
best performance on this recording, and probably catches us at our most laid back and relaxed moment
of the recording session. Once again titled to reflect his love of sci-fi themes, it also features
the Synthe Bass to add that spacey sound. "Hotbag" is one of our
more danceable tunes, and couldn't have been properly dubbed without Ursula.
"Funky Intro Tune" is (yet another) jammy song that features a
great solo by Pipkin up front. It's gone through a few re-creations and re-arrangements since Mike
first came up with it. This ought to be the version that endures, as we're out of patience for any
more changes to it and we think we've got it about right by now. "Take Two"
breaks away from the standard jazz format, and goes to different styles, keys, and a new meter for the
solos. Here we also took advantage of Sheldon Gomberg's excellent studio in order to feature the
Synthe Bass in a lead role. "The Champagne Fantasy" is a slow
plaintive ballad by Mike, and is anchored by Pipkin's funky shuffle beat. Again, there's a different
middle section. "Truck Jazz" is (despite the title) pretty much
void of any jazz influence at all and is without a doubt our least serious moment.
Hopefully some of you will recognize the quote at the end of the bridge. The title of this song
has also given us the answer to that ever-pestering question "What kind of music do you play?"
So, for your enjoyment, we bring you our very own self-created genre — Truck Jazz.
"The Electones" are named after our primary
instrument, the Yamaha Electone organ. To our knowledge, we are the only organ trio we know of that
does not use the ubiquitous Hammond B-3. The one used here has been modified to provide a separate
output for the bass keys. Also new to this CD is the sound of the Korg Synthe Bass. The main guitar
amp used is an 18 watt kit amp from STF Electronics built into a homemade flip-top style cabinet, and
the majority of guitar effects used were home built as well by our guitarist. It's quite a motley
collection of gear, and most of it works most of the time, too.
The Electones would like to thank: Sheldon Gomberg, Julianna Parr, Andrew Myers,
Ken Schumacher, Joey K., Shin Miyata, Masa Tsuzuki, Carl Johnson, Ursula, Kristen Hatch, Phil Tarantino,
Rick Ash, STF Electronics, all of our regular venues, and all of our parents and siblings.
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