New collaboration - The Time Zone Zombies: Northern Town

[michelew]

Hi everyone,

Here's the latest collaboration from David and I; the Time Zone Zombies. David feels this might be an appropriate B-side or companion song for 'My Father's Hat'. It completes our northern nostalgia vibe. Who knows where our next collab might come from or lead to.

David gave me a brief for this one; to build a wall of sound. It might be a little over-engineered. I suspect it would withstand the proverbial cyclone. We Aussies know how destructive the elements can be.

We both need to thank Daryl for providing inspiration for this one. The first person to mention the source of the inspiration gets to feel chuffed.



For anyone who'd like to play along, the progression is primarily C/F/G/C with the occasional phrase of C/F/G/G thrown in.

We hope you enjoy our latest creation.

Cheers

Michele


Northern Town

I was born in a Northern Town
Smoke goes up and the rain comes down
Holes in our pockets, no shoes on our feet
We were the best damn kids you could ever meet
My My, Hey, Hey, We were northern boys and we were made that way
My My, Hey Hey, I was a northern boy and i was made that way

We took our bikes to Blackpool just to see the sea
We were always in more trouble than we needed to be
We never had the money that the rich kids had
But Elvis was the king and the Beatles were fab
My My Hey Hey, we were northern boys and we were made that way (rpt)

We spent our summers down on grandma’s farm
We swam in the river when the weather was warm
All those things that I couldn’t do now
Climb a tree, ride a pig, or milk a cow
My My Hey Hey we were Northern Boys and we were made that way (rpt)

Our town had a river, our town had a road
Some people down south that somebody knowed
A little old station by a railroad track
I left one morning and i never went back
My My, Hey Hey we were northern boys and we were made that way
My My, Hey Hey, I’s a northern boy but i left that day
Well one man stays , and one man goes
That’s the same old story everybody knows
One thing I learned, how far you roam
How far you travel, your heart stays home
My My Hey Hey, we were northern boys and we were made that way.. (rpt)

[willem]

How much did I like that, really really much!

Next time more didgeridoo. (I loved the cowbell, but?)

Aha "ride a pig"

I think I understand the meaning of the song,,"what do we need more then that time back were childeren were playing outside etc.

Willem

PS, can you make a Bob Dylan kind of song ? (Lyric wise)

[daryl]

WOW. Thanks. The cowbell made that song!

What a fun production. Michele, you're getting VERY good putting these together.

[wrsomers]

Great job David and Michele. It was fun to listen to. I know you two had fun doing it. For your next song I would suggest adding a bridge to break things up a bit. Thanks for the entertainment.

Bill

[davidrfinn99165]

Thx so much for your support Bill, Daryl, Willem... and kind comments too. Yep, Michele is fierce in the video-editing studio !

Willem - The Zombie songwriter has just gone off to watch Dylan's 65 tour movie Don't Look Back to get some inspiration for Dylanish lyrics next time .. as Daryl ('more cowbells') knows, this is an interactive process and your comments really do determine the direction of the next song. And yep Bill, these last two didn't have a bridge but there are a couple in the pipeline with slightly more elaborate structures.

I'll leave the Australian Zombie to comment on the didgeridoo.... for me it goes in....

/ david

[tombo1230]

That was great folks. You are having fun with your music and that's what it is all about. Well done!! Loved it, especially the cowbell. B)


Tom N.

[neverfoundthetime]

Another amazing collaboration from you two with all the tech magic that Shel has been learning... I guess you must have quite your day job! :laugh:

[michelew]

Thanks guys! I've loved reading all of your responses; generous and supportive as always. I'm really happy that you've enjoy our latest project.

Willem - that's music to my ears Dylan - I'll leave that to the master lyricist. Didge - I know where you're coming from. It can be very atmospheric for the right song. I'm afraid it would be inappropriate for me to play with it unless we had an Aboriginal man (who's lore includes the playing of the didgeridoo) to collaborate with us. There are some pretty important laws and customs in Aboriginal culture and I'd hate to be disrespectful. For example, woman are not permitted to play the didge and a white woman playing it is likely to be offensive on too many levels. Besides, it's REALLY difficult. Still you never know who may team up with us in the future.

Daryl - thanks! It was fun playing with the cowbells on my iPad. I resisted the urge to buy some. Sue may have put her foot down about that one. Apparently there are some limitations about what you can do when you live in an apartment. Maybe it's time to move into the country or somewhere I can make noise. . At one point there was a tambourine in the wall of sound. Sue started calling me Santa because it sounded like sleigh bells and ... Well apparently it was a little hard to hear the telly. Oops! (perhaps I need to install a sound booth).

The video and garageBand stuff has been fun. As we've discussed, it's time for me to learn a new video editor. IMovie has been great, but it doesn't allow me to do the things I'd like to (without a lot of work arounds).

Bill thanks! Yep it's on the list. In fact we considered including a bridge for the previous two songs, but we opted for not making the tracks too long. It will be fun to explore.

Tom - I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yep fun it has been. Inspired to show us more of your own stuff yet? Are you working on any new projects? You know how compelling they can be.

Chris - thanks! I haven't quit yet. if only I could support my family by creating this sort of stuff. It has made me realize all of the areas where I'd like to learn more; playing the bass; solos, singing; audio production, video editing, music theory and making music generally, learning to play things with strings in general and learning more about playing the guitar specifically. Oh and all things percussion. Did I mention learning how to capture sound better. Well all aspect of the things we've been learning by doing.

Thanks for giving us your supportive and constructive feedback. We're definitely open to new ideas.

Shel

[cosmicmechanic]

[EDIT]: Wrong thread alert ! This comment was meant for the other "Time Zone Zombies" thread ("My Father's Hat), so I re-posted there.


David and Michele,

I have two special hats tucked away on a shelf in my closet. Yeah, you guessed whose ...

Thanks for this fine job of a light-hearted tune on a difficult subject. Damn well done !

Pierre

[BobR]

David and Michele,


Another terrific performance. You two are having way too much fun :laugh:

Thanks for sharing

bob