Here are a couple of versions of “Up Into The Blue” off of ‘Midnight Door’. The first is the album version, and the second is a rare demo cut.

Up Into The Blue is yet another song where the imagery of my Catholic upraising plays a prominent role… this idea of absolution for our wrongs in an almost whimsical way, of waiting for the holy parade pervades this song. In some sense I feel like this song is about my older brother. We were inseparable growing up, and the last verse of the song especially reflects my strong memories of being best friends, and perhaps the extend rumination at the end of the song is a meditation on the things that have changed since then… not in a bad way, just the pulse of life gets quicker, things get more confusing as you grow up. Obviously this is a fairly emotional song!

I like how the demo gives a version of the song that is a bit more whimsical and a quicker tempo. It is a very different perspective

Lyrics are below:

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Reservoirs of shooting stars
fall between your eyes
hundred mile shy smile
begging you to try
Thundercloud, tall and proud
petulant and snide,
Don’t know how, even now
to say goodbye.

Wait for the truth to come,
be enthralled.
Hold your head up
Don’t resist.

Everyone will be absolved!
Hold your hands out – get a piece of it!

Everywhere, in the air
only thing I saw
Last chance, happenstance,
drawing of the straws
Maybe wow, somehow
it’ll disappear
Don’t know how, even now,
to shed a tear.

Stay up all night –
hear the words…
Finally.

Everyone will be absolved!
Hold your hands out
take it quietly.

Forgot back then
played pretend
glimmer in your eyes.
Perfect light
clear and bright
brilliantly alive.
Everywhere you would be
I would be too
Perfect sky
learned to fly
up into the Blue.

Today’s video is an art extravaganza I made from a rehearsal in my practice space. I got some new film editing software, and as part of learning to use it, I created this artful masterpiece. Features: Jellyfish, Grimaces, Walking through the desert with a beard. Very Jim Morrison there. Keep reading for more info on the images et cetera…

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The spot of the desert footage is a really cool place in Death Valley National Park. If you drive a few hours up an amazingly bumpy road (even with four wheel drive its sketch), you end up at a place called “The Racetrack”, past Teakettle Junction.

The Racetrack is a dried lake bed, which are, naturally some of the flattest surfaces on earth. In some way, however, to many a mystery, no scientific explanation has been proven, (to my knowledge), a few of the rocks and boulders are sliding across the surface, leaving trails behind them. When you are out there in the vastness of it all, and you realize how dry and desolate it is, it does seem a magickal place.

Wikipedia – “Sailing Stones”

My Flickr Pics from Death Valley

Enjoy!

I was just listening to some old/lost tracks (of which there are many) and I thought I’d put up these tracks, from a few years ago… Never made it to an album, but I like them, and it reminds me of summery-ness.

The first track – “July” was written in my cabin in Mendocino. I was just discovering the joys of not playing guitar and writing songs on cello mainly. We had a tiny little studio with floor to ceiling glass windows that looked down into the redwood forest.

The next track, “The Longest Book Ever Written” is a lot older, from Portland days, probably written in my apartment on Hawthorne Blvd., maybe after a night of working at the hostel there. People who carry around various pairs of headphones on their person may be mildly disappointed with the mix however… so be warned!

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*** having technical difficulties… please check back on these soon! ***
These are acoustic versions of mostly material from Midnight Door that I performed on KDVS, May 24th, 2007

You will hear a more languid, loose approach to the music, much less driving, and more about mood than the album.

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PS – I’ve taken the tracks apart so that you can download one at a time, not have to hear me talk, et cetera, however… you can find the original show in its entirety here: KDVS Archives
PPS – Still working out the new site. Please let me know of any kinks/troubles you find.