I moved to
the San Gabriel Mountains just over 5 years ago. On the second
day there, I decided to take a walk and “Meet the Neighbors”. I remember
making my way through the “hood” and staring up at a crystal blue sky and
the smell of fresh air. I was in awe of my surroundings. Suddenly,
barreling toward me on the other side of the street, was this “Wild Man”
in a wheel chair. I swear he was going 25 – 30 miles an hour. As he
hurtled past me, he waved and yelled out:
“Is this a
great day or what?”
I was blown
away. By the time I answered: “Heck yeah!” he was out of range to hear me. I
remember saying out loud: “I think I’m gonna like this place!”
My little
adventure lasted another 2 hours. At one point, I passed a house that
absolutely fascinated me. It was huge and on what appeared to be a triple lot.
What really caught my attention was the enormous yard that had a very cool
playground set up. I imagined that it must be a DayCare Center.
A couple
years later, I met a young girl who worked at the local market, and
through a brief conversation, I discovered that she lived in that house.
When I asked if it used to be a DayCare Center, she explained that her Dad
had built the playground for her and her sisters.
Then her
eyes widened and her face was aglow. You could just see the love
and devotion she felt for him. She added: “You should have seen the house
we had before this one… He ran a stream across the yard”. The music began
to explode in my head.
I knew I
had to write that song. The best part? I didn’t find out until a few
months later… Her Dad’s that “Wild Man” who now cruises around in his
wheelchair. To this day, he’s considered one of the coolest
guys in town.
While I
first thought of trying to get it to CARRIE UNDERWOOD, (which would be
amazing!) I experienced a moment of serendipity. I heard KELLY CLARKSON
singing “BECAUSE OF YOU” and WOW! She too has so much power in her voice and
yet she can convey the heartfelt tenderness that would bring “HE’S MY DAD”
to life.
Your thoughts?
For Licensing Contact: The Law Offices of Edgar B. Pease Esq. III – 323-785-2131
When I
first moved up to the mountains, I had pretty much retired from the music
business. But then, my dear friend Don Campeau ( aka Veva Foote) told me about
a non-profit he was creating for the internet whose main purpose was to raise
money for veterans with P.T.S.D. He asked if I would write a song for an album
he was putting together for the site as yet another revenue source.
I was more
than happy to give it a shot. It’s a great cause and Don and I go back over 40
years. Getting a call from Don is always a breath of fresh air, and a guarantee
of much jocularity, frivolity and mirth.
It’s a song
that I am most proud of. I sent a copy to another dear friend, Jimmy Cantale.
He books a lot of acts for the U.S.O. and in his many trips overseas, he has
interviewed dozens and dozens of soldiers who are living with P.T.S.D., as he
is in the process of writing a book on the subject.
After
hearing my song, he called me. He said it took him an hour to make that call
because he kept crying. When you can really touch another human being with the
words to a song, you’ve done your job.
Like I
said, I am truly proud of my work.
As far as
who I’d like to hear sing it, I have a suggestion that some may think is a bit
off the wall… Outside the box, if you will.
Can you imagine
a pairing of GARTH BROOKS and LADY GAGA?
But then
I thought about KELLY CLARKSON. Once again, I could hear her playing the part
of the vulnerable wife whose Soldier / Husband returns from the Middle East a
broken man. I could just hear her powerful voice as she sings the 3rd
verse. Can you spell Multi-Platinum?
What
about CARRIE UNDERWOOD?
And then
there’s TRISHA YEARWOOD. Did you see GARTH and TRISHA’s Christmas Special?
Which
Lady do you prefer?
For Licensing Contact: The
Law Offices of Edgar B. Pease Esq. III – 323-785-2131
A while
back, I stopped by the local mini-mart and picked up a couple of items. Willie,
a co-owner, was manning the cash register, and I questioned him about the new business
he and his brother had just opened up a couple doors down.
I was
curious as to why they opened it in the middle of a pandemic. He went on to
explain how our little town had become a “destination” for thousands of people
from the L.A. area, only 60 miles away. He was very upbeat as he rang up my
purchase: 2 tall Budweisers and a couple of bananas.
Suddenly,
he looked down at them and exclaimed: “There’s a song for you right there…
“BANANAS AND BEER”! I hate to admit it, but 99% of the time when someone
suggests what I should write about, I am not interested. This was no exception.
“Think about it”, he continued. I tried to be kind as I smiled and began to
exit.
Willie
followed me outside. “Think Jimmy Buffett, you can do this”! I continued on my
way and gave him a final wave as I headed home. “BEER AND BANANAS”. I shook my
head “no” a few times before reaching my apartment.
After
placing the beer in the Fridge and the bananas in a cool dry place, I sat back
and began to watch a movie.I had no intention of pursuing it.
I was
enjoying the latest Hallmark movie when, after a couple minutes, a little voice
in my head said: “It reminds me of my childhood, my Mom’s BANANAS AND BEER”.
I chuckled
to myself at first, but then I thought I should write it down. (I’m old. I
forget stuff.) So, I went to the computer, created a file, and went back to my
movie.
A few
minutes later, the voice was back: “We all need our potassium – Her inner
gorilla led the way”. It had me at “inner gorilla”, so I went over and added it
to the file.
It was the
craziest writing session ever… Because I wasn’t trying to write, but my little
voice kept giving me lines and
I kept
typing them in. They were in no special order, just random thoughts.
Eventually,
I realized that I had practically finished it, so, I gave up on the movie and
started putting the song in order. All of a sudden, I added a couple lines and
there it was: “BANANAS AND BEER”.
I don’t
know how to explain it, but apparently God and the Universe decided to give me
that song. Now if THEY can just get THE ROLLING STONES to record it.
Wouldn’t
that be something….
For Licensing Contact: The
Law Offices of Edgar B. Pease Esq. III – 323-785-2131
Back in
2011, I lived just off Wilshire Blvd. and the 405 Freeway. I was working at
U.C.L.A. at the time and could walk to work. After spending the majority of my
life living in the South Bay and driving to Hollywood or the Valley on a daily
basis, a thirty- minute walk to work was a blessing.
On Sundays
I would walk down to the Santa Monica Pier and have a couple beers with some
great Mexican Food at Mirasol and just love the life I was living.
On one
particular Sunday, as I headed toward the beach, I had to stop at a light on
Wilshire Blvd. across from Whole Foods. On the South side of the street,
heading east, was a young lady sitting in a white Lexus. Now, I’ve worked on
many TV shows as a musician, played at a Miss Teen U.S.A. contest, and a
plethora of Beauty Contests and spent many a day on the Paramount lot doing
warm-ups for LAVERNE and SHIRLEY and others. Needless to say, over the years I
have been in the presence of some very beautiful women.
But I
swear, I have never seen a young lady that was as amazingly beautiful as she
was. The light changed and as I crossed the street, she got a phone call on her
cell and she just sat there. I couldn’t help but stare.
It was
10:00 am in the morning and she was dressed impeccably.
My mind was
a mass of queries, suppositions and curiosity. Where was she going?… To a
Sunday Brunch?… A modeling shoot? No, it’s Sunday. As I reached the other side,
she finally drove off, completely unaware of the impact she had on a certain
lonely pedestrian. As I watched her drive off, music and lyrics suddenly
overpowered me: “Sold my Lexus in Texas, took a Lincoln to Nebraska…”
I
immediately turned around and headed home. This song idea was too good to
waste. I got on my computer and started looking up car names. Once I got over
around seventy, I printed them out and proceeded to let the song write itself.
Those are the best kind of songs.
When you’re
in tune with the universe, it’s not work. The lyrics just seem to flow through
the air and end up on the written page. I love this song. It is really fun and
the video is pretty cool.
As far as
who I’d like to see record it, I can’t help but imagine GARTH BROOKS. How fun
would that be? You’re thoughts?
For Licensing Contact: The
Law Offices of Edgar B. Pease Esq. III – 323-785-2131
This song
could easily be titled: “That woman broke my heart and I turned into a wimpy
little bitch for months”.
But you
know how it works… I eventually got over her and moved on with my life. More
importantly, Mike and I ended up writing a song we’re both really proud of.
I was
living in Hermosa Beach at the time, and my friend Jay and I went to a club in
Torrance looking for “da ladies”. When I first saw Sherry I was awestruck. She
reminded me of Catherine Zeta Jones. She was around 28, beautiful, had a great
smile and sense of humor, and she had me in the palm of her hands. She was
living a couple hours drive up the coast and a few weeks later I drove up to
see her. A short while after that, she got a job in L.A. and she came to see me
at the beach. As she was getting into her car to leave, she said: “I think I’m
gonna have to call you”.
Stupid me,
I took that to mean she had a new job so I shouldn’t call her and bother her
there. WHOOPS! She called me a few days later and I was in the middle of a
recording session so I told her I’d call her back. She was livid! She thought I
was playing her by not calling and that was that.
She wanted
nothing to do with me. I’ve actually had women get upset because I called too
soon. I guess they wanted me to play hard to get. I was never very good at
figuring that out. Eventually I gave up and now I’m basically a Single Grumpy
Old Man.
Losing a
shot at creating a relationship with her really got to me.
Every day
I’d take a couple mile walk along the Strand and obsess about it. Finally, I
began singing “I DON’T CARE ABOUT LOVE ANYMORE” in my head. Thank God for
broken hearts!
While
there are dozens of Ladies that could rock this song, I can’t help but imagine
KELLY CLARKSON….
Or CARRIE
UNDERWOOD. Or….
Your
thoughts?
For
Licensing Contact: The Law Offices of Edgar B. Pease Esq.
Back in
1962, BILLY PRESTON was touring Europe as a keyboard player for LITTLE RICHARD,
which is where he met THE BEATLES. They forged a friendship and Billy went on
to being referred to as the 5th Beatle,
playing on “LET IT BE”, “ABBEY ROAD”, “GET BACK” and others. But for me,
his greatest achievement was co-writing the song: “YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL” for
JOE COCKER. I loved that song from the very first time I heard it. As a
songwriter I was actually jealous. It’s not often that I think: “God, I wish
I’d have written that”.
The funny
thing is, it took me months before I realized that it literally was just one
chorus that was repeated twice. Check it out:
You are so beautiful to me You are so beautiful to me Can’t you see. You’re everything I hoped for You’re everything I need
You are so
beautiful to me
(repeat)
I couldn’t
believe it. As a songwriter you try to convey an emotion, tell a story…
Whatever. How could you possibly create a hit song with just 30 words? So, I
gave myself an assignment: Try and write a song with as few words as possible.
There was no way I could repeat his success with just 30 words, but I tried to
be as concise as possible. I was able to keep the verses down to 2 lines:
“LOVE IS A
DANCE AND YOU ARE THE MUSIC
LEADING ME
THROUGH IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN”
Oh well.
Please give it a listen. I think we still came up with a beautiful song.
As far as
who I’d like to hear sing it, I have a couple ideas. First, I would absolutely
love to hear ROD STEWART sing it. That would be amazing. It also works
well for a female, giving it a 70’s R&B feel. And it
could also be a super cool duet.
Then came
Curt Waggoner. My brother’s best friend (and mine) who came up with a classic
idea, TRACE ADKINS. He could turn it into a #1 single. Think about it.
For Licensing Contact: The
Law Offices of Edgar B. Pease Esq. III – 323-785-2131
Through a
dear friend, we met the beautiful Miss CLYDENE JACKSON.
She is the
sweetest, most gentle lady we’d ever met. And although she’s a very slender
person, she can knock you out with the power in her voice.
We decided
we wanted to write a strong R&B song for her and we came up with: “LOVE
KNOWS BEST”.
It was as
simple as that.
While I
still see it as a good R&B effort, I could also hear it going Country. But
eventually, I realized how much I would love to hear ROD STEWART sing it.
So many
possibilities. What do you think?
For Licensing Contact: The
Law Offices of Edgar B. Pease Esq. III – 323-785-2131
“LOVE IS ELECTRIC” was really fun
to write. My co-writer, Mike Scarpiello showed up at my studio one
day and had the title and it became a fun-filled challenge.
How many
“electric” catch-phrases could we come up with?
“LOVE IS ELECTRIC” when you
turn it on
Feeling the power, the surge is so
strong
It’s such a shock…etc. etc.
A good time was had by all,
and we ended up with a pretty cool song.
There is a plethora of lovely
ladies that could sing it, but I’ve been leaning towards KELLY CLARKSON
for some time now.
Your thoughts?
For Licensing Contact: The
Law Offices of Edgar B. Pease Esq. III – 323-785-2131
“TEAHUPOO”
BIGGEST,
GNARLIEST WAVES EVER!
Back on
August 27, 2011 a once in a thousand-year storm sent the biggest, thickest,
scariest waves ever into the waters at TEAHUPOO, TAHITI just in time for the
BILLABONG PRO SURF CONTEST! You’ve got to check out the video.
The thing
about Teahupoo is that on a normal day, it’s scary enough as it is. The swells
are generated out in the open ocean, only to explode when they hit the reef at
Teahupoo. And that’s another thing. That reef is a massive briar-patch of coral
that sits just a couple feet underwater, its fingers pointing upward just
waiting for its next victim.
The place
has its own Boot Hill for God’s sake. There are 10 – 11 guys buried on the
top of the cliffs overlooking their once favorite surf spot.
I owe a
special word of thanks to CHRIS BRYAN, who allowed me to use his film from
that day.
His
High-Speed PHANTOM CAMERA has captured the phenomenal action like no one
else. The guy is amazing!
After
viewing my song “TEAHUPOO” please take the time to visit
http://www.chrisbryanfilms.com/
As far as
who I’d like hear recording my song… I don’t know.
Are there
any more SURF BANDS out there?
For Licensing Contact: The
Law Offices of Edgar B. Pease Esq. III – 323-785-2131
This was
another of those times when everything just clicked. Mike showed up at my
studio and announced that he wanted to write a song for ROD STEWART.
He even had the title: “WHEN IT’S TIME – IT’S TIME”. In a couple hours, we had it. I spent a few hours creating the track and there it was. Obviously, I think it’d be great for ROD STEWART but I’m still wondering if there’s a Country Artist that would be a good fit.
Any
ideas?
For Licensing Contact: The
Law Offices of Edgar B. Pease Esq. III – 323-785-2131