020500 Cafe NoNo is an anthology I originally committed to tape and gave to Jenn sometime in July of 1997 (just after we first started dating). Bold. It has pieces from 1986 to 1997 and spans a wide range of styles and eras. This is by no means a set of complete works from that decade. Pre-1988 work is mostly Osiris stuff and a few Gutierrez/Lesinski collaborations which include classics like Our Awesome Earth, Dora Kent's Head, and Bob'’s Song. Other work between 1987 and 1997 included the grungy hard rock band Fred/Nimoy/Ardvk (a series of bands with the same basic lineup of Paul Lesinski, Bill Moyer, Greg Bradbury, et al. but with a few personnel changes), Golden Dawn (representing various collaborations with Paul Smith), Dark'’s Ensemble (Paul Leskinski, Kevin Brown, and I), some Strangers stuff (I had a brief tenure with them in 1990), and of course, The Weasles. There is also a huge volume of work which was done impromptu with various friends over the years like Mephistopheles Ate My Lunch (with Shannon Gomes and Paul Smith), People That Wear Coats (with Rob Perrier, Keith VanDierendonck, and Andy Coulter), and a host of “unreleased” solo personal recordings like the Irod Project etc. (including Freedom is Ringing in My Ears). The first nine tracks on Disc 1 are the 1991 compilation Pro Aris Et Focis (From the Altar and the Fireside). Pro Aris represents a snapshot of works going back to 1987 (just after high school) and until 1991 (just after undergraduate school). The Cafe NoNo anthology is dominated by selections from an ongoing project (started in high school) called Smaggiontopue (pronounced smag-aeon-toe-pooie”) based on the so-calle Scuma Mythos (if you can believe that). Those pieces are represented on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8 on Disc 1 and track 9 on Disc 2. There are also a number of selections from The Weasles, a “band” whh did some great improv work in the studio. There has only been one live public performance to my knowledge. It was during SJSU sPhysics Department Banquet at a little English pub on North First Street. Let’s just be glad no one wa srecording! Included in the Weasles category is an interested couple of Masuda/Gutierrez collaborations which have a edgy creative tension to them. Disc 1: 1. Sire of the Smaggi (1989) Music: T.D. Gutierrez This piece is just me on a Korg M1 keyboard. It is the musical theme and style associated the Smaggi and their leader, The Sire. 2. Leviathan the Fish (1987) Music: T.D. Gutierrez, F. Goris Lyrics: F. Goris, T.D. Gutierrez This piece was performed impromptu based on a tune I had been working on for Smaggiontopue with Fred Goris on organ, Dan Quinn on guitar, Ann Dryden on percussion, and myself on bass. That'’s Fred and me singing (one of us in each speaker). Lyrics: You are stirring a cup of ice Which has long ago evaporated Eat not with thy hand nor foot You being of conspiratorial slogan Jude the Obscure was a very happy fellow Is this Relevant? Is anything really Relevant? Pagans shall eat of the fruit Which has no name Sing with the fish Which is known as Leviathan Sing with the fish Which is known as Leviathan 3. Valley of the Topuen (1987) Music: T.D. Gutierrez This “Floydian” piece for Smaggiontopue is performed by Paul Lesini doing some seriously expressive guitar. That's me on bass and organ (and “cardboard box” for percussion). The middle blurb is backwards -- I'’ll let you decode it yourself. 4. Pipe Dream (1991) Music: T.D. Gutierrez The music for was originally written for a piece called The Papal Ballot, a satirical snap at religion and superstition. Maureen Kelly, my housemate at the time from Benton street, was going to write the lyrics. However, there was a falling out and nothing ever came of it. I wrote these lyrics on Easter morning 1991 (the first verse is actually about the falling out). Mike Masuda and I recorded it with him on bass and drums and me on guitar. We did it on Mike'’s equipment and he did a pretty good job of engineering it. Lyrics: I remember seeing the fragments From within our pipe dream Fallen so sharp and with a petty nonchalance I hear her laughing My eyes they wept so deeply That the tears they never had to fall From your overt lack of tolerance To your lacerated silence To your imagined sense of intelligence I wish to you not a bitter end I see the lovers lying in the park They are not alone One remembers that he cannot love again He’s too afraid But he wants to have her anytime that Selfish lust requires his heart When will he ever learn Of a higher place we all can see? To rise above the pettiness To nurture her kind faithfully A noble prince he finds himself In the fancy of courtly ladies Three in all, like seasons they differ Yet meshing in ever so subtle ways He wants them all yet he fears them all And he cries about them every night When does a boy become a man? Is it finally when he learns to fly? As his seasons pass and he from prince to king Silence will remind him of learning to crawl 5. Festival of Canonical Nocturnes (1990) Music: T.D. Gutierrez This piece is performed on a bass and then doubled in speed, giving it a kind of what-the-hell-instrument-is-that feel. A little Bach is thrown in at the end for fun. This is an interlude during Smaggiontopue. 6. Before the Deed Was Done (Willow) (1989) Music: T.D. Gutierrez Lyrics: William Shakespeare (Othello: The Moor of Venice) This was written for an English literature class as extra credit. We read Othello and there is a sad little song buried deep in the play sung by Othello'’s wife Desdemona. She sings it as she senses some serious weirdness between her and Othello (no thanks to that villain'’s villain Iago). The tune is her Swan Song and, as can be expected, she dies a painful and violent death not long after finishing it. My friend Julie Fullerton is singing and the rest is me on a Korg M1 keyboard. Nice “official” muc already exists for the piece -- but I didn’t discover this unti years later. Lyrics: The poor soul sat singing by a sycamore tree Sing all a green willow; Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, Sing willow, willow, willow. The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans; Sing willow, willow, willow; Her salt tears fell from her and soft’ned the stones – Sing willow, willow, willow Willow, willow willow Sing all a green willow must be my garland Let nobody blame him; his scorn I approve – I called my love false love; but what said he then? Sing willow, willow, willow: If I court more women, you'’ll couch with more men. 7. Sire of the Topuen (1990) Music: T.D. Gutierrez Basically the same music (with different interludes) as Sire of the Smaggi (track 1) but played on guitar. It is the theme and style of the Topuen and their leader, The Sire. One of the main themes of Smaggiontopue is the whole “two aspects of the same thing” thing – that is whhe music is the same but played so differently as to seem like different song altogether. 8. I’ll Take My Toasty Frost (1990) Music: T.D. Gutierrez A solo bass piece with Kevin Brown on bongos. There is a catchy 5/4 section which I must be careful about hearing or it gets stuck in my head. This is another interlude in Smaggiontopue. 9. A Christmas Gift (1988) Music: T.D. Gutierrez Written for a friend of mine from the Saint William’ Youth Group (the youth group that regularly met at the "“haunted gym") 10. Granite Gray (1996) Music: T.D. Gutierrez This is the most recent piece on Café NoNo. Recorded in Davis, I had just bought a drum machine, a digital effects rack, a neat distortion box, and a new guitar. 11. The Measurement of Pressure (1992)** Music: T.D. Gutierrez and M.M. Masuda Lyrics: Halliday and Resnick Masuda and I cranked this out (from idea to finished product) in about the amount of time it takes to listen to the song on the CD. The guitar amp was in another room with a lone mic sitting in front of it. I was two closed doors away (it was LOUD) listening to Mike’s “singing” (through a distortion box intended f guitars) and the drum machine. The lyrics are from the classic physics textbook Fundamentals of Physics Second Edition by good ol'’ Halliday and Resnick (see section 16-5 p. 301-302 or look up “pressure, measuring” in the index). The song, although technically a parody of “industrial music”, was actuallplayed (albeit at about 3am) on KFJC, Foothill Junior College’s alternative radio statio (thanks to Keith Kasunik). This piece also appears on the Weasles compilation CD. 12. All the Things That Diamonds Know (1992)** Music: T.D. Gutierrez and M.M. Masuda Lyrics: M.M. Masuda and T.D. Gutierrez This is another Masuda/Gutierrez collaboration. We wrote this one for our friend Eun Joo on her birthday. Mike did a nice job engineering the piece with lots of goofy sounds etc. He'’ on bass, I'’m onguitar, and we trade off on the singing. We each wrote about half the music: he did the chorus and I did the verses and the breaks. He wrote the first half of the lyrics and I wrote the second half (we sang our own lyrics). Lyrics: Eun Joo the lab revolves around you Stay awake, it’s lunch time soon Keep the sample on the scale If you don’t, the run will fail Sanidine, Olivine, MgO And all the things that diamonds know So if you want to leave today Be sure and check your CDA Paddling down the windswept shore To chase your dreams forever more Eun Joo the lab revolves around you Stay awake, it’s lunch time soon Tell me of the dreams you had last night It’s 4AM and all your world is fright If you need to rest your mind Rest assured your dreams are worse than mine! With some coffee at your lips And some bread, perhaps some chips Cheeto’s I’m sure would be your choice Knowing your tummy’s inner voice Paddling down the windswept shore To chase your dreams forever more Eun Joo the lab revolves around you Stay awake, it’s lunch time soon 13. Jocular Evil (1992)** Music: The Weasles This is one of my very favorite Weasles pieces. We are improvising here on the theme “scary” but with “jolly” ed whatever that means. That’s Mike Masuda on drums, Wayne Dawso on keys, Mark Fallis on guitar, and me on bass. 14. Montage (Part 1) (1992)** Music: The Weasles Another crazy Weasle improv piece. Masuda did a funny cut and paste of several separate jams and managed to make it sound like “one” piece. The second half comes on Disc 2. Disc 2: 1. Xerox the Blacksmith (Part 1) (1986) 2. Xerox the Blacksmith (Part 2) 3. Xerox the Blacksmith (Epilogue) Music: P. Lesinski and T.D. Gutierrez This Gutierrez/Lesinski piece had to be broken into three tracks because the CD software could only handle ten minutes at a time -- but it originally appeared as one continuous piece. Paul Lesinski and I performed this as an improvisation around three separate musical themes. During “mix down”, Fre Goris, John Dietz, and one other person who I can’t remember (Chris D’Urso or Paul Smith perhaps?)randomly showed up and we included them reading random passages from various books (one of them was a Beatles “fact book” of some kind This was dubbed over the music and the effect is somewhat creepy. In the middle, I read a poem called D’Orifumi, The Beast of Dreams. The big enigma with this piece is determining if “Xerox” is the blacksmith’s name or if it is an action being performed ON the blacksmith (who makes a cameo in the middle of the piece, hammering away). Paul and I did many crazy collaborations between 1985 and 1987. There were two distinct modes we operated in: structured improv and “Sey” mode. Xerox is in the structur improv mode. Sey (‘yes’ spelled backwards) was our two-man parody of the band Yes, notorious for their decedent “art rock” meanderings and completely freaked outmusical arrangements that we so-loved. 4. Small Furry Creatures: Alice’s Torsional Waves (1986) Music: P.Lesinski and T.D. Gutierrez Lyrics: T.D Gutierrez This is another Gutierrez/Lesinski collaboration based on an organized improvisation on three themes. The middle theme has my crazy lyrics -- bits of the melody are based the Locrian mode (B to B in the key of C), which is downright impossible to sing. Lyrics: I see the mighty army march past my porch We see them turn around and march right in My mom tells me to kill them with my foot I shout “no” and that is all The aunts the aunts helping with the dishes Cleaning up my house My parents’ siblings bringing-up my cousins with joy The ants the ants helping with the dishes Cleaning up my house My insect friends creeping like bugs because they are He calls my name like a dreadful disease I take my seat in his laboratory He begins to scrape the remains from my brain The process is very complicated I wish it was over Calculus calculus scrape it from my teeth Make my gums bleed It is basically old food just stuck there Calculus calculus scrape it from my teeth Make my gums bleed An interesting method of mathematics dealing with rates of change Toting that wheelbarrow like a sack of bricks Bringing them to my home in the Spring Loss for words prevents him from speaking He is quite huge with large ears and a basket of eggs Easter Bunny Easter Bunny bringing his eggs with him to church Leaving his footprints in the dirt Easter Bunny Easter Bunny bringing his eggs with him to church Hiding eggs from little children how mean. Yes. 5. Dream of Kings (Excerpt 1) (1990)*** 6. Dream of Kings (Excerpt 2)*** Music/Lyrics: Dark’s Ensemble This represents selections from the grand opus of the prolific power trio Dark’s Ensemble. Paul Lesinskiis on guitar, Kevin Brown on drums, and myself on bass and keyboards. Paul did most of the singing. This is the core of the band Osiris which disbanded right after high school in 1986. Originally, Dream of Kings was written, arranged, and recorded in one day (although we did bring in ideas we had been stewing on for a while). This particular recording was made at SJSU (not the original recording) on a 32-track system by a music engineering student who needed a final project. The song in its entirety is a about 25min long. The basic idea is that the leaders of the world all have the same disturbing dreams which inspire them to change their disarmament policies. The many sub-songs of the piece represent various dreams that the leaders have. 7. Humming My Song (1989) Music: T.D. Gutierrez Lyrics: F. Goris This piece, recorded in Fred'’s livingroom, was designed as Paul McCartnyesque bubble gum pop piece however, it turned out more like an early Pink Floyd Syd Barret tune. Oh well. Fred is singing and wrote the words while Paul Smith makes a cameo on guitar at the end. I’m on piano, bass, and drums (real drums). At least I managed to sound a bit like Ringo. 8. Owner of a Lonely Heart (1991)**** Music: Yes Performed by: T.D. Gutierrez Garth Brooks would be “proud” of this crooning version of th e classic rockin’ Yes hit. 9. Brother Daniel’s Theme (1986) Music: T.D. Gutierrez Another in the Smaggiontopue series, it was written as the theme and style of Brother Daniel, Unholy Priest of Gomtart. This piece describes the moment when Brother Daniel confronts Drike the Meager, plunges a knife into a table, sneezes, then leaps out of the tower “much to his dismay”. 10. Montage (Part 2) (1992)** Music: The Weasles The second half of the spliced improvisation started on Disc 1. I wish to than all of the wonderful musicians who have appeared on this anthology including Paul Lesinski, Mike Masuda, Fred Goris, Kevin Brown, Julia Perrier (formerly Fullerton), Mark Fallis,Wayne Dawson, Paul Smith, Dan Quinn, and Ann Dryden. All songs (c) (p) 1999 Irod Publications Except: ** (c) (p) 1992 Northern Snow *** (c) (p) 1990 Dark’s Ensemble **** (c) (p) Atlantic Recording Co. 1983 Canonical Nocturnes includes an excerpt from Bouree in Emin by J.S. Bach Before the Deed Was Done includes lyrics by William Shakespeare from Othello, the Moor of Venice