Songcrafters.org

Remember me?

I haven't done much listening or participating lately. This is the first song I've finished in about three months. I had plans to put drums, bass, keyboard, and a guest soloist on this.  Instead, I got it this far today and decided that the big production I had in mind would keep me from writing my next song. I don't have much time for music these days.

This is four tracks, and it could have been two.

Musically, this isn't very original, but it's a story I've been wanting to tell. It's true, and the names have not been changed.


Update March 24, 2022:

I finally tracked down Paul! He sent me this photo from his 8-year birthday. That's him in the upper right, and me on the bottom.

fanbloodytastic ted, wonderful, reminds me of loudon wainwright great storytelling and fantastic lyrics.

love it.

So good to hear from you again Ted !!

Love the song !

Great lyrics and the sparse arrangement really fit's the song !!!

Thanks Geir and ORH. I'm sure I've missed some fantastic music of yours over the past months. Sorry to be such a bad neighbor.

BTW: There's a spot for a solo after the bridge, if anybody wants to fill that gap.

Hi Ted, I was thinking about you a couple weeks ago, wondering what you were up to lately......well, so good to have a new song from you.  Really strong song, it works very well as an acoustic only song, fantastic lyrics.  Your vocals sound real good here, nice and clear and strong.  Lovely song Ted.  Welcome back man.

Great to hear another offering from you Ted.
Never to disappoint, this is a bit different from your usual style.
But, it is a great story, and your vox fits well.
I like it!

LG

Perfection to my ears bro!

Really enjoy this one!


Lyrics are great! And a Superb storey!!

Welcome back!

Hi Ted, glad your're posting again, always a treat to listen to your music. Love the minimal approach to my ears it works perfectly how it is but a little break wouldn't go amiss. Top quality song..............Willie

Nice little story.  Great recording.  Nice and clean.  Love the words and acoustic work.

If Paul was only 4 feet tall, I guess he couldn't reach the damper pedal! ;)

 :) John B.

I'm a little surprised Ted. I didn't expect to hear the finished version of this song for at least a month! It's a great story with a very sympathetic composition. I think it stands well as is.

I remember you. I like this a lot. Simple, stripped down with great storytelling. The lyrics work really well, great story. Really enjoyed it and your vox sound excellent, well done.

I can dig it!

Cheers,

Nigel

Fabulous song!  The story gets deeper with this wonderful acoustic version!

Love it!

Thanks everyone.

I performed this live at an open mic the other night. I really felt on. I wish I could reliably recreate the circumstances leading up to my performance.

I worked a really long week, and hardly touched my guitar.

The week concluded with an event at a local bar I was kind of obliged to attend. I had two glasses of Lagunitas IPA (http://www.lagunitas.com/beers/ipa.html) on draught--for me, enough to start a buzz.

I rode my bike home from the bar, and walked the dogs. I checked my watch and it was 7:38 PM. The open mic had already started.

I threw my guitar into it's case without even a warm up. Put on the case like a backpack, and rode my bike to the open mic venue.

When I got there, probably about 8:10 PM, the MC (my friend Barry) was playing--a sign that he was lacking sign-ups for open mic performers.

Barry saw me sneak in and called out to me, "Ted! Do you want to play?"

"Are you hard up?," I asked.

"Yes."

So I unpacked my guitar and went on within minutes of arriving by bike. I had the tail end of a beer buzz, and my blood was pumping from a bike ride.

I bantered with the audience, and insulted my friend Jim.

"Did you play, Jim?"

"Yes. Three songs!," he said triumphantly.

"Well I guess I didn't miss much."

And then I flawlessly performed Rex and Paul and The Missiles of October without having practiced either.

I'm not sure whether I made an ass of myself, or if my performance was brilliant, but I felt great.

The Missiles of October is a song I haven't shared here yet. It's a very sad song written from my father's perspective. Halfway through performing the song it occurred to me that it was the first time I'd performed the song since my father died last year. A wave of emotion struck me as I was singing.

So now I know the formula for a great Ted performance:

• Don't practice
• Drink two beers
• Have a physical warm up (equivalent to two or three of miles on a bike)
• Walk the dogs
• Show up late
• Insult a buddy
• Ambush myself with a painful memory

Perfect tune, Ted. It reminds me of Zevon a little bit - A master songwriter I really miss now.

Love it!

Mark

QuoteThe Missiles of October is a song I haven't shared here yet. It's a very sad song written from my father's perspective. Halfway through performing the song it occurred to me that it was the first time I'd performed the song since my father died last year. A wave of emotion struck me as I was singing.

I demand this tune be posted in a raw fashion.......

No Offence....

But I Demand it!

As a Ted Johnson fan.....

First one of yours I have heard Ted, and I have to say it will not be the last.  good storytelling and reat sound on guitar and vocals.  I can sympathise about wanting to get on to writing the next son.  I want to try and strip my songs down, but my guitar playing is not that pretty, so have to dub over to get something I am happy with.

By the way the IPA sounds lovely.

Cheers  Simon

TED what a comeback ...!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very outstanding song and great lyric writing based on ur true stories.
fabulous vox guitar. this deserves a bump and radio air play . best
of luck with this regards NEIL

I agree, Ted, great songwriting! It immediately reminded me of John Cougar Mellencamp (Jack & Diane), which I love too! :)

Regards,
  Steffen

Hey great tune and  really nice storytelling and you preparation for the open mic night sounds like the basis of another great song, and by the way welcome back.

Quote from: side effect on May 28, 2011, 01:17:12 PM...your preparation for the open mic night sounds like the basis of another great song...

You mean lack of preparation.

Thanks, musicmadmac, SwanSong, stoman, side effect. I kind of thought that this song had used up it's bump quota.

Hey!  This is great.... reminds me of Neil Young...

Oh my... I missed this one. It's superb, Ted. Those lyrics are incredible - sharp and thoughtful storytelling in the Randy Newman tradition. And the stripped-back arrangement is all you need with a strong and gutsy performance like this. Love it. And would have loved to see it live!

Ted... missed this one. Great tune...love the story. Yes a live rendition is in order.

Brilliant stuff Ted.  Love the guitar tone.  Quite awesome in it's stripped down simplicity.  Really love it.

Paul

Thanks, Bumper and bump listeners.

Quote from: OsCKilO on May 22, 2011, 07:52:33 PM

QuoteThe Missiles of October is a song I haven't shared here yet. It's a very sad song written from my father's perspective. Halfway through performing the song it occurred to me that it was the first time I'd performed the song since my father died last year. A wave of emotion struck me as I was singing.

I demand this tune be posted in a raw fashion.......

No Offence....

I'm home today with an eye infection in my good eye--and having to rely on my weaker eye. But I think I can see well enough to operate the MBR.  If I can pull myself away from the Jemima's Kite videos on YouTube.

Hey Ted... came back for another listen. Still great... hope you have a speedy recovery.

Quote from: Rata-tat-tat on June 17, 2011, 03:40:00 PMHey Ted... came back for another listen..

me too-

this one pops up on my piPod ever so often !!

not sure why I picked this one...but I m so glad i did...
this is a fantastic recording, song, vocals etc...
sometimes it's best to get out of your head when you play...
this needs nothing else...perfection you can't top...you can make it different.
bravo Ted!

the vocals remind me of that guy who sang "Ariel"... it was great... Dean Friedman... had to look it up...

This is just adorable!

Wow! Bumped after almost 11 years. Thanks, StephenM.

I've still never recorded "Missiles of October"

Edit: Now I have: https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?topic=32965

This recent bump from StephenM and Mandii got me curious about Paul. I googled, and it was really unfruitful. He has a really common last name. But just now I searched his name with the name of the "school that didn't have rules," and Bingo!

Fucking Classmates.com!

He's a professor at a university, so the website has a biography. Seems to have turned out to be cool, intellectually curious guy (unlike the majority of the people I know from grade school and high school – who range from boring conformist TV watchers, to crypto fascist, to openly fascist, to a precious few genuinely great people.)

I sent him an email to his university address. I hope to share this song with him.

Quote from: Ted on May 07, 2011, 05:49:34 PMUpdate March 24, 2022:

I finally tracked down Paul! He sent me this photo from his 8-year birthday. That's him in the upper right, and me on the bottom.

(https://songcrafters.org/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=11086.0;attach=193102)

That's a fantastic pic, Ted!

that is some precious stuff Ted.... and I am glad to have participated in a small way...it's a fantastic song imo....

Quote from: StephenM on March 24, 2022, 07:25:03 AMI am glad to have participated in a small way.

The power of a bump. Like the "Butterfly Effect."

To be honest, this is very much like making a new friend rather than reconnecting with an old one. I remember very little of Paul's manner – nuances, I mean. But we are having a great email exchange. If we ever do a call or a video meeting, I'll be interested to see if it uncovers any buried memories of our friendship. I have a pretty lousy memory, so I'm not expecting much.

Great bump!

Don't know how I missed this song originally - great storytelling, Ted! That pic is a real hoot, too. I envy you little guys with your school-with-no-rules. Being an Air Force brat myself, that was not an option. Very cool that you reconnected with your friend Paul. Maybe Rex learned his lesson, too (or perhaps not - bullies, in general, are not the most introspective people).

Nice simple stripped down but effective song. Nice story too ;-)

That pic goes hard! Such rascals :)

Fun song too!