Wacky tracks
“Just some wacky tracks from my archive that I thought you’d enjoy...”
Thank-you Georgia! Nov. 18, 2020
Shot and recorded by: Melisa McGregor
Running on a Treadmill - April 27th, 2020
When we started our isolation, I found myself out of sorts (like most of us surely did). My energy was very low. I had poured so much of myself into preparing for Coachella, and suddenly... nothing. Like everyone else, I was stunned and a little shell-shocked. I decided to return to an orchestral commission, but I found that my focus was also whacked from everything turning upside down.
Weirdly, as I struggled though those first few weeks, an old tune I had written decades ago began running though my mind. I didn't know why, but it didn't go away. Eventually I decided not to resist and laid down tracks, just for the simple pleasure. It's really almost like a nursery rhyme. Maybe under all that stress that's why it came back to me, and just the act of recording it was really calming for my brain.
I decided finally to share it with everyone. It's silly and simple. Playing everything and singing live to my backing tracks. This thing is funky! This is NOT my new single or for a new album that I'm working on. Just a little something that was fun to record and relaxed me, and maybe it will do the same for you? Totally home-made! Daughter @malielfman shot it on her iPhone, and homie Jon Mann Krieger (my Danny and Buddy Show collaborator) edited it. Hope you like it!
In the mid 90s my friend Luigi Serafini, who’s an amazing artist, asked me to write something to play for his gallery show in Milan, Italy. I put this together as a semi-composed, semi-DJ’d experiment for him. I recently came across it. It’s really crazy but fun and I just thought I’d put a few of these old bits on here for whatever odd folks might care to listen. It was all made at home with samples—no live playing. Just a fun romp.
My very, very first recording ever. Audubon Jr. High School School—I’m guessing 1968 when I’d have been in the 8th or 9th grade. They did a musical production ever semester. That year was “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying”. I was cast as Frump, the boss’ nephew and although I had bits in a few songs, this song, “The Company Way”, was my main featured number. I sang along with my best friend, Billy O’Rullian, who was cast in the lead role. The unmistakable sound of a public school Jr. High Orchestra is worth having this recording in itself. My voice had clearly just changed, and I feel it threatens to crack every moment. My pitch was horrible, (still not great), but here it is!!!
