DAN LONDON

Where he hears ‘God Save the Queen’ in an elevator and wonders who won?

I always wanted to write something that had me singing parts of words in the rock tradition of My Generation. It’s fun playing with what could sound like a novelty song but has something underneath if the listener cares to venture there.

When reading a biography of Neil Young’s early career I got the impression that he sacrificed many friendships for the sake of his success. By way of apology he’d sing about them or mention them in the liner notes. That’s living the Rock Stars way.

I wrote this song in the ocean while vacationing with my wife and her family in South Carolina. The water was like 80 degrees and I’d float around seeing the words in my head. I tend to write a lot away from the guitar. I’ve finished many a song while doing the dishes, or in the shower, laying in bed, or driving to work. Many mornings I ran to my desk looking like I couldn’t wait to get started earning my day’s pay when really I was trying type what I came up with in the car before it returned back into the ether.

Played this a couple times with the Longwalls. The infamous but honest with a check Mickey Bliss woke up during it and started working the lights which I took as the highest form of flattery. Another time at an air force base a government employee of some sort refused to believe the song wasn’t a cover. Some advice for the aspiring musician: when driving onto an airforce base for a gig, make sure your driver’s license hasn’t expired or at least travel with other folks who have licenses themselves.

Before recording the drums, I had given Will most of the songs to practice. Yet I threw Rock Stars at him last minute. He did a great job and came up with the perfect beat. Kurt and Mike Quinn sang with me on the choruses. Picture the Separate Ways video by Journey, only we had less hair, we were inside, we were sitting down, and unfortunately not wearing denim jackets. Actually, for your sake, never picture the Separate Ways video by Journey.

This was the first song we worked on after the drums were down and it became the working base of the record as well as a measuring stick.

Atlantic City art deco tip off the boardwalk in the winter time. Miami Vice like Crocket feeds his white suit to his gator. The 80’s and thanksgiving and The Eagles and the dude from American Me and Zoot Suit telling like it is when you don’t raise your voice and squint and wish you’d be in Battle Star Galactica already. Miles Davis. Frank Zappa, and Michael Richards all were on the Vice. I remember smoking cigarettes at Victor Baldi’s house and running home to catch the show by 10. Sweet turds of youth. You can’t polish a butterfly but you can fly a whale. Lorne Michaels – Lorne Green – Lawrence Welk. Strange days comes in threes.