Hamish Anderson Radio

Earth, Wind & Fire's Ralph Johnson joins me to talk about his life and career.

House of Funk | With Earth, Wind & Fire's Ralph Johnson

“You and Only You” is sort of a back to basics tune for me, heavily inspired by my love of classic 70s R&B and the need to begin a song with a long guitar solo (who says you can’t have a long guitar solo in a 2022 song)?

I’ve never been one for writing romantic love songs, but this one just came out one day when my wife, Hiroe, was working so hard for her company, “Flying her from Boston to the ‘Frisco Bay” nearly every weekend. With me out on the road with Let it Be so often, I guess we didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy each other’s love. This song was written for her, but I’m sure anyone in a relationship can relate to this paradox.

So it only makes sense that this song be released on Valentine’s Day 2022.

Those who have seen my live shows with Mongoose will probably recognize us performing this as an opener quite a few times. This song was originally tracked back in 2017 for an unfinished album that would have included “Elements” taking up the entire B-side. I’m not completely against revisiting the idea now that this and “Bastards” have also been recorded. The drums were recorded in Darcy Macrae’s Brooklyn space, with Joan Chew adding some bass, Todd Meredith and myself providing guitars, Emily Seibert and myself providing keyboards and all of us singing together on that outro chorus. The layered harmonies were written with this group in mind.

Fast forward to last year when I was coming out of a dry spell in terms of creativity, I stumbled across this unfinished track and was knocked out by how good the band sounded. A few tweaks sonically and I figured it was time for the world to hear it. I was past due for a new single after all this pandemic insanity. Also credit to Gillian Stoll for her fantastic artwork along with Becky Curtis for capturing that picture of me at The Bitter End last year.

You And Only You

THE UNCIVILIZED CITY
(JT Curtis)
From the album: ONE LAST STAND

I recall my old hometown
New York City
The dirtiest mob-filled city you’ve ever seen
You get what you see
It couldn’t last so I headed out west
L.A. California
Sunshine movie stars and music so slick
Man it makes me sick

CHORUS:
Try finding civility
In an uncivilized city
Tell the hot heads to cool down
Tell the preacher to calm down
Tell the boys we’ll meet them downtown

The gang meets downtown on Sunset
Business as usual
But someone said something wrong
something about someone’s mom
The hammer falls
There’s a kid from the hills trying to show he’s got skills
Gets clipped and falls to the ground
Every news-van and chopper all gather round
“How could this happen in our own town?”

CHORUS

The band stands outside in the cold
Waiting for the owner to show
The junkies come by thinking fresh meat
But the drummer chases them down 14th street
The band plays and sets fire to the stage
But the crowd just sits and stares
And before the band can get paid
The owner runs down Santa Monica Blvd
He can’t be found anywhere

CHORUS

I went to school thinking I was real cool
But they said “Pay up now!”
Stepping down Hollywood I try to talk to a girl
But she says “Pay up now!”
I play a show I see the owner doing blow
Know what he says? “Pay up now!”
I went down to city hall and told them all that I saw
And they said “Pay up now!”

CHORUS

The Uncivilized City (SINGLE)

Hamish Anderson performance @ SXSW "Fire"

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Hamish Anderson performance @ SXSW "Fire"

Black Eye Galaxy

Mind Of A Junkie

Up and Rolling

Pilot Track, as a first version of this wonderful Slow Blues written and recorded by Aynsley Lister. Testing the feel and sound across only two verses. Two guitars, drums from Logic Pro.
@Update: After one year, and after a lot of likes (in my personal list), I think it is time to record this track new and complete. I will do my best.

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Need Her So Bad (Aynsley Lister Cover)

Atomic Rod Reunion is the story of a high school band that reunites 10 years later, who's lead singer and bassist, Raven Jones, has since become a notable rock star. Their guitarist, JJC, has been a struggling artist all this time. This song took influence with many subjects, from growing up in the post 9/11 landscape to keeping a feuding rock band together.

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"JT Curtis' formidable fretwork recalls the likes of Clapton, Allman, and Page..."

The Uncivilized City (SINGLE)

JT Curtis

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