I walked down this empty town
All I found was broken records and filtered sounds that knocked me out.
Thought they'd stay the same, but now I have my doubts.

If I leave now, I'll split the crowd
I'll feel the change that we once talked about,
When I was down and you curled your hair and cried for hours and hours.
And I lifted my head, and dreamt of then
But never now.

A peaceful hour
A wilting flower clasped in my hand
I was shaking in my boots and then forgot our plans
And I turned around and ran straight to heaven.
I know it's not much, but it looks nice and seems pleasant.

The night blacked out and then flew south
My gaping mouth
“I figured out what the song's about!”
And I know right now where we should truly be.
And if I sing real loud, it doesn't matter if I sing off key.
And whiskey plans and rock n roll bands nearly flattened me
But Look out man, it could happen to you!
Just wait and see…

Every little devil on the sidewalk
Every little goblin that you chase will be alright in due time,
Just let the years go!
Every little devil on the sidewalk
Every little goblin that you chase will be alright in due time,
Just let the years slide by.


"Hey Marie" Recorded in St. Louis March 2013. "Every Car" and "Empty Town" recorded in Lawrence November 2014 at Steve Squire's compound.  Copyright 2014 Alex Chanay.



Empty Town

The lights all burned out, the kids at the party got shook down.
I looked for you, but you weren’t around.
My ears were sighing from the sound of outdoor sirens.
I saw lives change so quickly like cars that pass in front of me.
No one sticks together if there’s not the spark of symmetry.

So I blacked out, damned the streets of this empty town.
There’s nothing but zombies, who walk around and seem successful.
I saw cars change in rear view mirrors like distant memories
Wasted with the locals, now I’m lacking synergy

It’s such a fragile thing that I cannot explain,
Spending 20 years waltzing home in the rain
And there’s some things I still can’t change 
Like driving around in a Subaru
Blasting On The Beach with you
Tuning into “Vampire Blues” 
It was all we cared to do.
I saw lives change so quickly like cars that pass in front of me
No one sticks together when there’s not the spark of symmetry.

It’s such a fragile thing that I cannot explain,
Spending 20 years waltzing home in the rain
Spending 20 years just withering away
And there’s some things I still can't change

Draining out the summer with you.
Sitting in an empty pool, 
While your face turned the palest blue and your car pulled up just in time 
Now.
Stalling at a steady pace, giving me some silent grace that one day it’ll fade away
Into an August night

I’m slowly fading away
Wish that we could just stay 
(Like that’s some way to behave)

And it’s safe to say that I’ve changed no one but you 
Our minds recede from a different point of view
I know its done and there’s nothing I can do,
But I still can’t face every car in the rear view.

"Hey Marie" Recorded in St. Louis March 2013. "Every Car" and "Empty Town" recorded in Lawrence November 2014 at Steve Squire's compound. 



Every Car In The Rear View

Hey Marie, you’re the one who changes everything!
I believe you’ve just been in a different orbit for weeks
I just lay out in a chair, tried to reach you but you weren’t there.

Hey Marie, you’re the one who puts a spell on me
Hang in trees with the branches that absorb my grief
I just think that it’s the time for our eyes to unwind.

Everything changed
It’s so strange when all I see is the color of the light you switch.

Everything changed
That’s why it’s so strange. Now all I see is the color of the light you switch.

Hey Marie, you’re the one who could change everything.
I believe you’ve just been in a different orbit for years.
I just lay out in a chair, tried to reach you, but,
You weren’t there.


"Hey Marie" Recorded in St. Louis March 2013. "Every Car" and "Empty Town" recorded in Lawrence November 2014 at Steve Squire's compound. 



Hey Marie

Fade in
On a cold November Sky
Pan out
To the well that’s running dry
Best Direction
Accept trophies without a tear
Credits rolling
Lights go up on another year

Brilliance was served
At the dinner theatre
On my fourth or third
Wishing she could be here
Numbers passing
Their dancing always looks the same
She’s upstairs laughing
I feel it’s still John Brown to blame

Through all the bad jokes, through all of the glacial years
Let’s move to the coast and hope that we meet out there
While sitting on roofs the nightlife is still clear
But we stay in a dream because it keeps us here

March 5, 2015. Lyrics by Alex Chanay. Music by Maybe Not.

Dinner Theatre

I cut my hands so I can make a puddle in the basement of a cornershop that’s in your eyes
And when I leave I come out dreaming of a vividness that’s creaking down the corridors of my hometown

Well, look what I found!
You built me up just to put me back on solid ground!
Still I was irked at all the pettiness around!
Am I still strolling or is something moving underground?

I use my ears so I hear little footsteps when you walk near
And peruse around my head for days
And when you leave I wake up dreaming of a vividness that’s creaking down the dirty streets of my hometown

 I don’t know which way I’m going to 
You always had a different tinted view
That would tend to seemingly misconstrue
All the points you suddenly claimed to use
And you’re walking now with your fancy crew
And you’re flanked by some ruined Polo dudes
This is not the soul that I once knew
When cities slept on sidewalks in my room

March 5, 2015. Lyrics by Alex Chanay, Music by Maybe Not.

Hands (So I Can)

I felt so cold when I wrapped myself up in gold
It's the saddest story ever told
I had money and still got old
And all the while, staring at your bourgeois smile that stretches out miles and miles  
Dancing in your socks for a while

So I spent my dime
I step out of the line
Twinkling, twirling stuck in time I reach out my arms and I hold the wire
I tried to hold on for so long you see but there is something wrong with me 
And there could always be

Let's leave right now
The chandelier's coming down
And I know you'd never want to crowd
A room of people all too proud
and all the while, staring at your hippie smile
that once stretched out 7 miles
a solemn hymn, a lonely child

I'm leaving now for something second hand
You can join me too if you think you can!
The city's brighter from Burnette's mound
a car radio is the only sound

March 5, 2015. Lyrics by Alex Chanay, Music by Maybe Not.

Spoon In Mouth

photo by rene renteria 
recorded winter 2013-14 
vocals/guitars/bass - alex chanay
drums - sam goodrich

Losing It

MacVicar Ave HQ

MacVicar Ave

recorded from january-june 2019. recorded in the houses of friends in Colorado springs and los angeles and in my apartment in lawrence, kansas.

Guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards: Alex Chanay
Vocals: Ellen Keagan
Drums: Sam Goodrich

LYRICS:
I don't know what I found, but you picked me up from down
and started moving from the crowd, mad dogs were all we found
took a turn up on 29th, and bathed ourselves in light
but if nothing's going wrong, why can't we get it right?

CHORUS:
When there are many ways in which we're vulnerable
in the corner of the globe we're stalling in again
and I am clenching fists, and I am listening in
when the ones who know me best don't know me at all.

Got our pardon from the king
to end our suffering
when we went out in the street
we were greeted with falling confetti
took a turn up on 29th, and bathed ourselves in light
and if i'm not the one you dreamt about 
then I'll ruffle my feathers and find you out!

CHORUS