Good story telling. I remember being young, really. What is so mic about this song is that there is no AI in it, which is ruining the humanness of music, and I thank you for that.

Stuff I find interesting to write about mainly.

Mike tunes

YOU NEED SOMEBODY

Until Your Heart Believes       Lyrics and music by Mike Dampf © August, 2024         Flute - Becky Sora; Bass - David Leadbitter; Vocals Jerneja Medved and Mike Dampf

I can see you hurt
I can read the signs
You smile through loneliness
like winter sun through the pines
this kind of wound is slow to heal
and I know how it feels

One light is on long before the dawn
a half moon rises and then it's gone
soft wind rustles the willow leaves
dreamless, until your heart believes

I see you nearly every day
your eyes say it all
it's just 'Hello' and then you look away
like you hit some kind of wall
Sure, you're fine, nothing's been revealed
but I know how it feels

Look at me
look at you
we shouldn't be alone anymore

Until Your Heart Believes

Too Old to Die Young (music and lyric by Mike Dampf © October 2024)    Becky Sora: flute, percussion, mandolin, vocals/ Dave Leadbitter: bass & vocals

You're really gone, not just gone away
I hurt in the spaces where we used to play
if music is love, my love goes unsung
I'm not too old, just too old to die young

Rumors of an angel, flowers on the breeze
you walked into the room, I went weak at the knees
Like in a church, sweet bells were rung
I'm not too old, just too old to die young

I laughed at love, I thought I had time
I played the game until pride made me blind
Thought I was a rock until 'lonely' cracked open my mind

God knows the reasons, I can't say why
this beautiful summer's so fast drifting by
each leaf's gonna fall as the pendulum's swung
I'm not too old, just too old to die young
I'm not too old, just too old to die young

Too Old to Die Young

LIFE AIN'T BUST          Original song by Mike Dampf © November, 2024  Bass by David Leadbitter; Harmonica by Becky Sora/ Original painting by Jay Dampf

Sometime up, sometime down
this old life is a steady pound
freezing rain, burning heat
best step aside if we meet

Give me things that I can trust
Show me how this life ain't bust

Stand in line, hurry, wait
one at a time through the gate
fold your arms, hide your fear
ask yourself why you're here

Give me things that I can trust
Show me how this life ain't bust

Keep quiet, don't gripe and don't make a big fuss
They need you alive but beware 'cause this life
is gonna break you down to dust





Life Ain't Bust

Another Silent Night     copyright December, 2024 by Mike Dampf. David Leadbitter on bass. Becky Sora on backup vocals.  A song about loss and light at Christmas, about sadness tinted with hope.

They've hung Christmas lights outside
every light's a tear
although through my whiskey glass
they're sweet this time of year
Children wandering homeward push each other into snow
I've no notion who they are or where it is they go

I remember being young
I remember songs were sung
I remember fields of white
on another silent night

Don't want to think about anyone
least of all about you
but you are all I think about 
so what else can I do
My good friend often tells me - don't call me when you drink
this cruise left at 4 o'clock and it ends when I sink

Sweet Jesus, someone's at the door
just pretend there's no one home
they're laughing and they carry on
I just want to be alone
The little girl has pushed her tiny face against the glass
her mom and dad have turned to go away
but the door's not locked, it opens up
she jumps in bold as brass
"We're neighbors!" is all she has to say

Another Silent Night

Introduction in English:

Manfred (‘Manne’) was my oldest friend. We used to play together in the sandpit. 
We were both very contrasting characters. I was ambitious for a long time and wanted to excel through special achievements. Manne, on the other hand, preached idleness and complete freedom from pressure even as a teenager.  He often laughed at me from his lotus position when I got bogged down in something. I secretly admired him for his attitude of pure being and complete freedom from purpose. 
Through him, I learnt about the benefits of slowness and pausing. And he was a sensitive companion when I came into contact with certain drugs such as cannabis, alcohol and cocaine in my early adulthood.     
Unfortunately, from his mid 20s onwards, he tipped more and more towards the destructive side of drug use. During this time, we both drifted further and further apart. The last time I saw him, he seemed like a wreck to me. I could already sense that things weren't going to be good with him for much longer. 
Nevertheless, I was shocked when I learnt of his early death at the age of just 31. 
Since then, I have visited his grave every year and see how many beautiful aspects of him live on in his son, who is my nephew. 
With this song, I would like to honour him with my own personal musical memorial.   

Lyrics in English (for those, who don`t speak German):

Manne Manne

Manne Manne, it hurts so much
Because I just don't quite understand
That you left so soon
You pissed off from one day to the next

Manne Manne, you were such a cool hero
In your anti-achievement world
Instead of storm and stress in a noble snail's pace
A bohemian with a song of lullabies

Believed in you for a long time,
In your ‘Let yourself go’ poem
Your vision of life without haste

Without any pressure and stressful scabies
Just stay lying there
Behind misty coloured windows
Against the compulsion to do!

Manne manne, you were once so beautiful
You could turn women's heads
With your deeply chilled charm
Even the proudest lay in your arms

Manne Manne, master of slowness
Of ‘I don't have to do anything, I always have time’
Of life beyond ‘Nine to Five’
Of twilight sleep in the realm of night owls

Lord of the drug world
Herring-hook-less tent
Invited us into

Strange magic worlds
Where no rules apply
Into dark shadowy spaces
Gave us a light there

Manne Manne, it hurts so much
Because I never quite understand
That you went down like that
I've missed you a few times

Manne Manne, I`ve dreamt of you sometimes
Damn, I missed it somehow
To stop your self-dissolution programme
At the last meeting it was already much too late

Manne Manne
Manne Manne
Manne Manne
 
 




Manne Manne

Pretty Loose music and lyrics © 2025 by Mike Dampf and Dave Medcof
Bass: David Leadbitter; Mandolin, percussion, vocals: Becky Sora

Buddy called, said 'Get off the couch'
you're old but that's no excuse
let's meet at the station with a pint and a plan
everything's been getting pretty loose

So we met on up and we strolled on down
down to where they bury 'who vamoosed'
had a drink and a tear over long gone friends
then we started getting pretty loose

He said 'I heard there's a party just down the line
jump a trolley to the Long Branch Loop'
so we climbed aboard, left the dead behind
and rolled along feeling good 'n loose

It was a-pull down the guitar, rosin the bow
treat your liver and your banjo with abuse
sing out the heart, forget about the head
and everyone was getting pretty loose

The good Lord made many lovely things
I've seen a beaver, a cougar and a moose
but nothing's half as lovely as the way I feel
when the music is getting good and loose

Now it's late, I'm back on the train
so sleepy that I drag my own caboose ...
yes I'm old but the day is young
and everything's been getting pretty loose
Ya everything is getting pretty loose!

Pretty Loose

Una Reina

A love song for strangers. Music and lyrics by Mike Dampf and Becky Sora © February, 2025 Becky plays mandolin, vocals; David Leadbitter plays bass. 

THIRD EYE BLUES

God has nothing to say to the sober
He leaves them high and dry but they don't complain
And God knows there ain't anything faster
Than a fall from grace, I'll never clean that stain

Do you know anyone here, you whispered
We were strangers sitting in a pew at the Church of the Homeless Angel
No but I'm gonna know you, I whispered
And by the way you really rock red at a funeral

I'm gonna live forever if it kills me
And I'm gonna love you for all time
Whatever made you want someone this crazy
I've got a third eye but sometimes I'd rather be blind

We balance on the edge of the moments between hope and fear
It seems to me
You and I ring, we're each other's everything
And alone together isn't so lonely

Third Eye Blues

When nothings left... the vibe has you.  rise up again

Recorded and Mastered at Rose Pro Studio
Produced By Kit Gratrix

Nothing left but this

WARNING: Contains the most epic metal scream of all time

Recorded on a Tascam 4 track tape machine.  Gremescer plays the drums, which is why they suck.

She Was Too Darn Young

Only Love

Cast of Characters:
Joe Stroffolino-- @joseph-stroffolino -- Taylor 114ce acoustic guitar, main vocals, harmony vocals, lyrics, composition
Llanpsych -- @llanpsych -- Tez – Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar
K2 and the Three [and the Four]--@k2andthe3, @k2-kara -–Ken–drums and percussion
Entheogenic Psychonaught (Josh Clary)–@josh-clary-1 –- four string Fender Precision Bass, and Roland organ
TexMex Shaman–@texmex-shaman –Stephen– Tom Anderson Custom T electric guitar, mix, mastering, and production

This song began when Joe, feeling a bit nostalgic, wrote the lyrics and composed it on his acoustic guitar. He recorded it and sang it with expert harmonies, then decided to share it with Eclectic Collective. We were all very excited to get work on our second song with Joe, as we all admire his songwriting.
First up was Tez this time, oddly enough. He was able to identify all the fill spots and light up the solo without the rest of us even adding anything yet. Next came Ken, who usually goes first, adding his steady grooving drums and tasty percussion. Once the drums were down, Josh completed the rhythm section by adding his fretted bass. He also worked out an organ part to give the whole sound a bit of thickness. Also adding some thickness and texture, Stephen added a clean electric rhythm part, as well.
Once we had it in can we asked Stephen to mix and produce it for us, which he did in his always expert fashion.
This, as mentioned, is Eclectic Collective's second song with Joe, and we all enjoyed bringing it to life with him. He's a wonderful collaborator and an all around good dude. Do yourself a favor and go check out his page, which is rich in great songs. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it.

Original lyrics by Joe Stroffolino:

If you find yourself in trouble and you think you've lost your way.
Here's hoping that you find a path to a better day.
I sure hope that you're happy. I'm wishing you the best.
I hope you find what you're looking for as you continue on your quest.
I hope you find all the answers to all those questions vexing you.
I hope you can find a way not to bite off more than you can chew.
I sure hope that you're happy. I'm wishing you the best.
I hope you find what you're looking for as you continue on your quest.
You spread your wings and you flew so far away from me.
I hope that you're enjoying your new reality
All those places that you said that you wanted to see.
I hope they're as good as you expected them to be.
I want you to know that you hold a special place in my heart.
I think about you often even though we are apart.
They say that when you love somebody sometimes you gotta be willing to let them go.
You gotta let them spread their wings and fly wherever the wind decides to blow.
I sure hope that you're happy. I'm wishing you the best.
I hope you find what you're looking for as you continue on your quest.
I hope that you're happy. I hope that you're doing well. I sure hope that you're doing swell.You spread your wings and you flew so far away from me.
I hope that you're enjoying your new reality

Hope That You Are Happy (Eclectic Collective with Joe Stroffolino)

Qu'est-ce qu'il y a, là haut ? Personne ne le sait, on suppose.. Des éléphants roses

Des éléphants roses

5) Smooth (edited show version)

"Self-Destructive Mona Lisa" (2025).

Writing songs and kitchen party playing with my many musical friends ... pretty much sums it up.

Another Silent Night

Mike Dampf

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