Recorded in 2009 for the independent film Cagin Of Chrysaint.  Written by D.E. Lucas.  Produced by Ben West.  This tune dates back to a piano figure I wrote in about 1989 and eventually wrote a single refrain three years later.  It remained an unfinished but frequently revisited project until 2008, when filmmaker Dana Elise invited me to score her first full-length film Cagin Of Chrysaint.  In a single sitting, I filled in all the blanks of the song I'd had semi-mapped in my head, and before long recorded the song with producer Ben West.  Similar to my earlier song "Flow River Flow," the lyrics explore the connection as well as the vagaries of the human journey to that of a river, only this time, the narrator is "going for a swim."

Days Of Enchantment

Recorded in 1998.  Written by D.E. Lucas and C.M. Mapp.  Produced by James Gardner.  "Cheeseburger In Purgatory" came together in 1997 with some great chord changes written by my good friend Chris Mapp and augmented with a set of lyrics I wrote pretty much in one sitting.  I always like to call this "Jimmy Buffett meets Friedrick Nietzsche," as this is the tale of a recently deceased fellow who's stuck at a bar in Purgatory sitting next to Nietzche, still there after all these years, and still spewing his litany of observations.  In addition to the titular reference to Buffett, there are also allusions from such luminaries as Samuel Beckett and Lyle Lovett.  Fun college days, those....

Cheeseburger In Purgatory

Recorded in 1999.  Written by D.E. Lucas.  Produced by James Gardner.  "Control" started with the mountain-climbing bass line which occurs after the first few measures of hi-hat and cowbell.  This was, at the time, one of the most layered songs I had ever recorded, and also one of the most furiously rocking.  Quite simply, it is about removing obstacles that impedes one's self and taking "Control" of one's life.  The Blues Brothers-style brass figure repeated after each chorus and during the outro, by the way, was an afterthought.

Control

Recorded in 1993.  Written by D.E. Lucas.  Produced by James Gardner.  This song dates back to a guitar figure I started noodling about on my 12-string in late 1991 or early 1992--my mind is slipping these days.  I eventually changed the key via a guitar capo and went electric six-string, and thought of a constantly thumping 4/4 bass drum figure up until the finale section which went all full-band, complete with improv organ solo.  Add to this mix the lyrical ode to a river and the connection of its flow to human and spiritual growth, and voila!  One of my very favorites of my own songs.

Flow River Flow

Recorded in 1997.  Written by D.E. Lucas.  Produced by James Gardner.  This actually came from transforming a refrain from the 1992 song "End" by The Cure (repetition of the line "Please stop loving me," resolving with "I am none of these things") and instead moving the narrative to an anti-New Age cautionary tale.  The song was written in 1993 but not recorded until four years later.  The recorded version borrowed heavily from an arrangement I'd worked up with my college band Blank in 1996, with great drumming from Jeff Kwiecien during that time.

Pinnacle

Recorded in 1994.  Written by D.E. Lucas.  Produced by James Gardner.  This song addresses how whenever there is a political scandal, ever since Watergate in the early 1970s, the suffix "-gate" is added to the main identifying term.  Iran-gate, Contra-gate, Whitewater-gate etc.  The song doesn't endorse any political party or ideology, it just mimics the news media's use of malleable labels.  Hence, we're standing at "The Gate" again.  I thought a Billy Joel-style piano figure would make it catchy, with the results you can hear.

The Gate

I like to call this a "Nirvana spoof."  Written in 1996 with Jeff Kwiecien for our college band Blank and recorded by myself in studio a year or two later, it is a parody of a would-be alternative rocker who would rather "burn out" than "sell out."  Recording produced by James Gardner.

Petch Lucas

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