Pitchforks (Clean Version)

Pitchforks

“Needs Be” (out 22nd February) is the first single to be lifted from Stevie Toddler’s album ‘Such Big Ideas’, a record that sees the bassist, singer and songwriter revelling in the push-and-pull between chaos and control. The song is about “feeling unashamedly available”, says Stevie; “I've had a lifetime of absorbing both shameful and unrealistic narratives around sex and intimacy, and so this song is my small part in countering those narratives”.

Stevie Toddler / Bass  & vox 
Danny Wallington / Synths
Greg Sterland / Tenor Sax & Bari Sax
Piers Tamplin / Tenor Sax  & Bass Clarinet
Robert Burgess / Drums
Ru Lemer / Production

Artur Tixiliski / Artwork

Needs Be

I know we should be friends
I'm falling to the end
but I've got to be this way
I know we should be friends

and I feel the same

I'm holding on too tight
I'm fading in the light
but I've got to be this way
I'm holding on too tight

and I feel the same as you
and I feel the same

I know this could be true
cos you're sticking round and I'm hanging on to you
I know this could be right
cos you're digging in and I'm slipping out of sight

I'm going round again
I'm tiring out my brain
but I've got to be this way
I'm going around again

I Feel The Same

stark and fated
dark and painted
walking round a square
buy me on a discount

growing till you're smart
I can see you're pretty
let me blow your mind
understated flimsy

smoke and neon
fur and nylon
hit me with your eyes
don't get any closer

subtlety is vain
consequence is heaven
if you're living in your history
I've got nothing left to say

Model art (show me)
Model art (drag me slowly)
Model art (exciting's what I say)
Model art

tired and lonely
erudite and homely
opening a bottle with your teeth
and spitting out blood

tightrope walking
paranoid and falling
dignity is everything
no matter what they say

Model art (show me)
Model art (drag me slowly)
Model art (exciting's what I say)
Model art

I've got a lot of time for anyone who cares about anything
(I don't have to believe them)
I've got a lot of time, I've got a lot of soul

Model art (show me)
Model art (drag me slowly)
Model art (exciting's what I say)
Model art

damp and faded
over-rated
You know what I'm looking for, I can swallow up your soul
You know what I'm looking for, I can swallow up your soul
I know what you're looking for, let me play with your desire


Guitar parts were written and played by https://soundcloud.com/jowwwafi who also mixed the track

Model Art

Brudini - Reflections (Single)

Autis takes listeners on a multi-faceted journey through BRUCH's autistic creativity. During the five-song EP, the audience journeys from ambient, hypnotic moments into bass-driven, thunderous tribal drumming, all accentuated by her multi-layered cello sections.

Enjoy!

Tortoise Skin

We travel down the road, we travel round the world
We try to learn the secrets that no other men have heard
And so I follow every road, and I believe in every word
And I try to find a reason for closing time

And I was once so young, and this world was such a place
And I had never seen the dark room, and fear had never seen my face
But then the time moved on so fast, and everything began to change
Separated by a lifetime, from closing time

It's closing time, but I am not prepared to wait
The truth I've found is one I'm not prepared to face
I'm still the person that I always was before
Slightly more cynical, slightly more bored

And you are still alive, but you feel such a fake
cos they're calling you a genius, but you were only just awake
And now the days go on too long, and now your mind begins to fail
Understand it for the first time, at closing time

It's closing time, but I am not prepared to wait
The truth I've found is one I'm not prepared to face
I'm still the person that I always was before
Slightly more cynical, slightly more bored

But there's still money to be had, there's still a profit to be made
I tried a million times to steal you but you still wanted to be paid
And now I find I'm not so young, but now I know I'm not afraid
I can offer you a lifetime, at closing time

It's closing time, but I am not prepared to wait
The truth I've found is one I'm not prepared to face
I'm still the person that I always was before
Slightly more cynical, slightly more bored

Closing Time 2019

Interesting Friends

Hocus Pocus Superstar

ICE FROM THE SKY

2020 janine levinson

I woke up this morning to ice from the sky
In my little piece of paradise
It should be warm; it should be temperate
And yet, ice from the sky

It's dry! so dry! said the ground to the sky
In my little piece of paradise
It should be flowing where I have flourished
And yet it's terribly dry

Withering and shrinking; waiting for a drink
A sprout or two will rise -- but never climb to the sky

I woke up this morning with tears in my eyes
in my little piece of paradise
I should feel warm and be contented
and yet, tears in my eyes

Muttering and sinking; watching for a cloud
A spout or two will rise -- but never a drop from the sky

A quake could shake the ground 
And if a tear were to hit it right
It would split with an awful sound
And day would turn to night

The sky could fall --be upside down
The clouds my bed  -- the stars my ground
The heavens pour and burn my toes
Ice will fly.  Still nothing grows.

I woke up this morning to ice from the sky
In my little piece of paradise
It should be warm; it should be temperate
And yet, ice from the sky

Ice From The Sky

song by Bill Carey & Carl Fischer

performed by The Invisible Apples
John Baggott - piano / Pete Judge - flugelhorn

recorded in St George's Bristol, September 2020

You've Changed

I began my musical experience many moons ago (I'm now 47) on Euphonium and Piano in classical ensembles before moving on to guitar, bass guitar. keyboards and singing in both alternative and covers bands. Over the years I've performed in venues as varied as the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Dorchester Hotel, as well as lots of considerably smaller places that don't start with the word Royal.

In 2009 I was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis and my condition has now progressed to a stage where I now routinely use a wheelchair and no longer have the dexterity to play either guitar or piano. I can though still write songs, sing and use a DAW (in my case cubase).

These songs are a mixture of totally new recordings, old recordings with new parts and remastered studio demos. The old recordings I'm adding parts to are primarily some acoustic demos I recorded around 2005 which does mean that whenever I add harmony vocals I'm effectively duetting with a (much) younger me who could play (and is playing) acoustic guitar and piano

Various other people have also been writing and recording parts to add to these original recordings and anyone that would like to is entirely welcome to become involved with either songs posted here or those still in the pipeline. Feel free to message me about songs you'd like to be involved with or any other form of collaboration. Unless otherwise stated all songs were written by Greenhouses for Beginners.

Closing Time 2019

Tony Metcalfe