Copyright 2020, Zach Miners
Guitars, tambourine and vocals by Zach Miners

lyrics:

We met on a surfing trip, down in Pacifica, 
during my first year in SF, California 

Things clicked from the start 
We hung out together, many times thereafter

We spent the Fourth of July in Bodega Bay 
Driving up north, talking with the car stereo  
We watched the fireworks in Sausalito

It was always fun, casual,
and filled with laughter

The next year, for Halloween
I was the Joker, and you were my girl:
Harley Quinn 

I was the Joker that Halloween, we stayed out awhile 
But I couldn’t put a smile on your face
It was the great sad last mile

Throughout your four years here,
you were a true friend  
But as right as we were, 
you never found your groove here

You had your own problems with this city:
abusive men,
obnoxious neighbors, 
confused family members,
who didn’t understand why you moved across the country

And I was the Joker that Halloween, we stayed out awhile 
But I couldn’t put a smile on your face
It was the great sad last mile

Oh, Ms. Quinn
Oh, Ms. Quinn
I hope you’re better now
You’re my latest ghost now 

Tiburon -- 
It was the best night we spent together

We drove up during the day, over the Bay
We ate dinner on the pier, you floated this idea:
to leave the San Francisco Bay

I didn’t argue with you
I thought a move might be the best thing for you

Because I was the Joker that Halloween, we stayed out awhile 
And I couldn’t put a smile on your face
It was the great sad last mile

I was the Joker that Halloween, we stayed out awhile 
And I couldn’t put a smile on your face
It was the great sad last mile

Ms. Quinn

Copyright 2020, Zach Miners
Guitar, synthesizers, electronic drums and vocals by Zach Miners

lyrics:

The introduction came 17 years ago,
with a psychedelic film by Cameron Crowe

… that's when I was introduced to your music,
and your catchy, melancholy soul 

You sang “Have You Forgotten,”
when Tom Cruise left Cameron Diaz
alone in his massive apartment

And no, I haven't forgotten 
I've played that song so many times, 
in my own studio and one-bedroom apartments

I went to the delicatessen the other day
The one right down the street,
from Leavenworth & Clay 

It was delicious, and I'd never been there before
Hadn't even noticed it before
I asked them how long they been there for
They said about 15 years,
and I felt like a failed conquistador 

Three days later I saw you,
at the taqueria nextdoor 

I approached you, and introduced myself as a longtime fan
You have a reputation for verbally abusing your fans
But that didn’t deter me, from walking up to you,
and telling you,
that I loved your new spoken word tunes  

You laughed and said, “Well, not everyone does,
so, thank you” 

* 

I called my friend Matt in Michigan,
to tell him I met you at the taqueria
Matt thought it was funny, because he knows
you can be a loose cannon, and treat your fans like garbage

And there I was, just another white guy in sneakers,
telling you I love your music,
then walking back up the hill to my own hipster apartment

And if that wasn’t enough, here’s the rub of it: 

Since that day I’ve seen you around the neighborhood,
at least several times 
But each time I’ve ignored you, 
instead of saying hello again
“Remember me? Zach? That guy who met you in the taqueria?”

I don’t know if that would be a friendly neighborly thing to do,
or just some creepy thing that would annoy you

And I wonder if those times I’ve passed you,
you’ve thought the same thing about me:

“Hey, there’s that guy that approached me in the taqueria.
I wonder if I should say hi to him again,
or just let that weirdo stalk me on Wikipedia?” 

*

I met my musical idol at the Taqueria,
I met my musical idol at the Taqueria
I met my musical idol at the Taqueria

… the Taqueria?

I Met My Musical Idol at the Taqueria

Copyright 2019, Zach Miners
Guitars, bass, electronic drums and vocals by Zach Miners

lyrics:

One, a microbiologist
The other, a nature conservationist 

The first lived in the Berkeley Hills
The other, Marin Headlands

Oh, what views of the world 
The both sought to study and preserve it
They had ambitious goals to improve it

The reasons for their interest in me
-- incredibly -- 
is a subject I’m still studying

*

Was their interest merely a byproduct,
of their professional aspirations?

For the biologist, was I merely a specimen?

For the conservationist, a recycling gentleman? 

Or was the interest in spite of their priorities? 

Was the interest due to my own personal qualities? 

… Or was it all of the above?

*  

The biologist, a Berkeley scientist
One night we had dinner in Oakland
And when I showed her that I brought my guitar,
she said, “You’re my favorite.”

But clearly not favorite enough,
to take me far,
far, far away with her

When she left for her research fellowship,
I was not with her 

Three years later, the nature lover
She worked for the SF Parks Department,
preserving our lands, and forging new paths 

Next was her own new path to Montana:
A new venture to preserve their water 
And check out their game -- she was just roaming 

She was the most glamorous girl I'd ever seen,
to express a real keen interest in hunting 

And experimental jazz,
experimental jazz,
and experimental jazz 

* 

Why are the best people always moving,
transitioning,
through this city?

The incredible ones seem to be just passing through

They say you leave your heart in San Francisco --
Not true

I’m still here with my heart at 33,
while they're both gone,
along with their own hearts,
in very different cities

My own motto is "Move on”
And usually, that holds true

But those two times,
a spell was put on me,
indefinitely
They left suddenly,
very suddenly
 
And leaving me,
with nothing to do,
but hold on to the memories,  
and reminisce, about the things we did do

… All with the two most incredible girls,
to ever leave San Francisco

The Two Most Incredible Girls to Ever Leave San Francisco

Copyright 2019, Zach Miners
Guitars, melodica, tambourine and vocals by Zach Miners

lyrics: 

Rest in peace, Phil --
The boney king 
of Northeast D.C.

He was my neighbor,
and a heavy user,
of drugs

But an avid player,
of guitars

And a lover,
of David Gilmore, and Jay Farrar 

But he was no musician
No, he was more like,
the demented sick neighbor

And a victim, the other tenants said,
of acquired immune deficiency syndrome

I never asked him, to confirm or deny it
But I did reject him,
every time he knocked on my door,
to jam, to play guitar 

I turned him away, because I feared the day,
he would count me as a friend,
and ask me for a favor,
to support his addictive behaviors 

Phil, he was a 46-year-old trust fund kid
He had no job,
just his rundown studio apartment

He’d always compliment me on my guitar playing

Then one time I did let him in
We talked for an hour,
about idols we had in common 

Then he just stood and stared,
scratching his arms, 
looking at my own guitars

It seemed like that day, 
he saw and felt something pure

Did he ever feel it again?
I’m not sure, 
because shortly thereafter, I moved away,
and I heard from a neighbor,
that Phil, the addict, had passed away

The Addict

Copyright 2019, Zach Miners
Guitars, harmonica, tambourine and vocals by Zach Miners

lyrics:

Let the festivities begin
Sausalito, California, July Fourth, 1957
Joyous celebrations, fireworks,
music, laughter, revelry, 
cool jazz 

Those were the sounds that could be heard
-- not possibly ignored --  
by the inmates, imprisoned,
on a nearby island,
in the beautiful bay, called Alcatraz 

Sounds so close, so easily heard
Drifting across ripples in the water
Many years the inmates served,
and many lives, they tragically severed

But perhaps the real tragedy for the prisoners,
the real justice served,
was the surrounding beauty,
that was never in their future

The city skyline, sunsets, sailboats 
A bridge of golden, the perfect lighting
All right there for the viewing,
but not for the taking
but not for the taking

A Tragically Beautiful Prison

Copyright 2019, Zach Miners
Guitars, bass synthesizer, melodica, clave, tambourine and vocals by Zach Miners

lyrics:

One block from the ocean,
on the edge of the Western world,
stands a cozy local bar, a place I had on my radar,
when I was still living in the Eastern world
when I was still living in the Eastern world 

Adored by locals, for its laid-back vibe
Free live music, every weekend night

I went there with my dad,
five years ago,
on the night we arrived,
here in San Francisco

We sat by the fire,
in my new city home

Two years later, a two-alarm fire,
burned The Riptide to the ground

* 

Prior to the fire,
I took other people there:

A friend visiting from Brooklyn --
we made a horrible trivia pair

And with one of the incredible girls to leave San Francisco,
I sang “Like a Rolling Stone,”
and the cold fog rolled elsewhere 

A bar on the edge,
of the Western world,
just steps from the ocean, and wave-crashing sounds 

Then the lovely Riptide burned to the ground

* 

Two years passed,
And I moved out of the Sunset,
to Nob Hill, and The Riptide
-- dead or alive --
seemed like a whole other life

(Yeah, The Riptide,
seemed like a whole other life) 

Then one day I made a trip back,
after buying some records,
at Tunnel Records,
a new business on the same street 

I asked the store owners,
“Hey, what’s the status on The Riptide?”
To which they replied,
“It’s alive, and it’s alright.”

Yeah, The Riptide had come,
back alive

*

Isn’t that the true essence of San Francisco?
A place of invention, new beginnings,
and reinvention  

The Riptide encapsulates all three,
beautifully,
both for itself, and the experiences it gave me

Welcome to The Riptide…

The Riptide

Copyright 2019, Zach Miners
Guitars, electronic bass, harmonica, percussion and vocals by Zach Miners

lyrics:

10 blocks south, you beckoned me
A bigger place, a new living space
I barely thought and said, “Sure, give me a key.”

Then I walked back home, and I saw my friends
We walked through the hills, and looked at my favorite things,
through my 50 millimeter prime lens

I told them that I was moving
I could see that they didn’t quite get it
And the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t

10 blocks south, and yet a world away,
from all the things that made my heart sway

I went to Tunnel Records the other day
… a brand new record store in my old hood,
by Ocean Beach, The Riptide, and Java Beach Cafe 

It was a beautiful day
I bought Marquee Moon by Television
The same record playing the day
I visited Trouble Coffee in West Oakland

And riding back up the hill,
I thought to myself:
I’m not ready to leave that world

I went to the darkroom on Sunday
Then I walked by that bigger place,
10 blocks south, on Geary

A homeless woman threw a milkshake
into the street
It nearly splattered my feet

I felt sorry for her, and I
wondered what she would think, if I
told her that the thought of moving
into that big place,
scared the hell out of me

Scared the Hell Out of Me

Guitars, vocals and tambourine by Zach Miners. Recorded in 2022.

Cover art by Zach Miners.

Original song recorded and performed by the Beach Boys on their 1970 album Sunflower.

Forever (Beach Boys Cover)

Written and recorded in 2022. Synthesizer and guitar by Zach Miners. Cover art by Zach Miners.

What Exactly Unites Us

Arranged by Zach Miners.

Spoken word by members of the Gaffney and Miners families.

Guitars by Zach Miners.

Theme from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game, copyright Nintendo 1989.

Mastered by John McBain.

Zach Miners

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