SheepWithMe

GODAWFUL ODD GOODIES

Title: GODAWFUL ODD GOODIES

Artist: CHRIS MATTHEWS

Originally Recorded: 1982 to 1986 (all previously unreleased)

Issued on CD: 1997 (Appollo/Artemis CD #155)

Produced by: Chris Matthews

Personnel: Chris Matthews (all tracks) • Danny Hesse & John Wilson (3/14/16) • Wally George & Mike Harrison (4) • Jeff Mitchell (7/9) • Stephen Burpo (12) • Steve Wirth (14/16) • Rob Perrone (14) • Jeanne Whalen (17/20) • Bill Alexander & Leonard Barrera (8)

CD Liner Notes:

Godawful Odd Goodies - another compilization of crud by Christian Matthews - from the years 1982 to 1996

part 1:

1. IT’S A SIGN (Demo) (music & lyrics written by me) - 1990.

Recorded moments after writing it in the Diner. Rather than spend a lot of time refining lyrics & perfecting vocal parts, I taped this one fast with an eye toward re-doing it for my AMBIVORAMA Lp, which I did, changing the words a bit. As is usual with demos, this version has little melody variations that never made it into the final song. [3:03]

2. WHISPERS (Poem For A Broken Hand) (written by me) - 1982 & 1996.

I’d recently unearthed this weird quintuple-tracked poem from an unmarked cassette, wherein I whisper therapeutically at night in my bedroom, obviously really stoned. I had just broken my right hand over Rob’s head that week, my first broken bone ever. I had to wear a cast. I was rendered useless. It was my “Gloom” period. Plus new weird overdubs. [1:28]

3. SEEMS SO SAD (Vocal Demo - version 2) (music & lyrics by me) - 1987-88.

This song & “A Date With Destiny” were the first to be started for Sheep’s PART THREE Lp, with me, John & Danny playing guitars in a garage in Covina over my pre-recorded drum tracks. Joe Velosa had yet to add his bass, but I wanted to hear the song that was in my head so I played an interim bass part & recorded 2 tries at vocals. This version came out rather different, more country than the final vocals I re-did in 1991, my voice being 3 years younger! [3:30]

4. KQED PROFILE THEME (music written by me) - 1988.

This was the intro to a school project, in my beginner’s radio class at SFSU. It never really aired on KQED. Ha!

CHRIS VS. WALLY GEORGE - 1984.

One evening at Steve Wirth’s “Woodglen” apartment, I waited forever on the phone to speak to Neo-Nazi Reaganite Wally George on Mike Harrison’s KMET radio talk show. John & Mike set up the cassette deck to record the conversation while I nervously went over what I’d say. Of course, I feel I never really got to eloquently express what I was getting at.... [total time 2:15]

5. PARTRIDGE FAMILY COMMERCIAL (written by me) - 1990.

Another school project, this one for actual radio play over KSFS at San Francisco State. My teachers told me I was a good editer. And it got a big laugh when they played it during the Broadcast Communications Dept Awards Show in some big theater on campus. Of course the subject matter is totally old & boring now, but at the time people hadn’t yet seriously reconsidered the Partridge Family. Ha! [1:25]

6. IN THE PLACE WHERE WE LAY (Demo) (written by me) - 1989.

My first love song to Jeff, written soon after we met, and recorded in a rush so I wouldn’t forget how it went. The melody changed somewhat by the time I committed it to AMBIVORAMA. I had forgotten all about this demo, until I just now found it, unlabeled, at the end of one of my ten zillion master tape cassettes. [1:27]

7. UNBORN CHRISTIAN (music written by me) - 1989.

Produced & overdubbed by Jeff. He’d asked me to make something up one night not long after we’d met, at his apartment on Euclid in San Francisco. I played these chords while he adjusted wah-wah & distortion knobs. Later, alone, he added harmonica & marraca, plus a totally untuned guitar noise part, which I judiciously turned way down for this mix. A true artifact (I never heard it ‘til I mixed it for this CD!). [2:39]

8. ERIN ESHOO (music written by me) - 1993-94.

I got inspired to record the simple manic Casio part while figuring out the chords to “Wishing You Were Here”. Sloppy one-take overdubs one by one actually began to build the chords & melody, and give character to the song! Erin Eshoo was a girl at my Junior High. Imagine her dancing to this. [1:25]

9. WISHING YOU WERE HERE (written by Terry Kath & Peter Cetera) - 1993-96.

These days it apparently takes 4 years to complete a song. I chose to cover this Chicago ditty for no good reason, pretty much improvising without actually checking the original version! But I had a problem when I sat down to record: I had no guitars or proper keyboards in the house! - just a tiny white Casio. Cheesey. Later I overdubbed drums, which is never easy, especially when I didn’t play the Casio to a click track. I sang a million vocal parts. Eventually Jeff added the horn at the end. [4:05]

10. MODERN ROCK (written by me) - 1993 & 1996.

Found in between demos I’d recorded with singer Susan Coburn (she’s the girl you hear briefly here). Will this guitar idea get used again someday? Could be… [:47]

part 2:

11. ERES TU (Backing Trax) (who wrote this song?) - 1988.

This song goes by so quickly on Jeanne’s IF I WERE A SHEEP Lp, you miss what’s going on behind the vocals. I was proud of myself the day I did these quickie music & backing-vocal tracks, bouncing things all over on 4 tracks & getting a nice balanced stereo picture out of it, instead of 4 flat mono tracks. Why I made Jeanne do this song, I dunno. I couldn’t actually locate a copy of the record so it’s all from memory, and probably quite wrong. [:26]

12. TOBACCO ENCHILADA (Vocal Demo) (music by me & Stephen Burpo; lyrics by me) - 1987 & 1994.

Me & Stephen often talked about music we would like to do together, but this was our only attempt to write or record anything: us playing 2 guitars in Steve’s Azusa apartment. Everything broke down when we couldn’t agree on the concept that would fill out our title - he wanted to be serious. Recently I decided to finish it, with new lyrics & overdubs. Someday I want to get my little sister Jennifer and Jeff’s niece Paige (both swell singers) to sing it (that’s why it’s a “vocal demo”). [3:17]

13. MATT’S NEPHEW (EMBELLISHMENTS) (written by Matt’s Nephew) - 1991.

Apparently Matt had asked Jeanne to ask me a favor: His nephew was teaching himself to play guitar and had written a song for mommy. Matt wanted me to “embellish” the horrific song Nephew had written into something interesting. I accepted the challenge, and played along with the non-existent timing of said Nephew, overdubbing new tracks, each repetition becoming more absurd. I never did hear what he thought of the final product. [2:56]

14. A DATE WITH DESTINY (Vocal Demo) (music by Danny & me; lyrics by me, Danny, John & Mike) - 1987.

After we sat around at Danny’s & wrote these words, I took ‘em home & worked out the complicated melody, then recorded this demo vocal over the finished Sheep PART THREE music for Mike & John to learn & sing, which they eventually did. Some bits got changed from this demo, however, so it’s interesting in retrospect. Steve’s lines weren’t even written yet, as is obvious from the “la-la’s” I sing in his part. [2:05]

15. A STROLL DOWN LIFE AVENUE (Total Demo) (music written by me; lyrics written by Mike) - 1986.

For much of Mike’s first solo Lp, I wrote music to his old poems. We began the project in Covina, but this demo was taped in Berkeley soon after I moved there, on cruddy badly-aligned stereo cassette decks (Danny’s 4-track being down south with Danny, who soon saved me by moving up here). He & Paul & I re-made the backing tracks (with real drums) for MINKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD. [3:47]

16. POOR OLD WHITE WOMAN (Vocal Demo) (music by Danny & me; lyrics by Jeanne & John) - 1989.

Jeanne recently handed this cassette back to me, with my one-take vocal demo on it, apparently recorded the night we all did the music at Steve’s in Azusa, for her to listen to before the next night, when we all reconvened & finished it. It was true Sheep madness for her first Lp IF I WERE A SHEEP, with instruments by me, Danny, John & Steve. [3:18]

17. YOU SHOULD SEE YOURSELF (original version) (written by ?) - 1988.

This rarity was removed from the master of Jeanne's IF I WERE A SHEEP the day after its premiere, at her insistence (she wouldn't tell me why). It went right between the intro & main part of "Hey Big Spender". It's copied from the original SWEET CHARITY arrangement. [:22]

18. THE MAN WHO OWNS THE SUN (music by Leonard Barrera; lyrics written by me) - 1984 & 1993.

The first band I was ever in not composed of my Sheep-pals was called “IZREAL” and was fronted by a loser who often didn’t show up (see LONG LOST CM BOOTLEGS). So one night the other 3 guys in the band (me, guitarist Bill Alexander & new bassist Leonard Barrera) jammed on Leonard’s composition with this title. I taped it. Years later I added my own words, since I never did hear his. It’s Heavy Metal & Heavy Concept. [2:57]

19. SCENE CHANGE (written by me) - 1990.

Just now I found this guitar thing after the end of “It’s a Sign #2”. I don’t remember doing it at all. [:16]

IT’S A SIGN (version 2 of a total of 3) (written by me) - 1990.

Okay, this version is almost like the one on AMBIVORAMA; in fact it’s the same -- except the first half of the song was tremendously processed on the final version, with new overdubs over the middle break. This is the almost done version, with a lot of weird intro stuff. [2:47]

20. ORANGES PORNGES (extended version) (written by Witchie-Poo) - 1988.

Another song that goes by just oh too fast on Jeanne’s IF I WERE A SHEEP, and I really like the music I did, so here I remixed & extended it for you to hear all the elements fall into place. And a suitable album ender, I thought. [:55]

Thank you for listening.

All performances & production by Christian Matthews

unless otherwise specified.

Mixed & mastered onto analog tape by me at Antenna throughout 1996.

Cover photo by Jeanne Whalen.

Appollo/Artemis Records No. 155