BILLDECHAND.com

Post Post Modernist Man (2008)

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:23:19 GMT

Here's a song from the In Dog's Country CD Release Party back in January 2008. Billy Dechand and Friends: Joe Winze, Shawn Hartung, and Scott Rockwood of Madahoochi, with Dan Ingenthron on bass. Off Broadway, St Louis, January 2008.
I wonder if it's still relevant?

Post Post Modernist Man
Words and music by Billy Dechand © 2006 Bucktooth Music (ASCAP)

I figured it out – up is down
What once was old is young again now
I’m a physical man in a spiritual world
A modern man in a post-modern world

I’m a post-post modernist man
In a post-post-post-modernist world
I’m a post-post-post-modernist man
In a post-post-post-post-modernist world

That is one heck of a gain
One whale of an oil stain

A mechanical man in an electrical world
I’m a space age man in a digital world
A windblown man in a static world
I’m a solar man in a nuclear world

I’m a post-post modernist man
In a post-post-post-modernist world
I’m a post-post-post-modernist man
In a post-post-post-post-modernist world

Queenormous Vocal Rehearsal

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:26:00 GMT

Well, in case you're curious, witness the softer side of Queenormous. Hear our mistakes, uncovered by our missing band mates' harmonies, drums, and electric guitars. This is a rehearsal, after all. "Warts and all," as George once said about Let It Be.
Of course, there will be no mistakes live. We will rock you.

Muppet Rhapsody

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:01:44 GMT

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Boogie On Reggae Woman

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:52:49 GMT

I love this song, as I love the '70s. This video captures the times well.
There's a brief moment when a soldier is walking with a woman...

When The Sand Is Dry

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:04:10 GMT

A song for the change of seasons.

WHEN THE SAND IS DRY
And the sun is high
Time blows by

When the tide is low
And footprints stay
Wind slows down

Everything you need is where you are
Just park your car and go
It's all the same you still remain

From The Billy Dechand Band's 2001 release, "World Famous In Chapel Hill".
Musicians: Billy Dechand, Vito di Bona, Mike Yanoski.

No. 9 Dream

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:38:53 GMT

OK, I got my cue: an actual request of my opinion on the remastered Beatles.

All I can say is I haven't heard them. But I am disappointed by what they are not. A number of their albums deserve not just remastering, but remixing. To be clear, remastering is taking the original master, which was the actual tape to which they mixed down their album. So that mix was the best it could sound, using state of the art equipment -- from the 1960s. In contrast, remixing is taking the original multi-tracks, and remixing them to a new master.

I have no doubt that the new remastered CDs sound much better. There are even hopes for my favorite, the White Album. The White Album has been on my dream list of remixes for years. Great songs, shitty mix. CNN explicitly mentioned "Dear Prudence" as being a White Album track that sounds much improved. There was plenty of room for sonic improvement on that one, and I'm relieved to hear that it happened.

But no matter how much you hear them talk about how great the technology is that went into the remastering, remember that that could all be applied to the process of remixing. Each of those high-tech tools for extracting and enhancing could be applied to each individual track, then used to make a sparking, beefy mix. We know it can be done. We first heard it on the Anthology series. they took the alternate takes, original multi-tracks, and suddenly the Beatles goofing around, playing wrong notes was heard like you were hanging out with them. Then they remixed Yellow Submarine, and that was mind-blowingly superior. "Eleanor Rigby" became some sort of 3D experience, just using my two stereo speakers. Then they did it again with Let It Be... Naked. So it's not impossible. They've already done it themselves.

So until I get to hear the White Album and Revolver remixed properly, I will not be satisfied. After so many decades, it's about time we get to hear whatever Ringo might be playing on the upbeat number, "Got To Get You Into My Life". I've heard them mentioned as a... kit of drums? Drum kittle?

Shut Up! I'm sensitive!

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:18:52 GMT

Preparing for my first solo show in several months this October (Stone Spiral, 10-10-09), I'm reminded that my focus is strongly affected by my environment. Certainly professionalism includes practice, along with musicianship. Doubtless, musicianship is a foundation upon which variations of quality rest. Chances are high if you don't have it together, it will suck. At least for most mortals, despite the mythology.

But performance can still mess with you no matter how prepared you think you are. All that effortlessness that comes from nowhere can be thrown to the ground with one unexpected click from the jukebox at the bar, or that long lost friend in the audience, shown up out of the blue.

But really, it's the people. Or, if you're rehearsing, the lack of people. Sure pros are just used to people, and that's part of the cool. But the moment's vibe is unavoidably crucial. If there's some jerk-face smirking from the left, the most seasoned professional will struggle to do his job: express the most tender nuances of emotion. I'll be tender no matter what, ding dang it!

(Note: My Spellcheck made me change "most tender" to "tenderest", then told me "tenderest" was not a word.)

Depending on one's constitution, fellow musicians' confidence or attitude matters even more. It never ceases to amaze me how better I play when my fellow players think I'm good. With those who don't like my music, (non-believers, or infidels really), I can usually bash out the notes correctly, but they probably won't shine. Thus providing positive feedback to their suck notion, the spiral begins. While I have spotted the phenomenon in my own history, I'm not so clever as to the cure. I can very determinedly bash out confidence, but then the joy will be AWOL; and spotted by either others or myself as doubting the whole point of music. The casual responder will suggest that you simply should only play with other kind folks, and I've done that. But the conundrum remains.

This reminds me: If I were more ambitious, would I be less of a nice guy? One may have some set universal answer, but I bet the truth is different for everyone.

What's lucky about such valleys of thought is that, at least on a late summer day in September, a simple step outside into the breeze and sunshine can interrupt all that.

Beautiful

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:58:07 GMT

Words and music by Billy Dechand, © 2003 Bucktooth Music (ASCAP)

You say you never had a better lover
Whether he was clever or a fool
You stay, breaking all the records for keeping it together
You’re fine, you’re so cool, and beautiful

They say, "Hey hey, look at those two
What can we do to be like you?
You’re fine, you’re so cool, and beautiful"

I say I love you, you know it’s true
You say you love me, I know it’s true
It’s true, I know, I know
Yeah, I know I know it’s true

I say, "Whatever I imagined as a fantasizing adolescent never
Could have added up to this kind of romance
I never knew
Who knew it could be so cool, and beautiful"

From the Muss My Hair CD, Hold On

Hold On

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:51:57 GMT

Hold On

Hold on, find another day to cry
Hold on, we need this time

No, don’t deny your feelings
More so, hold them close

Hold my hand
I need you here to keep me
Bold and strong
So I can keep what I hold dear

On this live version, Dan Ingenthron plays piano.

It Never Rains On My Birthday

Thu, 28 May 2009 12:22:37 GMT

It Never Rains On My Birthday
© 2008, words and music by Billy Dechand

I was born between falling stars
Our bothers, preachers and bootleggers sons
Oh, it hurt when they fell
I was so small I hardly knew
They came to do good and did well

My father, he liked his things
Mother loved to sing
Brother mastered his art
Sister knew how to party
Everyone's happy in Spring
It never rains...

No, it never rains on my birthday
The sun always shines
It never rains

All through the years
Oh so many tears
Love come and gone
Hoping for better days
Sometimes there's even parades
It never rains...

No, it never rains on my birthday
The sun always shines
It never rains

Acceptance speech

Sat, 02 May 2009 15:52:31 GMT

Reminds me of a Dave Chappelle skit... I'm sure he'd be impressed if he saw speech.

John Wayne presenting an award to the Beatles. Only in Hollywood.

The Man In The Suit

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:48:14 GMT

From 1998 Billy Dechand CD Pop Another Cork.

Seems the wiser
Varies with age

Takes the time to
Change his mind
Walks through the swarm

The venom of his enemy is wine
A stranger in silver
Steals from the queen
Painless and generous
The drones replace the gold
The spoils of his honey gift spread,
And word gets round

He takes chances
There's no danger

Even stronger
The sting endured
The poison is the cure

The venom of his enemy is wine
A stranger in silver
Steals from the queen
Painless and generous
The drones replace the gold
The spoils of his honey gift spread,
And word gets round

The Last Time

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:58:09 GMT

Here are the lyrics from "The Last Time", the first track on my first CD, Pop Another Cork.

The Last Time
Words & music by Kate Lovelady & Billy Dechand, 1997, Bucktooth Music (ASCAP)

He said the first thing to come to your mind,
the little prick proves you're awake, alone
again, these are your hands this is your bed,
its lonely frontiers wide and cold.

Bandaged thick with sheets and sleep
and unreasonable dreams . . .
get up, tear the pictures down,
scrub their shadows from the walls,
you'll never look at them again

(like) it's the last time

You thought because he was dancing close
(that) he was dancing with you
you've nailed every dip and turn,
learn the steps to exit gracefully.

Flickers of hope, blaze a maze
you've followed him in so long . . .
only a bitch forgets cleanly
once the memories are aired from every shirt and sheet
and beaten from the pillow.

This is the last time, just like
just like the second last time, . . .

He was the first man she ever trusted
he was the second man she ever trusted
she's had it now she says this is
the next-to-last time,
the very next-to-last time.

Just like the last time
like the second last time
like the third last time
Just like...

Walrus Contiguous

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:36:16 GMT

Watching the limo move from the Capital building to the White House on Inauguration Day eventually got a little boring, so I put on Magical Mystery Tour. It's fun to see how freaky music syncs up with historical events.
Thus this video.
If you're wondering who the Walrus is, I don't know for sure. But I can tell you this -- Al Roker is at least an eggman. Whether he is THE Eggman is yet to be seen.

Half Ass

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:19:27 GMT

As the name implies, I did this song really fast on the four-track. Neither concerns of musicianship nor sound quality slowed me down. I then made some quick and dirty doodles using a children's paint program (Tux Paint), to accompany the half-assed recording. To top it off, I loosely animated those doodles, for a complete half-assed music video. It's a full circle message -- the lyrics say it all, man.

Any Simpsons fans out there catch the reference?

Hey Jake

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:52:37 GMT

This song is also from the musical In Dog's Country. Mal, the bad dog (played by Ruth Keating of The Malarkies), tries to convince Jake, the good dog (Billy D) to attack the squirrel Ada, on whom Jake has a crush. Mal explains that dogs shouldn't love squirrels; instead, they should hunt them. Jake's confusion gets pretty emotional...

Hey Jake

Words and music by Billy Dechand
© 2007 Bucktooth Music

Mal:	Hey Jake, don't get it wrong
	Your attraction, that’s not love 
	You’re a hunter, and squirrels are meant to be caught
	Don’t give a thought to how she’ll suffer

Jake:	OK, maybe you're right; it's not true puppy love 
	Maybe this craving's for the hunt instead 
 
Mal:	Yes Jake, you are a dog
	Who lives and eats and breathes 
	You should be hunting like a real live dog
	Do you dare to fetch your meal rare? 

Jake:	Hey little squirrel look out here I come
	I think I got a deep down hunger for my teeth in yer bones 
        I’m coming to your home

        You’re so beautifully fluffy and seeing you’s making me jones  
        I can’t tell if it’s blood or it’s love that’s making me crazy 
        You're so fluffy...

In Dog's Country
CDBaby - iTunes

Hey Jake (You're So Fluffy) (w/...

I've Got It All

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:04:07 GMT

Now that my web site is fresh and different, I'm gonna post song lyrics from time to time. This is the first installment. Requests encouraged.
This one is from In Dog's Country, a musical about two dogs, a cat, a squirrel, and The Man. This one is sung by Frisky, the cat, who lives a privileged life style. Matt Sutton, front man for The Malarkies, sings lead.
I've Got It All
Words and music by Billy Dechand, © 2007 Bucktooth Music

I was born a kitten
Now I'm a kitty cat
I've got some kind of freedom
From The Man who keeps me fat

The Man makes the rules
But I keep my cool
He's still feeding me
Even when I'm cruel

He's a fascist, so I scratch him
Then I'm impassive, then I'm absent
When he's gone or away I never cry
He lets me go, he lets me stay
I love to be alone; I never cry

I've got it all right here
I'm far too smooth to ever try
I've got the touch
My food is never dry
I train my Man
Once a week I join him sleeping
That's all it takes to make him feel
He needs to make me meals
Then I turn my tail
I'm on my own again

The Man makes the rules
But I keep my cool
Sometimes I make a wish
Then he feeds me fish!

I've got it all right here
I'm far too smooth to ever try
I've got the touch
My food is never dry
I train my Man
Once a week I join him sleeping
That's all it takes to make him feel
He needs to make me meals
Then I turn my tail
I'm on my own again

In Dog's Country
CDBaby - iTunes

I’ve Got It All (w/ Matt Sutto...

How To Skank

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:05:49 GMT

Get up and dance!

My new web site: Why Y? Why?

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:47:45 GMT

After a long and arduous experience with various domain hosts and web hosts, I've made this here LiveJournal site my home site.
So BillDechand.com (not BillyDechand.com, mind you) now directs to DrSpecial.LiveJournal.com.
Thanks to the profoundly unhelpful domainsnext.com, I no longer have control over BillyDechand.com. The moderately helpful FLSHosting.com helped me get BillDechand.com, though they weren't very helpful with my BillyDechand.com problems.
Such is life. Since I've been using BillyDechand.com for so long as my home site, I'm confusingly calling this site BillyDechand.com, even though it's really BillDechand.com, redirected to DrSpecial.LiveJournal.com.
I'm sure you're very impressed with my web skills. With this new clarity, no doubt I'll be getting tons of hits now.
Buy my CDs!
Also, I have a special Facebook musician page. Join/become a fan and get updates and hear some songs for free.

George Harrison

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:05:29 GMT

I'm on a bit of a George Harrison kick. He was the truly cool one. Profoundly unpretentious. You should see how he acts when interviewed.

So here are a couple of live videos (a rare thing unto itself -- he didn't play our often.

I Want To Tell You

Absolutely Sweet Marie

George plays slide up close on "Cloud 9". He's playing with Eric Clapton's band, which always seems a little wankerly to me. Too many notes, like far too many jam bands.

Check out a strung-out Eric Clapton playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with him in 1971. Poor geezer's got clean tone, not right for the song...

See super-'70s George flanked by Billy Preston's 'fro to his right, and President Ford on his left.

Floyd's gonna take care of you

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:09:34 GMT

Two great tastes that taste great together!

Bo Rhap

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:29:43 GMT

2008-07-12-BoRhap
Originally uploaded by wdechand

I got a new little camera. It's a tiny thing that shoot pix and videos. Here is a little rehearsal video of a Queen choral rehearsal. This the just the high and low notes (mine, off camera). The middle harmonies are not in the room.

Billy TV!

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:42:20 GMT

Shameless self-promotion. On my own blog, imagine..

I don't know why sequencing is such a pain in the button YouTube. I'd like to change the song order, but you have to delete, read, and ignore that your changes appear and disappear.
Hope you enjoy despite all that. My favorite may still be "Post Post Modern Man".

Happy Birthday, Ringo

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:45:09 GMT

Today he's 68. Quite the survivor, considering he almost died as a little sickly child. And the fates of his more cosmic band mates, and self-destructive lifestyle...
Speaking of which, here's one of my favorites, "No No Song", played with his original All-Starr Band (1989).

Note the players: Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren, Dr. John, Billy Preston, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Jim Keltner (excellent session drummer), and Clarence Clemons.
And boy can he dance!
Check him out doing this song with the Smothers Brothers

weather or not

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:00:10 GMT

For all you in the Northeast, wishing it were cooler, and in the Northwest, wishing it were warmer: