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In Your Face

 
Released 10-12-2005

Recording dates:

January - Sept. 24, 2005

Band Personnel and performers:

  

Tim Ross:  Vocals, Guitar, Bass Guitar, keyboard, strings, brass, Percussion

John Knutelsky: Vocals, guitar,

Gary Fryer: Drums, djembe, percussion, pan flute

Larry Z: Vocals

Backing vocals: Tr, Big John, Grace Ross and Larry Z

 

Art and cd design by Tim Ross

Photography: Grace Ross and Rod Wallace

 

 

Produced, engineered, and arranged by Tim Ross

Recorded at Thunderchild and Gyhooya Studios, Jax, Florida and Thch Studio, Starlight Ranch, Alabama

All songs written by Trouble Clef and its members between 1999 and 2005

       ©2005 TC Enterprises

      

Special Thanks to:

    God, Rod, Gracie, Joshua, Jessica, Dash, Stephane, Uncle Clyde,  Mom'n 'em,  and the rest

 

In the wake of their bold and handsome cd, "Conundrum", the band were at a musical high point.  This showed as the band entered into a renaissance of new material. The project that awaited would be the band's most dynamic, melodic and prolific musical venture yet.

Tr: I knew we had to do another one. The stuff was just too good. 

GF: It's our best ever, that's for sure.

JK: Nothing is forever except death and taxes!

(laughter)

JK: Some of these songs weren't songs until we brought them out to be songs.

Tr:  And I knew these songs were destined to be songs way before they were songs

GF: Every practice, we had a new riff.

Tr: Usually just jam sessions we did to warm up, but we had some great ones! Gary records these sessions if something good happens. He gave me a copy of all that stuff and since I was leaving town, I knew we had to make this cd first. So I spent a lot of time trying to make these long jams into actual songs. In the end, I couldn't capture the feel that some of them had no matter how hard I tried. One example is "Lazy Crazy Summer". The finished song is great but it didn't capture the aura of the original demo. I actually spliced a piece of that demo into the very beginning of the finished song.  It was also bit awkward for John because he would come up with a riff, play it once and forget about it. Months later, I would bring it back to him as a complete song - and he didn't remember ever doing it. And  I would try to get Gary to play some of the same drum riffs that he played in the original session. They did an outstanding job considering the pressure I put over them.

GF: I'm actually surprised we got it made at all with you being so bummed losing your car!

Tr: That happened during a break in the recording session for Sunshine Girl. It was a part of me. (croc tears) Didn't effect the song, though, like it or not. I'll always remember John's reaction to hearing the finished version. He said "That was totally Turtles".

GF: We were learning this stuff in the studio. Tim was directing us with movements and signals.

JK: He was playing "Lawrence Welk". If only he had the baton.

GF: We were down to the wire with Tim and Larry Moving to other parts of the country.

Tr: It made for a great album. The spontaneity and unfamiliarity with these songs really achieved different results than previous efforts. Some of the songs on the other albums were a bit tired. We played them at our gigs all the time and became sort of numb to them. These new songs didn't have that chance and the old songs we chose for the project were mostly forgotten relics from the first year of the band.

GF: Girls in Thongs was one we wrote on the fly during the recording sessions. It's too bad we didn't play that one at the beach!

                                                                                                                      

Tr: We came up with "Over Rated" around the same time. Two of the last songs were written and recorded toward the end of the Florida sessions. They were "Alabama Free" and "Crash and Dash". The former was the last song written and recorded by Tc. It originally had a working title as "23", since it was the 23rd song we recorded in the IYF sessions. Both songs we're warm up jams where I hit the record button without anyone knowing. After the first take of Crash, I asked the guys to do it one more time for the tape. Gary groaned and was very reluctant to add another song to our ever growing list. They did it, though, and that second take is the one on the cd (except the funky middle 4 which was from the original take). We were about half way through recording the song when I realized we never talked about an ending. So I did my mad Lawrence Welk at the end and directed Gary through that big rock'n'roll ending, with John following right through. Then John said the song was called "Crash and Dash". He pointed at Gary and myself and said "You're Crash and You're Dash". 

GF: That said, it wouldn't have been written without us having wrecks and risking our lives for TC. We went above and beyond on that one.

Tr: We showed them our all!

JK: Now I've heard everything!

(more laughter)

Tr: Yes, Gary and I lost our cars exactly one week apart. I replaced my departed Z28 with a red Firebird. It can be heard in the middle of the song racing along the highway. My family and I ended up naming it "Dash". 

 sc

JK: "Try it Again" goes way back to the SOL beginning

GF: I wrote that for John when he was getting back together with Julie. No wait, John stole that song from me! No, I gave it to him.

JK: I'm not believing I'm hearing this!

(again with the laughter)

Tr: They played this song to me last year from an old tape. I didn't remember ever hearing it before yet there I was playing on it. I was there at least physically. It mellowed out a bit in the final recording. A great song. Strange it was forgotten for so long.

JK: "I'm a Fish" goes back to a night.  

Tr: A dark night.

JK: A dark and stormy night.

GF: It wouldn't have happened if Tim didn't want a Swan song. One of the many from the old days.

JK: One of the most appealing to me was "Trouble Clef". Tim said to sing it the way Jimmy Dean sang "Big John". That style worked!

GF: In the end, we're symbols 

(much eye rolling from band and cynical laughter)

Tr: That song is actually a biography of the band, including many references. Each little phrase has a meaning. "We're Symbols" ("Cymbals?") refers to the time of our first gig, when our original bass player announced to the audience "We're Symbols!  Thank you for coming!" and "Watch out for that tree" refers to the big tree near John's driveway that at least two or three band members had backed into. 

 

Tr: I actually wrote a lot of lyrics this time. I asked Gary to come over one day and I sat there with an acoustic and that's where it started. 

GF: I was more of an inspiration. Then he really took off in writing lyrics. He just needed a kick in the butt out of necessity.

Tr: I actually got to play the roll of "Bass player" as well. Lot's of fun though. Especially "Tank".

GF: The third movement of Tank sends chills down my spine. Two thumbs up!

Tr: I knew that it had the potential to be a great song. I can't believe we actually pulled it off. It seems to be the most talked about song on the album and it's a six minute + instrumental which is normally unheard of. Definitely something we've never done before. The drums and some of the instrumentation in the third movement was actually a practice take but when it was all over, we said "That was great! Why do it again?" so that's the one we used. Glad to hear Gracie again as well though she had to think I was nuts giving her the Lawrence Welk treatment. 

Though the music of the band was at a high point, emotions were being stirred as Larry Z was making a move to Kill Devil Hills, NC. and Tr, facing personal problems was preparing for a life changing move as well.

Tr: After I moved to Alabama, I set up a studio in a building in our "Starlight Ranch" which kind of sits toward the bottom of a mountain (in Alabama terms). The name actually came because there is a slew of pinholes in our barn (probably from a shot gun) and when the light's on at night, it looks like a bunch of stars from the outside. The studio's nice, it's just a little weird. I'll be recording a guitar solo and a big wasp will fly by my face or I'll be on the computer mixing tracks and our stallion "Mirage" will stick his head in the window and start nosing through my papers. So I'll be mixing tracks and yelling at my horse, telling him I'm out of pears and to go away.

GF: Share your pear

JK: Share Your Pair was the first song Gary ever wrote

GF: Yes it was

Tr:  Really. I had no idea. Wrong album.

GF: Speaking of horses, the photo shoot was really something.

Tr: I was approached by the Fleet Reserve last Spring. They wanted me to be a horse for the club's birthday celebration their ladies' auxiliary was holding. Gracie was a cowgirl and I was her horse last Halloween and it went over very well. I was supposed to have a walk on-part for one of their songs but somehow I ended up being featured in the whole show, being forced to do pony tricks in front of everybody. Doesn't PETA require certain procedures for that kind of stuff? They also asked Gary to be a cowboy who gets shot.

GF: Yes they shot me and I fell with my head right next to one of the speakers. Then there was this horrible feedback shriek!

Tr: Larry got off lucky. He dressed up as a piano player but he didn't have to get on the floor. I think his piano ended up in the pool, though.

    We went to the back with Captain Rod, Gracie, and a bucket of oats and had a photo session. It was a lot of fun, except John took a wrong turn and showed up at a cavalry convention dressed as an Indian. 

JK: As far as album names go, Timmy came up with "Here Comes Treble", I came up with "Conundrum" and Gary said -

Tr: "Quit snapping me with that towel or I'll hit you in the face". 

(laughter)

JK: No, I don't want to be "gay". I watch Lawrence Welk. Does that mean I'm gay?

(silence)

 

Tr: Anyway, I'm glad we were able to do this one. It's the most fun I've ever had recording an album. The hardest part was choosing which songs were going to make it on the album from these abundant sessions. As the cover shows, Tc has finally completed its metamorphosis, even if it's headed nowhere.

JK. You have to stay the course with a thousand points of light

GF: That you can see through Timmy's barn

Tr: Leave my barn out of this

(laughter)

Will the splintering of the band mean the end of Trouble Clef? Will Captain Rod take Tr's place as lead guitarist? Will the members reunite for a rowdy Starlight Ranch Hootenanny? Stay tuned next time and find out! 

___________________________________________

Girls in thongs

Lead Voc - LZ

Workin' down on the beach

Lookin' for girls to meet

All of them lookin' so fine

Wishin' that one of 'em's mine

Girls in skimpy thongs

Knowin' that they might do wrong

Enjoying pleasures in the sand

With the boys in the band

       Girls in thongs

       Girls in thongs

       G-g-g-g-g-g-g-Girls in thongs

       Man, they got me thinking all wrong

BabaBAPBAPBABAabadabapbabaaaaaaaa

Watchin' them girls walk by

Cheeks movin' left to right

Makin' me hypnotized

Think I might just go blind

Keepin' beat with the drum

Girls comin' one by one

Hope that it never stops

Eventually the thong will pop

       Girls in thongs

       Girls in thongs

       G-g-g-g-g-g-g-Girls in thongs

       Man, they got me thinking all wrong

BabaBAPBAPBAPBAadootdootdootadootoodoobaaaa

 

 

©2005 TC Enterprises

 

Crash And Dash

Lead Voc - Tr

Highway lines

Disappearing signs

You can't trust your eyes

When you blink

Statues of saints

To keep it safe

We're seldom afraid

Of what lies ahead

Of our state of mind

         (Don't let your eyes wonder)

                          Am I seeing things

         (Keep your mind between the lines)

                          Oh the air it sings

          (Crash and Dash)

                          And carries me away

The sky's as blue as my trust in you

My thoughts all are true and surreal

Drifting sands across asphalt lands

An unknown band on the radio

And I see you

          (Don't let your eyes wonder)

                          Am I seeing things

         (Keep your mind between the lines)

                          It feels so strange

          (Crash and Dash)

                          And carries me away

Vrooom

         (Don't let your eyes wonder)

                          Am I seeing things

         (Keep your mind between the lines)

                          Oh the air it sings

          (Crash and Dash)

                          And carries me away

 

©2000 TC Enterprises  

 

 

I'm a Fish

Lead Voc - JK

Glub Glub

I'm a fish

I've got gills

I've got slimy scales

I'm a fish

      I'm swimming around

      In my sea of love

      I've got bubbles in my nose

      And fins instead of toes

I'm a fish

I've got tuna breath

I breath water

So did my father

      I'm swimming around

      In my little ocean

      There's a bigger fish

      Gonna' eat me

      'Cause I'm not the biggest one     

 

 ©1999 TC Enterprises

                            

Another Promise

Lead Voc - LZ

A thought is nothing more than

A solution waiting to be found

Something to be said for happiness

Like an inner peace

We each live our lives

Never knowing right from wrong

Life is taken for granted

Until it is gone

      You gotta' hold on to your dreams

      And listen to your fears

      You gotta' learn to hold on

      Tomorrow might not make it clear

      You gotta' learn to hold on

      Smile when you're down

      And out of luck

      Another promise

      Another year

      Next time 'round

Listen to your heart at night

And share what's inside

The one that inspired your thoughts

Will be in your dreams tonight

Nothing ever changes

When no one around you cares

Sit back for a moment and listen

To the silence of the night

     You gotta' hold on to your dreams

      And listen to your fears

      You gotta' learn to hold on

      Tomorrow might not make it clear

      You gotta' learn to hold on

      Smile when you're down 

      And out of luck

      Another promise

      Another year

      Will be found

People are creatures of habit

Always wanting to win

If we'd all live by the golden rule

There wouldn't be so much sin

Open your eyes in the darkness

And the World will still be blind

Simplicity of life

Makes it easier to find

      You gotta' hold on to your dreams

      And listen to your fears

      You gotta' learn to hold on

      Tomorrow might not make it clear

      You gotta' learn to hold on

      Smile when you're down 

      And out of luck

      Another promise

      Another year

      Brings you down

 

©2004 TC Enterprises

Trouble Clef

Lead Voc - JK

Back in '99

Big John started a band

He asked Gary to Join in

And to lend a helping hand

Next we added Timmy

He could really play some lead

We enlisted Captain Rod

To help us with the feed

       What you talkin' 'bout  (Trouble)

        What are you kidding me? (Trouble Trouble Clef)

        Play it again  (Hey!)

We started writing the music

The songs were off the cuff

We started getting serious

People really liked our stuff

We were trying to find a bass player

Was like living in hell

We'd gone through five or six

We had thought we were SOL

          What you talkin' about  (Trouble)

          Shake it all around (Trouble)

          Put a spell on me (Trouble Clef!)

We've made some crazy albums

Through out all those wild years

Took a lot of sweat and stress

And an awful lot of beer

We want you to buy our record

We can't give it to you for free

You can listen to it World wide

Just dial up dot TC

     That was good boys   (Trouble)

     We're symbols!  (Trouble) 

     Put a spell on me 

     (Trouble) What you talkin' bout  

     (Trouble) Not another one!

     (Trouble) What, are you kidding me!?

     (Trouble) You're costing us money

     (Trouble) Watch out for that tree

     (Trouble) Where's the duct tape

     (Trouble) We're the five lb. weight in Gary's drum

     (Trouble) You're killing me

     Trouble Clef!

     In your face!

    ©2000 TC Enterprises

 

 

 

 
                                  
                                 

 

   Lyrics

 

Over Rated                                          

Lead Voc - Tr

Scream rant rave

Drool no brain

Blood sweat fear

Puny no hair

Cuss slam

Stair down your dad's shoes

    They are over rated

    They are over rated

Punk pusher pre-teen poser

Drop out drugged up

Shrapnel stuck freakout

Rebuked video tv non-culture

   They are over rated

   They are over rated

   They are over rated

             My love is dying to what's inside

            A heart like yours blows my mind

               You have the scent of a rose 

               Waiting for the right bee

               You'll find love with me

Over sized vaudeville pants

Over sized ego brat

Absent minded

Stupid disrespecting

     They are over rated

     They are over rated

Heartless soulless

Two chord non-wonder

Here today gone tomorrow

Grind gank scream

Set it forget it

     They are over rated

     They are over rated

     They are over rated

                   Come with me to a land

                   Of beautiful dreams

         Of swaying trees and   

 sparkling streams

                  A shady lane, a whistling train

           A picnic basket with my sweetheart

                  In the rain

            Oh I know 

I've  longed  for someone

                 And darlin', tonight

                 That someone is you

©2005 TC Enterprises

 

 

I Can't Take It

Lead Voc - JK

I hit the button on my snooze alarm

I'm safe in bed away from the harm

I can't face the day, can't turn on the charm

Should've stayed down on the farm

       I can't take it no more

       I can't take this world anymore

       I can't fake it no more

       I can't take this world anymore

It's a big world, it's cold outside

I don't remember signing up for this ride

Don't make my feelings so cut and dry

I did my best, I've still got my pride

       I can't take it no more

       I can't take this world anymore

       I can't fake it no more

       I can't take this world anymore

 I want to see around the next bend

The twist and turns to the bitter end

I need to know, I can't pretend

I've made my peace, I've made my amends

       I can't take it no more

       I can't take this world anymore

       I can't fake it no more

       I can't take this world anymore

       No more

 

 ©2004 TC Enterprises

 

Sunshine Girl

Lead Voc - Tr

I'm looking for a Sunshine Girl

Who caught my eye last night

In the midst of a whirly crowd

That filled the air with strange and fright

She disappeared through a thousand spinning lights

It had to be a quarter of two before

I realized where she took me to and I wonder

      How did she know my name

      I gave my heart away last night

      Was she even there oh my

We sailed a flying ship through a loving atmosphere

Lost in strands of love beads spinning through her hair

A kaleidoscope in a rainbow was the last thing I remember

      How did she know my name

      I gave my heart away last night

      Was she even there oh my

Oooh Sunshine Girl

 

©1999 TC Enterprises

 

Another Day Another Lie

  Lead Voc - Tr

There's a room outside my brain

Spinning 'round my head

Leaving me on the floor

Facing light beneath the door

Is it all a fantasy

Driven by regret

This is my reality

Something they fail to see

An now they're finding me

      I see we'll die a sea of monsters

     And wake again before we die

     To live another day another lie

She asks me "What's my sign?"

I say no U-Turn

There is no turning back

If we are to remain intact

Your place or mine?

     So I'll drink alone among them all

     'Till I forget my tribulations

     Is there a jester I can call

     To make sense of this situation

There's a world beneath my feet

Diving me straight through a crooked street

     I see you're here with me

     Let's forget our tribulations

     And wake again before we try

     To live another day another lie

   

©2004 TC Enterprises

 

 

 

Try It Again

Lead Voc - JK

How many times do I have to say

I'm sorry for what I said before?

How many times have I wondered what

We were even fighting for

Even if I could live forever

I couldn't love you more

You could turn my life around now

By walking back through that door

       Without you, my broken heart

       Doesn't seem to want to mend

       Couldn't we couldn't we 

        couldn't we now

        Try Again

I wish we could start all over

Wipe the slate nice and clean

Forget about all our arguments

And all the times we've been mean

You consume all my waking hours

You haunt me in my dreams

I would love you day and night now

And everything in between

        Without you, my broken heart

        Doesn't seem to want to mend

        Couldn't we couldn't we 

        Couldn't we now

        Try Again

                         Our lives seem to 

                         go in cycles

                         It's time to try again

                         Give it our best 

                         one more time

                         We can't let this love 

                          just end

The world seems so much warmer

When you spend the night

So wrap your arms around me

And turn off the bedroom light

       Without you, my broken heart

        Doesn't seem to want to mend

        Couldn't we couldn't we 

        Couldn't we now

        Try Again

©2000 TC Enterprises

 

 

 

 

 

Lazy Crazy Summer

Lead Voc - Tr

A lazy crazy Summer

Of many years gone by

Haunting my surroundings

These visions

Concrete deep and dry

Where we spent our waking hours

Broken axles rusted frames

Are the confines of my mind

      Thought I'd left that world

      Thought I'd left it far behind

      Wish I could stop myself from going

      Into rewind

Living in the past

Ignoring all the future

Somewhere in the center

There's a world waiting there

A lazy crazy Summer

Of many years gone by

Haunting my surroundings

As visions passing by

      Thought I'd left that world

      Thought I'd left it far behind

      Wish I could stop myself from going

      Into rewind

 

©2004 TC Enterprises

 

 

 

Tank

©2004 TC Enterprises

 

Before the Sunrise

Lead Voc - Tr

Falling stars like rain

They whisper your name

Music to your eyes

Take you oceans away

I'll fly you so high

You'll be terrified of the ground

Then I'll keep you

You'd better take a deep  breath 

 before you

              Grab my hand

              Forget your past

              Ride a star before the sunrise

Like stars in a chandelier

In love we too astound

Can I have this dance

Let our orbit spin you around

Don't let the night eclipse

The sunset in your eyes

For they'll warn you 

You'd better sort your dreams 

from  reality

               Grab my hand

               Forget your past

               Ride a star before the sunrise

©2004 TC Enterprises

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                        1-Over Rated
                      2-I Can't Take It
                        3-Larry Seville
                      4- Sunshine Girl
            5- Another Day Another Lie
                    6- Girls In Thongs
                        7- Try It Again
                  8- Crash And Dash
                          9- I'm a Fish
             10- Lazy Crazy Summer
                   11- Another Promise
                            12- Tank
                13- Before The Sunrise
                       14- Trouble Clef

                    

HCT

EMMI

Conundrum