rkmsuf
10-12-2005, 10:54 AM
A Rick Moranis country album?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!
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A Country Album?
Living in New York City since 1985, I’ve spent a lot of time listening to WBGO Jazz and WQXR classical radio stations. One or the other is always on the radio in our home.
As my kids grew up, I also played them everything I could; 50’s and 60’s folk, rock, Motown, the British Invasion and 70’s disco. And in turn, they introduced me to new age, hip hop, rap, techno and ring-tones.
A few years ago, just after they’d started listening to music almost exclusively from their computers, I began to hear traditional, bluegrass and jam-band coming from their rooms. They played me Phish, Jack Johnson, Widespread Panic, Moe, Stringcheese Incident and my favorite, Yonder Mountain Stringband. I also heard music they’d forgotten I’d played for them many years before-- The Band’s “Music from Big Pink” and “The Last Waltz.”
All of this brought back memories of my Radio days. As a kid I’d spent hours listening to 60’s AM country crossover hits, like the Statler Brothers’ “Flowers On the Wall”, Johnny Cash’s “Boy Named Sue”, Roger Miller’s “England Swings” and “King of the Road”.
I’d later find myself as a DJ at CKFH in Toronto while it briefly tried being a county music station. There I played them all. Willie and Waylon, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn…
Now, all these years later, I’d rediscovered country and bluegrass through my kids. I started watching CMT and GAC. The Country Music Awards shows. Last year I saw Ricky Skaggs perform at the opening festival for the new Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater here in New York.
With all that country and bluegrass filling our home, I wound up writing a song or two. And then another. I’d call up friends and sing the songs over the phone. Paul Perlove, my dear friend and sometime comedy writing partner encouraged me to do something with the songs. Although I’d done a lot of music for SCTV and sang the songs in the film “Little Shop of Horrors”, it had been a while since I’d recorded any music.
So I called Brian Camelio, who had started a virtual artist community called ArtistShare. I played him a couple of demos I’d recorded. He said right away, that I should meet Tony Scherr.
Tony came over a few weeks later and listened to what I had on tape. I sang him a couple of others and he told me he wanted to record them.
Over the next few months, in between Tony’s many other projects, we made this album of songs. At Tony’s house, on his 8-track analog tape machine.
They’re sort of country. Tony’s guitar makes a couple of them sound a bit rockabilly. There are a couple of bluegrass things too.
Tony did it all. Engineered, arranged, produced and played all the guitars and bass. This is a seriously talented guy. And a sweetheart.
All I know is that it sure was a hoot.
Hope you like it.
rick
hxxp://www.rickmoranis.com/
*site is a tad slow right now.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Country Album?
Living in New York City since 1985, I’ve spent a lot of time listening to WBGO Jazz and WQXR classical radio stations. One or the other is always on the radio in our home.
As my kids grew up, I also played them everything I could; 50’s and 60’s folk, rock, Motown, the British Invasion and 70’s disco. And in turn, they introduced me to new age, hip hop, rap, techno and ring-tones.
A few years ago, just after they’d started listening to music almost exclusively from their computers, I began to hear traditional, bluegrass and jam-band coming from their rooms. They played me Phish, Jack Johnson, Widespread Panic, Moe, Stringcheese Incident and my favorite, Yonder Mountain Stringband. I also heard music they’d forgotten I’d played for them many years before-- The Band’s “Music from Big Pink” and “The Last Waltz.”
All of this brought back memories of my Radio days. As a kid I’d spent hours listening to 60’s AM country crossover hits, like the Statler Brothers’ “Flowers On the Wall”, Johnny Cash’s “Boy Named Sue”, Roger Miller’s “England Swings” and “King of the Road”.
I’d later find myself as a DJ at CKFH in Toronto while it briefly tried being a county music station. There I played them all. Willie and Waylon, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn…
Now, all these years later, I’d rediscovered country and bluegrass through my kids. I started watching CMT and GAC. The Country Music Awards shows. Last year I saw Ricky Skaggs perform at the opening festival for the new Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater here in New York.
With all that country and bluegrass filling our home, I wound up writing a song or two. And then another. I’d call up friends and sing the songs over the phone. Paul Perlove, my dear friend and sometime comedy writing partner encouraged me to do something with the songs. Although I’d done a lot of music for SCTV and sang the songs in the film “Little Shop of Horrors”, it had been a while since I’d recorded any music.
So I called Brian Camelio, who had started a virtual artist community called ArtistShare. I played him a couple of demos I’d recorded. He said right away, that I should meet Tony Scherr.
Tony came over a few weeks later and listened to what I had on tape. I sang him a couple of others and he told me he wanted to record them.
Over the next few months, in between Tony’s many other projects, we made this album of songs. At Tony’s house, on his 8-track analog tape machine.
They’re sort of country. Tony’s guitar makes a couple of them sound a bit rockabilly. There are a couple of bluegrass things too.
Tony did it all. Engineered, arranged, produced and played all the guitars and bass. This is a seriously talented guy. And a sweetheart.
All I know is that it sure was a hoot.
Hope you like it.
rick
hxxp://www.rickmoranis.com/
*site is a tad slow right now.