The principle players were/are as follows: David Cotton - VOX,GTR, BASS, SOME KEYS / MICHAEL ALLEN - DRUMS/ MANNY FLORES - DRUMS(The Daily Grind), PERCUSSION (Satellite, Louder Than The Last, Coulda' Shot It) / BRYAN CONTRERAS - GTR, HARMONICA (The Daily Grind, Louder Than The Last) / MANDI BROCK - BACKING VOX / JEANNIE COTTON - BACKING VOX....Also thanks to Matt Riley for his production assistance on several tunes as well as the occasional clapping of hands.
Influences
Johnny Cash, people with bipolar disorder, Peter Gabriel, batman's villians, The Decemberists, wormholes, The Police, loud noises, Tom Petty, candy stripers at the hospital, Guided By Voices, bottle caps, My Morning Jacket, late notices, Elliott Smith, fish that swim in circles, Foo Fighters, snow in houston, The Lemonheads, deer ticks, Bob Pollard, ducks in a row, R.E.M. , sleep, The Stills, a two year old trying to hop on one foot, The Beatles, martians, The Stones, the gong show, Kiss, gelfings, Led Zep, inappropriate happiness, Stevie Ray Vaughan, scatterbrains, The Beach Boys, flat tires, The Cult, clean carpet, The Doors, car salesmen, Metallica, manipulativeness, Death Cab, flies without wings (but not maggots), The Apples In Stereo, rusty nails, The Shins, stop signs, Pavement, the boiling point, Pixies, light switches, The Postal Sevice, oxygen, The Ramones, getting a life, B.B. King ... on and on and on...
Sounds Like
fun.... and less fun and also, sometimes... more fun.
Commodore Smidlap was conceived from an entrapment of wills. Commodore Smidlap has multiple personalities. A bass player. A singer. A guitarist. Commodore Smilap is your friend. Commodore Smidlap is your enemy's enemy. Smidlap,like Yelpton and Moose, is a bored Grandfather's attempt at a riddle.
An idea that began 10 years ago with songs like "Coulda' Shot It" and "Louder Than the Last", CS began veering off course from the normal Ritual of that time. In search of casual input and collaboration from a variety of sources, a vision came into focus. Inspired by life's loopholes, time constraints and the song crafting of local acts like St. Jubilee and The Pomes, CS sought their talents on such songs as "Satellite" and "The Daily Grind", among others. Armed with a new confidence to put out songs in their raw state to gain a gritty realness, a higher standard was beginning to emerge. With A newly built studio and several inspired tunes in the works, that focus was forming a new Reality. Little did CS know, but in six months time he would be without a studio and have a serious bout of Lymes Disease. Reeling from the unfolding events and in search of somewhere to attach his moorings, CS cleared his mind and went to the root of what his songs were about...truth in relationships. With less distractions and current favorites, "Ben Taub" (a song about his Lymes experience) and "Break This", CS is mostly well defined and loosely chaotic by design. Anchored by the steady and inspired drumming of Michael Allen, CS' long time friend, the songs have a presence and continuity that makes the span of time surprising. CS is grateful for Mojo's Mojo.
CS believes the music is the lyric's translator. CS invites you to listen to the translation. CS wonders where you've been!
go to the thunder bunny myspace for all the ingredients to build your own "DEMONS" EP... all six tracks, all possible art work and even a downloadable t-shirt... (actuall it's an iron on but it still think that's kind of cool)
Hey! tried calling you but no awnser. :[ I cant record today, parents made plans I didn't know about and wanted to spend the day with me before I left :[ So, for thanksgiving break I'm definetly coming over! lol I havveeee to do this. I have a couple of songs I cant wait for you to hear :] anyways, I'm so sorry this summer has been wayyy to hectic, trying to make money before I leave and trying to do everything all at once but next time I'm down I'm already arranging it so that we can do this! lol
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