Number 31

All new music from: Jonathan Spottiswoode, Laura Cantrell, Chris Cochrane, Kate Jacobs, Amy Allison, Dave Schramm and Rick Moody, Peter Holsapple, Timothy Hill, and Jody Harris

Presented by: Nicholas Hill

The Radio Free All Stars: Dave Schramm, David Mansfield, Chris Cochrane, Timothy Hill, Paul Moschella, JD Foster, Dave Schramm, Jimi Zhivago

Number 31 was recorded live at The Living Room on the very last night of that wonderful venue on Ludlow Street — we happily anticipate its official renaissance in Brooklyn. Jonathan Spottiswoode was a guest. Chris Cochrane was a guest and first-time All Star, and Jimi Zhivago emerged from the control booth to make an All Star cameo. Dave and Laura were present and accounted for, but brought pre-recorded tracks for live over-dubbing. Both Peter Holsapple and Jody Harris had laryngitis. Peter bravely sang his song anyway to great effect and acclaim. Jody was able to perform his song, but with only a ghost of a vocal. Sadly he refused to do his Barry White. He recorded his vocal later, making this show a particularly mashed up mash up of the Live, the Later, and the Prior.

Dave Schramm, I Will Dream Blessed Dreams (Dave Schramm/Rick Moody); Performed and recorded by Dave, augmented live by the Radio Free All Stars; Hot Stove Music (BMI)/Grow Your Own Music (BMI)

Amy Allison, Goodbye Lovers’ Lane (Amy Allison); recorded live with the Radio Free All Stars; Shop Girl Songs (BMI) admin. Bug Music

Jonathan Spottiswoode, So Much to Do (Jonathan Spottiswoode); recorded live with the Radio Free All Stars; Super Pitch, SACEM

Jody Harris, What Your Friends Say (Jody Harris); recorded live with the Radio Free All Stars, Jody’s vocal recorded weeks later after his flu relented; Copyright Control Jody Harris

Kate Jacobs, Closing Time (Kate Jacobs/arr. Dave Schramm); recorded live with the Radio Free All Stars; Small Pond Music (BMI)

Chris Cochrane, Things Change (Chris Cochrane); recorded live with the Radio Free All Stars; Copyright Control Chris Cochrane

Peter Holsapple, Susie Taxi (Peter Holsapple); performed and recorded by Peter; Hospital Music (BMI) admin by Bug Music/Chrysalis

Laura Cantrell, Secret Language (Laura Cantrell); Performed and recorded by Laura, augmented live by the Radio Free All Stars; Thrift Shop Songs (BMI) admin. Bug Music

Timothy Hill, Where We Are (Timothy Hill); recorded live with the Radio Free All Stars; Copyright Control Timothy Hill

Jonathan Spottiswoode, It Doesn’t Take Long (Jonathan Spottiswoode); recorded live with the Radio Free All Stars; J SPOT music, ASCAP

Recorded live at The Living Room in NYC on October 26, 2013 by Jimi Zhivago with Steve Ha and Gabe Wilhelm

Note from Peter Holsapple about Susie Taxi:

Slinging this over the transom at an ungodly hour.

I could tell things were in bad shape when I got the miserable cold early this week. Though the song was nearly assembled, it was not yet recorded, as real life had intruded, as often it does, on my studio time. So when I started blowing my nose incessantly and feeling as though I’d swallowed a brick, I was feeling peril at hand. But I’m a diehard and rather than risk having to delve into my sordid recorded past one more time (because I didn’t finish the new song on time), I got most of the track done on Tuesday night, just as the symptoms were beginning to take me out. I had a couple days to incubate lyrics, which you will sense from their depth and vast emotional reach. But I had no voice to speak of. At the job, my comrades suggested that I look for new employment as a phone sex worker. Still I soldiered on.

Then it became Friday night. You remember, right? Last night. No vocals recorded. No ostensible voice with which to record. What to do, what to do.

It occurred to me that, in the condition my voice was in, the only thing left for an approach would be idiotic whimsy and self-abasing, so I came up with the voice you’ll hear here. It is not the eventual destination for [...]