Chris wrote this song originally for his former band, Americana Powerhouse Houston Jones. We opened it up and added some grease.
David Phillips' pedal steel work here simmers, boils, and burns it up! The percussion you hear is Jane - two tracks blended - one is an 80 year old dynamite box from a roadsign junk store in Colorado, the other is a huge blue enamel turkey roasting pan - both played with normal drummers' metal brushes.
The song's inspired by a ne'er-do-well rock singer formerly of Berkeley. "The army of souls down on Azusa Street" would be all the fresh air inspectors you might find along Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley.
Now that we mention it, if you haven't read the novel Telegraph Avenue, by Michael Chabon, if you are nostalgic for Berkeley, you must read it. It is a perfect portrait of the town and you will recognize many locations and lifestyles. It's devastatingly funny.
lyrics
It was the time of year when the hurricane blows
Lift the baby from the cradle, lay the steeple low
Lust grabbed his heart like a fist of steel
Rolled him over the edge like a Catherine Wheel.
When the hunter's moon rose over the farm
He thought he'd take that girl out back of the barn
But by the time the moon went over the ridge
He was swinging in the moonlight under the bridge.
Jump up, little children, yes, yes, yes!
Have you heard the news about Typhoon Ted?
Lonely ghost rider from the Book of the Dead.
Last I heard he was in defeat
with the army of souls down on Azusa Street.
Well, it may well be that when they crack the seal
He'll be hanging out in the city on the hill,
But I suspect that when the rapture falls
He'll have a candle and a spoon at the dark end of the hall.
Jump up, little children, yes, yes, yes!
credits
from Nothing But Stars - 5 songs,
track released July 26, 2014
pedal steel: David Phillips
guitar: Chris Kee
percussion: Jane Selkye
vocals: Jane and Chris
Music from the Americana Borderlands - from artsong to the roadhouse and places in between:
Chris Kee and Jane
Selkye met in the San Francisco band Me Jane, and have played with David Phillips in various
groups for the last twenty years....more
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