"A Party of One at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe"

A Party of One at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe
01-Ganesha       3:10
02-3am Cab Ride From The Airport to the Hotel   30:45
03-Belvedere       7:43
04-Lysergic Martini      22:43
05-The Pumpkin Girl      6:15
06-On A Distant Shore      10:47
07-Idyll Idol Idle Ideal     29:49
08-Land Of The Elephants     18:40
09-Deadalus       34:45
10-Initiation of Mithras     8:55
11-Underneath The Overpass     11:33
12-The Dreams Of The Innocent     49:11
13-Left For Dead On The Subway Tracks    19:43
14-Vanilla Shake      20:41
15-112807 (Live From The Lighthouse Keepers Convention)  61:25
16-Mei Fu Flies a Phoenix To Feihong    5:27
Total Time  5:41:38
I don't think about life in 3:15 segments, like pop songs or movie scenes.  So, when I do an album that last 5-6 hours, it's based on an event. Therefore, the representation of that event will be more involved than a drug commercial.  I can't think of anything that would take longer than waiting for your table at the restaurant at the end of the universe.  So long that you sit at the bar, get to know beings from all parts of the galaxy, get really drunk, pass out, and then woken up by the hostess to be shown to your table.
Flip side.  This is an album about art.  Not an artsy album, but a series of descriptions.  "Ganesha" is a Hindu God that represents change, the elephant with multiple arms.  I intentionally started this one in the middle of the chord, spliced off the first few seconds of the begining.  I was thinking of a photo of a statue of Ganesha, but not just the photo.  I imagined Ganesha to be moving, clay mation like in a Harryhausen movie.  Ironically, this one is actually a 3:10 segment.  "Belevedere" is a litho by M.C. Escher.  "Idyll Idol Idle Ideal" is a painting by Joni Mitchell.  "Land of the Elephants" is a tapestry from indochina.  "Mei Fu Flies a Phoenix to Feihong" is a japanese painting.  "Deadalus" is a painting by Albert Masson.
"3am Cab Ride From The Airport to the Hotel" was too real, and extremely painful.  The worst flight I had ever been on.  From Tallahassee to San Antonio.  The first leg was to Atlanta, was more like a roller coaster.  A flight attendent was injured, slammed into the ceiling of the plane.  Then lightening struck the walkway that was supposed to come out to the plane.  We were stuck on the plane for over an hour.  Then the connecting flight was delayed for 4 hours.  Then all of the cabs were taken by each member of the flight crew, leaving all of the passangers stranded at the airport.  A riot nearly ensued.  I was dealing with a swollen disc in my neck at the time.  The music represents two things simulaneously:  the hell of traveling; along with the security that the cab ride is taking me to a place where I can get some rest.
"Left For Dead On The Subway Tracks" started as a joke with a co-worker.  I mentioned that insted of doing songs about happy falling in love, or unhappy falling out of love, I did this one.  This is one of those you've been mugged, had the shit beat out of you, lying on wet pavement, can't move, total pain, brusies, cuts, black eye and toothless songs.  I'm sure someone will relate.
"The Dreams Of The Innocent".  Not children, but dogs.  I was watching my dog sleeping and he was having a dream.  I always wonder...
"112807 (Live From The Lighthouse Keepers Convention)"  A one take, studio performance.  I chose the lighthouse keepers reference as a reflection to three memories.  Klatuu's "So Said the Lighthouse Keeper", Van Der Graff Generator's "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" and Erika Eigen's "I Want to Marry a Lighthouse Keeper".  I was wondering just how exciting would a convention of lighthouse keepers be?
"The Pumpkin Girl" and "Initiation of Mithras" are stories borrowed from mythology.  The Pumpkin Girl from China, and the Mithras from Rome.
"Lysergic Martini" and  "Vanilla Shake" get back to the restaurant.  Somewhat connected, in a trip across the universe kind of way.
And "On A Distant Shore" takes us back to Douglas Adams and "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy."  I was thinking about waking up on the shore where the sky is purple, the ocean is still and the shore moves back and forwards.  I guess I had one too many pan galactic gargle blasters.  Or Lysergic Martini's.