This is a collection of short tunes and musical themes that I’ve fiddled with on guitar at some point over the last 14 years. They were further developed thanks to the talented Don Latarski, his warm and comfortable recording studio, and its great selection of guitar-centric instruments. Many of these tunes incorporate the picking style that was passed down to me by Sonoma County finger style wizard John Brandeburg. -Michael Tucker When Michael first came to me with the idea of doing a record I thought it would be a straight forward project. As projects sometimes go, he needed a little help with sorting out his material. In the process, I ended up co-writing and co-producing some of the songs. It has been a joy to work on these tunes and hear the result. Many thanks to Tommy Sivert at Gold Tone for getting me hooked on the guitar mandolin and banjitar – no end of fun. -Don Latarski Recorded January 2008 through 2010 at Crescent Studio, Eugene, Oregon. (www.DonLatarski.com). Instruments used: Collings D1a, 6-string flt top guitars, classical guitar, Gold Tone 6-string banjo guitar, baritone guitar, Gold Tone guitar mandolin, baritone ukulele, Nashville tuned guitar, kick drum, hand percussion, electric guitar, electric bass, and some keyboards. Cover painting by Ben Bloch (www.benbloch.com). 1. Leak in the Sink (Tucker) Just a blues. 2. End of Portland (Tucker/Latarski) This is a tune about the transition between old and new. Not really a New Year’s song though. 3. Make Me a Pallet (traditional) There are many different arrangements to this traditional tune, here’s my take. 4. When the River Ran Red (Tucker/Latarski) The river ran red when Prohibition took effect in 1920, only a few months after one of the greatest California grape harvests of all time. Violence and chaos descended on Northern California. Federal agents spilled thousands of gallons of wine in the rivers and creeks and gun battles erupted on dark country roads. 5. She Caught the Katy (traditional) The Katy was a short nickname for M-K-T, or the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. 6. Jack’s Reel (Tucker/Latarski) A tune for my father. This one has two parts and the title has two meanings; a reel is a type of folk dance and in Irish dance, a reel is any dance danced to music notated in duple time, either as 2/2 or 4/4. The second is in reference to a fishing reel as a tribute to the many fond memories I have of fishing with my dad on Lake Almanor. 7. The Weetman’s Garden (Tucker/Latarski) Whatever you do, don’t mess with Jim Weetman’s garden. 8. Brown Beneath Green (Tucker/Latarski) Reminds me of the brown rolling hills of Sonoma County. 9. Remember Your Dreams (Tucker) I remember playing this while living in the dorms in college. It’s based on some basic classical techniques I picked up from another player. I love classical guitar but this was recorded on banjo because I don’t even want to pretend I’m any kind of classical guitarist! 10. Why Doesn’t Your Boiling Bubble? (Tucker) Well, why doesn’t it? 11. Everybody Knows (Tucker/Latarski) Someone once told me to play that song everybody knows. Pretty sure they weren’t referring to this one! 12. Maria’s Waltz (Tucker) When I first started tuning the guitar to this open tuning, I would often play a variation of this or something like it. 13. Hendrix Park (Tucker/Latarski) The main theme of this came about while I was playing in Hendricks Park in Eugene. The misspelling in the title is intentional. 14. Sandwood Down to Kyle (D. Goulder) Keith Richman showed me this tune when I was growing up in Santa Rosa. I believe it is one of the first things I played in an alternate tuning. 15. Alabama Woman (Leroy Carr) I always liked John Brandeburg’s version of this song. It’s just an instrumental here so it isn’t quite right, but I tried. 16. A Song From Yesterday (Tucker/Latarski) After we finished this up in the studio one night, the next day I sent a copy of it to some friends without having a name for it. In the subject line of the email I just put: a song from yesterday. The subject line came in pretty handy, this one named itself. 17. Burnt House (Tucker) Written after my mom told me the place she was living in burned down. 18. Richland Women Blues (John Hurt) All pickers know a Mississippi John Hurt song. 19. Someone Answer the Phone (Tucker) The household phone is becoming obsolete but for some reason when coming up with this tune, I had this sort of gloomy picture in my head of a dilapidated house with a phone that wouldn’t stop ringing. 20. Darcy Farrow (Gillette & Campbell) A folk song John B taught me way back in the 90’s, laugh laugh, doesn’t that sound funny? 21. Green, Green Rocky Road (Chandler/Kaufman) Green, green rocky road, promenade in green, tell me who’s your love, who’s your love? 22. 242, So Much to Do (Tucker/Latarski) Just something I said to a friend - in reference to being overwhelmed by all of the many things there are to do - at the time I was putting this together. It brings to mind the ambling creeks and lanky trees that slide along next to and line the back roads that you travel in your mind every day. And if doing it was as easy as imagining it, then it would be simple, the urge, the want, the memory and the melody all satisfied at once by the same unending trip to the place you never get to. 23. Alsea You (Tucker/Latarski) Here’s a poem Alan Rawls wrote for this tune. A swallow nestles in the rafters, a sparrow lites on the line. Birds of a different feather, but two of a kind. The soil sits, damp and shallow, We’d do ourselves harm, to let it lie fallow. Death and delight. The poles dimly occupied, In the light of the night. Patience couldn’t stall, the justified anguish Of a midsummer’s rain. Things never change, truth be told. Sometimes we just can’t help, but to grow old. First set the bar, Then follow suit. Climb into Darkstar, Fill the coffers, with the headiest loot. Blood and sweat, lungs and spleen, Dull and heavy, the edge no longer so keen. These things come along, they can’t be left. The best pieces of my mind, Those I leave behind. No lack of cadence and rhyme, of rhythm and form, Always the stark memory, of how a conscience is born. Never omit the things that matter, Let your mind sit on Alder, feel the rain pitter patter. Time won’t lend itself to our space, Doesn’t always need to, to steal your face. Some things run deeper, Than water and love. Some things cling truer, thicker than mud. So Alsea you, On the brightest of mournings, In the morning dew.