Bryan: One of my first attempts at a pop song and one of my favorites. I was getting a lot of speeding tickets around this time. I believe that everyone can empathize with these characters, the frustration and terrible excitement of the whole process. I like to think that people will hum this in their minds whenever they see a police car or get pulled over.
Brian: A fine song, that should be well known and respected by all. Excellent percussive keyboard playing. Bryan first played it for me on the piano of the High School band room, and I instantly knew it was a success.
Bill: The line "officer, valentine" is what gets me. Bryan didn't think he could sing and play keyboard at the same time, at some party where we opened for Oak Forest's "Mandrill". So I vaguely screamed "PO lees" as the song deteriorated, after our ambient set. Then we lost an expensive microphone.
Bryan: Bill was fascinated with electronic pop music. Then he became really involved with recording "voltage" and set fire to his equiptment. This was done around that period. It's best not to talk about it.
Brian: I used to really like this song. Then I started to hate it. It is getting back on my good side, but I will always think its a lot longer than it needs to be. Innovative but questionable.
Bill: What is voltage? It's my secret technique of manipulating feedback, almost like a theremin, but more colorful. I would develop a unique voltage track, find what key it was in, and then lay down music and drums. Then I would listen, and try to get a feeling or picture in my mind. The result here was Horse Riding, my finest tribute to Objectivism; or, as B.J. once said, "Song for Ayn Rand".
Bryan: I borrowed a pedal called the "Octoplus" from a metal band that completely warped really low, bass notes and used it to recorded this song which took about half an hour. I've never heard music that actually scared me, but putting the down the final track, I was literally terrified.
Brian: Disagreement about the quality of the song caused some friction among the band members. I, however, find it beautiful- you can really feel the song inside your head.
Bill: This song deserves note for its political implications, within the band of course. What if, instead of Bon Voyage, I had my way and we held in our hands the twenty track Supersonic Singles and Psychedelic Sounds? The tyranny of Bird Corpse was followed by my appearance on one and a half tracks of music in two records.
Bryan: This song was one of three along with "An Orphan Momentarily Forgets" and "Appalachian Railcar Barbershop" that Bill had finished for the second record. Then he took a break. Bill was really proud of "The Explorers" and he should be.
Brian: Again, the length is questionable. When Bill mercilessly played the guitar riff live, it was aurally traumatizing.
Bill: Insanity almost prompted me to name the song "Save the Whales." I was embarrassed to show this song to my bandmates, and was going to go upstairs as they listened to it. But I caught the look on Bryan's face as he heard the first chord, I will never forget it. I don't think I will ever feel more happy or proud of a song than when it really touches Bryan Ward.
Bryan: We probably went mad making this record as this song will demonstrate. I still like the slide guitar though.
Brian: Wonderful intro. Poor sample. Good, but mediocre Bryan Ward.
Bill: Bryan was very excited that he had used slide guitar and music. He said "I wish I was dead" and put it on infinite delay, and those were the lyrics. Talk about lazy. And talk about neglecting to use the subjunctive! I wish I "were" dead, Bryan Ward!
Bryan: I plead insanity on charges of writing this song. I originally wanted to write the most evil, brutal, vile piece of music ever, the most miserable Halloween, an audio Hell. Why? I have no idea, but I think I came pretty close to my original goal. The original mix of this song was forty five minutes!
Brian: I cannot tolerate or appreciate this song on any level.
Bill: There are a lot of funny stories that can be told about Bryan's baby rape phase. But this is the romantic one- I found a picture on the floor of the hallway, in our school, of a baby, naked. Being the kind friend that I am, I kept it to give to Bryan, because I knew he would enjoy it. When I handed it to him, he looked at me puzzled, and I said "remember, you want to have sex with kids." He remembered, but you could tell at that moment the terrible phase was over.
Bryan: On a record as sordid as this, one may not notice how warped this is. Fortunately, it's got so much charm that it succeeds in spite of itself.
Brian: Shameful. I like the line "a kiss is full of nutrients."
Bill: I thought a song with pretty chords, and voltage, about Photosynthesis would be sweet. So I wrote it, and it became very very sick. I scream "girls have water in their breasts!" and delay it for emphasis. I also sample a speech of my own about happiness and courage. Bryan thought it was JFK.
Bryan: I broke through some barrier with this song into a more complex and cinematic sound that I'd been looking for. As with the cloning sequence on "Last Thoughts..." I was again one step ahead of the popular mainstream. I've thought about remixing it, but that was then, as they say.
Brian: This song is a fascinating point in the evolution of Bryan Ward's music. I do like it, but it seems a little weak.
Bill: A true mastery of studio production made this song possible. It's amazing that it was done on a 4-track. Bryan has many of these epic productions, and at the time we felt this was his strongest one, and it deserved a place on the record.
Bryan: This song marks the end of a remarkable winning streak for Bill. Devastatingly original and lots of fun! Hell of a guitar solo too.
Brian: Wonderful vocal and guitar performance. A gem. Bill Lyon at full force.
Bill: I wrote this song in the shower one morning, and recorded it later that evening. The secret sample at the end is from Phish's "Rift", which I think BJ made me tape, and I taped over. I never told, because I didn't want BJ to know how much I disliked Phish.
Bryan: This song makes me ill with all the churning and bubbling and Italian, but the guitar is the sugar that makes the medicine go down. Man, we really lost it for awhile.
Brian: A poor effort.
Bill: I remember we had recorded Lumberyard earlier that evening, to my infinite protests. Somehow whatever logic I had guarding me against it broke down after everyone left, and I recorded this song, and later Space Zoo. The things I recorded from Munchkins to about a year after are better left undisclosed. I think this song was the only request we ever had live, and being the incompetent assholes that we are, we ignored it.
Bryan: One beautiful, spring day, I told the school nurse I felt sick. She called my house, left a message, and let me go home. I suddenly felt better and drove to the Oak Lawn Public Library to check out some records. When I returned home, I added the nurse's message to the instrumental track, added some effects, and premiered it for Brian on the school cafeteria's tape deck. The title comes from a description my girlfriend at the time gave me of her room. AKA - Bryan Ward's Day Off.
Brian: Beautiful and floaty song. Good sampling. A sweet song indeed.
Bill: A perfect end to the album I had envisioned. I initially wanted a bunch of hooky, well-produced, candied songs of the future. This would have ended twelve similar excursions beautifully, with a sense of humor. This song reminds me of driving home from school with Bryan and his girlfriend.
Bon Voyage is an eccentric, misguided, and overambitious attempt to colonize unsettled thematic and musical places. We got a bottle thrown at us for making this record - twice.
Police
A baby looks on with great pleasure as a young couple in love is pulled over by a police officer for speeding on a stretch of scenic, coastal road. Cannons burst while the couple escape to a space shuttle and blast off into outer space.
Horse Riding
Riding a horse makes you think...
Flying Machine Built From A Bird Corpse
The sound of a flying machine built from a bird corpse and the feeling you'd get if you where flying on it.
The Explorers
An epic, hyper-pop homage to ancient explorers involving an admiral who finds true love on the high seas.
Fireworks Display In Leiu Of A Eulogy
Death on the Carribean leads to a proposal for the ultimate funeral.
Archaeopteryx
The ultimate haunted house sends the protagonist to a haunted hospital where children are attacked by the ghost of a prehistoric bird.
Photosynthesis
All my friends are little kids.
Film Noir
Bryan Ward anticipates the making of 1998's blockbuster hit- Titanic. An elderly woman relives her childhood experience on the infamous ship and a private detective searches the city for a confused Martian while two men discuss reindeer and a super computer goes haywire.
Appalachian Railcar Barbershop
An acoustic gospel song.
Munchkins are for Lunch
Chinese guitar riff, and patented voltage.
It's All Fucking Pink
Trapped in a cloyingly sweet world- a comedy.
Bon Voyage
Lyrics for Bon Voyage
Outtakes from Bon Voyage
Home
