Song of the Month - October 2024 - "Yours From Mine"

The Song of the Month for October is “Yours From Mine,” which is on my latest album The Brightness of an Ordinary Star.

To me, this one reveals pretty clearly one of my influences as a songwriter.

The chorus takes place over a hunk Bret and Kevin sent to me. The hunk reminded me of “Mercedes” by Dead Hot Workshop.

From 1990 to 1993, I saw Dead Hot play “Mercedes” 50 times in front of less than 200 people. It was always a highlight of their set—though it was always faster than the version linked here.

Dead Hot’s chief songwriter Brent Babb has a knack for writing lyrics and melodies over hard rock riffs. I never really imagined I could do the same. Oh, I tried plenty to write like Babb, but I usually strove to emulate his approach to his more acoustic-style numbers. One such example is “Tell Me,” which is on my first album Songs from Memory. That song is pretty much me trying to write “Fuck No” by Dead Hot Workshop.

A typical Dead Hot show saw me get to Long Wong’s on Mill at about 9:30 PM. The bands were supposed to start at 9 PM, but I don’t think Dead Hot ever started before 10 PM. I bought a pitcher of beer and sat in what I called the B section of Wong’s. The B section table was taller and bolted to the ground behind the shorter, more conventional tables in front of the band (A section) and before the section on the level of the bar from which you could watch the band (C section). I liked the spot farthest to the left of B section because you couldn’t be disturbed by anyone coming or going. You could sit down, drink a beer, and watch Dead Hot.

The central question of these evenings was How does he do it? Brent seemed to have a direct connection to a place that played with my unconscious thoughts and feelings, and he combined this connection with a lack inhibition in expressing what he came up with. Both are important to an artist, especially a songwriter. You have to have a connection with the parts of the human soul that the rest of us can only guess at, and once you have that, you have to be willing to sing about it. Many songwriters have one and not the other. I’d venture that most have little to say but a huge desire to say something. Brent had plenty to say, and he seemed to love to say it from the lip of any stage in Tempe, AZ.

And it wasn’t like he was writing some philosophy book. His melodies were at least as compelling as the words he sang. These melodies seemed integral to the sentiments they delivered. Any distinction between his words and melody lines felt artificial. The words were integrally tied to the way Brent sang them. The sentiments of his songs had the perfect envelope of his melodies to make sure the message made it to not just your ear but your soul—or at least to mine.

There are two parts in “Yours From Mine” that remind me of Brent’s songwriting. The first is the first couplet of the chorus:

Are those your toes I’m steppin’ on?
I guess you know what side you’re on.

I feel like I can hear Brent singing that.

The other part is the beginning of verse 2:

I put the B12 under my tongue,
An old way for making you young.

It’s a line pulled from my life. I have a penchant for dietary supplements, and B12 is on my daily regimen. The line is sung with a playfulness that I associate with Brent’s singing. On top of everything else, most of the time, Brent sounds like he’s just screwing around. It’s probably the biggest part of the appeal of his songs to me. It’s deep while never trying to be deep. It’s the playfulness that allows me the avenue into the depth of his work.

I left those nights at Long Wong’s at 1 AM, or closing time. I preferred to walk home whenever possible. I was drunk, and I’d just as soon skip any drama with the police. I always wanted to get home because I had a melody in my head. I’d written the melody while Dead Hot was playing. It was usually some turn I expected their songs to take but never did. When that happens, as a songwriter, it’s yours.

The last magical thing I’ll mention about Babb’s songs, and then I’ll stop because he hates to be the subject of this kind of talk. His songs had a down-to-earth quality that made me feel like I could do it, too. I guess I’ve been trying to do it ever since. I don’t have the kind of connection to the unconscious that Brent does, but I do write things that I wouldn’t have otherwise if I hadn’t heard him do it first.

Budapalooza - October is almost here! This is a free short concert by me on Friday, Oct. 25th, at 5 PM PST. I play my songs solo acoustic and mix in a cover or two. Be there and start the weekend like a champ!