LaSalamander: Projectography » John

Captain Chancey

John — Sun, 17 May 2009 05:00:26 +0000

Among his many endeavors, Joshua Wentz does a somewhat improvised music project every once in a while that he calls Winchester Sessions. I asked to try to get in on one of these sessions in a remotely-collaborative way (stretching the improvisational nature to its seams) and the result is a song called “Captain Chancey.”

Well, it turned out pretty neat and a little crazy, but thus is the nature of the beast when you’re in Winchester territory. I may eventually come pester Josh to let us give the song a remix treatment.� (You hear that, Josh!) But in the meantime, enjoy it how it is:

That’s me on voice and guitar with Josh providing everything else.

And here are the lyrics:

Captain Chancey

And after the adventure,
the children came to see
the little man and little lady
nestled in their cage.
Oh what an adventure
the captain must have had!
Exotic toys for girls and boys
singing catch me if you can!

Where does Chancey go,
trav’ling to and fro?
Oh the lovely things he brings for us!
Does he journey north?
Does he voyage south?
Does he sail the seven seas of Rhye or travel to the stars?

Step up, little Jeffrey,
I’ve a gift for you!
How’d you like a wind-up fire engine
that knows a thing or two…about fire!
And there’s little Katie!
I bet she’d love a dolly.
She’s a fussy eater, a fussy sleeper,
and she grows up just so fast!

Where does Chancey go?
We all want to know,
but he will not say a word.
(Please tell us, Captain Chancey!)
Does he sojourn east
or chase the setting sun?
Does he delve into the ocean deep or sail amongst the clouds?

Oh, children, stand clear
for Captain Chancey decked in fancy regalia from some distant shore.
Come on, children, let’s cheer,
for Captain Chancey’s come to bestow everyone with presents like you’ve never seen

Oh, gather ’round you children;
the time has finally come
to let you in on secret tales
and learn where I have been.
Now who’d like to come with me?
Let me see those hands,
’cause girls and boys make super toys
for things in far-off lands.

Oh where will we go,
so far from all we know?
Captain Chancey, won’t you tell us where we’re going?
Is it north, east, south or west?
Are we rightly dressed?
Is there candyfloss and late bedtimes in the places we will go?

Oh, children so dear,
how come we can’t see you or Chancey? Where have gone and run off to?
Please, children, reappear!
The Captain’s gone for good! Had we misunderstood?
It seems the piper’s called his own strange tune.

Oh, children, stand clear
for Captain Chancey decked in fancy accoutrements from some distant shore.
Come, children, let’s cheer
for Captain Chancey’s come to bestow everyone with presents like you’ve never dreamed

Where does Chancey go?
We all want to know,
but he will not say a word.
Tell us north, west, south or east,
at the very least.
But Chancey only giggles as we come into the port.

A Demonstration of Songs of the Sun

John — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:00:49 +0000

For the 2009 RPM Challenge, an annual challenge (no, not a contest) to write and record a whole album within the month of February, I put out this open call to a bunch of previous VUArtists and other people taking on the Challenge to send me some original music that could conceivably be turned into a song. I would then write and sing all the vocals and lyrics for each song and work the whole thing up into one big concept album, telling a story of some sort. Here’s how that turned out:

The response was superb, and I had some really marvellous music to work with. With a bit of collaboration with the album’s cover artist, Michael John Keegan, I worked up a fantastic story which is ultimately about a man on a quest for redemption. However, the scope of the project ballooned into something bigger than the month of February could contain, and so for RPM I produced a mere demo of the real thing, the incomplete and roughly mixed A Demonstration of Songs of the Sun.

A shot of the artwork by Michael John Keegan

If you’d like to see and hear where this album stood as of March 1^st, visit its temporary home, drop.io/songsofthesun. As this is a work in process, I am now working with the musicians involved (as well as some new ones!) to complete the album, adding new songs, tweaking some of the lyrics, and re-recording some of the vocals with other singers. Feedback of any sort, from anyone, particularly advice and other constructive critique, is most welcome!

Preview one of the tracks, wherein our hero finds resolve:

The Unity of LaSala & LoPrete

John — Sun, 31 Oct 2004 05:00:30 +0000

I was blessed with two once-in-a-lifetime opportunities wrapped into one.

Jeff & Marisa ascend the steps of the Cadet Chapel

The first: to write music for the marriage of my brother, Jeff LaSala, to�unsurprisingly�his wife, Marisa. See, I’ve only got the one brother, he’s as much a friend as a brother, and don’t foresee him re-presenting me with this kind of opportunity again. So, as a part of their wedding ceremony, they planned to light a unity candle, and that was the ideal moment for some music.

The massive console of the organ at the West Point Cadet Chapel...with my music on it!

The second: to write music for the largest all-pipe church organ in the known universe, the organ in the Cadet Chapel at West Point, NY.�I lived there from eighth grade through high school, had been to services which always end up featuring that mighty organ (at least from my perspective), and Jeff and Marisa were to be married there. And better yet, it’d be performed by the virtuosic Craig Williams, Organist & Choirmaster of the Cadet Chapel. It was a no-brainer.

Now, not wanting to miss out on recording this performance, I lugged my portable digital 16-track recorder along with a host of cables, stands and microphones supplied by Jeff’s friend and Reid Sound-founder, Darren Sussman.� But in my haste to set everything up and play Best Man, some button must have been improperly depressed and I managed to record a seemingly infinite stretch of blissfully pure digital silence.

However, I was clever enough to have a backup in place by way of a camcorder.� The audio turned out thin and picked up wedding guest shuffling and the like, but it was better than nothing!� So here I present the music in two forms: the original demo version realized on a synth, and then the version I ripped out of the video.� I like them both.� Enjoy!

as performed by a sequencer and a Kurzweil K2500:

as performed by Craig Williams on the mighty church organ:

The score itself, for your viewing pleasure:
If you’d like to use this music in your wedding (as has been done a few times since), you’d honor me as well as the union of my brother Jeff and his wife. Just let me know!