Trex - Piano Picks

This was my solo version of "Tunes from the Bottle", which I also recorded with IPECAC (on Fake Reverb 2. Usually, my versions were demos which preceded the IPECAC recordings, but my notes suggest the opposite for this one.

It's an okay song. This version is just piano and vocals. It really sounds like a demo, doesn't it? Hmm.

This is a silly but kinda catchy little piano and vocal ditty. The lyrics are shaped like a circle, so that they can be sung forever. Who would do that, though?

Some notes suggest this was written in August 1996. I'm guessing that was just the lyrics, because it appears on the tape labeled "October - November 1996".

This is the piano-based demo for "First Thing in the Morning", which I recorded as Tripecac on Where's My Muse.

It's kinda sloppy (especially the solo), but the heart-felt essence of the song is definitely there. To me, this feels like the centerpiece of the Fullerton recordings.

Some notes suggest this was written in August 1996. I'm guessing that was just the lyrics, because it appears on the tape labeled "October - November 1996".

I thought this sounded dark and trancy, like Julian Cope's "Rite" series. It's kinda relaxing. I like it.

This is a kinda cute piano and vocal ditty about my family's pets (Woodie, Peta, Daffy). I recorded it while visiting my parents in Charlottesville.

I guess I was worried that something would prevent me from going to Alaska. I don't remember what the threat was. Must not have been that serious.

The music is okay. The beginning is similar to "Peta and Woodie", which was recorded a few minutes, hours, or days later.

Wow, ambition! Where art thou nowadays?

I was trying to play punk on piano while warbling like Johnny Rotten. So, do I get an F or an F minus?

This rocking instrumental was inspired by the pets. It's a little sloppy in the beginning, but is the kind of music I love to create on piano; it's got a steady beat and is almost 100% solos.

Do you hear that metallic raspy sound in the background? That's the broken string from "Have You Seen the Dogs". It kinda sounds like a hi-hat, making this song even cooler.

Yet another song about the dogs. The singing is painful, but the melodic idea is kinda of nice. I like this one.

Cute. Melodic. Nice.

Great start to an album that quickly becomes unbearably boring.

This was semi-composed. By that I mean I practiced the main idea a couple times and then wung it. I kinda like it, and ended up using its main theme in later practices too.

Melodic and witty. This was recorded in a couple takes. I stitched them together later.

This is exactly ten minutes long. Aside from that, it's pretty nondescript. Repetitive, non-melodic, more an exercise in stamina than anything else.

Repetitive high chords, not too bad in theory. In practice, kinda zzz...

The chords are C and Cm. I later expanded this into "C Cm F Fm". I like the latter song much better.

The cat resumes her inspection of the yard...

The music is trancy, with a slightly tribal or martial flavor, especially near the end.

The lyrics and music are gently amusing and almost pretty. The antisocial sentiment might be a turn-off to some, but I think it's funny.

I like these lyrics! They make fun of the sun-loving "amateur day" crowd at Boulevard Park.

The music is also pretty solid, at least until the violent "sunstroke" part near the end. I'm glad I had my earplugs in at that point!

Funny lyrics! Unfortunately, the music's kinda cheesy.

CBC was striking. So the regular shows were cancelled. I was going through withdrawl.

The music starts off schitzo, a disjointed mix of "classical" and "rock". Then it turns into full-fledged rock.