albums
Sessions
1988 Apostrophe
1988 Gourmet
1988 Induces Vomitting
1988 Best of IPECAC
1988 Fake Reverb
1988 Here and Now
1988 Leaping Leper Limousine
1988 Catharsis
1989 Best of IPECAC 2
1989 Fake Reverb 2
1990 Live at Carnegie Hall
1990 Extras
Compilations
1990 Complete IPECAC
2012 IPECAC Picks
  • Title: Complete IPECAC
  • Artist: IPECAC
  • Timespan: 1988-1990
  • Theme: every single note
  • Length: 380:57
  • Tracks: 85
  • Lyrics: 55
  • MP3s: 84 play all locally
  • Rating: (none) rate this album

Track List

# title lyrics time download listen started recorded rating
1 Piston Alley lyrics 3:38 download listen locally - 1988-06-??
2 Trek (1) lyrics 2:10 download listen locally - 1988-06-0?
3 Intro Chatter lyrics 0:22 download listen locally - 1988-06-??
4 Trek (2) - 11:33 download listen locally - 1988-06-??
5 Better Drumsticks lyrics 3:24 download listen locally - 1988-06-??
6 The Corps of the Matter lyrics 3:57 download listen locally - 1988-06-??
7 Fake Reggae lyrics 3:41 download listen locally - 1988-06-??
8 Apostrophe Song lyrics 3:02 download listen locally - 1988-06-??
9 Share, Peace, and Love lyrics 4:00 download listen locally 1988-01-21 1988-07-??
10 Trek (3) lyrics 6:44 download listen locally - 1988-07-??
11 Share, Peace, and Love (2) lyrics 4:14 download listen locally - 1988-07-??
12 Outro Chatter lyrics 1:10 download listen locally - 1988-07-??
13 Chug-a-lug a Slug - 4:51 download listen locally - 1988-08-28
14 One Last Note lyrics 0:17 download listen locally - 1988-08-28
15 Ants-covered Chocolate - 7:49 download listen locally - 1988-08-28
16 Six Strings in Sync - 5:49 download listen locally - 1988-08-28
17 Hallogen lyrics 6:31 download listen locally - 1988-08-28
18 Cacaphony and Euphony lyrics 5:53 download listen locally - 1988-08-28
19 Tune Drops lyrics 5:03 download listen locally - 1988-08-28
20 Cacaphony 2 lyrics 2:34 download listen locally - 1988-08-28
21 The Challenge lyrics 14:12 download listen locally - 1988-08-28
22 Apostrophe Song (2) lyrics 2:50 download listen locally - 1988-09-10
23 Trek (4) - 11:49 download listen locally - 1988-09-10
24 Chatter lyrics 0:51 download listen locally - 1988-09-10
25 Coup d'Etat lyrics 5:34 download listen locally - 1988-09-10
26 Petrify - 1:31 download listen locally - 1988-09-10
27 Hallogen (2) lyrics 3:29 download listen locally - 1988-09-10
28 Cacaphony and Euphony (2) lyrics 2:18 download listen locally - 1988-09-10
29 Kim Edition Interview lyrics 11:15 download listen locally - 1988-??-??
30 Good Earth Sequel lyrics 12:15 download listen locally - 1988-??-??
31 My Familiar - 4:01 download listen locally - 1988-09-24
32 Recumbency - 4:59 download listen locally - 1988-09-24
33 Fortify lyrics 9:25 download listen locally - 1988-09-24
34 Dead Air - 4:10 download listen locally - 1988-09-24
35 Sungreen lyrics 3:03 download listen locally - 1988-10-??
36 Third Take - 4:24 download listen locally - 1988-10-??
37 The Broken Swing - 1:47 download listen locally - 1988-10-??
38 Grabatune - 1:32 download listen locally - 1988-10-??
39 All This is True lyrics 5:37 download listen locally - 1988-10-??
40 Grapejuice lyrics 5:18 download listen locally - 1988-10-??
41 Vacacaca lyrics 3:00 download listen locally - 1988-10-??
42 Major Alto lyrics 3:01 download listen locally - 1988-10-??
43 Hallogen (3) - 1:32 download listen locally - 1988-10-??
44 Share, Peace, and Love (3) - 4:21 download listen locally - 1988-11-15
45 Five Through Night - 4:09 download listen locally - 1988-11-15
46 Loogie Woogie - 3:46 download listen locally - 1988-11-15
47 Kiss the Devil lyrics 5:54 download listen locally - 1988-11-19
48 Medea lyrics 6:20 download listen locally - 1988-11-19
49 Merry Xmas lyrics 1:48 download listen locally - 1988-11-19
50 Numb lyrics 3:32 download listen locally - 1988-12-23
51 Lepercity lyrics 3:33 download listen locally - 1988-12-23
52 Catharsis lyrics 2:51 download listen locally - 1988-12-23
53 Repetitive Rap lyrics 2:09 download listen locally - 1988-12-23
54 My Familiar (2) lyrics 3:19 download listen locally - 1988-12-23
55 Numb (2) lyrics 5:26 download listen locally - 1989-01-??
56 Sungreen (2) lyrics 3:05 download listen locally - 1989-02-10
57 Share, Peace, and Love (4) - 4:36 download listen locally - 1989-02-10
58 Five Through Night (2) - 3:05 download listen locally - 1989-02-11
59 Medea (2) - 5:16 download listen locally - 1989-02-11
60 Lepercity (2) lyrics 4:26 download listen locally - 1989-02-11
61 My Familiar (3) - 4:09 download listen locally - 1989-02-11
62 Tunes from the Bottle lyrics 2:28 download listen locally - 1989-02-1?
63 Mean Machine - 3:20 download listen locally - 1989-04-13
64 Go - 4:37 download listen locally - 1989-04-13
65 Anchovy Rock - 2:53 download listen locally - 1989-04-13
66 Thirteenth Night - 3:32 download listen locally - 1989-06-09
67 Schnell - 2:47 download listen locally - 1989-06-09
68 Numb (3) lyrics 3:35 download listen locally - 1989-06-09
69 How Ya Is'n lyrics 5:35 download listen locally - 1989-06-09
70 Maybe lyrics 3:40 download listen locally - 1989-06-09
71 Three Pointer - 4:41 download listen locally - 1990-01-??
72 Downpour lyrics 6:57 download listen locally - 1990-01-??
73 Ammonia Song lyrics 4:21 download listen locally - 1990-01-??
74 Panorama - 6:21 download listen locally - 1990-01-??
75 Dissonance Song lyrics 7:04 download listen locally - 1989-0?-??
76 Demian (with Luke) lyrics 4:54 download listen locally - 1989-0?-??
77 Jon Solo (1) - 2:22 download listen locally - 1989-0?-??
78 Jon Solo (2) lyrics 6:33 download listen locally - 1989-0?-??
79 Thirteenth Night (test) - 1:08 download listen locally - 1989-05-07
80 Thirteenth Night (with Luke) lyrics 7:39 download listen locally - 1989-05-07
81 Fish Time lyrics 5:20 download listen locally - 1989-1?-??
82 Three Pointer (2) - 4:34 download listen locally - 1990-01-??
83 Downpour (2) lyrics 6:34 download listen locally - 1990-01-??
84 Homeboy Rap lyrics 0:46 download listen locally - 1990-06-15
85 Whiteboy Rap lyrics 2:56 - - - 1990-06-15
Total 380:57 play all locally album rating: (none)

Notes

This "box set" contains every known IPECAC recording. Even the between-song chatter has been preserved.

There have been three editions so far.

The first edition was assembled in December 1994 and consisted of three cassettes. It omitted "The Challenge", most of the between-song chatter, and most of the extras. As far as I know, nobody ever listened to it except me.

The second edition was created on 2002-07-11. It fit on five CDs. It added the missing songs and expanded the liner notes and credits.

The third and current edition is what you see on this website. It doesn't exist on CD yet, and is constantly evolving as I find more material and insights as to recording dates. Since I still don't know all the exact dates for the songs, it might be a while before I finalize the song for this edition and put it on CD.

Songs

Piston Alley

This is the earliest IPECAC recording. Atypically, Jon doesn't play sax on it; he sticks to percussion (no pun intended). Our playing is very sloppy and repetitive, but there's a solid energy here.

The recording is sped up, so it sounds like Scat-Trav (1988-era Trex). When I was transcribing the lyrics, I had to guess who said what.

Lyrics to "Piston Alley":

[spoken intro]

TRAV:
  okay, this one...
  oh, does it have a name?
  here, test...

JON:
  no, it's basically mass improvisation, man

TRAV:
  i thought so

???:
  it's ... [practice?]

JON:
  let's call it um, uh, "piston alley"

TRAV:
  what?

JON:
  "piston alley"

???:
  ... [operation?]

TRAV:
  ok, wait, make sure that works

JON:
  ready

TRAV:
  we're ready!
  wait, here's, here's
  i have to do a drum solo at the beginning
  ready?
  1, 2, 3...
  oh you can't start that
  ... not the drum part...

JON:
  well that, that way...
  you don't want it at all

TRAV:
  all right
  well, ready, here's the, here's the beginning

[spoken outro]

JON:
  it's time to go

TRAV:
  wooh!
  was that crazy or what?

JON:
  that was interesting

TRAV:
  uh, who gets the tape?

JON:
  ???

TRAV:
  you gonna let your parents hear the tape?

JON:
  ???
  

Trek (1)

This is our earliest recorded version of "Trek", from back when I called it "Stop All Time". The talking in the beginning ("this is our second take") suggests that there was one earlier version, which we probably recorded over. It sounds like we sped it up using a dictaphone.

According to "Trek Chatter" (on Kim 13), we may have recorded this (and possibly "Piston Alley") at Jon's house about a week before my piano-only version, which was recorded on 1988-06-16. However, the percussion and screaming were usually things we did at my house, so I'm not sure.

As for the song itself, well, it's only a small part of the "Trek" suite. The performance is peppy, but sloppy. The sound quality is crummy (as is the case with most IPECAC). However, at least you finally get to hear Jon playing the sax!

Lyrics to "Trek (1)":

TRAV:
  this is our second take
  [scat]

  wow
  again
  ???
  one more time and here it is

  [shrieking]

Intro Chatter

Introductory chatter. It was part test, part joke. Like most of IPECAC.

Lyrics to "Intro Chatter":

TRAV:
  can you hear us out there?
  can you hear us?
  let me - let me hear you say "no".
  hey, I hear myself, and it doesn't echo.
  but I'm there.
  that's all that counts.
  this is Travis Emmitt.
  this, this, this, this, this, this...
  is a ffff...
  oh.
  hear that?
  comic relief!
  

Trek (2)

This is the definitive version of "Trek". It's the first recording which contains all three sections: "God's Name", "Stop All Time", and "No Bull". I wrote out all the music by hand; it tooks me a few days to compose.

The first part ("God's Name") is painfully slow. Things pick up in the middle ("Stop All Time"). The last part ("No Bull") is okay; nothing special. Occasional bursts of static interrupt; I think the tape got damaged at some point.

But hey, I spent forever writing the thing, so we had to play it, right? Not only once, but three times (four if you count the short version on Apostrophe).

I'm pretty sure this was recorded after 1988-06-16, which is when I recorded my piano-only version of "Trek".

Also, although the tape cover says I played cornet, it sounds a lot deeper, more like a mellophone. Since I'm not sure, I'll trust the tape cover for now.

Better Drumsticks

Jon wrote the music, and I wrote the lyrics (which make fun of complainers). It's a sloppy shambles. For some reason we liked it enough to put it on Best of IPECAC as-is.

Jon's sleeve notes for the Kim Edition of Best of IPECAC:

Better Drumsticks (Jazz/Fusion riff)

This song demonstrates a special effect which involves speeding up the tape. You will notice the almost superhumanly fast tempo as well as the abnormally high pitch. The vocals were not accelerated, however.

I don't remember why we called it "Better Drumsticks". Maybe the implication was that if we got better drumsticks, we'd play more pointless percussion jams?

Jon and I traded off vocals in the second verse, which was kinda a neat effect. It was often hard to coax him to sing.

Lyrics to "Better Drumsticks":

VERSE:
  you want chivalry
  you lose women's rights
  you want faster days
  you get slower nights

  you want stonger arms
  you get longer fights
  you want more attention
  you get brighter lights

  you want smaller taxes
  we have larger debts
  you want fewer missiles
  they make stronger threats

  you want easy lives
  you'll have more regrets
  you want impossible dreams
  so that's what you get

CHORUS:
  if you want a quick drug
  you'll get a life-long low
  if you want a quick drug
  you'll get a life-long low

  wooh

BRIDGE:
  it's, it's so true

  you want chivalry
  you lost women's rights

  you want chivalry

VERSE:
  you want chivalry
    you lose women's rights
  you want faster days
    you get slower nights

  you want stonger arms
    you'll get longer fights
  you want more attention
    you get brighter lights

  you want smaller taxes
    we have larger debts
  you want fewer missiles
    they make stronger threats

  you want easy lives
    you'll have more regrets
  you want impossible dreams
  so that's what you get

CHORUS:
  if you want a quick drug
  you'll get a life-long low
  if you want a quick drug
  you'll get a life-long low

END:
  wooh yeah
  look at him go
  

The Corps of the Matter

This is a silly percussion improv. Jon picked the title. I had trouble pronouncing it. We both had trouble pronouncing our drum parts.

Lyrics to "The Corps of the Matter":

[spoken intro]

TRAV: this is, hey, wooh!
      it's in stereo

JON:  it is? oh that's good

TRAV: yeah, and it's our...

JON:  oh, are we in the right spot, oh?
      we might we recording over a good song

TRAV: hmmm. we're in the right spot

JON:  oh, what tape is this?
      i mean, what tape are we recording on?

TRAV: we're recording on the right tape

JON:  ok

TRAV: ok, ready?
      this is our drum feature

JON:  ok

TRAV: this is our drum feature
      and what do we call it?

JON:  uh, the corps of the matter, as in drum corps, you know

TRAV: the corps of the manor

JON:  the corps of the matter
      ok, ready?

TRAV: start us, jon

[music starts]

TRAV: wooh!
      yeah!
      hit it
  

Fake Reggae

Not the most original title. It doesn't even have anything to do with the song, which is just percussion.

The only cool thing about this song is the ending. You can tell Jon and I were having a lot of fun! The glee in our voices tells you exactly why we were doing IPECAC, and why I have persisted in making [silly, noisy] music my entire life.

Lyrics to "Fake Reggae":

[intro chatter]

TRAV:
  i think we need a break after this
  1...
  this is our second one
  and it's called "fake reggae"

JON:
  [???]

TRAV:
  yeah.
  ready?
  start it

[music starts]

???:
  wooh!  yeah!

TRAV:
  1,2,3

[outro chatter]

JON:
  wooh!  yee-haw!

TRAV:
  we gotta hear that!
  

Apostrophe Song

Jon wrote the music, and I wrote the lyrics (which originally appeared on Trex's "Five Dollar Drummer").

This was supposed to be our theme song. I wrote it before we changed our name to IPECAC. We might have performed it before the name change as well.

I distinctly remember writing the lyrics while sitting in the auditorium of my sister's middle school. I was supposed to be listening to her choir concert or a fashion show or something like that. I was really bored.

Lyrics to "Apostrophe Song":

[spoken intro]

TRAV:
  1,2,3
  1,2,3,4,5
  and a half and another half
  makes six

JON:
  take 8
  this is serious
  in stereo
  [beat-box]
  we should be ready

[music starts]

VERSE:
  hear us ring
  see us swing
  all of us dancing the bong-a-long

  hear us sing
  see our zing
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we be king

VERSE:
  hey don't ding the pots
    don't ding the pots
  please don't dent the bowls

  try to spare the box
    to spare the box
  look at the holes

CHORUS:
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we be king
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we can sing
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we can rhyme
  'postrophe crushin' all of the time

VERSE:
  crushin' crushin' crushin' crushin'
  crushin' crushin' crushin' crushin'
  bustin' bustin' bustin' bustin'
  bustin' bustin' bustin' bustin'

  crushin' crushin' crushin' crushin'
  crushin' crushin' crushin' crushin'
  bustin' bustin' bustin' bustin'
  bustin' bustin' bustin' bustin'

  'postrophe bustin' 'cause we got power
  'postrophe bustin' 'cause it's our hour
  'postrophe bustin' 'cause we can sing
  'postrophe bustin' everything

CHORUS:
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we be king
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we can sing
  

Share, Peace, and Love

This was my first "pop" song for IPECAC. I wrote the lyrics and music. I think we actually recorded this after Jon's version. I flubbed several of the lyrics. The music near the end is even worse.

My original version (with completely different music) was recorded for Trex.

Lyrics to "Share, Peace, and Love":

[spoken intro]

TRAV:
  this is my version of "share, peace, and love"
  i wrote it on january 28th 1988
  january 21st, and we've played this today

[music starts]

JON:
  wooh! yeah!

TRAV:
  here we go, 1,2,3

VERSE:
  i just wanna have a good time
  i don't wanna know what is mine
  why can't the world just learn to share?
  it would eliminate war and make life so fair

  just think of a world full of peace
  all those confrontations would cease
  no more bombs would rake the earth
  no more children dead at birth

CHORUS:
  we gotta share, make peace, and love
  we can't rely on aid from god above
  we need to talk, laugh, and sing
  but most of all we gotta learn to be free

VERSE:
  instead of locking armies we'd lock lips
  each day we'd [mumble] take a million pleasure trips
  we'd kiss and hug for the rest of our lives
  who says we can't have four or five wives?

  the fear of death would soon be unfelt
  and the leaders' iron hearts would soon melt
  the shadow of war would be lifted from us all
  and we'd tear down with our hands that very last wall

CHORUS:
  we gotta share, make peace, and love
  we can't rely on aid from god above
  we need to talk, laugh, and sing
  but most of all we gotta learn to be free

VERSE:
  we'd be united, yet liberated
  emancipated, yes, all that and free
  we'd live together, sleep together
  so many things we'd see

  we'd leave [???]
  no enemies this far along
  and then we'd join everyone to sing
  my worldwide, worldwide, worldwide [song]

CHORUS:
  we gotta share, make peace, and love
  we can't rely on aid from god above
  we need to talk, laugh, and sing
  but most of all we gotta learn to be free

END:
  wooh!
  wooh!
  that's the style
  'postrophe kickin'
  one more time
  gotta share, make peace, and love [???]

[outro chatter]

TRAV:
  look at him go
  a full 25 miles an hour
  

Trek (3)

This is the second full recording of "Trek". I don't remember why we put both versions on the same album. We probably recorded them a few weekends apart. I think this second version has overdubs, unlike the first one.

The intro is pretty painful. So's the first section, with all the instruments out of tune with each other. The "fast" middle part doesn't change tempo like it did in the previous version. The third part seems the best; there's more harmony. However, even that has lots of tuning problems.

Overall, this version is pretty lame. My grunting noises don't help.

Lyrics to "Trek (3)":

[spoken intro]

TRAV:
  all right
  this is Travis
  and i'm here to say
  this is "Trek"
  no, but it's Travis, not Trek
  is this on?

JON:
  uh, we're recording, so i'm gonna hit a tuning note
  ???

TRAV:
  1, trek trek trek
  1,2,3,4

[music starts]

TRAV:
  hit it!
  ???
  1,2,3,4
  

Share, Peace, and Love (2)

Somehow I got Jon to sing his own version of "Share, Peace, and Love". You can barely hear him. Fortunately. (He had a lot of trouble sticking to the tempo and pitch).

We might have recorded this one first. I'm not sure, though.

It didn't appear on our original version of Gourmet. I added it years later when I found it on an old tape.

Lyrics to "Share, Peace, and Love (2)":

[spoken intro]

TRAV: this is jon's, wait
JON:  no, no, no
TRAV: this is jon's way of singing "share, peace, and love"
JON:  i'm not singing!
TRAV: jon's version
JON:  are we/you recording?
TRAV: i'm recording
      this is jon singing and if he doesn't sing, i'm gonna play the trumpet
JON:  oh, god, ultimatum
TRAV: 1,2,3,4

[music starts]

VERSE:
  i just wanna have a good time
  i don't wanna know what is mine
  why can't the world just learn to share?
  it would eliminate war and make life so fair

  just think of a world full of peace
  all those confrontations would cease
  no more bombs would rake the earth
  no more children dead at birth

CHORUS:
  ??? love
  we can't rely on aid from god above
  we need to talk, laugh, and sing
  but most of all we gotta learn to be free

VERSE:
  instead of locking armies we'd lock lips
  each day we'd take a million pleasure trips
  we'd kiss and hug for the rest of our lives
  who says we can't have four or five wives?

  the fear of death would soon be unfelt
  and the leaders' iron hearts would soon melt
  the shadow of war would be lifted from us all
  and we'd tear down with our hands that very last wall

CHORUS:
  we ??? peace, and love
  we can't rely on aid from god above
  we need to talk, laugh, and sing
  but most of all we gotta learn to be free

VERSE:
  we'd be united, yet liberated
  emancipated and free
  we'd live together and sleep together
  so many things we'd see

  we'd love each other, one another
  no enemies this far along
  and then we'd join everyone to sing
  my worldwide song

CHORUS:
  we gotta share, make love and peace and love
  we can't rely on aid from god above
  we need to talk, laugh, and sing
  but most of all we gotta learn to be free

???
[scat]

what are you doing
???
  

Outro Chatter

More babbling. This is hilarious if you slow it down to half speed; it sounds like we're drunk! At normal speed, well, at least it ends quickly!

Lyrics to "Outro Chatter":

JON:  yeah

TRAV: which we haven't even written yet

JON:  right, but i'm working on it
      jonathon friesen and travis emmitt

TRAV: yeah, ho!!!

JON:  ok, uh...

TRAV: anything else? piano, piano

JON:  oh, piano

TRAV: no

JON:  yeah

TRAV: no, we haven't

JON:  hey, i've done keyboard too
      i'm a keyboardist too
      jonathon friesen
      but i'm not a bass player, basically

TRAV: or a trumpet player

JON:  right, uh, but the piano, well,
      that's true, that's true

TRAV: we haven't played piano

JON:  right right ok, no piano
      but if there is piano it will be travis emmitt or jonathon friesen

TRAV: oh and you know the little voices, uh, the...

JON:  oh yeah
      done by our special technician, travis emmitt

TRAV: but the voices are of two people

JON:  right

TRAV: and those are mainly travis emmitt and jon friesen
      so this is sort of one-sided
      if, i mean
      the two  people that get all the credit for this are...

JON:  travis emmitt

TRAV: and jonathon friesen

JON:  but actually the whole minds of operation
      are sam cubic and sarah johnson
      thank you
      just kidding
      jonathon friesen and travis emmitt

TRAV: i don't get that one

JON:  never mind; shut up!
      ok, you know it's one big happy family

TRAV: one yeah, huge, you know, monsterous

JON:  two person
      good bye
  

Chug-a-lug a Slug

For fun, Jon and I switched instruments; he played keyboard, and I played sax. We didn't bother writing any lyrics, but instead recorded this sluggish, sloppy improv.

One Last Note

This is mercifully short. I think Jon was eager for me to put down his sax.

Lyrics to "One Last Note":

[spoken]

JON:
  ok, want to listen to it?

TRAV:
  no, no, one last note
  one last [???]
  

Ants-covered Chocolate

The Trav-on-sax thing wasn't working, so we moved back to our proper roles. This time, we decided to try to make something tuneful and rhythmic. We sketched out a rough idea and then kicked into a long disco-y jam.

Despite the long, atonal intro, and sloppiness, there are parts in the jam that are really funky. I liked this song enough to later propose it as the opening track of an instrumental best-of album (which we never created).

This ended up being one of my favorite IPECAC songs from 1988.

Six Strings in Sync

This is the first IPECAC song to use a guitar. It's pretty horrid. Jon played keyboard while I fumbled along on acoustic guitar and cornet.

Stick to keyboards, Trav!

Hallogen

We must've rehearsed this a couple times; it sounds too tight to be completely improvised. It's IPECAC at our funkiest. We liked this song enough to record it two more times later (on Best of IPECAC and Here and Now).

You can tell Jon was getting really good at sax. As for my cornet (or mellophone) playing, well... Ummm... I'm pretty sure I played sax in here too. The keyboard was on auto-pilot.

Lyrics to "Hallogen":

TRAV:
  wooh
  yeah
  rockin'
  funky
  woah

JON:
  ???

TRAV:
  funky
  

Cacaphony and Euphony

This is a simple duet with me and Jon on sax. I played the lower, repetitive part and Jon played the melody and solos. Credit for any nice bits should go to Jon. The honking is my contribution.

Near the end, Jon stopped playing our song and broke out into solos. At the time, I thought he was creating them on the spot. Years later, after I got into jazz, I realized Jon had been quoting famous solos.

Jon called this song "Junkie" on his Best of IPECAC tape cover. Perhaps that was a reference to Charlie Parker or John Coltrane? Or maybe he just thought it was disposable.

Lyrics to "Cacaphony and Euphony":

JON:
  1 2 3 4

TRAV:
  yeah

JON:
  ???
  

Tune Drops

This starts off slow and dirge-like and gradually speeds up. Unfortunately, nothing cool ever happens. It just gets faster. That's it. No cool solos, no cool harmonies. No rhythms other than the canned keyboard drums. Just... faster. And faster. And then at the end it abruptly slows back down to a crawl.

The best thing about it is the title.

Lyrics to "Tune Drops":

TRAV:
  hit it
  

Cacaphony 2

Horrid. What were we thinking??? Thankfully, it's very short.

Lyrics to "Cacaphony 2":

TRAV:
  uno dos tres quatro    
  

The Challenge

This is mostly talking. It gives you a good idea of just how bad I am at sax.

Lyrics to "The Challenge":

TRAV:
  here we go
  it's jon versus travis
  in the saxophone duel called "The Challenge"

  travis said "i can take first charge"
  jon said "no you can't"
  since there's only two chairs
  jon and me, that's one and two
  if you know what that makes, two
  um, only two chairs
  so travis definitely wants first chair

  and here it is
  it will last probably hours and days
  ok, ready

JON:
  we will first
  the first event that we'll challenge with
  is the single note
  let's see

TRAV:
  see
  we're gonna see who can have the best -
  who has the best tone quality
  and remember that travis has been
  playing the saxophone much longer than jessica
  so here we go
  he has far more experience
  this should be decisive

JON:
  pick a note
  pick a note

TRAV:
  this one

JON:
  uh, that one
  [mumbled] oh that one

[playing]

TRAV:
  you didn't say vibrato

JON:
  what?
  i need tone quality
  [???]

TRAV:
  ok

JON:
  that's [???]
  that's person number one
  that's one note
  that's person number one
  jazz tone

TRAV:
  jazz tone

JON:
  you be the judge
  now, now we're going to try  multiple notes
  pick anything
  i'm gonna play like the [sings]
  pick any, any little

TRAV:
  just a short little

JON:
  or [sing]

TRAV:
  this person number one
  ok i get another try

JON:
  ok, person A gets another try
  hey you can play [sings]

TRAV:
  ok, here's [???]

JON:
  i have to play that same thing

TRAV:
  i think we're out of tune

JON:
  uh, ok

TRAV:
  third try
  ok now, it's long songs
  jon's gonna play his piece
  that he's making up, improvision, right now

JON:
  improvision?
  uh, well, i,
  let's see
  let me play
  let me play the solo
  let me play the, you know, the herbie hancock solo

TRAV:
  and now here's travis
  oh, excuse me
  person number 1
  ok
  excuse me, that was jessica
  here we go

JON:
  you're gonna break the tape
  now, uh, we are now gonna do scales
  pick a scale, any scale,
  c major scale, g major scale
  g minor scale, any scale you want

TRAV:
  this one

JON:
  ok that skill
  good luck
  here we go

TRAV:
  person number 1

JON:
  ok, that's b minor scale

TRAV:
  [???]

JON:
  ok now we're going to do chromatic scales
  as low as you can go to as high as you can go
  [???]

TRAV:
  ok

JON:
  [???]

TRAV:
  i'm ready

JON:
  ok, you decide now who is better

TRAV:
  wait, this is the last thing
  the grand finale
  jon, you can play anything you want

JON:
  all right

TRAV:
  make it up now, in this key
  gimme a key

TRAV:
  a minor

JON:
  ok now let's have an audience appreciation thing
  ok, who votes for person b?

TRAV:
  who is person b?

JON:
  ok, how about person a?
  yay yay

TRAV:
  i am, i'm person a

JON:
  i know
  yay yay

TRAV:
  yay! person a
  again, last words, here is person a

JON:
  ok person b, i mean person a
  was disqualified for playing while person b
  was doing his thing

TRAV:
  but just to show that we are real sportsman-like
  we are going to play a tune together
  that we entitle "Tune of the Challenge"
  1, 2, wait, 1, 2, ready go
  ready? come on come on
  1, 2
  um

JON:
  you decide

TRAV:
  you decide

JON:
  [???] person a was disqualifed

TRAV:
  ten times
  ok here it is again

JON:
  here what is again?
  no, no!

TRAV:
  jon will tell a story
  tell a story

JON:
  once upon a time a warrior died
  the end
  how much tape are we [???] over

TRAV:
  very little
  here's jon's gonna tell a story
  and i'll do the melody to it

JON:
  once upon a time
  wait a minute
  let me do the once upon a time bit
  i'll tell you when to come in
  once upon a time a warrior died
  the end
  now you can come in

TRAV:
  tell the story seriously

JON:
  once upon a time a warrior lived
  the end

TRAV:
  seriously

JON:
  once upon a time a warrior died
  but then came to life again
  the end

TRAV:
  serious

JON:
  once upon a time a warrior lived, died, lived,
  then met a maiden, lived happily ever after
  the end

  once upon a time a resurrected warrior
  met a maiden, got married,
  lived happily ever after
  and then got an ulcer from high taxes
  the end

  once upon a time ipecac got together
  one person was travis
  the mighty keyboard player
  part time drummer
  and guitarist
  and uh cacaphone player

  now, another member was jonathon
  being,
  being about ten times handsomer than travis
  he was -
  just kidding on that last part
  uh, he was the full time saxophone player
  part time keyboard player
  uh, drummer, harmonicist
  computer programmer

  one day they were at a concert
  the groupies, the groupies were going wild
  so then travis started playing the saxophone
  the vomit, the vomit rolled down the aisles
  and everybody drow--, and everybody drowned in it
  except for jonathon and travis
  who got ten million dollars in commercial rights

TRAV:
  what?

JON:
  and then left
   the end
  la la la...

TRAV:
  going out [???]

JON:
  good, does that mean you have to stop?

TRAV:
  no

JON:
  oh darn

TRAV:
  [???]

JON:
  no, play softer please
  [scat]
  oh trav, what a racket
  travis
  great
  why must you, travis

TRAV:
  one last note

JON:
  oh god

TRAV:
  the last riff of the day
  

Apostrophe Song (2)

This is our remake of "Apostrophe Song" (on Gourmet). It's a lot leaner and tighter than the original. Jon's solo is pretty cool; you can tell he'd improved tons over the past couple months.

Jon's sleeve notes for the Kim Edition of Best of IPECAC:

The Apostraphe Song (Band Theme)

For those of you who are confused, it might help to realize that IPECAC was originally called APOSTRAPHE. This is a fairly early song.

Nice spelling, Jon!

Lyrics to "Apostrophe Song (2)":

INTRO:
  in june 1988 the group apostrophe was formed

VERSE:
  hear us ring, see us swing
  all of us dancing the bong-a-long
  hear us sing, see our zing
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we be king

  hey don't ding the pots
  please don't dent the bowls
  try to spare the box
  look at the holes

CHORUS:
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we be king
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we can sing
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we can rhyme
  'postrophe crushin' all of the time

VERSE:
  crushin' crushin' crushin' crushin'
  crushin' crushin' crushin' crushin'
  and bustin' bustin' bustin' bustin'
  bustin' bustin' etc.

  crushin' crushin' crushin' crushin'
  crushin' crushin' crushin' crushin'
  bustin' bustin' bustin' bustin'
  bustin' bustin' bustin' bustin'

  'postrophe bustin' 'cause we got power
  'postrophe bustin' 'cause it's our hour
  'postrophe bustin' as we sing
  'postrophe bustin' everything

CHORUS:
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we be king
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we can sing
  'postrophe crushin' 'cause we can rhyme
  'postrophe crushin' all of the time
  

Trek (4)

This is the final version of "Trek". The rhythm and tuning are more together than in earlier versions. It also feels faster. Unfortunately, the mix is wimpy and sterile; it seems too serious.

The third section starts off super-sloppy but gradually comes together. My cornet playing sucks, but Jon sounds great.

Jon's sleeve notes for the Kim Edition of Best of IPECAC:

Trek (Keyboard Feature)

This song has three movements. It is one of their oldest and best songs. At the end it breaks directly into their next song which is...

Chatter

Benign between-song chatter.

NOTE: This was excluded from the Kim Edition.

Lyrics to "Chatter":

TRAV:
  in july 1988 apostrophe played a couple more songs
  but in august 1988 they changed their name to ipecac
  the spirit of the wonderful band of apostrophe lives on in the
  immortal beings composing ipecac, and today ipecac plays still
  this is the best of --

JON:
  ipecac

TRAV:
  the best of ipecac, recorded september 10th 1988
  coming up is a song world-wide known, at least in our world,
  as "better drumsticks".
  

Coup d'Etat

This was my percussion-heavy political song. I wanted it to sound tribal and dark. It has a few false starts. Don't most coups? It also has lots of bloody imagery.

We probably played this in one take (with no overdubs). This means Jon played the keyboard while I sang and banged on pots and pans.

This was a remake of a Trex song. Only the words are the same; the music is completely different.

NOTE: This was excluded from the Kim Edition.

Lyrics to "Coup d'Etat":

INTRO:
  you start it, go
  1,2,3,4
  ahhh
  i don't know,  it does that sometimes when you overload
  1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,ready go

VERSE:
  cheated workers, records fake
  [???]  1,2

  cheated workers, records fake
  burglaries, bills they take
  arguments, fists awake
  riots start, tensions break

  mass revolts, lives at stake
  weapons drawn, muzzles shake
  first bloodshed, bullets rake
  cops called in, big mistake

  waves of blood, fakes caked
  stores ablaze, children baked
  massive battles, huge outbreak
  towns erupt, cities quake

  allies part, friendships break
  [???] missiles snake
  bombs are dropped, holes they make
  [???] fire [???]
  [???] fire [???]

  human flesh, stench like steak
  human flesh

CHORUS:
  coup d'etat, overtake
  coup d'etat, overtake...

VERSE:
  cheated workers, records fake
  burglaries, bills they take
  arguments, fists awake
  riots start, tensions break

  hey, mass revolts, lives at stake
  weapons drawn, muzzles shake
  first bloodshed, bullets rake
  cops called in, big mistake

  waves of blood, fakes caked
  stores ablaze, children baked
  massive battles, huge outbreak
  towns erupt, cities quake

  allies part, friendships break
  rockets launch, missiles snake

  rockets launch, missiles snake
  bombs are dropped, holes they make
  human flesh, stench like steak

CHORUS:
  coup d'etat, overtake
  coup d'etat, overtake...

  all this death, for what sake?

  coup d'etat, overtake
  coup d'etat, overtake...

END:
  a different people rules
  another leader falls
  all in an endless cycle
  an eternal waterfall
  

Petrify

Jon wrote this short piece. We played it by the numbers. No improvisation.

Jon's sleeve notes for the Kim Edition:

Petrify (Short and Weird)

This is a brand new song that can only be found on this album!!! Wow!

Hallogen (2)

We really liked this song's funkiness, but didn't know how to solo over it. It sounds empty. We were trying to do it all in one take (no overdubs), and wanted to avoid using my keyboard's canned basslines. Since my mellophone was the bass part, that meant I couldn't play anything else. Jon had to keep soloing on top. I think if we had allowed ourselves some overdubs, we could have done a cool version of this song.

Jon's comments (from 1988 tape to Kim):

Hallogen (Mass Improv)

There are two types of IPECAC songs: mass improvisationals and written songs. The best ones are written down, but this mass improve was included to provide a well rounded view of the group.

NOTE: The Kim Edition omits the talking in the beginning.

Lyrics to "Hallogen (2)":

this is before we run out of tape
this is until we run out of tape
  

Cacaphony and Euphony (2)

Nice grammar, Trav. Nice playing, IPECAC. This is horrible. Zero energy, zero ideas. I think Jon was tired of recording (it had been a long day) and my messing with his sax wasn't helping things.

Jon's sleeve notes for the Kim Edition of Best of IPECAC (on which it doesn't actually appear):

Junkie (Structured mass improv)

This song is basically one long solo alternating between the two musicians, while the other plays a jazz funk background.

Lyrics to "Cacaphony and Euphony (2)":

TRAV:
  this is ipecac, the best of ipecac
  we are here to show how good we can play
  and now we have cacaphony and euphony
  this is our funky version
  and this one is almost 10 times better than the other one
  here it is: ca-caphectomy and eu--

  uno, tres
  one
  uno, tres
  uno, tres

[start playing]

TRAV:
  [???] record

JON:
  back to keyboard
  [???] recording

TRAV:
  dad, dad, look!
  

Kim Edition Interview

This "interview" was included at the end of the Kim Edition (which wasn't re-discovered until 2007). It's energetic, juvenile, and occasionally funny, in that geeky IPECAC sort of way.

First, I interviewed Jon and then we swapped roles. The references to Here and Now imply that that album was either underway or completed by the time we recorded this.

Lyrics to "Kim Edition Interview":

TRAV: (panting)
  i have caught up with jonathon friesen
  we're jogging along together
  here's jonathon friesen; say hello jon

JON: (panting)
  hi, hello

TRAV:
  and he is a member of the band ipecac
  and jon i have an idea

JON:
  can i stop?

TRAV:
  yeah

JON:
  or are you gonna go on chasing after this
  gotta keep on going
  all right hurry hurry
  ah okay

TRAV:
  all right, he collapsed
  very low constitution
  ok
  jon

JON:
  ok

TRAV:
  here, let's sit down on this fire hydrant
  ok

JON:
  wait, ??? dog again
  i think it's doing something

TRAV:
  oh man got my leg
  ok jon

JON:
  ok yo ok

TRAV:
  right

JON:
  ok

TRAV:
  jon

JON:
  yeah

TRAV:
  i am reporter mahr koos

JON:
  ok

TRAV:
  mahr koos as in m a h r k o o s
  have you heard of me?

JON:
  ah oh yeah i listen to you all the time

TRAV:
  yeah? on what channel

JON:
  uh, wgay

TRAV:
  no, that's wfag, sorry
  very close
  now i have to ask you
  oh how much time to you have

JON:
  i have about 15 minutes

TRAV:
  ok, do you really mind talking to me?

JON:
  oh no, no

TRAV:
  ok let me ask you some questions

JON:
  sure

TRAV:
  number one

JON:
  ok, yo

TRAV:
  why did
  did that say did?
  did you join the band ipacoc?
  oh

JON:
  ipecac

TRAV:
  ipecac, sorry, read it wrong

JON:
  well actually, i didn't really join it
  there are only 2 people
  and so we kind of came together and made the group ipecac
  so you can't really join it
  it's just like you make it, you don't join it
  since there are only 2 people

TRAV:
  ok
  have you had any recording experience
  before you joined the group ipecac

JON:
  yes, i was once a member of the rather obscure group laser
  you probably haven't heard of us
  we were kind of a rock spoof group

TRAV:
  in fact, i have not heard of you

JON:
  really? i'm not surprised
  it was in my shady past
  but you know it provided the
  um

TRAV: (barking)

JON:
  calm down
  get back, get back
  ok, it provided me the

TRAV: (meowing)

JON:
  the musical experience that i needed to join this group
  and bring it to a level of perfection
  that is unprecedented among this size of a group

TRAV:
  nice speech but from now on can you just answer yes or no?

JON:
  certainly

TRAV:
  ok, do you have any idols in this world

JON:
  uh, yeah

TRAV:
  do you want to expand on that?

JON:
  yes

TRAV:
  ok, expand

JON:
  yes

TRAV:
  all right, cancel my last request for yes or no
  expand on it

JON:
  ok, i was going to easter island, and

TRAV: (meowing)

JON:
  shut up cat
  i was taking a vacation on easter island
  you know, with those huge huge statues
  they have lots of little replicas and i bought one
  those are idols so i do have a few idols in this world

TRAV:
  ok name three things you love about america

JON:
  about america?
  uh, it's easy enough to pronounce
  america, gosh, america
  well the national america sounds okay but it's impossible to sing
  it's hard enough to play
  so that's a problem with it
  but three things i love
  well it's easy to pronounce
  starts with an a which makes it sound a-okay
  the word america
  what is the third thing good about the word america

TRAV:
  um well if you turn it around

JON:
  oh yeah

TRAV:
  you can also pronounce it amoreeka

JON:
  certainly, yeah
  i think i had a girlfriend named that

TRAV:
  yeah, amorekee
  it reminds me of a very glorious woman doesn't it

JON:
  she was my cleaning lady

TRAV:
  yeah, that's what it means in pig-ipecacian

JON:
  not exactly but

TRAV:
  not glorious, stoic women there we go

JON:
  yeah i guess
  but this was not a stoic woman
  she was a cleaning lady

TRAV:
  um close enough, yeah, very close
  ok name 3 things you totally hate about america
  or you wish you could change

JON:
  about the country or the word?

TRAV:
   either one

JON:
  ok well the country has that difficult national anthem
  that's a problem
  also there isn't enough originality
  after all, travis and i are probably
  the last living truly original human beings on the earth
  as i said in my very famous book "travis and me"

TRAV:
  "and i"
  or is it "me"?

JON:
  it's "and me"
  it shows a little cultural background

TRAV:
  yeah slang

JON:
  yeah well, though, slang is not a good word for it
  but i guess so, yeah

TRAV:
  oh well what are 2 other things you hate about it?

JON:
  i already gave 2; you want 4 things?

TRAV:
  no just one more

JON:
  ok there you go: math
  well there aren't good enough radio announcers
  they don't know their math
  and i hate it when that happens

TRAV:
  oh

JON:
  also, the wires are very low quality

TRAV:
  yeah
  well actually this microphone is made in taiwan
  and [noise]
  yeah the wires aren't always that high quality
  the sort of tend to just fade out and [noise]
  and eventually they just get back together

JON:
  oh my god
  i've just figured out the meaning of life

TRAV:
  what is it?

JON:
  this will revolutionize  living everywhere
  everybody will be happy
  i now know how the universe works
  i have the opportunity to broadcast it
  i may forget it soon
  but here goes
  [noise]
  in a beer can

TRAV:
  my god, that's fantastic
  can i quote you on that?

JON:
  certainly

TRAV:
  all right, one more question before i leave

JON:
  certainly

TRAV:
  because you time is definitely limited

JON:
  yeah, i've got to get back to my jogging anyways
  i'm getting shin splints

TRAV:
  all right, one last question
  how... and the second degree?

JON: (laughing)
  well, um

TRAV:
  oh, i'm sorry, i accidentally hit record off

JON:
  well, in answer to your question though
  what makes the ???
  i think the ??? enriching values of it
  certainly adds more self-actualization to the individual

TRAV:
  oh god that is so poetic

JON:
  i've got to get back to my jogging though

TRAV:
  all right

JON:
  hey, watch out for that car

TRAV: (screaming)

JON:
  uh, welcome to wfag
  now to follow up with our interview last week with jonathon friesen

TRAV: [animal noises]

JON:
  we have here travis emmitt, the other and now the only member of ipecac
  the other member was the late jonathon friesen
  now travis, how did ipecac start?

TRAV:
  well, generally, jon,
  i'm sorry, let me get my cup off my head
  shawn?
  shawn hackman, is that your name?

JON:
  shawn bartley
  hackman died along with jon friesen

TRAV:
  oh that was terrible
  shawn hackman
  you were a friend of mark koos, weren't you?

JON:
  yes

TRAV:
  the indian reporter?

JON:
  the name is shawn bartley, though

TRAV:
  yeah, the lonely rabbi
  [burp]

JON:
  please answer the question

TRAV:
  all right, what was the question?

JON:
  how did ipecac start?

TRAV:
  um, i think these people back in the 18th century
  took this medicine that made you throw up
  and they put it in a bottle
  and they called it ipecac which means in greece
  medicine that makes you throw up

JON:
  i see

TRAV:
  and in greek it also means
  medicine that makes you vomit
  they're not very professional in greece

JON:
  so what made you name your group after this medicine

TRAV:
  oh you want me to expand
  why didn't you say that
  some interviews just want you to say yes or no
  [burp]
  i'm sorry, man
  i shouldn't have put the microphone down there in the first place

JON:
  gosh, that's gross

TRAV:
  is there something wrong?
  do you find that humorous?
  back in june 1988
  jonathon friesen, the late jonathon friesen
  oh how i miss him
  joined with me to create the band apostrophe
  which was named apostrophe because we wanted to call it
  and so then in august 1988
  shorter after my trip to duck, north carolina
  i decided to change the name to ipecac mostly because
  [noise]
  and that's just about it

JON:
  i see okay
  some small technical difficulties
  i hope you don't mind
  now what are the culturally enriching, socially conscious messages
  behind your music
  i mean, how do you expect the listener to actualize himself
  in accordance with social morals in this present day and age

TRAV:
  well the groups out there named poison
  and they are sort of bad and polluting
  they have a lot of bad languages in them and bad images
  negative images about america
  ipecac is here to give you more negative images
  but it sort of makes you the other images
  these are more trivial
  yeah, trivial, travis, you know, very close

JON:
  well thank you
  you had a song about grape juice stains in a carpet
  can you sing a few bars of that

TRAV:
  all right
  i don't really sing that well
  this is my off-week

JON:
  it's the death
  i'm sure that really disrupted your

TRAV:
  yeah, ues, definitely

  [with music]

  grape juice oh grape juice on the ???
  in a puddle in the floor
  mother screaming bloody murder
  and then she points to the door

  yeah

JON:
  well, that was certainly exciting

TRAV:
  i know, how many people do you know that can sing chords

JON:
  yeah, that's true, and where did that music come from?
  it just kinda beamed into you

TRAV:
  i've been practicing
  i can just like go
  [with music] wah wah wah
  there's that note that's sort of out of tune
  but i can't help that
  it comes out of my nose

JON:
  that's actually very incredible
  i'm very impressed
  now

TRAV:
  actually most of the ipecac songs on induces vomitting where a capello
  like the drums, like here
  [fake and keyboard drums]
  see, i do that through my nose
  and the crack between my teeth
  most of the songs on induces vomitting were a capello
  that's why they're so bad
  i mean i'm very sorry

JON:
  this just in
  jonathon friesen is still alive
  your reaction

TRAV:
  oh my god

JON:
  he survived by tangling his nose hairs with the truck's radiator
  he was dragged for several reaction
  your reaction

TRAV:
  oh my god

JON:
  you don't get his life insurance either
  your reaction

TRAV:
  oh god da--

JON:
  ok, thank you for listening to that news flash
  now back to travis
  what are your plans now that jonathon friesen is still alive?
  here and now

TRAV:
  uh, i think we're gonna make an album
  and since he's alive here and now
  i think we're gonna call the album "here and now"
  here spelled with an h e r e
  very creative, isn't it?

JON:
  yes, well i'm sure the public with be waiting excitingly for that
  don't forget to look out not only for their latest album
  "best of ipecac" but also for their upcoming album "here and now"
  thank you for listening

TRAV:
  ok, on the next side we're gonna have something very different
  jon doesn't know what we're gonna do yet but
  i wrote this play and it's called
  the serious melancholic sequel
  and it's a sequel to the good earth
  if you guys up there have read this
  you will get this tape before you get the other tapes
  and i have a lot of other tapes waiting since june
  and there is no hurry, ha ha ha ha ha
  all right, we're gonna begin this on the next side so you can fast-forward
  or if you want to listen to just dead air for the next 5 minutes
  whatever suits you

  [a couple minutes pass]

  you like listening to dead air, don't you?

Good Earth Sequel

Jon and I included this on the second side of the Kim Edition tape.

It's a very silly interpretation of The Serious Melancholic Sequal, which was one of my sequels to The Good Earth. It's pretty horrible, and is here for completeness only.

Jon's reference to Fake Reverb implies that this was recorded after 1988-09-24.

Lyrics to "Good Earth Sequel":

TRAV:
  ok, just do the narrative

JON:
  it is two years after the chinese communist revolution of 1949
  so I suppose it's 1951

TRAV:
  oh, my stomach!  doctor!  i need a doctor!

JON:
  quiet!
  it's my turn
  don't interrupt
  now, as i was saying
  the communists control this particular region where the story takes place

TRAV:
  done? okay
  help! i need a doctor!

JON:
  wang! fight it! you've got to do it, for me!
  quick, fetch your father doctor tang!

TRAV:
  money; you need money
  and we don't have money
  so let me die
  just like o-lan
  i'm getting old, and have to die some time
  why not now?

  he's losing it
  he can't take much more
  i say we leave him alone

JON:
  let him die? that's barbaric!
  maybe in russia or europe but not in my house!

TRAV:
  speak clearly
  your house?!  your house?!!!  ha ha ha ha ha
  not quite, honey
  you aren't even related to wang
  he's my father; i'm his son!
  if anyone is to talk about running this house, it has to be me!

JON:
  you're forgetting something, boy:
  this is as much my house now as it is yours
  in fact, it's equally belonging to the poor fool
  it belongs to the party now, not wang's sons

TRAV:
  enough, woman!
  i've had enough...uh...badgering today
  i've got work to do

JON:
  thank god for communism!
  as long as it deals with people like that beast,
  i don't mind sharing the house with half the village

TRAV:
  where he?  where wang?

TRAV:
  right in here, good sir
  save him if you can, and may your children follow mao,
  and your grandchildren follow mao...

TRAV:
  uh, awwwight

JON:
  pear blossom, sir

TRAV:
  dovely name for a dovely girl

JON:
  that's so typical of men
  i hate it!  i hate them!
  well, actually...

TRAV:
  stop your babbling and get in here!

JON:
  oh! will he be all right?

TRAV:
  yes, he'll be fine, just a little gas pain
  he's awwwight now so i'd better be going

TRAV:
  oahhh...oahhh... thank you doctor tang

JON:
  the fee?

TRAV:
  no fee, dove
  this is socialism now
  you mustn't pay the government to keep its own workers alive!
  now good day

JON:
  goodbye, grand sir, and thank you

TRAV:
  don't thank me, thank mao

JON:
  oh, wang! you made it!

TRAV:
  my doll, my love... i need your strength...

JON:
  good night, wang lung, my friend

  it is approximately three weeks later
  wang lung's strength is ebbing...

TRAV:
  my soul wishes not to linger in this world
  my body cannot continue many more days
  yet my  heart yearns to stay with you in this house
  long ago...

JON:
  not another lecture, is it friend?

TRAV:
  i have not the energy to debate with you
  whether you should or shouldn't listen to me
  it is your decision
  long ago, when my father and i toiled over our tiny plot of earth
  with our own two calloused hands, not once did we falter in our labor [cough]
  not once did we allow [cough] the land to be
  oh, i'm sorry, some phlegm came up
  please, daughter

JON: [coughing]

TRAV:
  i hope it's not catching
  not once did we falter in our labor, not once did we allow [cough]
  oh, there, it's gone
  want me to continue, dear daughter

JON:
  yes

TRAV:
  don't cry, i'll be all right

JON: [crying]
  i can't help it

TRAV:
  not once did we --
  shut up daughter
  not once did we falter in our labor
  not once did we allow the land to be neglected as it lies now
  our very lives depending upon the land for food and status
  when our crops grew well we profitted
  we were able to buy an ox to pull a plow by
  i know it's sad, daughter, but please do not cry
  and still we had to dig and wade in the earth like swine,
  though we took a special pride in that
  to us, there was
  [screaming] some phlegm, i'm sorry

JON: [crying]

TRAV:
  don't worry, daughter,
  i shall not perish until my time to perish is here
  to us there was nothing like the pay off for a hard season's labor
  eventually, when i got myself a wife, o-lan
  my work became a little less strenuous
  for she helped with most of the labor
  though by this time, my father was unable to work

JON: [crying]

TRAV:
  for the next few years, we went through hardship after hardship
  and blessing after blessing
  and soon, oh god, i'm dizzy
  we were the wealthiest family in the city
  that was hard work
  and it paid off
  nowadays, though, no matter how hard you try
  and how many sacrifices you make
  and if you're reading this or not, it doesn't matter
  it says the same thing no matter if you ready it forwards or backwards
  or if you listen to the tape
  you achieve nothing...

JON:
  that's not true, father
  if you listen to the tape backwards, it sounds different

TRAV: [coughing]
  i'm sorry, i'll be all right

JON:
  you are helping the state, the country, the people

TRAV:
  yes, the people!
  the people who sit on their butts all day in a store
  while i am sweating in the fields!
  i am feeding the penniless slaves and beggars of the town, yes
  but also i am feeding men like my uncle, and his wife,
  the blubber-butt of the earth
  who did nothing but count the money i earned for their own uses
  they're all parasites
  the system's a parasite
  and i am the most unwilling host

  these people will take equal responsibility to work under socialism

JON:
  sadly, wang lung died shortly afterwards

TRAV:
  but not the actor

JON:
  but not the actor - hey, hey, get outa here!

TRAV:
  later!

JON:
  anyways, the two elder brothers, elder and younger
  forgetting about the new concept of communism
  immediately began arguing over who was to acquire
  the property and leadership over the house of wang

  younger, come here
  we must talk
  i must run this house
  you will help me

TRAV:
  you stutter too much
  hold on there, papers-boy
  you stutter
  you-you-you stutter too much
  you stutter too much

JON:
  newsflash; wang lung is still alive

TRAV:
  oh my god!

  [stuttering and rapping]

  hold on there, papers-boy
  you-you you
  who's to say you are the fit man to determine the ways of our harvests?
  you have no experience in grain sales
  you have to pay ten silver for a pound of rice!

JON:
  this just in: wang lung is still alive!
  he apparently kept himself alive
  by tangling his nosehairs with the radiator of the truck
  you reaction

TRAV:
  what color what the cat

JON:
  hey, you, settle down
  no one but the state will run this house
  and if you

TRAV:
  h-h-hey you, h-h-hey you

JON:
 leave my house, dung wee!
 we'll settle this matter by ourselves
 without you or the darn state's interference

TRAV:
  yet i understand his reasons for supporting communism
  for all his life he's been a worker, never with wealth or responsibilty
  he doesn't expect more, and is satisfied with being equal to everyone else
  but we, who, by the way, are rapidly growing old
  grew up most of our lives on our father's success and mounting fortune
  communism lowered our individual wealth
  so it's understandable that we resent this system

JON: [at same time]
  number one: no one talks like that in real life
  number one: no one talks like that in real life
  [operatic singing]
  number one: no one talks like that in real life
  and, number two: well, maybe you might be right
  but the system isn't -

TRAV:
  the system isn't suited for our past ways of life, i understand
  but we have to learn to accept that change
  of course, there are many, many rich land owners
  who have had to give up there hard-earned positions due to the new system
  and those land-owners would definitely listen to dumb things such as this
  which would have such a poor portrayal of chinese culture
  but still, there are many times more poor people
  whose self respects and maybe even lives have been saved by the same changes
  it is a just system, though apparently unbeneficial to ourselves
  would you rather be robbed blind by bandits
  it would risk our lives, our very lives, our incredibly very very lives
  or our very very
  that's an adverb by the way, very, no it's not, it's an adjective
  or have our wealth shared among the needy as it is now
  it is for a much better cause, period

JON:
  ridiculous!
  you are sounding exactly like a communist sermon-preacher
  it's about time i heard one; thank you
  exits

  a little while later, dung wee and jung du run in

TRAV:
  younger, it's settled, i convinced him.

JON:
  see, he must have convinced his brother
  to let him be the so-called ruler of the house
  neither one of them follows the system; they're both traitorous!

TRAV:
  no way!  i explained to my brother that -

JON:
  ere wis or yolder other?

TRAV:
  silence

JON:
  silence; ere wis or yolder other?

TRAV:
  i-in his room
  don't harm me
  i'm a frail old man

JON:
  fifty is not frail, child
  my grandfather is ninety-four and still fighting in the army

BOTH:
  against these nationalists?

JON:
  yes, of course, twit
  wait here ile i et or other
  enters elders room dragging out elder
  come with me
  exclamation point
  all three follow him outside
  end of brackets

  from her room, pear blossom hears two gunshots, a desparate yell
  and then another gunshot
  she rushes out to find the dead bodies of dung and her two brothers
  with jung standing over them, holding a gun
  she screams
  there is a fourth gunshot

TRAV:
  the final end

JON:
  oh shut up

TRAV:
  this, this, no i say it

JON:
  is fake reverb

TRAV:
  no, no, look

BOTH: [alternating words]
  this is for people namely my father who either have not read the book
  and are not familiar with the chinese communist revolution comma
  or just don't get the preceding story period
  even if you are completely familiar with communist china and my
  writing style comma you might want to read this
  scene one colon housecall
  started with wang wanglung feeling he needed a doctor period
  while the lord of the house lay on his his supposed supposed death bed
  doctor pear blossom and the younger brother debate about katy's topic
  the doctor finally comes recountance and
  declares that wang lung is going to be okay
  scene 2  recountance if that's a word contains the most
  expressive period part of the play: wang lung's tale of childhood,
  hard work, and criticism of the communist system
  the third and final scene comma living lungless is probably
  possibly the most important
  first the brothers start arguing after wang dies lie about about
  who's who's to rule the house
  gradually, the discussion turns one-sided;
  the younger brother analyzes the positive sides of communism,
  while the elder just agrees
  the two are mistaken for nationalists, and, leader jung du in truth
  i got bored and killed them off
  but it adds a touch of realism to the story

TRAV:
  that was sad

JON:
  that was pathetic

TRAV:
  that was my play

JON:
  that was, yeah

TRAV:
  it was chewed up and [pbbbt] spit out
  we're gonna take a break

My Familiar

For such as simple orchestration (me on keyboards, Jon on sax, no drums, no overdubs), we got a surprisingly rock-ish feel out of this song. We ended up recording it twice more.

The original title was "Smooth Syrum". Perhaps it was intended as our post-Apostrophe theme song? We later renamed it "My Familiar" (on Catharsis).

Recumbency

This song is half reggae choppiness, half canon-esque sappy glop.

Yeah, these liner notes are getting less and less formal as I proceed through the albums. Oh well. So much for preserving IPECAC's dignity.

Snort!

Fortify

Relentless, funky disco-jam. Nice solos by Jon. This is my favorite song on Fake Reverb.

It goes on a little too long, though. You can only get so many minutes out of the same canned drum beat and bassline before monotonotonotony sets in.

Lyrics to "Fortify":

TRAV:
  hit it
  wooh

JON:
  yeah, hit it
  

Dead Air

I think Jon hopped on keyboards and I squawked away on his sax. How else can you explain these awful sounds?

I'm guessing we did two tracks each. There might be some cornet in there. Either that, or two saxes. Regardless of which instrument is making which awful noises, this is pretty bad.

Sungreen

Dumb lyrics. I think they had to do with racism. Or nuclear holocaust. Or something like that. I don't remember. Like I said, pretty dumb.

The music is very simple too. I was trying to get poppier (and less jazzy).

I've seen two "Sun Green" references recently. One was a girl in the movie "Broken Flowers". The other is a Neil Young song from 2002. Does any of that matter? Not really.

Dumb song.

Lyrics to "Sungreen":

VERSE:
  sun green,  sun red
  sun blue,   sun yellow
  sun orange, sun black
  sun white,  sun purple

CHORUS:
  you are my sun; you light up my life
  you shine on me from near or from far
  the sight of you it cheers me up
  no matter what color you are

  you are my sun; you light up my life
  you shine on me from near or from far
  the sight of you it cheers me up
  no matter what color you are

VERSE:
  sun blue,  sun purple
  sun black, sun white
  sun ???,   sun purple

  sun green,  sun ???
  sun blue,   sun yellow
  sun black,  sun white
  sun orange, sun purple

CHORUS:
  you are my sun; you light up my life
  you shine on me from near or from far
  the sight of you it cheers me up
  no matter what color you are

  you are my sun; you light up my life
  

Third Take

This upbeat instrumental jazz-rock-funk was my proof that I could "rock" on keyboards. The mix is gritty and the performances, though a little off in bits, are energetic. I really dig this. I wish we had done more songs like this.

I liked this so much that I remade it almost 2 decades later (see "Third Take 2" on Mouseculine).

The Broken Swing

This came from a practice book that Jon or I had. I have no idea who wrote it. It's really boring. Playing other people's music is not my cup of grapejuice.

Grabatune

This is another song from a practice book. Zzzz.

All This is True

This was our first rap. It was completely improvised. It was fun to record, and still enjoyable to hear (at least for me).

We added bits of the lyrics to "How Ya Is'n", which later made its way to the Anchovies. So these silly, improvised lyrics got a lot of mileage!

Lyrics to "All This is True":

INTRO:
  this is a rap, rap, rap, rap, rap, rap
  hit it!
  hit it!

VERSE:
  i was walking on the street
  i was walking on the street
  and who did i meet?
  i was looking at my feet

  i saw a little ant standing by the side of the road
  by him was a rabbit beside him was a big fat toad

CHORUS:
  yeah, yeah
  all this is true

VERSE:
  i was walking on the street
  and who did i meet?
  i was looking at my feet
  and i saw a -
  i saw a what?

  let hear it, y'all

  i saw an ant by the side of the road
  beside him was a rabbit and a big fat toad
  he looked at me and asked me my name
  and i said "who are you to speak to me in this silly game?"

CHORUS:
  it's a rap

VERSE:
  so i asked him to my house and see if he did
  he came instead with a friend of his
  the friend was the toad; he brought his brother too
  his brother was another ant that lived at the zoo

CHORUS:
  all this is true
  all this is true
  all this is true
  all this is true

VERSE:
  so i took him home and we ate a big dinner
  he certainly didn't get thinner
  he looked sort of round  more like a beetle
  so i said

CHORUS:
  all this is true
  all this is true
  all this is true
  all this is true

  all this is true
  all this is true
  all this is true
  all this is true

VERSE:
  he left, finally
  i asked him to the door and he said he would go after me
  so i said, "how about stay for dinner"
  and he said "i...  get thinner"

  so i said
  "you already ate dinner
  you're not looking thinner
  you're looking rather fat
  it's time you sat down and sat"

CHORUS:
  all this is true
  all this is true
  all this is true
  all this is true

VERSE:
  last verse

  i wished him good look and i told him goodbye
  i asked him to tell me if his name was mister fly
  he said "no, you need some glasses to to see"
  he said "i'm an ant  can't you tell by i don't have no wings"

  i was walking down the street looking at my feet
  so who did i meet?
  i said: "all this is true"

  i saw an ant by the side of the road
  beside him sat a rabbit and a toad
  i asked them to my house for dinner and then dessert
  after that they left, they left

  sing it again:

CHORUS:
  all this is true
  all this is true
  all this is true
  all this is true
  

Grapejuice

Trav on guitar. Jon on keyboard. Ugh, right? Well, it's not that bad. It's surprisingly tight.

The lyrics are the best part about this song. I had written them several months earlier (see "Poetry Medley"). They might have been based on an actual event, but are certainly exaggerated.

Lyrics to "Grapejuice":

VERSE:
  my shoes have grapejuice on them
  there's a puddle of it on the floor
  mother is screaming bloody murder
  and then she points to the door

CHORUS:
  hey, didn't you know grapejuice stains carpet?

VERSE:
  and dad comes home
  i'm still outside
  too cold to talk
  and about to cry

CHORUS:
  he says: "hey, you better learn how to grow up soon"

VERSE:
  he goes inside
  and leaves me here
  he greets my mom
  with "honey dear"

CHORUS:
  they say: "hey, what's he doing out there on the porch?"

VERSE:
  i'm wondering what shall i do?
  i feel a breeze
  without a coat
  i'm surely here to freeze

CHORUS:
  hey, you should've thought of it earlier

VERSE:
  my tears are ice
  my hands are dead
  my fingers have lost
  their healthy red

CHORUS:
  hey, tough break, kiddo

VERSE:
  i try the door
  it's locked, oh no
  forecasters
  they're calling for six feet of snow

CHORUS:
  hey now, they're not always right, now are they?

VERSE:
  i have hope after all

  dad opens the door
  so i rush in
  i clean up the mess
  i am forgiven

CHORUS:
  one more solo and then we're through
  here's the solo now; let's go

  and i'm saying

VERSE:
  dad opens the door
  so i rush in
  i clean up the mess
  so i am forgiven

CHORUS:
  hey, now how is that for a happy ending?
  

Vacacaca

Trav on sax, Jon on keyboards. Why did we keep doing this to ourselves? And the listeners - don't forget the poor listeners!

At least we named it appropriately.

Lyrics to "Vacacaca":

???
  

Major Alto

Clankity clank! Hey folks, we've regressed to the Gourmet stage. This was our last encounter with pots-and-pans percussion. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Lyrics to "Major Alto":

1 2 ???

whoo

???
  

Hallogen (3)

This final version of "Hallogen" starts and cuts off abruptly. I think we recorded over most of it. It's not particularly special.

Share, Peace, and Love (3)

This is an instrumental version of "Share, Peace, and Love" (from Gourmet). It's the first song I remember recording at Jon's house, and the first which uses a piano.

Five Through Night

This was named after a story that I had started. I think I wrote the music on 1998-11-15. It's a simple instrumental, built around a bass line. We recorded a new version of it for Best of IPECAC 2.

The date "Nov. 15, 1988" is written next to this song on the tape cover for Leaping Leper Limousine. I don't know if that means the song was written or recorded on that day. Since I had pre-written "Medea" but had the 19th written next to it, I'm guessing that we actually recorded "Five Through Night" on the 15th. That was a Tuesday, however; we didn't normally record on school nights. Weird.

Loogie Woogie

This is a simple boogie-woogie. I played the piano part, which was pretty standard. Jon noodled around on keyboard, and later overdubbed a sax part. I may have overdubbed a second piano part, but I don't know.

I don't know how much of the writing was ours and how much came from a practice book. The tape cover says "theme decomposed by Travis and Jon". You can interpret that either way.

The best part of the song is the end. It's a chaotic free-for-all, containing more energy than the rest of the song (and perhaps all the other songs on the album combined).

This could have been recorded on either the 15th (Tuesday) or 19th (Saturday). I'm not sure. For symmetry, I'm gonna guess the 15th, so that the first 3 songs of the albums are on the 15th and the last 3 are on the 19th. Nice and neat.

Kiss the Devil

The buzzing is from a signal generator which was Jon's idea for a "poor-man's electric guitar". Jon wrote the lyrics that he sang, and I wrote mine. We had different music in our sections too. The song feels schizo... like it's possessed by something (ha ha ha).

I think "Mayflower of death" was a reference to a computer game Jon had written. In his game, a Mayflower was a colonizing space ship. As for the "death", well, maybe it had guns or something?

It's funny that Jon flubbed "leaping leper limousine" both times. We later named the album after that line. If he hadn't flubbed it, would we still have named the album after it? I guess we'll never know.

It sounds like I played 2 piano parts. Unless I sprouted a demonic third hand for this song.

Lyrics to "Kiss the Devil":

TRAV,JON:
  [intoning]

JON:
  kiss the devil
  kiss the devil
  kiss the devil
  kiss the devil
  kiss the devil

  ow kiss the devil

  gotta lick my guitar
  bite an iron bar
  sick satan's my mama
  turtle pus instead of caviar

  chewing eyeball
  super-skin schwa
  burning caesar alive
  flame-skinned wah wah

  kiss the devil, kiss the devil
  lucifer emaciates
  gotta do my slime 'cause i gotta hall-pass to hell
  take it, travis

  cool tossed nicotine
  leaping leper limousine
  flyby no-go
  flow blow zoo-goo ow

  grapple gray diddly squat
  oozing romeo
  mailman row your boat
  mayflower of death

  kiss the devil, kiss the devil
  lucifer emaciates
  gotta do my slime 'cause i gotta hall-pass to hell
  take it, jon

TRAV:
  i need a church to sing at
  i need a pew to sit at
  i need a preacher to look at

  i need a church to sing at
  i need a pew to sit at
  i need a preacher to look at
  i need a book to read

  i'm gonna sing now
  i'm gonna sing on the second time
  ooh ???
  [???] remember that

  i need a church to sing at
  i need a pew to sit at
  i need a preacher to look at
  i need a book to read

  oh holy satan
  how, how i believe in
  oh holy satan
  gateway to sin

  last time

  i need a church to sing at
  a pew to sit at
  a preacher to look at
  a book to read

    i need a church to sing at
    i need a pew to sit at
    i need a preacher to look at
    a book to read

  a church to sing at
  a pew to sit at
  a preacher to look at
  a book to read

  a church to sing at
  a pew to sit at
  a preacher ???

  oh holy satan
  how, how i believe in
  oh holy satan
  gateway to sin

  kiss the devil
  kiss the devil
  lucifer and heavy metal
    heavy metal

  back to you, jon

JON:
  kiss the devil

  gotta lick my guitar
  bite an iron bar
  sick satan's my mama
  turtle pus instead of caviar

  chewing eyeball
  super-skin schwa
  burning caesar alive
  flame-skinned wah wah

  kiss the devil, kiss the devil
  lucifer emaciates
  gotta do my slime 'cause i've gotta hall-pass to hell
  take it, travis

TRAV:
  last time ???

JON:
  cool tossed nicotine
  leaping leper limousine
  flyby no-go
  flow blow zoo-goo

  grapple gray diddly squat
  oozing romeo
  mailman row your boat
  mayflower of death

  kiss the devil, kiss the devil
  lucifer emaciates
  gotta do my slime 'cause i gotta hall-pass to hell
  guitar solo

  fade out on the guitar solo
  we're fading
  ???
  kiss the devil
  kiss the devil
  kiss the devil
  ??? fade out
  kiss the devil
  you can stop any time
  kiss the devil
  ???
  

Medea

This was a simple jazz ditty that I had written previously. The title came from a play we had recently read for English class. We both liked this a lot, and later re-recorded it for Best of IPECAC 2.

Lyrics to "Medea":

JON:
  yeah
  wooh
  yeah
  all right
  fade out
  

Merry Xmas

This was IPECAC's first and only Christmas song. It starts off as "Joy to the World" but then devolves into chaotic buzzing and chanting.

We ended up playing a coulple Christmas carols door-to-door that year (I think), Jon with his sax and me with a keyboard. I'm pretty sure we were pathetic

Lyrics to "Merry Xmas":

[???]
retardando

we wish you a merry christmas
we wish you a merry christmas...

hey
santa claus has much to offer
we are cool
we're ipecac

but we don't care
[???]
improvising
we don't care
we're ipecac
we do whatever we want
[???]

we wish you a merry christmas
we wish you a merry christmas...
  

Numb

"Numb" was yet another attempt on my part to push IPECAC away from jazz and towards pop/rock. You see, I wanted us to be a rock band, and Jon wanted us to be more of a jazz band. I think as long as IPECAC failed to meet either of our expectations, neither of us felt "gypped". "Numb" had nice lyrics, and a solid melody, but it failed to make us rock stars. Sigh.

I liked this song enough to end up recording it four more times: twice for IPECAC (on Best of IPECAC 2 and Fake Reverb 2). and twice as Tripecac (on Archives and College Collage). Unfortunately, none of the versions made me happy.

The panning is extreme. Jon's sax was in one ear, and my keyboard and voice were in the other. I don't know if this was intentional or not.

Lyrics to "Numb":

VERSE A:
  there was this girl you liked so much
  you tried so hard that she left you
  another guy came and took your place
  and you were left to suffer

  your world it seemed to collapse
  and moping in complete and utter ruin
  you grew a shell about yourself
  to shield you from the world (and the women)

  further and deeper you slipped
  from life's painful reality
  and into the solace and the universe of
  your endless, comforting dreams

VERSE B:
  you don't want to feel the world around you
  you'd rather be numb than feel the pain
  you don't want to take the blows you're given
  you'd rather just slippin' away

CHORUS:
  you're numb
  blood frozen
  afraid to let your feelings show

  you're numb
  blood frozen
  you'd rather hide than take the blows

VERSE B:
  your heart became broken so you froze it
  you immobilized your blood to numb the hurt
  and now that your heart is hardened
  you try to set yourself from the world

CHORUS:
  you're numb
  a turtle
  hiding safe beneath your shell

  you're numb
  and miserable
  you dug your hole; but it went to hell

    [repeat]
  

Lepercity

This was a silly story about lepers. We were on a leper kick. We had just finished Leaping Leper Limousine. We had also written and filmed a play about leprousy. What's with all the leper references? Well, I guess we thought it was funny.

The music is frantic. Lots of honking, shrieking, and staccato. The sax is way too loud. Yuck.

Lyrics to "Lepercity":

INTRO:
  jesus christ, you got us into this mess
  hey!

VERSE:
  driving down a long black highway
  under the sizzling desert sun
  windows rolled up to keep out the heat
  engine sputtering, almost gone

CHORUS:
  and we've just begun
  we've just begun
  we've just begun
  we've just begun
  hey

VERSE:
  a tiny town lies north of us
  we can barely make it there
  we end up walking the last few miles
  we reach the town with no fanfare
  hey

CHORUS:
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  we've just begun and yeah

BRIDGE:
  putta dem a down here
  putta dem a down there
  putta dem down skin
  and putta dem down hair
  hit it
  1,2

  putta dem a down here
  putta dem a down there
  droppin' down skin
  just dropping' down hair

  wooh!
  here we go
  i'm the rappa'

  putta dem a down here
  putta dem a down there
  just a droppin' down skin
  just a droppin' down hair

  just a droppin' down legs
  just a droppin' down toes
  just a droppin' down ears
  just a droppin' down nose

  just a droppin' down hair
  just a droppin' down feet
  just a droppin' down elbows
  just a droppin' down knees

  just a droppin' down arms
  just a droppin' down legs
  just a droppin' down hearts
  'cause we feel no pain

  hey, hey, hey
  this is a rap
  and we've just begun
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  lepercity
  wooh
  wooh
  wooh
  

Catharsis

This was a complete impov. It's manic, both musically and lyrically. We recorded the keyboard with mics instead of plugging directly in, which gives it a distant sound. The percussion is really annoying.

Lyrics to "Catharsis":

TRAV:
  1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4
  1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4
  1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4
  1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4

  hit it, hit it

  hey jon, how are you doing?

JON:
  i'm doing okay, trav; and you?

TRAV:
  well, i'm okay
  so how do you like this album?

JON:
  oh man, it's really gnarley, real bench

TRAV:
  huh, really?
  i have an idea

JON:
  let's jam!

TRAV:
  yeah, let's jam!
  when?
  now!

TRAV:
  oh well
  can't get all the notes right all the time

JON:
  yeah, if we do we'll get put on some hit list

TRAV:
  right [???]

JON:
  groovy dude

TRAV:
  yeah, schwa

BOTH:
  ceasar schwa

TRAV:
  hey, play something for us, jon

JON:
  what do you want to hear?

TRAV:
  just go ahead, now
  hey jon, you ever see that sexy girl

JON:
  sure did not

TRAV:
  oh man, you're a nerd

JON:
  so am i

TRAV:
  neat-o

JON:
  jeans-e dude

TRAV:
  yeah, jeans-e

JON:
  1,2,3 catharsis

TRAV:
  catharsis
  wrong one
  wrong one
  the tape isn't even hooked up
  

Repetitive Rap

This was half making fun of sample-heavy rap music, and half trying to emulate it. Rap was a compromise between my desire to rock and Jon's desire to play jazz.

Jon sang (basically) the same line over and over, and then I joined him about half way through. We then overdubbed vocal sound effects later. Real macho, guys!

Lyrics to "Repetitive Rap":

JON:
  this is a repetitive rap
  yeah, this is a repetitive rap
  i say this is a repetitive rap
  this is a repetitive rap
  this is a very repetitive rap
    [etc.]

TRAV:
  this is a repetitive rap
  this is a repetitive rap...

JON:
  repetitive rap
  repetitive rap...
  we're saying the same thing over and over again in a rap
  this is a repetitive rap...
  this is a bad rap
  ???
  this is a repetitive rap
  ???
  this is not a serious rap
  ???
  

My Familiar (2)

This was our second version of "My Familiar", which originally appears on Fake Reverb. I like this version a lot better. It's super-sped up, though.

I sampled the narration and monkey noises for a later Tripecac song: "Millions of Monkeys" (on The Hermit).

Lyrics to "My Familiar (2)":

INTRO:
  kill the monkey
  kill the monkey...
  kill the monkey tonight
  we must go now

OUTRO:
  and suddenly millions of monkeys swarmed the house,
  broke and busted in every window,
  and strangled the poor

  it was a gruesome sight
  but a sight worthy to be seen
  by the naked eye
  stripped of its...
  god this is dumb!!!
  

Numb (2)

This was our first song with Jon's keyboard, which sounded much more electronic than our earlier efforts. We got to program the rhythms, but everything was looped, and therefore repetitive. We learned over time that repetition favors simplicity. This album is full of "busy" rhythms that repeat endless and become annoying. The synthy sounds don't help. Jon's sax is drowned out by all the keyboard noise, too, which is a shame, because he was the good musician.

For the first song we chose to remake "Numb" (from Catharsis). I re-arranged the song heavily, moving lyrical blocks around like legos. Okay, that simile is about as playful as this song gets. It feels too serious, too labored, too devoid of humor. The only lively bit is the chaotic section near the middle, which was supposed to represent the descent into Hell.

The tape cover says that this is the "January version" of "Numb". I think all the other songs were recorded in February, making "Numb" the odd-ball.

Lyrics to "Numb (2)":

INTRO:
  this is ipecac
  numbin' your heart
  like a turtle
  hide beneath your shell
  and here we go

VERSE A:
  there was this girl you liked so much
  you tried so hard that she left you
  another guy came and took your place
  and you were left to suffer

VERSE B:
  you don't want to feel the world around you
  you'd rather be numb than feel the pain
  you don't want to take the blows you're given
  you'd rather just slippin' away

    [repeat]

CHORUS:
  you're numb, blood frozen
  afraid to let your feelings show

  you're numb, blood frozen
  you'd rather hide than take the blows

VERSE A:
  your world it seemed to collapse
  and moping in complete and utter ruin
  you grew a shell about yourself
  to shield you from the world and the women

VERSE B:
  your heart became broken so you froze it
  you immobilized your blood to numb the hurt
  and now that your heart is hardened
  you try to set yourself from the world

    [repeat]

CHORUS:
  you're numb, blood frozen
  afraid to let your feelings show

  you're numb, blood frozen
  you'd rather hide than take the blows

BRIDGE:
  further, further, here we go
  further, further, here we go

VERSE A:
  further and deeper you slipped
  from life's painful reality
  and into the solace and the universe of
  your endless, comforting dreams

VERSE B:
  your heart became broken so you froze it
  you immobilized your blood to numb the hurt
  and now that your heart is hardened
  you try to set yourself from the world

  you don't want to feel the world around you
  you'd rather be numb than feel the pain
  you don't want to take the blows you're given
  you'd rather just slippin' away

CHORUS:
  you're numb, a turtle
  hiding safe beneath your shell

  you're numb, and miserable
  you dug your hole; but it went to hell

    [repeat]

  here we go

END:
  you're numb, you're numb
  you're numb, you're numb
  you're numb
  

Sungreen (2)

Here we got a little simpler, musically a least. Unfortunately, the lyrics are still dumb, and there's very little humor. You can still barely hear Jon's sax above the heavy-handed synths.

And what's with the clapping? Was that our attempt to liven things up? Ugh.

Lyrics to "Sungreen (2)":

CHORUS:
  you are my sun; you light up my life
  you shine on me from near or from far
  the sight of you it cheers me up
  no matter what color you are

  you are my sun; you shine on my life
  you cheer me up

VERSE:
  sun green,  sun red
  sun blue,   sun yellow
  sun black,  sun white
  sun orange, sun purple

  hit it, jon

BRIDGE:
  there's a sun out there
  with your name on it
  victim of the holocaust
  that's about to come in the near future

  that's why this song is called "sungreen"
  and no matter what the color of the sun
  i will always be there to shine on your path

CHORUS:
  i am the sun
  i shine on your path

  you are my sun; you light up my life
  you shine on me from near or from far
  the sight of you it cheers me up
  no matter what color you are

  you are my sun
  

Share, Peace, and Love (4)

This is the second instrumental remake of "Share, Peace, and Love"; the first was on Leaping Leper Limousine. It gets the Best of IPECAC 2 treatment, which means busy rhythms, annoying synth sounds, barely-audible sax, and annoying clapping. On the bright side, at least this is an instrumental, and the solos are pretty decent.

Five Through Night (2)

This is another overly synthetic-sounding remake, again with very little sax poking through. At least this one's instrumental. Also, the drums are simpler. Perhaps we were learning that more is not necessarily better?

Since these drums are much simpler than those of the previous song ("Share, Peace, and Love"), I'm guessing that this was recorded the next day (on the 11th).

Medea (2)

We tried to gentle things up by remaking one of our lighter, jazzier numbers: "Medea" (from Leaping Leper Limousine). You still can barely hear the sax, but at least the drums are simple and we stuck with "conventional" sounding keyboard patches. Even so, it still sounds annoyingly synthetic.

Gradually, over the next year or so, we learned how to get Jon's keyboard to sound decent for us, but during these early songs it was really annoying to hear our nice songs get the life synthesized out of them. "Medea" is a sweet little song, and Jon's keyboard killed it!

At least that's how I felt (and feel); Jon might actually have liked the production. I personally think my cheesy Casio CT-310's canned rhythms had more warmth, which encouraged more spontaneity.

Lepercity (2)

This song was mechanic and dumb to begin with, so I don't feel bad about killing it with Jon's keyboard. It starts out pretty awful, but then a surprising thing happens... It crescendoes into an intense keyboard and sax cacaphony which actually rocks! The energy only lasts half a minute or so, but it's inspiring when it happens.

We were finally managing to squeeze decent sounds of Jon's setup.

Lyrics to "Lepercity (2)":

INTRO:
  jesus christ, you got us into this mess
  hey!
  this is lepercity
  here we go

VERSE:
  driving down a long black highway
  under the sizzling desert sun
  windows rolled up to keep out the heat
  engine sputtering, almost gone

CHORUS:
  we've just begun
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  we've just begun
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  lepercity

VERSE:
  a tiny town lies north of us
  we can barely make it there
  we end up walking the last few miles
  and we reach the town with no fanfare

CHORUS:
  we've just begun
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  we've just begun
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  hey

  we've just begun
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  we've just begun and we've just begun
  we've just begun
  lepercity
  hey
  hey
  hey
  hit it, jon
  

My Familiar (3)

This was our third and final remake of "My Familiar" (from Fake Reverb). The keyboard drums are annoying and you can barely hear Jon's sax, but the rhythms were simple and the instruments not too synthy.

For some reason, the song sounds empty, particular after the dense chaos of "Lepercity". Overdubs might have helped flesh things out a bit.

Tunes from the Bottle

We open the album with a sad story of alcoholism and gambling. Heavy topics for IPECAC! Hey, I couldn't help it; whenever I finished songs in those years, I brought them to IPECAC, and later the Anchovies. I put my solo efforts on halt during those times. So the heavy lyrics had to go somewhere, and IPECAC was my default outlet.

Meanwhile, my writing and playing had been improving over the months since the last album. I was taking jazz piano lessons and playing semi-regularly with the Anchovies. The music felt relatively full and natural, but my arrangement for this song left no room for improvisation, so it never gets very intense.

On an aborted album cover (where I called the band "Usupers"), I saw that my piano teacher, Art Wheeler had helped me write some of the music for this song. I don't remember which bits he contributed.

The "Usupers" cover was dated 1989-02-17. This suggests that at least one version of the song had been recorded before then, but I'm not certain. I'll guess for now that it was the IPECAC version although it could have been an early solo version. I know for sure that I recorded my Trex version (included on Wino Three Girls) on 1989-04-11.

Lyrics to "Tunes from the Bottle":

VERSE:
  i was walking home late one evening
  stumbled on a dead man lying in the gutter
  his face was gaunt; he had died of hunger
  stuck in his hand was an empty bottle

CHORUS:
  there was a man, a man and his bottle
  they shared their emptiness, shared their sorrows
  now I see that dead man's bottle
  songs of sorrow, tunes from the bottle

VERSE:
  it tells the story of a middle-class man who
  had potential but no ambition
  he quit his job and picked up gambling,
  found success in acquisition

CHORUS:
  there was a man, a man and his bottle
  they shared their secrets, shared their sorrows
  now I hold that dead man's bottle
  i hear songs or sorrow, the tunes from the bottle

VERSE:
  on new year's eve he got so wasted,
  bet all he owned on twenty-one
  would have been rich if his luck persisted
  but he pushed too far - the dealer won

VERSE:
  eventually, he turned to drinking
  drink to escape, drink to forget
  the rest of his life he slept with his bottle
  he died in his sleep, choked with regret

CHORUS:
  there was a man, a man and his bottle
  they shared their dreams, shared their sorrows
  all he had was his empty bottle
  all i have is this empty bottle
  

Mean Machine

Jon wrote this song. To me, its chord progression is a cliche. Did my songs sound like cliches to his ears too? How about to your ears? Does "Mean Machine" sound like a cliche? Do my songs?

Chord progressions aside, the solos are pretty nice. Jon was sounding like a real jazz musician by this point. He also probably got to practice this song a few times before I came over, which helped him plan his solos and boost his confidence.

Maybe Jon's motivation for writing songs was not to create an original structure but rather to give him/us something over which to improvise comfortably. That would be consistent with his method for contributing for the Master Anchovies: instead of writing new songs, he'd transcribe and arrange some of his favorite jazz standards.

Go

Here come the busy drums again. I guess we hadn't learned our lesson yet. Sorry! Well, at least the bass line is simple.

There's no much to say about this song. The chorus is the only good bit. The rest is clunky, at least in this version. I recorded a solo version for Trex (on Five Dollar Drummer) but I don't think it's any better.

The music accelerates at the end. I don't know why. I wish the bells weren't so loud. Ugh. Next!

Anchovy Rock

This was (or became) the theme song for the Master Anchovies. I'm pretty sure I wrote the majority of it, except maybe for the sax part. I don't think any of the other Anchovies had any hand in the writing.

I'm pretty sure Jon and I recorded this after the Anchovies had been playing it a while. We were trying to create a "solid" (and therefore definitive) version of the song. At the same time, we might have been trying to prove to ourselves (and the Anchovies) that IPECAC was better than the Anchovies at their own game. I did the same sort of thing when I recorded my solo version years later on College Collection.

This song became a calibration mechanism. We knew the music by heart, so it let us test different instrumentations and recording setups.

It was a fun song to play, and I like this version's steady rock beat, but I think I prefer real drums to the keyboard's fake ones. Also, there tended to be a lot more energy when we played this song live (with the Anchovies).

Thirteenth Night

Jon wrote this music for an English class project with me and Luke Marshall. It was the background music for the closing credits of our sequel to the Shakespeare play "Twelfth Night"

The music is atonal, but memorable. It was hard to play (lots of wide fingerings), but I came to really enjoy listening to it. This was the last song that Jon wrote for IPECAC (or the Anchovies) and it was, in my opinion, his best by far.

This particular recording is a short version that Jon and I recorded by ourselves. As we did with "Anchovy Rock", we were trying to create a "cleaner" version of the song than the one we had recorded with Luke (on "Extras"). Yes, it's cleaner, but it also feels a bit empty; I prefer the full version.

Schnell

This was a very simple piano tune that I named (partly) after my cousin (Kim Snell), whom Jon and I were mailing at the time. It's a nice tune to practice, but we never got a good recording of it. I think the keyboard drums detract from it in a big way.

Originally, this was part of an "Ethan Frome" soundtrack, which I had written for an English project. I don't remember the other parts of the soundtrack, and doubt that any recordings exist (unless Jon has them).

Numb (3)

This was IPECAC's third and final version of "Numb". The singing sounds dead, exhausted. My voice sounds hoarse, which is strange because the preceding songs had been instrumentals; maybe it was a tough key or maybe I had too much candy the night before?

On the bright side, the music is less annoying than the Best of IPECAC 2 version. Jon's sax playing matches nicely with the backwards keyboard sound, and the synthy drums are low in the mix. There's also a bridge with a rap to spice things up and some playful harmonies at the end.

Lyrics to "Numb (3)":

VERSE A:
  there was this girl you liked so much
  you tried so hard that she left you
  another guy came and took your place
  and you were left to suffer

VERSE B:
  you don't want to feel the world around you
  you'd rather be numb than feel the pain
  you don't want to take the blows you're given
  you'd rather just slippin' away

CHORUS:
  you're numb
  blood frozen
  afraid to let your feelings show

  you're numb
  blood frozen
  you'd rather hide than take the blows

VERSE A:
  your world it seemed to collapse
  and moping in complete and utter ruin
  you grew a shell about yourself
  to shield you from the world (and the women)

VERSE B:
  your heart became broken so you froze it
  you immobilized your blood to numb the hurt
  and now that your heart is hardened
  you try to set yourself from the world

CHORUS:
  you're numb
  a turtle
  hiding safe beneath your shell

  you're numb
  and miserable
  you dug your hole; but it went to hell

BRIDGE:
  you were new at the game
  and open to pain
  you felt a great loss
  your grief's been the boss

  you're numbing your mind
  but deep inside
  you know it's wrong
  you've hidden too long

  hit it jon
  hit it jon
  hit it jon
  hit it jon

  trav on the keyboard
  trav on the keyboard
  number 1
  trav on the keyboard
  trav on the keyboard

VERSE A:
  further and deeper you slipped
  from life's painful reality
  and into the solace and the universe of
  your endless, comforting dreams

VERSE B:
  you don't want to feel the world around you
  you'd rather be numb than feel the pain
  you don't want to take the blows you're given
  you'd rather just slippin' away

CHORUS:
  you're numb
  blood frozen
  afraid to let your feelings show

  you're numb
  blood frozen
  you'd rather hide than take the blows

  you're numb
  a turtle
  hiding safe beneath your shell
  

How Ya Is'n

Jon wrote most of the lyrics. Other bits were improvised, and there's a quote from "All This is True".

Musically, it's very simple, just drums and a heavy bassline. There's occasional sax (during the chorus) and keyboard (during solos) but for the most part we were focused on the vocals. The only weird bit is at the end, where Jon launches into an incredibly adventurous sax solo and then the rest of the music gets abruptly shoved into the background.

We liked this song so much we brought it to the Anchovies. It was a favorite from day one.

Lyrics to "How Ya Is'n":

TRAV:
  cruisin' down the street I got to the place
  where the weirdos hang out - I got my mace (ready)
  for an incident 'cause you never know
  what a blind quadroplegic morphodite might show (you)

  i kept my distance from the darkest alley
  where the schitzofrentic ninjas were having a rally
  i heard a noise and I spun around
  but couldn't see who made that sound

CHORUS:
  how you is'n, jon?
  how you is'n?
  how you is'n, jon, jon?
  how you is'n?

TRAV:
  suddenly I saw what I really had feared
  worse than kleptomaniacs, he really was weird
  behind him was a trail of arms and legs
  he stuck out his tongue to show his underarms

  he said "you got a nice tan but I got a nice blue
  that's right, I'm a leper, you can be a leper too"
  i said, "god you're slimy" and walked my own way
  the guy was gross enough to finish my day

CHORUS:
  how you is'n, jon?
  how you is'n, jon?

TRAV:
  i kept on walking so i could find my friend Jon
  the leper had disappeared; I hoped he was gone
  i went to Jon's place and he was waiting for me
  i was glad to be there, with a capital "e"

  i said, "Hey Jon, what's shaking?"
  "cooling.  What's up?"
  i said "girlies!"
  "well, I guess i better get ready, huh?"

CHORUS:
  how you is'n, how ya is'n?
  hey jon, how you is'n?

TRAV:
  jon your rappin' could use a little practice
  if you only rhymed, then you couldn't miss
  but first a little solo, so take the mic
  and practice your rap while i take a hike

JON:
  uh, well, this is my first rap
  and i'm kinda having, well, a bit of trouble
  i'm trying to rhyme
  well exactly what am i supposed to do anyways?
  oh let me start over

TRAV:
  jon, try to keep the rhymin' in your head
  your rhyming capabilities are just about dead
  well just give it one more shot
  i have a feeling you will improve a lot

CHORUS:
  just is'n
  how you is'n?
  how you bein'?
  how you is'n?
  how you is'n?

  jon, try to keep the rhythm in your head
  now here you go
  now here you go
  now here you go
  now here you go

JON:
  this is my first rap;  i don't know what do say
  maybe there, i'll think of something say
  there's only a second to thing of something to say
  it's hard to hear, hard to think of something to say
  let me think of something to say
  i think i will use another word to sing
  my dad always said i really couldn't sing
  i hope he hears this and hears me sing
  oh forget it!

TRAV:
  oh, poor poor jon
  oh oh, poor poor jon
  oh, poor poor jon
  oh, poor poor jon!

  try once more and say something new
  my jaws are healed but i need something to do
  so maybe i'll try a little keyboard here
  and then you can rap for me to hear

JON:
  i saw an ant by the side of the road
  beside him was a rabbit and a toad
  i talked to him and he asked me my name
  i said, "who are you to --"

TRAV:
  jon jon jon, better stick with the sax
  your rapping, i'm afraid, is really suck-tack
  so take your sax, get ready to go
  because we're about to fade out on a sax solo

  ha ha, ha ha, ha ha...
  

Maybe

In the late 1980s I sent lots of letters and tapes to my cousin Kim. I wrote this song for her, and then later brought it to IPECAC. I later recorded this as Tripecac on Archives.

This version benefits from a steady, deep bassline and Jon's soulful sax playing. On the other hand, the drums are still cheesy, the harpsichord sounds are annoying, my singing is often out of tune, and the tape gets mangled in the middle. I had pre-written my solos, which was sort of cheating, and kind of drained the life out of them. Jon's wailing sax towards the end makes up for it, though.

Lyrics to "Maybe":

CHORUS:
  maybe, maybe someday, kimmi, you'll write me back
  maybe, maybe someday, kimmi, you'll write me back

VERSE:
  i mail you letters, and you mail me not
  now how much patience have i got?
  i'm writing every single night
  it's just not right

TRANSITION:
  i pray and i hope against hope
  that you will write me
  oh i know it's been a long time
  but still i trust that

CHORUS:
  maybe, maybe someday, kimmi, you'll write me back
  maybe, maybe someday, kimmi, you'll write me back

VERSE:
  you say you're too busy to write to me
  now that's one thing i cannot believe
  i probably have as much free time as you
  and i've sent you 300 pages

TRANSITION:
  i pray and hope against hope
  that you will write me
  oh i know it's been a long time
  but still i trust that

CHORUS:
  maybe, maybe someday, kimmi, you'll write me back
  maybe, maybe someday, kimmi, you'll write me back

BRIDGE:
  i send you all these notes
  and what do you do?
  you don't even write me back
  what's happening with you?

  hit it, jon

VERSE:
  now every day when i get home from school
  i'm looking around for a letter from you
  and even after seven months have passed
  i'd think you'd write me at last

TRANSITION:
  i pray and i hope against hope
  that you will write me
  oh i know it's been a long time
  but still i trust that

CHORUS:
  maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe
  maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe
  

Three Pointer

This kicked off our final recording session. Our idea was to sound "live". The distortion is horrible, yet somehow I love this song. It's the closest we ever came to "rock", which had been my dream.

Downpour

This is my favorite IPECAC song. It's slow and mellow, but the solos are outstanding (for us at least).

Lyrics to "Downpour":

carnegie hall is proud to have: ipecac
  

Ammonia Song

We pretended that we were being backed up by a band called "Ammonia". This was supposed to explain the overdubs. We were trying to convince our listeners that we were a real band.

I like the relentless bass line. My solos are only decent, but Jon's sax work is great!

Lyrics to "Ammonia Song":

ladies and gentlemen
bourgeoisie
carnegie hall is proud to present
the rock group "ammonia"

with puke on the drums
vomit on the sax
and old mister ralph on the keyboards
what an entourage: ammonia!

and here they are, ladies and gentlemen:
ipecac!
  

Panorama

This was our only pre-written song on Live at Carnegie Hall; the rest were developed in the studio.

Unfortunately, the production is pretty bad in bits. The volume drops off near the beginning, and one of the keyboard overdubs is too high in the mix (and with no reverb). I also flubbed the bridge a bit by playing in the wrong octave. I still like it, though. It ends well, and finishes off Live at Carnegie Hall smoothly.

Dissonance Song

I'm not sure when we recorded this, since it wasn't part of any set of sessions. It might have been our first recording with Jon's keyboard (predating Best of IPECAC 2). It also could have been a warm-up for Live at Carnegie Hall... or anything in between. Since the drums were wisely kept simple, I'm guessing it came after Best of IPECAC 2 (which had crazy drums).

Musically, it was just an exercise. There's no melody or developed chord progression. Also, Jon's first note was a dud (which was rare for him at that point), which suggests that we hadn't rehearsed at all. Or maybe Jon was being intentionally atonal? Doesn't matter, really.

Despite the noodling and intentional jarring, this is actually a pretty soothing listen. I like the relentless bassline and metronomic drums in the first section. It was trancy, probably the closest IPECAC got to electronica or acid jazz.

The second section is a little less elegant, but it still floats by without getting cheesy or super-grating.

The short "Christmas in Cancun" reference near the beginning suggests that this was recorded around the time I wrote that song (late 1989).

Lyrics to "Dissonance Song":

???
fade out, fade out
???
  

Demian (with Luke)

We recorded this with Luke Marshall for an English project. I wrote the music, Jon and Luke recorded it with me, and then the class wrote and sang the lyrics in class.

I ended up remaking this as Tripecac's (on College Collection). I like my version better, probably because it has lyrics and all the parts are in time.

The clapping was to keep Luke in time; he had trouble matching tempos back then.

Lyrics to "Demian (with Luke)":

LUKE:
  ready

???

TRAV:
  stop

JON:
  he he he he he
  we'll think of a better ending later
  

Jon Solo (1)

This was filler on one of the later IPECAC tapes. I think Jon played all the parts, because I don't remember being involved in any of it. This may have been from his solo album (I Am Not Spock).

Jon Solo (2)

This is another weird recording from Jon, found on the back of an IPECAC tape. I don't think I had anything to do with its recording, though I hear my voice in the background. Very strange.

At the end Jon talks about "Thirteenth Night". I think he was explaining how we should play it. This suggests that his solo songs were recorded right before we did "Thirteenth Night".

Lyrics to "Jon Solo (2)":

TRAV:
  have fun
  need some [chord changes???]
  what do you need [???]

JON:
  only Jon [???]

TRAV:
  when are you gonna play right?
  how come you're not playing it?

JON:
  what?

TRAV:
  how come you're not playing?

JON:
  because no one else says
  [???] the whole thing appropriated [???]

TRAV:
  what is?

JON:
  what?

TRAV:
  what's [???]
  oh you mean [???]

JON:
  playing my guitar
  doesn't want to play coup d'etat
  he says go too far
  jon doesn't know what the hell he's doing anyway
  i think i should just stick around
  focus saxophone rule

  all right, this is my as-yet unnamed
  rhythmically dissonant, otherwise boring song
  uh, i'm going to be talking on the fourth track
  explaining what chords i'm about to go through
  since this is all improvised [chord?] progression
  this is c, by the way
  

Thirteenth Night (test)

This was from a test of the opening credits for the "Thirteenth Night" soundtrack. The song itself was playing in the background (on my parents' stereo, downstairs); we captured it with mics.

This excerpt is probably directly from the full soundtrack.

Thirteenth Night (with Luke)

This was the soundtrack to a movie that Jon, Luke, and I recorded for English class. It was a sequel to Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" play. Jon wrote the music. We later re-recorded it for IPECAC.

I really like this song. Luke played pretty well on it, too, much better than he did on "Demian".

According to the video, we started pre-production on 1989-05-08, which was a Monday. It's likely that we recorded the music on the previous day, which was Sunday 1989-05-07.

Lyrics to "Thirteenth Night (with Luke)":

ALL:
  thirteenth, thirteenth, thirteenth, thirteenth night
  

Fish Time

We wrote this for the Master Anchovies. This was our demo version. We used Allen or Anand's drums, which were left in my basement from a practice. Since there is only one sax part and two keyboard parts, I'm pretty sure Jon played one of the keyboard parts while I played drums.

There were three parts to the song. The first and third were hectic jazz/funk. The middle section was reggae. I think the Anchovies ended up only playing the middle bit; the other parts were too hard.

The first Anchovies version of this song was recorded 1989-12-21, so I'm guessing that Jon and I recorded this demo in the Fall of 1989.

Lyrics to "Fish Time":

???    

JON:
  yeah jon whoo
  
TRAV:  
  all right jon
  woah jon  
  

Three Pointer (2)

This was our first mix of "Three Pointer" (from Live at Carnegie Hall). We really overdid the distortion on this one. You can barely hear the drums or any high notes in the keyboard. On the plus side, it sounds even more live, even more convincing.

Downpour (2)

This was an alternative mix of "Downpour" (from Live at Carnegie Hall). I'm not sure if it came before or after the album version. There's a badly overdubbed keyboard bit which starts off too loud and ruins the illusion of a live performance. Other than that, I think it's identical.

Lyrics to "Downpour (2)":

carnegie hall is proud to have: ipecac
  

Homeboy Rap

This is an excerpt from the second video that Jon and I made for my cousin Kim. The first video was mailed on or before 1989-11-13. This one was recorded on "Friday the 15th", which was probably 1990-06-15. (Clues include the shorts, the green lawn, the drum set, and references to girlfriends.)

Most of the video is boring, annoying, and/or offensive but the musical bits might be of interest to IPECAC fans.

Allen or Anand had left his drums at my house. Since Jon and I were filming in the same room as the drums, we kept gravitating towards them.

This excerpt is really short. I'm pretty sure that Jon is on the drums, but I won't know for sure until I watch the video again.

Lyrics to "Homeboy Rap":

stop
yo, yo, homeboy
yo, yo
yeah, yeah, yeah
homeboy, what's up
talking to kim every night
on the phone
[???]
homeboy, homeboy
homeboy, homeboy
here's jon
homeboy
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
homeboy
what's up?
  

Whiteboy Rap

This is the second, longer excerpt from the video Jon and I made for Kim.

We were mimicking stand-up comedians, who were fixated with racial issues back then (this was the early 1990s). We took things to an absurd level. The humor might be thin, but I really like Jon's sax solo and the live drums. Also, it's neat hearing us improvise vocals on the fly.

Eventually Jon remembered that we were supposed to be making a video for my cousin (or perhaps he got tired of the metaphor). At some point, he put a big innertube around me to keep me from drumming (which didn't work); the "I know what to do" bit at the end was right before he walked to the video camera and shut it off.

Lyrics to "Whiteboy Rap":

TRAV:
  left, brother, left

JON:
  yo man, you ain't got no style

TRAV:
  left, brother
  left, brother

JON:
  yo
  i'm [???]
  and i know how to rap
  but my drummer's a white boy and he really sucks

TRAV:
  oh yeah

...


JON:
  sax solo
  no, forget it

TRAV:
  jon's on the sax looking really sexy
  all he's missing is a little bit of --
  oh yeah, we're rhyming really good
  black boy rhythm, in the neighborhood

  with a tripod, jon
  you better get ready with the tripod
  i'm not gonna hold this mic all the time
  hold this mic all the time
  please, please jon, go get the tripod

  we got the rhythm
  we got the soul
  but buddy we're white
  we're white as gold

  here's jon again

JON:
  i'm carrying a big tire
  and i look a little stupid
  but i don't [???] travis
  act of mercy
  this is an act of mercy
  no
  i know what to do