Terry Lewsader
talks about
"Terry Lewsader"
by Johanna J. Bodde
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Terry Lewsader talks about... "Terry Lewsader"
(Self-Released) In 1970 a band called
'Morning' put out their debut album, which included several different styles of
music, although it was marketed as a psychedelic album. Jay Donnellan was a key
member of that band. He had recently come out of 'Love', a popular 60’s band
fronted by Arthur Lee. Worth mentioning early on also is that Al Perkins played
pedal steel on this album. (Note: both Jay and Al Perkins lent their talents to
my album, as well as Byron Berline, the incredible fiddle player who played with
Gram Parsons and the Rolling Stones. I’m very fortunate and grateful to have
received this kind of help on my first solo outing)…..but I digress…and more on
that later).
I mention 'Morning' because they had a
profound effect on me. They played Pop, Country, Jazz, and Psych music (and
evidently anything else they felt right to them)….and they put it all on the
same album. They were a wonderful band, and to this day it is still one of my
favorite albums. As Jay was helping with my album he advised me to not worry
about the styles (which didn’t surprise me). So I didn’t. Thanks,
Jay!
Now, for the 'more later' part: I can’t tell you
why because my memory about this is vague, but one day a few years ago, for some
odd reason, I decided to buy a new pedal steel. I had been out of the pedal
steel loop for a long time, and needed some help with this. I had been to Al
Perkins’s website in the past, and remembered there was an email address
there…so I wrote to him. This started a series of emails back and forth as he
helped to walk me through the process of buying a new pedal steel. Al is a
wonderful human being, and steel players are a little clannish to begin with, so
he was very kind and willing to help…even when I wrote back later to ask if he
knew what had happened to the guys in that band 'Morning' he recorded with many
years ago. He gave me a good lead on Jim Hobson (Morning’s amazing keyboard
player), and I found Jim right away. One lead led to another, and the next
thing I know, I had made contact with the three main members of the band
(including Jay mentioned above). This is how I came to get Al Perkins and Jay
Donnellan to play on my album. Byron Berline and Al P. are friends from a long
time back, and have worked with each other for many years. In fact they played
for Gram Parsons on his 'GP' and 'Grievous Angel' albums (also two of my
all-time favorite albums). So I sent the song to Byron and he liked it, and as
it turned out he and Al played on my song 'Can I Get A Witness'. I still have a
handwritten note from Byron telling me that he thought it was a good song, which
I’m very proud of. How lucky can a guy get?!!!?
As I’ve been reminded by the wonderful and
hardworking Johanna, I did get lots of help from some extremely talented people
and here’s a little information about them. I met a few of my vocalists while
playing pedal steel on their recordings a few years ago, so they kindly
reciprocated when I asked for their help. These include Sutter and Jason (who
have now renamed their band, 'Hatter'), and Hari Rex, who plays in a band called
'Young Hunting'. I’m hoping we will continue this process for some time to
come. As a producer it is difficult sometimes to find the right voice, and
players when changing musical genre’s. I found Brandywyne and Linda Lamb by
advertising online in Los Angeles. Brandywyne came in like a true professional,
did a wonderful job, and then moved to Seattle shortly thereafter. I haven’t
heard from her since. Finding Linda Lamb was another lucky break. Linda has
had success in France and around Europe, and still tours and records there as
the result of a spring-board song that made her popular some years ago. I also
found Bjorn Kelker by placing an ad online in Austin, Texas in an attempt to
find a good southern rock singer for 'This Time'. The first time I heard Bjorn
I knew I had found the right guy for the job. Amazingly, Carla Tassara was found
by my engineer about 24 hours before he left town for the summer…talk about a
lucky break!!! She was performing at an outdoor event and he called to
suggested we get her to sing the song 'Walking Blues' which she delivered so
well. Walking Blues is an off time song, and many vocalist who have heard this
song are amazed that she was able to “get it” so quickly. Also making an
appearance on Walking Blues is Gee Rabe on accordion. Gee also played on 'The
Soul'. Worth mentioning is that Gee holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology and teaches
at Cal State University. She laid a total of five tracks on Walking Blues so I
would have plenty to choose from. In the final mix we used all five accordion
parts which gave the song a very full…almost orchestral sound. And since I’ve
gone this far I need to mention that this would have been a totally different
project without my two engineers, Russell Wiener and John Abella….who I also
call the 'Studio Magicians'. They are both very talented engineers and
musicians. I also met John as a result of playing pedal steel on a recording
for a band he was in.
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O.K.! One more story and then I’m done. I know I mentioned Jay Donnellan at the beginning of this writing, but here’s one more FUN FACT before I go. Jay was nominated for a Grammy for engineering Gary Wright’s, Dream Weaver album in the mid 70’s (for anyone who remembers that song). He has also worked with Johnny Cash, Ringo Starr and several other popular artists. He now lives on an island and refuses to come home. HA Oops! That’s more than one FUN
FACT….
THIS TIME Lyrically, an exercise in frustration at the state
we live in, and the acknowledgement that as I get older, I get farther from the
freedom of my youth. This song expresses the urgency and longing to really live
while there is still time. An upbeat Southern-Rock song that started life as a
country song.
IN BETWEEN
A style I had never written before. I still can’t
identify a genre for this song but sounds like it maybe belongs in a movie. I
don’t know (Spielberg, give me a call). HA. The music came fairly easy as I
remember. A strong, positive, self-empowering and somewhat mysterious, sort of
Celtic feeling hit me so I went with that on a search for lyrics. I remember
having the mental image of a foggy black forest in my mind as I was working with
this song…and the thought that strength can come from adversity. The lyrics are
open for interpretation. Jay painted the perfect picture with his wonderful
instrumental interpretation on the solo.
THE SOUL
The Soul is a folksy, science-fiction,
truck-driving, love song. It’s the story of a truck driver who takes off in the
bad winter weather, after having a fight with his girlfriend. Somewhere down
the line he drives out of this reality - into a parallel universe, never to be
seen again. However, he is able to make contact with his girlfriend from the
parallel plane he is on, as it explains in the song, “she awoke to hear a
whisper and saw a mist fade out of sight.” I also wrote into the song an old
truck stop called 'Dixie' that I used to frequent after gigs in my hometown in
central Illinois.
FLYIN'
I’ve long been a fan of psychedelic music. This
was a fun song to write. I didn’t edit myself as I went through it. It felt
right. Written from the view point of a child. Production was more intense
than the other songs as I recall. The only psychedelic song on the
CD.
CAN I GET A WITNESS
I heard Paul Stookey talk about writing The Wedding
Song one time. He said the song came through him. In fact, he felt so strongly
about it that he never took royalties for the song, instead sending all
royalties to a Public Domain Foundation. I feel like 'Can I Get A Witness' was
a gift like that. I even get a little uneasy now trying to explain how it came
about….but here’s how it happened: I walked around with a very vague melody and
chord arrangement in my head for at least a couple of months. I felt something
brewing from the beginning and got a real good feeling about it. Something told
me that it would come eventually as long as I didn’t push it or try to make it
happen. Then one day, this voice said “get the guitar…it’s time to write the
song.” Suddenly this melody and chord arrangement magically came into focus,
and the lyrics came without effort, and the song was written in about 20
minutes. The whole process was so effortless that it doesn’t even feel like I
wrote it. And, of course, with Al Perkins and Byron Berline playing on it, it
seems even that much more special.
LITTLE TOWN
Nostalgia. Longing for stability, simplicity,
romance and innocence in a world that never stops changing. I don’t remember
much about writing this song, but it still calms me and surrounds me in a
fantasy world that seems to exists for me in this song, if nowhere else. An
easy-listening, even somewhat jazzy setting for this song.
MICKEY ROONEY
I actually did see Mickey Rooney in a small theatre
in Westwood, CA. I became a fan after seeing the movie “Bill” that he starred
in. Another free-form style of writing similar to 'Flyin’' (but totally
different). No editing. No struggling. I just did what felt right all the way
through the writing process, and this is the result. Lots of fun!
THE HUMAN HEART
I think this may be the only 'Pop' song on the
album. A cry-out for people (governments) to start doing the right thing. A
song about man’s inhumanity to man. Musically speaking, this is the only lead
guitar work I do on the album….which may seem a little strange since that is
mainly what I do. But this seemed to be the only song that really called for
it.
WALKING BLUES
Just one of those days.
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