THE STORY BEHIND THE ALBUM

In the year 1990, just after graduating high school, while I was playing with the Hermans Throo Osmosis, I met a really good singer named Leslie Tillotson in one of my music classes in community college. I had been craving doing a kind of fingerpicking, harmony-enriched band a la Simon & Garfunkel. So she and I started a little folk duo. I wrote the words and the music, and Leslie wrote the beautiful Garfunkel-y harmonies.

During that period Leslie and I went to San Francisco and Berkeley often to play at coffee shops, open mics, and small clubs before I left the Bay Area for Oregon in 1993.

Sometime in late 1991 or early 1992, Leslie and I went into the home studio of a friend of a friend named Jim. I met Jim through Vickie, the songwriter and rhythm guitar player in the band Lilliputian Bizarre, whom the Hermans and I befriended in 1991. Right now, I can’t remember Jim’s last name, but, like me, he was a huge Paul McCartney fan and he played bass in a Beatles cover band. I was pretty star struck recording with Jim, because he was quite a bit older than me and he was such a great performer. Jim plays bass on the recordings.

The result of our session was a cassette tape release of four songs. The recording you’re hearing is a USB cassette recorder rip of the original cassette. I have the original tape reel somewhere, but I have no idea how I would get the original tape reel recordings. Time will tell. At any rate, as soon as I get a hold of the original cassette, I’ll put up Jim’s last name. (Sorry, Jim!)

The cover design on the original cassette is a lot different from the one up on this page. We made the cover back in the days before Photoshop, when the best way to make an album cover was to utilize the color photocopier at Kinko’s. The image you see up there is just a quick stock image placeholder I threw together. Again, as soon as I get ahold of the original cover art, I’ll scan it and share it with you.

For now, I hope you enjoy the songs. Drop a comment on the contact page and tell me what you think.

words by Michael Johnson. Music by Michael Johnson and Leslie Tillotson.
All songs © 1991 - 1993, Zubsongs, Ltd.