Category Archives: Music

About halfway through “30 Clubs in 30 Songs,” I got an idea for a slightly hidden track – Track 31, if you will. Since we all stand up and sing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during baseball games, how about I get a bunch of my friends to sing the 102-year-old song on a recording? Sooo…. I did. I recorded the piano and my vocals first, then cut every other voice individually. I gave the singers two guidelines: 1) If you want to be stupid/silly in the intro, go ahead. 2) When you get to “home team”, sing whatever team you want – doesn’t have to be major leagues, doesn’t even have to be baseball, just has to exist. The ensuing chaos is too funny not to share, so here it is. Enjoy! And thank you very much to all who participated in this recording (listed below).

Ballgame

Piano played by Ed. Sung by The Fasano/Garces All-Star Chorus: Ed Klingenberger, Robbie Ellis, Rob Klingenberger, Adam Donnelly, Brandon Fess, Steve Begy, Tom Klingenberger, Karen Klingenberger, Tim Avery, Steve O’Riley, Molly O’Riley, Justin Rister, Leo Medler, Rachael Johnson

Well, we’ve reached the end. This nearly-five-month project ends with a tune that was a no-brainer in terms of both music and lyrics. As the baseball freaks know, this team moved to D.C. from Montreal and they now have their Pitching Ace Of The Future. Sure, he needs TOMMY JOHN SURGERY right now, but he clearly proved his stripes before his elbow gave way. Merry Strasmas, indeed.

As for the music, there was only one place to go. I channeled the DC Hardcore scene (a la Minor Threat and Bad Brains) and wrote a simple tune and played it just a little too fast. The recording process for this song proved to be a pretty good endurance test, particularly on the drums… The ending is also in tribute to Bad Brains, who repeatedly diverged into reggae from punk during the course of their career.

All in all, this has been a pretty wild ride. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy this tune as well as the previous 29.

Washington

There you have it. 30 Clubs in 30 Songs. It’s all over… OR IS IT?! Tune in Friday to find out!

Aaahh, Toronto. Haven’t been in a while, but I like that city. I’ve never been to that ballpark, either, but most people I’ve talked to seem to hate it, so I guess I’m not missing too much. Either way, this song is about that park… mainly because it was SO FRIGGIN’ COOL when it first opened (“The first baseball stadium with a retractable roof! Awesome!”). I also refer to the place by its original name ’cause they renamed it a few years ago.

I had a vague idea on where this tune should go from a musical standpoint. There have been so many good bands out of Toronto, but Rush is by far their biggest musical export. Sooo… mostly instrumental tune rife with time changes, bad Geddy Lee impression, a drum solo, and some musical morse code? Check, check, check, and check. But then Drew (from the most excellent blog Ghostrunner on First) mentioned Broken Social Scene and my friend Leo mentioned Barenaked Ladies… so I worked hints of both bands into the track. Overall, it was a pain to record… and completely worth the trouble. Enjoy!

Toronto

Next up: Washington (Tuesday), SECRET HIDDEN THING (Next Friday)