[00:00:00] Welcome to Strung Out, the podcast that looks at life through the lens of an artist. Your host is the artist, writer, and musician, Martin Lawrence McCormack. Now here's Marty.
[00:00:17] Hey, everybody. Great to have you with us and welcome to another edition of Strung Out. And I want to continue along with where I was with last week's podcast. And that is Describing three more songs from the new album, Red or Blue. But before I do that, I'm up in Door County, Wisconsin, and I'm at the brother, uh, my, the home of my brother, Fran.
[00:00:46] I just had a great art exhibition and I want to give a special shout out and thank you to Megan Amara at Amara's Irish Shop in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Uh, we had a, a, a really nice turnout. Um, People came from as far away as Iowa to be at the event. Um, so that means a lot to me and, uh, we're in the heart of switchback country when we're up here in Door County.
[00:01:15] So, uh, looking forward to coming back here with Brian and playing as well. And as you can tell, I still have the vestiges of this crazy, uh, Summer cold, and I'm glad it didn't turn into anything worse, but be that as it may, here we are in the beautiful northern Wisconsin woods. And, uh, let's dive into what's happening with the release of this new album.
[00:01:48] Uh, we have some great shows that are on our schedule at waygoodmusic. com that, uh, I hope that anybody listening or watching will attend and, uh, Not only here in the U. S., but we're going to have a concert up in Canada as well. The three selections I want to share with you for this podcast are kind of fun, I think.
[00:02:17] And the first one is the song Avatar, and Avatar was written In response to just, uh, trying to figure out what, what's going on with this whole idea of creating a metaverse, an alternative universe. At the time that we started writing this, uh, that was a big thing. It has since kind of tanked. Uh, and I don't know, um, It seems like a lot of people, uh, kind of got jaundiced by the idea of, um, trying to create an alternative universe in which you had your own, um, personality, you know, your avatar, you had, uh, you could buy real estate, just a spooky weird kind of idea that, um, you had this alternative, uh, lifestyle.
[00:03:17] That you could do and, uh, enjoy while your present lifestyle did what?
[00:03:28] Maybe I'm old, but I think that a lot of people just are like, Gosh, isn't one life hard enough without having to create an avatar?
[00:03:40] The concept itself is intriguing, I think, when you get to the idea of, like, where we might be in the future. Space travel and people living on other planets and the ability of, of, of coming together maybe in an alternative universe as far as like meeting somewhere seems to make sense to me. But right now in this current present day and age we have such a difficult time of trying to have people connect on an interpersonal human level.
[00:04:14] And so that's kind of where, uh, The song is that. It's just kind of poking fun at this idea that, you know, while you're laying in bed in the metaverse, you're getting ahead. So let's, uh, dive right into the song avatar. Whatever you do, it's the, for you driving the.
[00:04:52] Eatin street champagne and
[00:05:20] caviar with your avatar You wanna be fit? Pick the fuckers you're gonna get Your body's ripped, what a trip for your avatar You got your Bitcoin business in the metaverse A rockstar mansion in the metaverse A candy baby in the metaverse The metaverse, the meta, meta, meta, metaverse Life is fine, by your desire For best cigar at the whiskey bar with your hair at the top Life is swell, not a thing to buy, not a thing to say Butterball, have it all, the Avatar.
[00:06:21] You got your big chrome business in the Metaverse. Rockstar mansion in the Metaverse. Candy baby in the Metaverse. The Metaverse. The Meta, Meta, Meta, Metaverse.
[00:06:52] Sounds surreal, in the metaverse it's no big deal. Going far, with your avatar. Driving a car, with your avatar. To the Grand Bazaar.
[00:07:35] Hey, want to show your support of Martin's artist endeavors? Buy me a coffee is an online site that makes supporting Marty easy. In just a few taps, you can make a payment of any amount and no account is needed. You can also decide to become an ongoing supporter. Go to martinmccormack. com and click on the words, support Martin.
[00:07:58] Let's help Martin keep it all capital.
[00:08:07] Okay. We're back. And the next song that I would like to, uh, feature is a song that, uh, really kind of came out of the mind of Brian, Fairytale, and this song, uh, it's kind of a spooky song. It, uh, the, and it's, uh, definitely has a kind of a, uh, film noir, jazzy, late night kind of vibe to it. And I, uh, I, I really enjoy, uh, recording this song because there's this juxtaposition between the dreamlike situation, that scenario.
[00:09:00] And then, The reality hitting, you know, where the, we sing, give it to me. And, um, that, that idea of a person trying to, uh, be with someone that, um, is, it's almost like a fantasy. It feels like a fairy tale, but that, that id, that, that, uh, that juvenile or that desperate, I don't know what you want to call it, uh, that want.
[00:09:30] Where the, the person says, you know, clear out of the blue, I want it, give it to me, give it to me, you know, and, uh, and Fairytale is the last bit on the album, uh, and the crowning, uh, touch was Brian had recorded some years ago a hoot owl, hoot owl, had recorded a hoot owl. Uh, out in, uh, Lansing, Iowa, where he lives, uh, out there in the bluffs.
[00:10:03] Uh, and, uh, we decided to throw that at the end of the album, cause it just seemed kind of right at the tail end of the song to go off into that, that, that grim like fairy tale wood setting. That was the idea. Um, And, uh, it's, it's just kind of a, a wonderful slinky, uh, dreamy kind of song, and, uh, I hope you enjoy it.
[00:10:37] So we're going to listen to, uh, Feels Like a Fairy Tale and, uh, have a little breakout course after that. And then we'll be back with the final bit of this podcast, uh, where we are doing album notes. of the new album, Red or Blue, and you are on Strung Out.
[00:11:21] Like a fairy tale,
[00:11:37] like a fairy tale.
[00:12:05] Foresty
[00:12:10] feels like a fairytale warm kiss breaks the poison.
[00:12:28] Give it to me Feels like a fairy tale Is there some place We could meet Feels like a fairy tale, ah
[00:13:27] Walking up your street
[00:13:34] Feels
[00:13:38] like a fairy tale Happiness looks like you Feels like a fairy tale Dream come true Hand it to me
[00:15:07] Like a fairy tale,
[00:15:24] like a fairy.
[00:16:12] Hello, I'm Polly Chase here with Artwork by Marty McCormick. This is titled Dream. It's an 8 by 10 pen and ink drawing. Be lovely in an office or child's room. Anywhere you need inspiration to let go and see where your dreams can take you. To inquire about pricing and to view other pieces of Marty's artwork, go to martinmccormick.
[00:16:36] com. Thank you. Hey there. The third and final song that I would like to, uh, give you as a teaser is from Uh, this song is, uh, is, it's, it's a, a song that, uh, again, um, lyrically was started with, uh, Brian and, um, a great place for people to start if you want to write about a song is, is delving into books.
[00:17:12] Brian, uh, is really good at this, uh, where he will, uh, see a movie or. Or, uh, read a book, and it gives them inspiration to start writing a song. And this was, uh, this last, uh, song, Marabou, was based on, um, a book that was written by Truman Capote, and, um, the name of that, uh, short story escapes me right now.
[00:17:43] So, but, uh, loosely based, I should say. But the idea of this is also, um, uh, a song about escape and making, uh, uh, friends out of people that are just as maybe lonely and lost as you are. Uh, and, uh, Brian and I had a great time putting this song together, filling in lyrics in that. I did a, you know, how do we write, we, we do a lot of our writing when we're together on the road, and the switchback method of doing this stuff is that, uh, one of us will bring a song in whatever condition of, um, of, of development to the table.
[00:18:38] It could be as simple as a phrase. It could be as simple as a, a notion. Um, it could be a full executed song, but the, uh, the, the duo starts working on it and we start tearing it apart and building it back up much like somebody works on a hot rod or something like that. Um, and, uh, just tuning up a car or.
[00:19:06] Uh, that sort of thing. And it's fun. It's fun to be, the two of us working on it. And, um, so, Maribel is a, it's a very beautiful, moving song, um, about a young woman who is coming of age and, uh, she meets this, uh, new neighbor. And she finally finds somebody that she can tell her deepest secrets to that sort of thing.
[00:19:37] And she knows what she's going to be. She wants to be, uh, I'm going to show you, I'm, I'm, I'm significant. I matter. And I think that's the, uh, the little kernel of truth in this song that resonates with people that have heard this song. So let's give a listen to our third song for this podcast, Maribel.
[00:20:17] That's my house
[00:20:33] up the hill.
[00:20:41] That's where you live. So glad you moved to the neighborhood. It's nice to talk to someone and be understood. I'm nothing like my sister, my name is Maribel.
[00:21:18] I be
[00:21:26] in the morning.
[00:21:57] You can be sounds.
[00:22:10] These
[00:22:20] things have gone from bad to worse.
[00:22:27] Father caught me stealing from my mother's purse. There's a black sheep in our family and her name is Maribel. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:24:27] And that's it for this podcast, um, some switchback news, go to waygoodmusic. com. Please check in on the schedule of the various release parties that we're going to have this month of August and be aware that we also are selling. We're going to have some limited edition vinyl of this album. And, uh, we didn't make a lot because we don't want to have a lot hanging around.
[00:24:56] But, um, so if you're a vinyl collector, if you want a real, real rare piece of music history, pick up a copy of Red of Blue, which is going to be available at our release parties. And, uh, Again, I want to thank Megan O'Meara and the good folks that work at O'Meara's Irish shop in Fish Creek for the exhibition of my art.
[00:25:25] We were able to film and record some of that for an upcoming Mr. Murdy show. Um, and until next time, wherever you are from wherever I am, I just wish you the best of the week and we will catch you again soon. Bye bye.
[00:25:48] Thank you for listening. For more information about this show or a transcript, visit martinmccormack. com. While there, sign up for our newsletter. See you next time on Strung Out.
