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    A Musician's Son: (Lyrics, Poems, and Memoirs)
    A Musician's Son: (Lyrics, Poems, and Memoirs)
    A Musician's Son: (Lyrics, Poems, and Memoirs)
    Ebook265 pages1 hour

    A Musician's Son: (Lyrics, Poems, and Memoirs)

    By Mark Brainard

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    About this ebook

    Mark Brainards A Musicians Son (Lyrics, Poems, and Memoirs) is a collection of selected works written over a span of forty years. The memoirs are a long musical journey under the tutelage of his musician father who played in the big band era with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and was a songwriter in his own rite.

    Influence and inspiration carried on through the rest of his family as well as friends, peers, bandmates, The Beatles, and women in his life. He has written over 200 songs and poems on many subjects including love, spirit, cars, women, heartbreak, places, experiences, and the bizarre. Many are included in this book with the stories behind them.

    "Even though I have accomplished so much, I feel like my life is still taking off. All my songs are my children and I'll leave them to somebody some day. Even though they never topped the charts, they're the greatest hits in my family anyway." MB

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateAug 18, 2010
    ISBN9781450244145
    A Musician's Son: (Lyrics, Poems, and Memoirs)
    Author

    Mark Brainard

    Mark Brainard was like one of many young boys growing up in the 60's. He was so influenced by The Beatles that he had to have a guitar. He learned to play quickly, performing with his family and for his family. He also learned to write songs. He wrote songs with friends from high school and college, but mostly on his own. When he started his life long office career in the Motion Picture Industry, he began to balance it with a professional and creative music career on the side. He took several songwriting workshops, continued to write songs, collaborate, and has played in a band for more than 30 years performing all over Southern California. He also built a home recording studio, and has recorded and produced several independent albums.

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      Book preview

      A Musician's Son - Mark Brainard

      A Musician’s Son

      Lyrics, Poems, and Memoirs

      Mark Brainard

      iUniverse, Inc.

      New York Bloomington

      A Musician’s Son

      (Lyrics, Poems, and Memoirs)

      Copyright © 2010 Mark Brainard

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      iUniverse

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.iuniverse.com

      1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      ISBN: 978-1-4502-4413-8 (pbk)

      ISBN: 978-1-4502-4414-5 (ebk)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2010910392

      Printed in the United States of America

      iUniverse rev. date: 8/6/2010

      Contents

      Section I

      Gratitude

      Introduction

      My Musician Father

      My First Music Experiences

      My Teen Years In Music

      Birth Of The Band

      The Band’s Evolution

      Home Studio Stories

      Life In Java And Side Shows

      Home Time At Sunset

      Section Ii

      Hopeful Hopeless Romantic

      Flipping Paper Frogs

      Here’s My Goodnight To You

      Lovely Night Owl

      Save My Love

      Eskimo

      Song For A Kiss

      To My Future Love

      All Of The Words

      Focus

      Track Of Time

      Over My Shoulder

      Little Love Song

      Who Can Stop These Tears

      Southern Sunlight

      Amber

      Is Our Love Strong Enough

      Wanna Be With Me

      Push, Pull

      Lockout

      Lady Come Back

      Simple Dies

      Can I Ever Get My Whole Heart Back

      Lioness

      Oh Tomorrow

      Feelin’ Loved

      Something New

      To Be The One

      She Never Notices Me

      Today I’m Not Afraid

      I Don’t Know Anyone

      Section Iii

      Oh Mighty Spirit

      My Ideal Day

      A Musician’s Son

      Forty Years After I’m Gone

      Feed My Soul

      Prayin’ Man

      Treasures Of Now

      No Turning Back

      Roll

      Balance

      Angel On Halloween

      I’d Be Standing

      Not Even Nostradamus

      The Signs

      Great Big Old World

      Life Is Rich

      Strip Away

      Morning’s Innocence

      He (40 Years)

      So I

      No Reason For Cryin’

      Destination Lost

      Drifting Off

      Handle On The World

      Section Iv

      Places, Faces, And Other Things

      Red Rock Canyon

      The Stage

      Dim Lights In A Restaurant

      Cyrus

      Trip Of The Century

      Rusty Spoon

      Little Fishy

      Sheets Of Rain

      Home Time At Sunset

      Car Guitar

      Empty House

      Play Those Songs

      My Old Neighborhood

      Life In Java

      I’m Going Tropical

      Day Of Love

      Two Little Ones

      Little Froggy

      Springin’ Meadows

      I Don’t Have To Wait

      Leather Futon

      Dismal Song

      So Strange

      Bony Thorn Snork

      Grey Coyote Nights

      Rent A Car

      A Place To Hide

      Fractured Society

      The Eyes Of Life

      Mind Cottage

      Section V

      Collaborations

      Bone Dry

      Another Year With You

      Santa’s Got A Guitar

      Deception

      Just Like In The Movies

      Rock And Roll Junkie

      Zelda

      Ghost Of A Chance

      Rock Attack

      She Won’t Say

      English Girl

      Lovebirds

      Copper Tears

      Section Vi

      My Early Works (1966-1976)

      Honest Abe

      Raven For A Day

      Rock And Roll Sailor

      It’s Life

      Got On A Train

      The Hour Glass

      Shadow Of The Dark

      Time Has Broken The Hour

      Only One Star

      Section I

      Gratitude

      This book is dedicated to my mother, Virginia Brainard, who always likes to read along with a lyric sheet while listening to my songs. She was a singer in her teen years and on broadcast radio in the 40’s. She always told me, Mark, you have music in your soul. A big thank you also goes out to my mom for rushing me into our living room on that particular February evening in 1964 to watch these four English lads on television performing on the Ed Sullivan Show. I also dedicate this book to my father, Harry Brainard, a big band musician and composer who came from arguably the greatest music generation of the 20th Century. He didn’t really push me into playing music. I just sort of gravitated to it. When he was convinced that it was my first love, he hooked me up with many people through the years that enhanced my growth in music. My parents passed along to me their music genes, and unwavering love and support.

      A special thank you goes out to my brother Gary, who has been a comrade, a business partner, a supporter, and a music lover. Also, thank you to my sister Nancy, a creative soul who in some ways made me a better songwriter and musician in my early years. She is also one of the original die-hard fans of our band.

      I would also like to thank all the people (to my recollection) whom I have been influenced by, inspired by, and encouraged by in my life in music including Uncle Carl, Aunt Delo, Aunt Betty, Dennis James, Denis Feehan, Tim Russell (Smith), Bob Pollard, Tony Hartt, Dan Lake, Mark Iodice, Janine Regal, Ian Liebman, Joy Valenza, Tony Pinto, Kevin Kelly, Danny Saint, Roy Schwartz, Brenton Worthy, Gene Anderson, Jim McCarty, Bob Boal, Russell Neibert, Garret Swayne, Dana Charnofsky, Ed and Rosie Cholakian, John and Sue Ballentine, Mitch Field, Lynne Field, Teri Smith, Susan Feehan, Robyn Hartt, Diane Pollard, Jack Segal, Mike and Joann Deme, Randy Cohen, Randy Copperman, Caney Arnold, Ira H, Arthur R, Carl G, Jacqui R, Greg M, Eileen Lake, Val and Cy, Vee, Aaron Miranda, Bryan Chan, Jay Jackson, Marc and Stacie B, Kaitie, Randy Tivens and rockinradio.com, Marshall and Samantha Rogers, Ted Brainard, Karen Drivere, Jack Thorne, Cindy Simonian, and my fabulous editor, Heather Hartley. An appreciation also goes out to my friends in the greater Los Angeles singer songwriter folk music scene. There are too many icons of the classic rock and folk music era to name, but I must mention John, Paul, George, Ringo, and the King, Elvis Presley. My apologies go out to anyone that I may have left out. You belong here too.

      Introduction

      I wrote a song called A Musician’s Son in the spring of 2002, a couple of months after my beloved dad passed away. It was my creative dedication to him. I truly believe that this term defines me as a musician and a songwriter. I started this book idea 5 years ago because I had written nearly 200 songs, and wanted my lyrics to be consolidated in one place. As time went by, I thought it would be really cool to gather my favorite lyrics and describe the story or inspiration behind some. I also started writing some memoirs on my music career because I have had so many adventures in music including bands, solo stuff, duets, and songwriting collaborations. The excitement started to build as I felt I had a really unique idea about sharing a large part of my life with others.

      A couple of years ago, I put my book idea on hold because I got heavily involved in recording, playing with two bands, and performing in showcases. I was also writing even more songs. I was riding on a fast creative roller coaster, about one new song a month. That may not sound like much, but that was 24 new songs in two years. One day while reviewing some lyrics, I realized that I had forgotten the melodies to about 10 of these songs. After my brief grieving over losing some musical ideas, I was able to look at these lyrics on their own merit, and come away with a sense of poetry.

      That was the moment when I re-kindled my interest in writing this book again. I also had been writing some poetry the past few years and decided to include some choice poems. This had given me yet another angle of expression. I wanted to let others into my heart, and have the opportunity to express myself through my words. It seems like I do my best writing when I’m in love or have been heartbroken. I also love to write when I’m in a state of reflection about life, experiences, or other people. That is how I decided to break down these writings in different categories.

      I’m excited about sharing some stories about my influences and experiences that helped shape me as a musician and a man. Even though this isn’t a full life biography, it is my creative biography through lyrics and writings. I’m painting a picture of my life through words for everyone to see. One thing I have always believed is that every human being is creative whether it is in music or not. I, for one, am very thankful that I discovered my path. I will carry with me forever this music trail, and a gratitude to God for giving me the gift of creating words and music.

      In writing this book, I’m not looking for any certain result or quantity. I am doing this to help myself and others become more aware of how beautiful life can be. If I touch one reader by opening up my heart and soul with these writings, I have accomplished my goal. Like I always say, Life is rich; you just have to look for it.

      My Musician Father

      Hermosa Beach, California, 1960

      I was only 4 years old at the time, but some of my earliest memories surrounded our house on Ardmore Street. I remember our red brick patio, and the beach being

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