The "Ninja"

So here is the much-requested "Ninja" song. Come to the Dry Bean on October 29, 2010 to hear it with the whole band! Lyrics below...



"Ninja"

A shroud of darkness fills the empty street
As a single shriek cuts through the night
But the days of crime in this fair city are fleeting
Alone he carries the burden of the fight

A lone wolf--a warrior in the night
A sole survivor of three thousand years of fighting
He shall never die, lest he be bested and beset
But the battle rages on and that has never happened yet

Who is this man who through the shadows creeps
Whom evildoers loathe and fear 
He is the ninja and from his body seeps
Pure vengeance and for the victims he perseveres

A lone wolf--a warrior in the night
A sole survivor of three thousand years of fighting
He shall never die, lest he be bested and beset
But the battle rages on and that has never happened yet

"You're a Creep"

Here's another new one. Come out to the Dry Bean on October 29, 2010, to see it with the band! Lyrics are below.



"You're a Creep"

Hopping in your car you're driving halfway round the world
You can't push it too far from where you've been
You got your radio controlled
To amplify your soul
I guess you never bothered growing old

You pull into the hottest spot that's open late at night
Push and shove everybody outta your way
Gotta find your piece of tail
Who's too young to know you've failed
Moving as the big subwoofers wail

You're a creep
And everybody knows what's underneath
When you're waiting on the other side of the street

It wasn't long ago I heard you calling out her name
It always hurts to say goodbye
Now everyone you know can't begin to fill that hole
You're left alone to reap the seeds you sowed

You're a creep
And everybody knows what's underneath
When you're waiting on the other side of the street

You're a creep
And everybody knows what's underneath
When you're waiting on the other side of the street

"Girl of My Dreams"

Here's a new song of mine. Come out to the Dry Bean on October 29 to see it with the band! Here's the video. The lyrics are below.



“Girl of My Dreams”

I learned my lesson about taking advice
From Friday friends—next time I'm gonna think twice
I’ve heard some rumblings of you messing around
With the guys downtown—how very nice

The same old echos I heard time and again, like
“You’ll love this girl,” and “man I swear she’s a ten”
Now I find out that it all just depends
On whether you’re out or whether you’re in

Now I’m all alone in this this wide world, trying to find another girl
to fill the void you left in my mind
I guess I’ll just have to wait another day before she finally comes my way
And leaves you others far behind
The girl of my dreams so hard to find

I guess it started near the end of July
It was first time I noticed things were going awry
Up til then I guess we never had fought
I guess I never had thought of asking why

The little hints I thought I’d misunderstood
I never hollered—I thought I never would
Verbal aggression never came to no good
But now I need the release, and I think that it could

'Cause I’m all alone in this this wide world, trying to find another girl
to fill the void you left in my mind
I guess I’ll just have to wait another day before she finally comes my way
And leaves you others far behind
The girl of my dreams so hard to find

It never seemed so wrong—did it now
To string me out along
In all honesty I guess I can’t be mad
And truth be told I’m glad

That I’m all alone in this this wide world, trying to find another girl
to fill the void you left in my mind
I guess I’ll just have to wait another day before she finally comes my way
And leaves you others far behind
The girl of my dreams so hard to find

What Just Popped in There

I have just remembered how an old song of mine goes that I haven't been able to place for over a year. For some reason, it just popped into my head! It's a tune about trying as a musician to keep life and stage separate. I have to write a little more for it to be finished, but I am still ecstatic that I've remembered how it goes :) Here are the lyrics I have so far...


I love to feel you breathe at night
Shallow breaths with just the slightest hint of laughter
You lie alone

Without a sound you leave
Before the sunlight even floods the hall
Away from home

The coffee pot is empty, but the smell still fills the air
I feel your gaze behind me you're not there anywhere

I work the scene, I play my keys
It always seems so easy when you're with me
tonight you're gone

I want to play my heart
But all they want for their part is rock and pop and disco
I sing their songs

But every note I play them is a lie they can't perceive
All I really want to do is cry, oh lord I want to leave.

I crawl in bed beside you while the moon hangs in the sky
The darkness tries to hide you in the night, but I feel right

Josh & Francie Coming to a Town Near You!

I had a wonderful time in the Wisconsin Dells last week. My girlfriend, the incomparable vocalist Francie Phelps, and I have put together a great duo show, and Thursday's performance was a lot of fun! I've compiled a little promo video from the footage. We'd love to take our show near you, so check out the video and pass it along to your favorite club :)

If You Can Make It There...

Just finished up a little trip to the Big Apple, where Francie Phelps (of Ivory Room fame) and I were brought in to perform for a special 60th birthday party. We had a blast, and the show was a smashing success. The only downside was that we had a hell of a time making it back home to Madison. Between flights getting cancelled and re-routes not being properly booked, we were extremely lucky to make it back in time to run down to Fins in Edgerton for our debut performance on the deck.
The weather on the Rock River yesterday was perfect! With no humidity and no mosquitoes, the three-hour show blew by. I can't wait until the next time we perform there. Incidentally, the next show that Francie and I are doing will be on July 29th at Monk's at the Wilderness in beautiful Wisconsin Dells. This is the second of our "Night Out" shows there, and we'll be performing some of our favorite tunes including plenty of duets and originals. Hope to see you all there!
Also, I have just added a list of my upcoming shows to this page. You can find it on the right hand side above my Twitter feed. I'm still doing plenty of dueling pianos shows too, and you can find the full schedule of those on the PianoFondue calendar.
Album vocals recording next week!!...

-Josh

Take One!...

Last week, after two solid days of rehearsal, the band went into the freelance studio at Madison Music Foundry. I was playing keys, Nate Rentmeester was at the guitar, Rob Jolin played the drums, and Matt Pea did double duty playing the bass and running the recording equipment. It was an amazing experience, and we were able to knock out eight songs in two days. Granted, the vocals have yet to be laid down, but we came out with solid rhythm tracks. They have a nice space over there, and the folks at MMF were very accommodating. You can find some nice pics of the process here.

Two weeks until vocals...