I AM JED DAVIS!

by Jed Davis

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about

Sonic adventurer Jed Davis will go to any lengths for the perfect track - even if that means recording in the back booth of a Denny's... or getting the surviving Ramones back together to cut one last song... or assembling a dream-team überband (Dweezil Zappa, Tony Levin and Anton Fig!)... or shipping off to Chicago for a live-to-tape session with Steve Albini himself.

From piano-punk to metal-Americana, Brooklyn's crafty Davis wraps bubblegum hooks around keenly incisive lyrics for an experience that is rich, resonant, bittersweet... and oddly comforting. In Davis's soundworld, genre is no object, laughter and tears share a pillow, and lo-fi found sounds nestle neatly into audiophile production numbers.

Despite the stellar supporting cast (which also includes Brian Dewan, Stevie Blacke, Mike Keaney, and Joe Abbatantuono, and engineers Dave Fridmann, Tony Doogan and Tchad Blake), I AM JED DAVIS! could only come from the mind of one man. This is recording the Jed Davis way - by any means necessary!

credits

released 31 July 2009
© 2009 Jed Davis

tags

tags: all genres alternative indie rock New York

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all rights reserved

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Track Name: Before I Was Born
The Lord cursed me before I was born
My first cells divide
The program inside was already running
The Lord cursed me before I was born
The choices I'd make were already made
Before I had choices
The Lord cursed me.

He gave me the spirit to never say die
The talent to raise expectations too high
Now nothing's enough and I can't figure why.

The Lord cursed me before I was born
It can't be denied
The pull of the tides, the call of your nature
The Lord cursed me before I was born
My first cells divide
The program inside was already running
The Lord cursed me.

He gave me the conscience to know wrong from right
So the tiniest fuckup would kill me inside
He gave me compassion, then drove me to crime.

The Lord cursed me before I was born
The news from on high:
"Everything that you try will blow up and burn you."
The Lord cursed me before I was born
"In your formative years [He said]
You'll have no idea how to handle rejection."
The Lord cursed me.

He gave me the insight to open my eyes
To know when you're lying, which is most of the time
I prayed for a respite; this was the reply:

"There is no point
There is no plan
Don't even try to understand
You have no rights
You have no soul
You'll take it 'til I say so.
On your knees and open wide."

The Lord cursed me before I was born
His Holy Decree:
"By age 23, your hair will be thinning."
The Lord cursed me before I was born
His Heavenly Word:
"Before you get heard, you'll turn suicidal."
The Lord cursed me.

He made me look normal, so I could fit in
And get close enough to see what I was missing
While all of the bad things that I would become
Were waiting in ambush before I was born.
Track Name: For A Girl In Promotions
Every rocker knows
That girl at all the shows
Passing out her business card
Is just some fluff to be ignored
She's in promotions

She's only here to kick up noise
And make out with skinny boys
Whoever wants to take a pass
At some entry-level ass
With no emotions

You can't do shit for my act
You cannot sign me
They don't know who you are
In A&R
But still I pray you'll find me
In your heart

As I watch you throw yourself
At some shitty band
Who won't ever understand
How important you are
To them getting this far
Yeah, the girl in promotions
One side of the stage
Is the only real rock star
In all of L.A.
Track Name: Invisible Girl
Falling into the role
You accepted long ago:
Getting old, getting fat
And collecting cats

Sit and stare at the walls
Where your shadow barely falls
And know you won't again be seen
In someone else's dream

Call it wrong
Call it sad
Call it life
Call it crap
Call it truth
Call it your last chance

Call it off
That was your last chance.

Turn around
Invisible girl
And try to be aware
Of your place in this world
You need someone to share
All your pain and your joy
You're supposed to be with
Your invisible boy

And what did you do
When somebody looked at you
When they tried to pull you free
From the scenery

Did you open like a rose?
Did you wilt, all exposed?
Did you freak out and hide?
Did you thrive outside?

Call it fear
Call it grief
Call it stunned disbelief
Call it truth
Call it your last chance

Turn around
Invisible girl
And try to be aware
Of your place in this world
You need someone to share
All your pain and your joy
You're supposed to be with
Your invisible boy

Turn around.

And what will you do
When somebody looks at you
When they try to pull you free
From the scenery

Take a long second glance
See the puppet that danced
What you thought was a toy
Is a real live boy

Call it shock
Call it shame
Call to him
Call his name
Call it truth
Call it your last chance

Turn around
Invisible girl
And try to be aware
Of your place in this world
You need someone to share
All your pain and your joy
You're supposed to be with
Your invisible boy

Turn around.
Track Name: Blood
Blood
Liquid light
Coat your skin
Slippery skin
Covered
Blood
Cut the cord
Rinse it down
Slap the back
Breathing
Blood
On your palm
On your knee
Through the torn
Cotton
Blood
From your arm
Needle tip
Look away
Stinging
Blood
Soaking gauze
Missing tooth
Under your
Pillow
Blood
Busted lip
Burning ribs
Dusty jeans
Fumble
Blood
On the screen
Slash and scream
Horror
Sleepover
Blood
Flowing through
Every tick
Of a life
Yeah

Blood in a bead on the tips of our fingers
Mix until we are brothers
Now we're in this together
Can't take it back, ever

Blood
Shocking spill
Marking time
For the new
Woman
Blood
On the sheets
Afterglow
Of a first
Passion
Blood
Welling deep
Running free
Far from home
Panic
Blood
Busted lip
Burning ribs
Dusty jeans
Honor
Blood
Underpaid
Flushing cheek
Salty sweat
Wasted
Blood
Slow and thick
Tiny veins
Squeezing tight
Pressure
Blood
On the knee
Of a child
Steady voice
Comfort
Blood
Flowing through
Every tick
Of a life

Listen to it rush
Listen to the sound
Listen in the dark
When there's no one around

Blood in a bead on the tips of our fingers
Mix until we are brothers
Now we're in this together
Can't take it back, ever

Blood in my throat
On my tongue
On my fingers
Sop it up and collect it
Let them bottle and sell it
Now you're listening to it, yeah
This is my blood.
Track Name: We're Both Wrong But You're Also A Dick
Did you think all the folks in your hometown were right
When they lip-served the legend you might become
Did you think this here song would end up on your wall in no time
Dressed in glass, chrome and platinum?
Did you think this would net you the girl of your dreams?
Did you think this would make you a zillionaire?
Tell me, big man, how's all that shit worked out so far?
Dozen years and does anyone care 'bout it now?
Don't answer now
We'd better take this up again some other time
Because the next words out your mouth
Will be a lie
A lie
A lie

Watch in horror as all your old bandmates and pals
Nest and spawn in their parents' suburbia
Check your watch by the reddening sun
As it sets on the only ones who've ever heard of ya
Time to water it down, dumb it down, dumb it down
Take a coward's piss all over everything
Do you care what some shit blogger says?
Do you care what 14-year-olds think about anything now?
Don't answer now
We'd better take this up again some other time
Because the next words out your mouth
Will be a lie
A lie
A lie

Did you think this would net you the girl of your dreams?
Did you think this would make you a zillionaire?
Tell me, big man, how's all that shit worked out so far?
Dozen years and doesn't anyone even care?
Yeah I know we're both wrong, but you're also a dick
So I'm finding it hard to go quietly
You can lie to your family, your friends and yourself all you want
But don't you fuckin lie to me now
Don't answer now
We'd better take this up again some other time
Because the next words out your mouth
Will be a lie, a lie
A lie, a lie
A lie, a lie
A lie.
Track Name: Let Go
In the dark at 4am
With forever on my hands
Things I've lost
Things I've missed
Closed around me like a fist
In a room full of rewards
That I no longer can afford
But I'm shackled to them so
I can't make myself let go

Shifting sands
And crumbling plans
Loaded dice
Deceptive calms
Moving shadows
False alarms

You can threaten me with trouble
You can threaten me with Hell
But I won't be taught a lesson
'Cause I don't believe in Heaven
I don't believe in success
I don't believe in happiness
I don't believe I ever can
In the dark at 4am

Shifting sands
And crumbling plans
Loaded dice
Deceptive calms
Moving shadows
False alarms

In the dark at 4am
With forever on my hands
Things I've lost
Things I've missed
Closed around me like a fist
And I reach beyond my body
And I reach beyond my soul
But I'm shackled to them both
And I want to be let go.
Track Name: Chain Letter
Number a paper from 1 to 7.
Write your favorite numbers next to 1 and 2.
Write the names of two people next to 3 and 7.
And the names of friends next to 4, 5, and 6.
Now make a wish.

1 is the number of people you must send this to
In the number of days you wrote next to 2
Number 3 is your true love
Number 4 is the person who you care about the most
Number 5 is the one who knows you best
Number 6 is your lucky star
Number 7 is the person who you like
But just can't work things out with

What did you wish for when you passed this on?
What number did I come up?

You ought to know better
Than to send me chain letters
You're gonna end up with a new boyfriend

Right now, somebody is proud of you
Right now, somebody is thinking of you
Right now, somebody is caring for you
Right now, somebody misses you
Right now, somebody wants to talk to you
Right now, somebody wants to be with you
Right now, somebody needs you
To send this out to them

What did you wish for when you passed this on?
Did you know that I would wish for you?

You ought to know better
Than to send me chain letters
You're gonna end up with a new boyfriend

Number a mix tape from 1 to whatever
Write the name of this song next to number 1
Now write the songs that remind you of the people you love
And the names of the friends that they remind you of
Now make a wish and send it to:

10 people - it'll come true in a year
20 people - it'll come true in a month
30 people - it'll come true in a year
40 people - it'll come true right now
10 people - you'll be happy for a week
20 people - you'll be happy for a month
30 people - you'll be happy for a year
40 people - you'll be happy forever

What did you wish for when you passed this on?
What number did I come up?

You ought to know better
Than to send me chain letters
You're gonna end up with a new boyfriend.
Track Name: The Bowery Electric
I got so lost in thoughts of you
I missed the F at 2nd Avenue
I came in from the rain
And heard it pull away
I stepped back out into the street
And with the Bowery beneath my feet
I squint to see it as it was
When this neighborhood was yours
It never seemed so distant
All that's clear is something's missing

New York City is a little less warm tonight
It's a little less cool tonight
And New York City is a little less kind tonight
And a little less rockin tonight

Debbie's hanging on the phone
Danny's speechless, and hey hey, Arty's home
And now the Bowery Electric crew
Shines a spotlight star for you
While on the streets below
We wander slow, already lonely

New York City is a little less warm tonight
It's a little less cool tonight
And New York City is a little less kind tonight
And a little less rockin tonight

I still get lost in thoughts of you
And in those moments, I know what to do
I put my headphones on
And you are never really gone
Do you remember Hullaballoo?
Upbeat, Shindig, and Ed Sullivan too?
You know that I remember you
Yes, I still fuckin remember

New York City is a little less cold tonight
It's a little less lame tonight
And New York City is a little less cruel tonight
New York City, let's rock tonight
Track Name: Run Don't Walk
You know, if I were famous
You could all share my life
Be with me as I grow up
Leave my hometown, take a wife

Get fat
Get old
Get dopey and die
It's gonna happen anyway
It's gonna happen someday
Shit, it already may
But at least this way
Someone would care

In the late summer twilight
I'd pretend this was TV
Every school year a new season
The whole world was watching me
New plotlines to resolve
New supporting cast to meet
And the klieg light sun went down
On my famous house and town
And I'd interview myself
Because if I didn't
Nobody would

Run don't walk, don't turn around.

Not your boyfriend
Not you prom king
I am no one
I am free
Hear the fat man
He is singin
Sing "I'm walkin, yes indeed."
But this unfinished business
Grinds me slowly to a halt
Now I stare forever backwards
Like a pillar of salt

Here's a verse for my parents
Such a fine job raising me
Pass me blame for all my failures
But it's luck when I succeed
You said, "Get off your pointless path now, kid
No matter where it leads."
So now that it's brought me here
At least try to sound sincere
Though I shrugged off all your plans
You can still brag about me
To your friends

At my high school reunion
They will all gather round
From this hotel piano
I coax sweet, sacred sounds
It's the rumble of redemption
It's the tinkling of hope
At last the cheerleaders cheer
And the cool kids raise their beers
And the whole world strains to hear
Then I wake up
Knowing I won't even go.

Run don't walk, don't turn around.
Track Name: I Hate All The People At My Party
A full-on celebration
A hundred invitiations
I had the cooler stocked by 4pm
The mixtape done by 5
I cleaned the whole place up with Arty
Ordered pizza from Lombardi's
Yeah, it was quite the fuckin party
Until the guests arrived

Now I hate all the people at my party
My heart is full of sorrow
My apartment full of lame
Every loser in six counties
Is guzzling down my beer
And the hotties I invited never came.

There are eighteen Trekkies in my breakfast nook
Talking really loud about comic books
They're about to get their asses kicked
By a bunch of surly punks
It's a big old fuckin trainwreck
Somebody tie the noose 'round my neck
'Cause I blew my entire paycheck
Just to get these assholes drunk

Now I hate all the people at my party
My heart is full of sorrow
My apartment full of lame
Every loser in six counties
Is guzzling down my beer
And the hotties I invited never came.

A full-on celebration
A hundred invitations
The desperate lengths I go to wind up
Playing with myself
Somebody man the stereo
The TV set remote control
You all just make yourself at home
I'm going someplace else

Now I hate all the people at my party
My place is full of sausage
My face is red with shame
Every loser in six counties
Is guzzling down my beer
And the hotties I invited never came.
Track Name: Denny's 3am
Denny's 3am
Anybody down
For coffee
Dunkin' Donuts
Chinese takeout
Denny's 3am
Everybody in
Mix tape
Music sounds best
In my car to
Denny's 3am

Denny's 3am
Breakfast anytime
Pancakes
Bacon, OJ
Never too late
Denny's 3am
Everybody in
Flirting
With the waitress
Smoking section
Denny's 3am

Sun came up and I would drop you home
Until home was far away
And my car got old and died
Now it makes me sick to find
Our defiant shine
Trapped in
Photo albums
Love it
Miss it
Put it away and move on

Sun came up and I would drop you home
And I hope that you are home
When I ring you up and see
If you still remember me
Like I remember you
In my
Photo albums
Love it
Miss it
Denny's 3am
Breakfast anytime
Meet you
Hold you
Brother
Never too late
Denny's 3am.
Track Name: I Have A Rose
So you sit in your room
Like you never understood that
This was real, time IS real
And it's way faster than you are
So you pull out the box
With the pictures and the letters
Thinking: "Anything is possible."

And it's here, in the last
Of the twilight from the window
Faded down to a dry
Dusty burgundy reminder
Of a time that WAS real
So you touch the only proof you have
That anything is possible

No matter how improbable

I have a rose that she gave to me
Three years ago today
I forgot it was here
Dried up and shut away
In the dark
Buried with a little candle
Burning: "Anything is possible."
Track Name: Interesting Times
I'm all but frozen in the train lights
Pinned down in a rising tide
Stacks of bills and unsent letters
Box me in on every side

I'm holding out my hand
But no one takes my hand
While all the things I need just pass me by.

Pick up a shipment of new equipment
I need a car to take me there
I can get it, just give me credit
Pull that money from thin air
Another paycheck in the shitter
Another two weeks down the drain
Another debt of friendship paid in full
Another phone bill paid in vain

Three years and I'm not sure
Just what I bought this for
The only interest I don't draw is yours.

Now this girl is finished with me
That girl thinks I'm insane
Now this girl hates the very thought of me
And all the girls at work think I'm a pain
And my friends sit waiting for the other shoe to drop
And my parents are still waiting for the first shoe to drop
And my brother went away to some university
Now he's got sixty brothers and none of them is me

So assign my number, rip me open
And scar a bar code across my heart
As we march information in tight formation
We're the devil's army, we're the devil's art

If hope is all I have
Just gas me where I stand
Thank God we live in interesting times

It doesn't hear me, it doesn't pay for me
It doesn't hold me or kiss me warm
And though it's always there when I need it there
In the end, it's just a song.
Track Name: Seven And The Ragged Tiger
Duran
Duran
Duran
Duran

I love to say Duran Duran
I say it over and over and over again
The World Premiere Video is on at eight
For a brand-new song called "Union of the Snake"
I love to say Duran Duran
While I dream of Ms. Pac Man
Come on everybody and say Duran Duran with me

Duran
Duran
Duran
Duran

I went without hot lunch for weeks
Just so I could afford that record
"Reflex" and "New Moon on Monday"
Taunted me on MTV
Till finally my mom agreed
To take me to Sam Goody and I
Saw it shining in its shrink-wrap
In the front display it was

Duran
Duran
Duran
Duran

I love to say Duran Duran
I say it over and over and over again
The World Premiere Video is on at eight
For a brand-new song called "Union of the Snake"
I love to say Duran Duran
While I dream of Ms. Pac Man
Come on everybody and say Duran Duran with me

I ran towards my holy grail
Past High N' Dry and Back in Black and
Just as I was reaching out
A voice behind me called my name
I turned around and saw her in
A Ricky Schroeder t-shirt and
She said she wanted puffy stickers
But I knew I'd die without

Duran
Duran
Duran
Duran

Here's the latest on Scott Baio, won't you let me hold your hand?
Here's a Ricky Schroeder pin-up, won't you let me hold your hand?
I cut up my 16 magazine for you
Now loving me forever is the least you can do

Give me back those stickers
Girls are stupid anyway.

I love to say Duran Duran
I say it over and over and over again
Years have passed and I feel the same
Though I never got that record - now I can't recall its name
I love to say Duran Duran
While I dream of Ms. Pac Man
Come on everybody and say Duran Duran with me

Duran
Duran
Duran
Duran
Track Name: Touch
All the worst days of my life were
Laid out in succession throwing
1-2 punches
3-4 punches
Knocking me to sleep at night

The calendar was bloody
And silent as a minefield
And when my eyes were closed I saw
No less than when they were open
And the nightmares were just replays of the day.

Then you touch my hand
And you pull me back to now
And you touch my face and you
Separate the day and night
The day and night.

All the worst days of my life were
Crouched in quiet ambush leaving
Trembling fingers
Bulletshock and
Rubber legs
Then you appear

With chamomile and sugar
And you lead with perfect questions and we
Talk until we're sleepy but
Tonight after I leave you at your door
All the nightmares will be waiting up for me.

So touch my hand
And pull me back to now
And touch my face and
Separate the day and night
The day and night.

Touch behind my eyes
Sing me lullabys
I need you in my dreams.