Box O' Clox
The Quickening
© 2004 CINECAM MUSIC PRODUCTIONS (634479002045)
CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.
On the heels of their critically acclaimed Brian Wilson Tribute comes this Mini Album of original material. Plus BONUS TRACKS: Brian Wilson's "Sweet Mountain" and Paul McCartney's "We All Stand Together". Perfect Pop For Perilous Times. An eclectic mix.
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The members of Box O' Clox have worked together for many years on various different projects. The formation of these individuals into a group has been a long time coming. Here's who's who in the "box"...
Cameron Michael Parkes - Songwriter, Lead Vocals, Producer/Arranger, Piano, Guitar, Drums
Cameron is a producer of high ambition and talent. He has scored several films and TV shows, and wrote a Big Broadway Style Musical about Marilyn Monroe entitled "Happy Birthday, Mr. President". Recent projects include the Original Cast Album of the musical "The Little Witch Of Wichita" (co-producer and orchestrator), The String Quartet Tribute To SHANIA TWAIN (producer & arranger) for Vitamin Records. Influences: The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, The Beatles, Stephen Sondheim, All Classical Music. His list of credits (for those who care) can be found at: http://members.tripod.com/cinecammusic
Charles Pett - Songwriter, Lead Vocals, Piano, Guitar-
Charlie's bands have played throughout the Midwest and in California for much of the last two decades. "More than ever the world needs sincere music," says Charlie. Influences: Beatles, Beach Boys, Neil Young, Moody Blues, Chopin ...Oh, Charlie played an impromptu concert with the late great JOHN LENNON way back when. We will post the story and pictures on the Box O' Clox Website in the near future.
Greg Hauge - Piano, Guitars, Vocals, Producer, Bass, Drums-
Greg is a highly accomplished musician and producer. He has played with Charlie in several bands and is also a fine songwriter in his own right.
Mike Buckley - Drums, Percussion and Vocals-
Mike has also played with Charlie for many years and has written many songs. He is very fun-loving and an excellent drummer, making him indispensable.
Larry Dolan - Lyrics, Back-up Vocals-
Larry is a great lyricist in the tradition of Bernie Taupin and Keith Reid of Procol Harum. Very spiritual and funny, he completes the group.
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG "THE QUICKENING":
This song has an unusual history. Back in 1995 I worked a graveyard-shift and used to listen to Art Bell to help me stay awake. Art had this theory about time and 'end time' events speeding up to some sort of climax. One day I was listening to some ancient Byzantin Chants, which are very modal and rather eerie sounding to modern ears, and had the idea to create a basic track based on a Byzantin drone or pedal tone. I started with just drums and percussion and began building it up from there. I was intrigued with the idea and challenge of creating a pop record consisting of a one chord drone (in E minor for those who care to know) with a beat behind it. I then added a 60-piece string section.
The track, lyrics, and production evolved over a six year period. There have been numerous versions (some as long as 7 minutes) along the way and was considered "finished" prior to the 9/11 attack. The song was, and is, prophetic. I purposely used a Nostradamus style in that all of the verses are in a quatrain format. Post 9/11 I did a remix and added a string introduction (an edited portion of the string arrangement later in the song), altered a couple of lines, extended the end by adding the quote of the National Anthem in the tag. "God Bless America" worked perfectly but the Irving Berlin Estate wouldn't grant us the license to use it because, "Mr. Berlin's dying wish was to ensure that 'GOD BLESS AMERICA' never be interpolated or quoted out of context".
The swirling, chromatic runs played by the string section at the close of each chorus represents "time speeding up". The track just builds and builds to a shattering climax and dies off with the strings playing a slow glissando to their highest note - an electric guitar chord fades off into silence. - CMP
"THE QUICKENING" (Parkes-Pett-Dolan)
Light is dark and dark is light,
right is wrong and wrong is right.
When did truth become a lie?
Can't you hear the angels cry?
Night is day and day is night,
light is dark and dark is light.
Is it any wonder why
God has a tear in his eye?
In the home of the brave
In the land of the free
It's the dawning of the age of insanity.
From the spacious skies,
from sea to shining sea
kingdoms rise to fall
and all is vanity.
The quickening is quickening...
A bad moon's rising in the East,
people gather 'round the one eyed beast.
Flying demons full of rage
force history to turn a page...
(repeat chorus)
Tuesday morning all is calm,
little children sing a simple psalm.
The blast was felt all over town
ashes, ashes all fall down...
Stars may tumble from the sky,
it's appointed once for man to die.
Somewhere lies an empty tomb.
The second coming's coming soon?
(repeat chorus)
"The rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air
gave proof through the night that our flag was still there..."
Copyright 1995-2004 Cinecam Music Publishing(ASCAP)
THE BONUS TRACKS:
"SWEET MOUNTAIN" (Wilson-Sandler)
From the "AMERICAN SPRING" album that Brian Wilson produced
for his then wife (Marilyn) and sister-in-law (Diane)in the 70's. This cut was for me the highlight of the album. Our version here is similar in approach to the original, but different.
"WE ALL STAND TOGETHER" (McCartney/Martin)
This version is based on Paul's '70s era demo. I recorded this a year or so ago for a children's album (still in production) and figured this might be a good time to sneak it out in conjunction with the recent release of Paul's animation DVD. ---cmp
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BOX O' CLOX MISSION STATEMENT:
#1) TO WRITE, PRODUCE AND PERFORM 'REAL' MUSIC IN A WIDE VARIETY OF STYLES.
#2) TO CARRY ON THE MUSICAL VALUES OF SUCH GROUPS AS THE BEACH BOYS AND THE BEATLES, WHILE PAVING A NEW PATH.
#3) TO NEVER RELEASE A TRACK TO BE USED AS 'FILLER'. ALL RELEASED TRACKS SHOULD HAVE EQUAL MUSICAL VALUE.
#4) TO NEVER MAKE THE SAME RECORD TWICE.
reviews
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Yup. You've done it again
author: Lee MarshallThe only thing that keeps this from being a five star cd is the fact that it's only 7 tracks long. Cameron...you've done it again. Great sounds. Great songs. Great performances. MORE please.
More great sounds!
author: Pete SferraMr. Parkes already deftly demonstrated his appreciable talents with superb covers on his recent Brian Wilson tribute and now he's given us a taste of his own writing and composing abilities. The title track was a real highlight and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire collection. I'm eagerly looking forward to more from this creative force. First class all the way!