MICHAEL DEAN DAMRON: A Perfect Day for a Funeral

Michael Dean Damron

A Perfect Day for a Funeral

© 2005 Michael Dean Damron / In Music We Trust, Inc. (678277094321)

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Think an angrier, more potent Steve Earle; this is beautiful, but pissed-off folk-country-blues-soul for the restless.

tracks

1 Little Girl Blue
2 Spit
3 A Perfect Day for a Funeral
4 Pot To Piss In
5 Montana
6 Girl in a Box
7 The Cape
8 Blame It On The Whiskey
9 Outlaw Song
10 Miss Amphetamine
11 New Paint

notes

Michael Dean Damron's debut solo record, "A Perfect Day for a Funeral", is full of love and hate. With some of the Northwest's best players (in the blues, folk, and country scene), Damron has created a soulful, rich collection of melodic, intimate songs that give you a deep look into his psyche.

For those familiar with Michael Dean Damron, (also known as Mike D., front-man for the political rock 'n' roll outfit I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House), "A Perfect Day for a Funeral" is a long time coming.

Engineered, mixed, and produced by accomplished producer and multi-instrumentalist musician Lewi Longmire (Jackie O-Motherfucker, Kevin "Bingo" Richey, James Low, Little Sue, and Michael Hurley), "A Perfect Day for a Funeral" finds Damron singing about what he knows.

Whether he's singing about the he collapse of his first marriage, angrily, in the title track. And embracing new found love on the ballad "Montana", or discussing racism and murder on "Spit" (a true story about Damron's friend Lin "Spit" Newborn, the first social activist killed on U.S. soil in thirty years). He's always singing from the heart, speaking his mind - and pulling no punches.

Then, on "Blame It On the Whiskey" he tells the tale of a man who had it all and, through drugs and alcohol, loses it, while "Outlaw Song" is a song reflecting on Damron's inner demons, sometimes wishing he was never born.

"Miss Amphetamine" is the only rocker on the album, a back-porch, Southern-friend blues number.

Ending with "New Paint", the organ's and Damron's voice seem optimistic, but the lyrics proclaim "There ain't no new paint that is gonna change what's been done, 'cause what's done is done". Still, he makes you feel as if the past is behind you and helps you move forward.

The music is beautifully crafted, and rather relaxing (compared to Damron's rock alter ego). However, the lyrics are just as biting as Damron's other work. When all is said and done, Damron's first solo record will quickly grab you and become one of your favorite records of the year. It's a beautiful blend of country, folk, soul, and blues music that show the rootsier side of Damron.

reviews

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  • Perfect Day For a Funeral
    author: bradley brooks

    This album is AMAZING!! So sad and so uplifting at the same time. Songwriting at it's best! I love this album. You think that the song that you just heard is as good as it's gonna get but then it just keeps getting better! I'd have to say Blame It On The Whiskey or Outlaw Song are my favorites but that changes with each time i listen to the album. GREAT ALBUM!!! BUY IT!!!!

  • Great disc!!!
    author: Kevin R. Beebe

    Mike D still kicks ass! This solo disc picks up where "I can lick any sob..." left off. It's well written and conceived. Seems like the song writting has grown with the music, I love ALL of his stuff and can't wait for the next one. Thanks Mike!

  • Best CD Ever!
    author: Gina Bryan
  • Great CD...Can't wait to see you live!
    author: Jason Jones

    I haven't bought a CD in a long time that I truly like every song and don't get tired of. I love SOB, but this is special stuff! Best of luck Mike D...Keepum comin!

  • author: Dagger

    MICHAEL DEAN DAMRON- A PERFECT DAY FOR A FUNERAL- IN MUSIC WE TRUST- Hopefully Mike D. (who also fronts fantastic local band I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House) will get some respect in his lifetime and not long after he’s in the ground. The guy has been bustin’ around the music scene for many years and is one of, if not THE, hardest working man in show biz. On A PERFECT DAY FOR A FUNERAL, his first solo record, he does not disappoint. He still visits all of the painful memories (mostly of childhood) in his emotional lyrics but musically it’s quieter and more acoustic based thanks S.O.B. (and he still gets help from S.O.B. harp blower David Lipkind- a perfect foil for Damron’s songs of woe). Tho’, truth be told, it seems like his new secret weapon is multi-instrumentalist Lewi Longmire who adds a little bit of everything to lasting effect on the record while the drumming of Flapjack Texas is spot on. But the songs, they’re all Damron’s and one listen to perfect nuggets like “Spit”, “Blame it on the Whiskey” , “Girl in a Box” or the amazing title track will let you know where Damron’s heart and soul reside.

  • author: HYBRIDMAGAZINE.COM

    Once a year or so, a record comes along that renews my faith in the underground music scene. This year, Michael Dean Damron holds that honor. Taking only the choice bits from his erstwhile rock and roll band I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House, Damron takes a basic bluesy, Americana music and endows it with his own distinctive voice and style. The album is an enjoyable listen, but contains an immense depth that belies its simple musical meanderings. Michael Damron is like an angry John Mellencamp on a five-day bender… angry and poetic with quite a bit more to say than most modern songwriters ever dare. From the protest song style of true story "Spit" (about Damron's friend Lin "Spit" Newborn who was killed while engaging in a protest demonstration) to the sensual love poetry of "Montana", Damron shows himself able to not only write great songs, but also to sing them in an emotional and evocative way. Damron's dark humor makes itself readily apparent on tracks like "Pot To Piss In", where he spouts lyric like "I don't need a lot of money/ I don't need no bling, bling/ I just need this here guitar/ And a fresh guitar string." "Blame It On The Whiskey" takes a sideways glance at a classic country form, imbuing the formula with a darkness and intensity that has been missing in so much of modern music. Damron has recorded an album that hauntingly showcases all the evils, trials, loves, and triumphs of his own soul. He lays bare his heart for the listener, allowing a glimpse into his own very personal world. But the excellence of this record lies not in these simple facts, but in the greatness of the way that Damron writes his songs and sings them. There is about as much heart and strength in these songs as I've ever heard… kind of reminds me a bit of a young Robert Zimmerman.

  • I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House frontman Michael Dean Damron makes his solo debut with an album as beautiful, stark and dark as the best of Will Johnson’s material but driven with consciousness that rivals Steve Earle’s and reaches deeper into your psyche than you might expect. Like Bruce Cockburn, he can take subjects and situations not immediately relevant to the listener and make them so, such as during “Spit,” where he mourns the loss of his friend, the activist Lin “Spit” Newborn, or during “Little Girl Blue,” where he sings about the breakup of his own marriage. Lest you think the album is a downer - make no mistake these are some heady subjects - there’s something hopeful that emerges in the midst of all the despair, a beam of promise in the heart of the dark. That someone like Damron has experienced all of this and taken the care to write it down and share it with us is reason enough to believe in something, even if it’s only ourselves. – Jedd Beaudoin (2005, The Daily Copper)

  • author: Kasey Anderson

    As lead vocalist for Portland-based, guttural rock outfit I Can Lick Any S.O.B. in the House, Michael Damron screams, howls, and yelps his way through swaggering, politically-charged barroom rock ‘n’ roll. However, it’s not surprising that Damron’s first solo outing, A Perfect Day for a Funeral, finds him in a more contemplative mood, vocally and lyrically. Damron has always been a sentimental writer. Tucked away on S.O.B.’s most recent record, Menace, was a plaintive and touching eulogy for Rachel Corrie, an American who lost her life in Palestine after being run over by a U.S.-made bulldozer. With Funeral, Damron continues to delve into his “softer” side, with lovelorn lyrics and sparse acoustic arrangements highlighted by David Lipkind’s sterling harmonica work. This new direction is not as much a contrast to his work with S.O.B. as it is a companion piece; the next step in Damron’s writing and performing evolution. For the most part, Funeral is a successful solo debut, opening with the haunting chord progression of “Little Girl Blue” (“I’d write us a love song/ If I had one inside me”) and closing with the gospel organ of “New Paint.” In between, Damron visits scorned lovers (“A Perfect Day for a Funeral,” “Miss Amphetamine”), an oppressed and beaten African American man (“Spit”), and a cavalcade of down-and-outers. At times, his delivery borders on spoken-word, his voice far more subtle here than on any of S.O.B.’s albums. At times, his vocal inflection resembles the Drive-By Truckers’ boy wonder, Jason Isbell. The downside is that, when Damron’s words fall short, there isn’t much to distract from it, and one is left to ponder whether or not his heart has really been broken badly enough for him to consider murder a viable option. One hopes that Damron finds a way to fuse Funeral’s stark lyricism with S.O.B.’s bombastic southern-fried attack. If not, listeners should be content to explore the dual personalities of one of the most promising songwriters around.

  • author: Michael Toland

    Aural Fixations MICHAEL DEAN DAMRON A Perfect Day For a Funeral (In Music We Trust) Better known as Mike D, Michael Dean Damron is the leader of Portland's angry roots rock politicos I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House. SOB tends toward the loud, violent side of Americana, and while the band can veer into quieter fare on occasion, it's not a truly appropriate outlet for more meditative material. Thus Damron presents A Perfect Day for a Funeral, his first solo album, and one that moves the focus away from SOB's double-headed beast of tune and performance and puts it squarely on the song itself. Damron responds to the challenge with one of his strongest, if bleakest, set of tunes. With his acoustic strums and ravaged larynx leading the way, he takes the listener on a tour of emotional hell, letting the bluesy country rock melodies and organic arrangements account for any sense of comfort or ease. Damron shows little mercy for the losers and fuckups that populate these tracks, so it's no wonder it's left to the music to lessen the pain. The protagonists of "Blame It On the Whiskey" and "Miss Amphetamine" point fingers at chemicals, but Damron knows they have no one to blame but themselves for their predicaments. The twisted soul of "Girl in a Box" may claim "Goddamn I never hated anyone/More than I hate myself right now," but that doesn't stop him from taking what he wants from the poor girl in the title. The lawless character in "Outlaw Song" cries out "Gotta find something good somewhere inside me," but since his first utterance is "I'm a liar/A walking contradiction," it's kind of difficult to have any sympathy. Damron saves his most focused anger for a pair of tunes near the beginning of the record. The album's longest track, "Spit" tells the story of racially motivated murder and finds no understanding of the ugly violence at its heart. Damron can only seethe over how such a thing can still happen in a country where freedom and equality supposedly represent its highest ideals. Then there's the title track, which practically revels in its acrimony. A tale of a marriage gone horribly wrong, "A Perfect Day For a Funeral" demonstrates no compassion for either the wayward wife—"Did you leave me for him because he's got the better drugs?" he snarls—or for the wronged husband. "And I'm glad that thing died/That I put inside of you," he growls. "It would have grown up to hate me/Just like I hate you." That kind of scorched emotional earth leaves little room for pity for anybody. The song is as pure an expression of utter rancor as you're likely to hear; it would make death metal bands cringe in terror. But Damron isn't celebrating his protagonist's loathing, merely documenting it as a reminder that human beings don't always live by anyone's golden rule. Besides, the record isn't completely without hope. Even though the song "New Paint" claims "Ain't no new paint gonna change what's been done," Damron does believe that light can shine through the cracks. "Pot to Piss In" takes a sardonic look at life on the road of a traveling musician. "Montana" celebrates new love, as Damron drops his guard long enough to matter-of-factly ask, "How is it beauty so fast always comes?" He also covers, without irony, "The Cape," Guy Clark's terminally optimistic classic. Frankly, making the record itself is a gesture of hope, as if by documenting the lives of these broken bastards he can exorcise the demons, free himself and all of us of their damaged souls. That's not too much to hope for, is it? Michael Dean Damron doesn't think so. Michael Toland

  • A brilliant album.
    author: Lee

    While A Perfect Day For A Funeral is more stripped down than a lot of the ICLASOBITH music, this is definitely not a mellow affair. This collection of songs crackles with energy, passion, and venom. To put it simply, Mike is an EXCELLENT songwriter and these are EXCELLENT songs.

  • Brutally honest and beautiful
    author: Reefer Girl

    As a huge I Can Lick Any SOB fan, I was eagerly awaiting Mike's solo offering, and he did not disappoint!! I love Mike's song writing and I love the brutal honesty he puts out there with this CD. And, there's something about Mike's voice that I just can't get enough of. I absolutely love this album. Thanks for giving this gift to your fans, Mike!!!!!!

  • As real as it gets
    author: STEELERS

    "A Perfect Day for a Funeral" is a perfect representation of a life well lived. Its not hard to tell that these songs were written by someone that has actually experienced his words. Every turn of Damron's road of life is taken at full speed on this spectacular album. Your mood will shift song to song, from loss to love...from life to death. With his brutal honesty, it is easy to feel his raspy voice glide into your soul like a demon wearing a halo. His song writing is so raw, yet so elegant. This album will serve as inspiration for us all.

  • Mike Damron is a genuis!
    author: Texasgigs.com

    Mike Damron never ceases to amaze me. He continually tops his previous music, and never fails to disappoint. "A Perfect Day for a Funeral" is a chance to spend time with Mike one-on-one and understand a little more behind the man and his music. I can't wait until Mike and/or I Can Lick Any SOB comes back to Dallas...actually I'm feeling a tad impatient and may have to head West to see him live again. Absolutely, positively do not leave this site until you have purchased this CD! Cindy Chaffin TexasGigs.com

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