Trailer Park has been traveling the highways of New England since 1994, and we've always had a good time. During those nearly eight years we've managed to play over 400 shows- sleazy bars, nice clubs, weddings, bar mitzvahs, county fairs, festivals, pig roasts, you name it. We've had the good fortune to open for some great acts like NRBQ, Rat Dog, WAR, Little Feat, and Los Lobos. We even got to play two shows as Bo Diddley's backing band. We like what we do, and we just can't stop.
Oh yeah, the new CD. It's called "Home Movies." It's our 5th CD, and it was recorded by Mark Thayer at Signature Sounds in Palmer, MA. It has 11 songs on it, and by golly it's the best thing we've done yet.
Trailer Park plays original, sax-soaked rock and roll. It's often been called "Barbeque Music," though we couldn't tell you exactly why. The band features James Robinson on guitar, Tom Mahnken on bass, Greg Lauzon and Rick Page on tenor sax, and Joe Fitzpatrick on drums. All the boys sing.
Some more notes on Home Movies:
Home Movies was recorded between January and May 2001 at Signature Sounds in Palmer. Engineered by Mark Thayer, a great guy who only occasionally thought we were off our rockers. You should see his ears. They are SO BIG.
These are all new, studio recordings of these lovely songs. Some of them appear live on the album "Bigger Party," but all these versions are better, damn straight.
Summer Day is James' ode to, yup, summer. I think there's some flute on this track. Rick sneaked it into the studio claiming it was "necessary plumbing." Luckily, it sounds great. Rick also played the organ on this song. This time we tricked him- he thought he was writing a letter on a giant typewriter.
What I Want is a laundry list of my personal desires, with an upbeat, feel-good, Christmas movie ending. James has two blistering guitar solos that have already garnered angry phone calls from Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, and the New England Lutherie Institute. I think I played the organ on this song, but no one will tell me for sure.
Dad is a song that James sings about one of the types of dads you could have. Some nice acoustic guitar on this one. Reminds me of Van Morrison. I hear Rick Page on the organ. Before Trailer Park, he played in Al Green's church in Memphis.
Muhammad Ali: Six days in front of the TV, and James comes up with this. It's rock and roll heaven, as well as a compelling portrait of a great man. It even includes a dropped beat or something (on purpose, no less) in the instrumental section. Very tricky.
Uncle Jack is a jaunty island number. We all played percussion on this song. We also learned that we couldn't sing it, so that had to be rectified before we could finish. A few hours later and it seemed to pass muster. Nice sax solo, Rick. Nice timbales, Jopey (that's what we call Joe Fitzpatrick).
Ambition has no social or political significance, and refuses to provoke a lot of thought. Which is good, because it's supposed to be a simple pop song that you can whistle along to. So start whistling!
Bigger Party is like going on a guided tour with a maniac for a guide. No offense, James. This is a lovely, twisted narrative. Jopey plays the toy piano. James also acts the part of Zelda, the fortune teller.
Fortune Cookie: I wish Britney Spears or N'Sync would hear this song. We left out the suggestive lyrics so they would be more likely to record it. I'm dying to buy a Mercedes.
Hot Potatoes is our big Irish Polka number. I think Greg came up with special ending. The least likely people love to polka to this song.
Jilted is a true story about the time Greg and I lived in New Orleans and I accidentally locked my girlfriend in the apartment while the Big Daddy-O (Greg) and I went out partying.
High Tech Toys: James rocks out again with that crazy slide guitar. Jopey's train beat roars down the track, pushing Casey Jones out of the way like he was nothing but a contemptible, old, washed up piece of rotten cabbage.
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