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5.1MB / DAVE NARCIZO / written by Christopher Walla / performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at the Hall of Justice, September of 1997 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 11.25.2006
- Dave Narcizo was the drummer in a band called Throwing Muses, formed in Boston sometime in the mid eighties. In 1995 they released a record called 'University' that changed my life a little bit. It's one of those records where a whole mess of factors blankets the whole thing, and can either ruin it completely or bring it to life. A new bass player, a staggering list of producer / engineer types, a huge side project success in the rearview; that sort of thing. 'University' is clearly alive, even still; there are very few records in my collection that make me want to write songs, but this is definitely one. I was loving Narcizo's surgical and song-focused approach to drum arrangement at this time; Ben's 'TV Trays' (from the DCfC 'You Can Play These Songs With Chords' CD) was based on a song of mine called 'The Man Who Lost His Arms In the War' which was a direct quote from the Muses' 'Surf Cowboy'. Anyway, this song has everything to do with that. And 'The First Part', my favorite Superchunk song.
4.9MB/ DISTORTIONS / written by Clinic / performed by Christopher Walla / recorded on the eight track at the Alberta Court on August 9, 2006 / mixed via analog console into Peak on August 9, 2006 / posted 8.12.2006
- I was home for twenty six hours between the DCfC shows in Salt Lake City and Eugene. Two of those hours were devoted to tracking and mixing this Clinic song in my house. I may take another crack at this sometime soon - I'm convinced there's more sweetness in this song than comes through in either the original version or this one. The eight track is nice, I still love it.
4.7MB/ LONDON'S FAVOURITE SON / written and performed by Christopher Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape at the Hall of Justice, September of 1997 / finished and mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 4.23.2006
- 'London's Favourite Son' is Morrissey. I wrote this in 1995, during my quarter-life crisis trip to Europe. Not my finest words, but I'm really proud of the recording and the finish: The whole thing was done on the cassette four-track. Yay for me, woo. The guitar is the same Harmony F-hole acoustic used on all the whole MYA cassette, DCfC's 'Title and Registration', The Decemberists' 'The Tain' and pretty much everything else I've recorded since 1999.
3.9MB/ THE SEVENTEENTH / written by Christopher Walla / performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at 818 Garden Street in Bellingham, September of 1998 / mixed to DAT in the spring of 1999 at the Hall of Justice / posted 2.25.2006
- Written and recorded in a particularly angry part of the TDO debate in Seattle. It's not Footloose, friends. The man should never, ever tell you that it's illegal to dance.
7.1MB / SICK OF FOOD / written by Mark Eitzel / performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at the Hall of Justice in the winter of 2000 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 2.12.2006
- One of the dozens of spotless American Music Club songs. The arrangement concept of the original always bothered me a little bit, so I did this to it. I don't know if it works like this or not - one of the pitfalls of recording one's own performances.
4.3MB / TOO GONE / written by Mike Connell and Doug MacMillan / performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at the Hall of Justice in the winter of 2000 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 2.12.2006
- The Connells were a band from Raleigh, North Carolina who formed sometime in the mid-eighties, when REM and Let's Active were slogging it out on the club circuit but before it was clear that anyone actually cared. This song was on their best-known, and best, album called 'One Simple Word'. It came out in 1990. I was fifteen and it changed my life. It holds up really well today, too. I've always loved the weird bridge with the Shalamar bit.
3.3MB / CONNECTION & C / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape at 818 Garden Street in Bellingham, February of 1999 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 1.31.2006
- A stream of consciousness recorded in the days of many cigarettes. This is basically unfinished - just a verse and a chorus - but the guitar parts are really nice, and I like the vocal quite a bit.
2.3MB / TINY SPOONS / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded on tape at the Hall of Justice on February 20, 2002 / mixed to tape at the Hall of Justice in May of 2002 / posted 1.31.2006
- 'Tiny Spoons' wasn't supposed to be a song - I was just checking levels on the drums for the recording od 'Shattered Dreams' (hence the spotty performance). When I record myself, I'm a drummer, a tech, an engineer, an assistant and a producer, so stuff like this happens. The 'take' was ridiculous so I used it, and by definition, it's a song.
6.3MB / NEW CANDLES [acoustic version] / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape at the Bunker sometime in 2000 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 1.31.2006
- Technically, this is a DCfC song (the rock version with Ben at the drumkit appears on 'You Can Play These Songs With Chords'). This recording was an experiment to see if the song would hold up without cymbals and fuzzy guitars. I vote yes, with some reservations (overly assertive, though well-sung, vocal).
1.1MB / TICKING / instrumental / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape in 1994 / mixed to DAT in 1994 / posted 12.31.2005
- Just some noise, really. Hope you like that.
1.1MB / THE A.G.B. / instrumental / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape in 1994 / mixed to DAT in 1994 / posted 12.31.2005
- The tiny Yamaha keyboard is the hero here, assuming the word 'hero' has lost all its value in our world.
4.0MB / BEACHED / instrumental / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape in 1994 / mixed to DAT in 1994 / posted 12.31.2005
- 'Beached' was a huge success for me, and still is, in a way. I suspect it will get repurposed for my record, probably underneath something else. At the time I made this, I was listening to a record called 'The Shutov Assembly' by Brian Eno. It's one of his ambient records that was criminally overlooked. This points at that album pretty directly. I may never stop stealing.
4.0MB / MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW TIMES / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / drums by Nathan Good / recorded on tape at Tiny Telephone in May of 2002 / mixed to tape at Robert Lang in September of 2005 / posted 12.6.2005
- Bitter and cynical and cold of heart, this one. Dark and bleak. The sentiment is not something I'm proud of, but the song is; it's the best thing that came of my J Robbins phase. The structure is bizarre, the Steely Dan call / response vocals are totally weird, the middle 16 bars are completely incongruous. 'Make Way' is the very reason I started this website. Proud but totally confused.
4.1MB / MY HANDS [rock version] / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded on the Tascam 80-8 1/2" eight track machine at the Hall of Justice late in 1997 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice late in 1997 / posted 11.25.2005
- 'My Hands' is the only song I've ever written that came from a dream: The whole concept of the thing, the melody, the structure, and the first lyric ('If you could see it') happened one night shortly after I moved to Bellingham. The 'I bet I'll be damned' line is stolen, as suggested, from a song on Talk Talk's landmark 'Laughing Stock' record. There's some very cigarette-driven, insecure and pitchy singing happening in this version of this song. It was recorded in the very cold first version of the Hall of Justice.
5.0MB / THE CONTINUITY CARD / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded on the Tascam 80-8 1/2" eight track machine at the Hall of Justice late in 1999 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice late in 1999 / posted 11.18.2005
- 'The Continuity Card' is one of my favorites. It was recorded in the same breath as DCfC's 'Forbidden Love EP' and the Revolutionary Hydra's 'The Antiphony', and shares the energy of both. This incarnation of the Hall of Justice was pretty ridiculous: A little concrete garage (often referred to as 'the bunker') built into the side of a hill, with a truly treacherous load in / load out situation. There were red kung fu mats on the floors, and the spiders were menacing.
2.2MB / SELF-TAUGHT / written and performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at home in Bothell, October of 1996 / mixed to DAT in October of 1996 / posted 11.12.2005
- I went through a phase where I'd write and record a 'song' every time I changed guitar strings, before the guitar was near any western tuning. Brainiac was a big deal in my world. It's not very good, this thing, but I love it completely. Like, do you hate a dog just because he pees on your carpet? No. You move on.
2.8MB / YOU WENT AWAY / lyrics / written and performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at 818 Garden Street in Bellingham, February of 1999 / mixed to DAT in the spring of 1999 at the Hall of Justice / posted 11.12.2005
- 'You Went Away' is from a different batch of recordings than the MYA cassette, but approached the same way. I don't think I ever gave this to anyone. It was a stream of consciousness. I'm fond of it, wiggles and all.
5.3MB / MERCANTILE / lyrics / written and performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at 818 Garden Street in Bellingham, September of 1998 / mixed to DAT in the spring of 1999 at the Hall of Justice / posted 10.31.2005
- 'Mercantile' is the second song from the MYA cassette. It's a true story; sometimes it's impossible to be a good enough friend.
4.8MB / CUPID / written by Sam Cooke / performed by Chris Walla / drums by Nathan Good / recorded on tape at Tiny Telephone in May of 2002 / mixed to tape at the Hall of Justice in October of 2002 / posted 10.19.2005
- Covering a perfect song is a dicey venture. I don't think I wrecked this one, but you simply can't argue with Sam Cooke.
4.8MB / DOOR PRIZES / lyrics / written and performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at 818 Garden Street in Bellingham, September of 1998 / mixed to DAT in the spring of 1999 at the Hall of Justice / posted 10.14.2005
- In 1998 I wrote and recorded a whole slew of songs. My landlord, Jeannie, took a weeks' vacation and asked me to take care of her cat and finches. I did that. I also drank a few gallons of red wine and tracked this, along with ten other songs, in her woody living room. Those recordings become the Martin Youth Auxiliary cassette, which Elsinor released in 1999. I only made a few dozen copies of the cassette, but I still get lots of questions about it. Ed Brooks just mastered the whole thing for me and 'Door Prizes' is the first song. It feels like ancient history, this, and some of it makes me cringe, but I do think it's alright. 3-5-0-1-2-5-go!
2.9MB / THE RHONE OCCUPATION / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded using RADAR at the Hall of Justice in January of 2004 / mixed to tape at Robert Lang in September of 2005 / posted 10.4.2005
- During the recording of Nada Surf's 'The Weight Is A Gift', I wrote and recorded this song (in about two hours, top to bottom) for, and about, Nada Surf. I can't think of a band who deserves a superhero theme song more than them. Can you?
4.1MB / NOTE TO SELF / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / drums by Nathan Good / recorded on tape at Tiny Telephone in May of 2002, and finished using RADAR at Robert Lang in September of 2005 / mixed to tape at Robert Lang in September of 2005 / posted 10.4.2005
- I wrote this song at the end of 1998, as DCfC was gearing up to record our second record. The original demo was done in the same breath as 'For What Reason' at my parents' house. This version is totally complete, with new vocals, piano, keyboards and fuzzy guitars. I hope you like it.
6.9MB / RADIO / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / drums by Nathan Good / recorded on tape at Tiny Telephone in May of 2002 / mixed to tape at the Hall of Justice in October of 2002 / posted 9.8.2005
- One of the few songs from the ill-fated Martin Youth Auxiliary record that actually got finished. I used a few pieces of 'Radio' in the song 'Transatlanticism'; they're in the same key and it made sense. It's nice to share.
5.3MB / SHATTERED DREAMS / written by Clark Datchler / originally performed by Johnny Hates Jazz / recorded on tape at the Hall of Justice on February 21, 2002 / mixed to tape at the Hall of Justice in May of 2002 / posted 9.1.2005
- This is one of the very solo recordings, something I did alone on a day off. It's way dead serious, in a way. But kind of not, you know?
5.1MB / DAVE NARCIZO / written by Christopher Walla / performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at the Hall of Justice, September of 1997 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 11.25.2006
- Dave Narcizo was the drummer in a band called Throwing Muses, formed in Boston sometime in the mid eighties. In 1995 they released a record called 'University' that changed my life a little bit. It's one of those records where a whole mess of factors blankets the whole thing, and can either ruin it completely or bring it to life. A new bass player, a staggering list of producer / engineer types, a huge side project success in the rearview; that sort of thing. 'University' is clearly alive, even still; there are very few records in my collection that make me want to write songs, but this is definitely one. I was loving Narcizo's surgical and song-focused approach to drum arrangement at this time; Ben's 'TV Trays' (from the DCfC 'You Can Play These Songs With Chords' CD) was based on a song of mine called 'The Man Who Lost His Arms In the War' which was a direct quote from the Muses' 'Surf Cowboy'. Anyway, this song has everything to do with that. And 'The First Part', my favorite Superchunk song.
4.9MB/ DISTORTIONS / written by Clinic / performed by Christopher Walla / recorded on the eight track at the Alberta Court on August 9, 2006 / mixed via analog console into Peak on August 9, 2006 / posted 8.12.2006
- I was home for twenty six hours between the DCfC shows in Salt Lake City and Eugene. Two of those hours were devoted to tracking and mixing this Clinic song in my house. I may take another crack at this sometime soon - I'm convinced there's more sweetness in this song than comes through in either the original version or this one. The eight track is nice, I still love it.
4.7MB/ LONDON'S FAVOURITE SON / written and performed by Christopher Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape at the Hall of Justice, September of 1997 / finished and mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 4.23.2006
- 'London's Favourite Son' is Morrissey. I wrote this in 1995, during my quarter-life crisis trip to Europe. Not my finest words, but I'm really proud of the recording and the finish: The whole thing was done on the cassette four-track. Yay for me, woo. The guitar is the same Harmony F-hole acoustic used on all the whole MYA cassette, DCfC's 'Title and Registration', The Decemberists' 'The Tain' and pretty much everything else I've recorded since 1999.
3.9MB/ THE SEVENTEENTH / written by Christopher Walla / performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at 818 Garden Street in Bellingham, September of 1998 / mixed to DAT in the spring of 1999 at the Hall of Justice / posted 2.25.2006
- Written and recorded in a particularly angry part of the TDO debate in Seattle. It's not Footloose, friends. The man should never, ever tell you that it's illegal to dance.
7.1MB / SICK OF FOOD / written by Mark Eitzel / performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at the Hall of Justice in the winter of 2000 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 2.12.2006
- One of the dozens of spotless American Music Club songs. The arrangement concept of the original always bothered me a little bit, so I did this to it. I don't know if it works like this or not - one of the pitfalls of recording one's own performances.
4.3MB / TOO GONE / written by Mike Connell and Doug MacMillan / performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at the Hall of Justice in the winter of 2000 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 2.12.2006
- The Connells were a band from Raleigh, North Carolina who formed sometime in the mid-eighties, when REM and Let's Active were slogging it out on the club circuit but before it was clear that anyone actually cared. This song was on their best-known, and best, album called 'One Simple Word'. It came out in 1990. I was fifteen and it changed my life. It holds up really well today, too. I've always loved the weird bridge with the Shalamar bit.
3.3MB / CONNECTION & C / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape at 818 Garden Street in Bellingham, February of 1999 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 1.31.2006
- A stream of consciousness recorded in the days of many cigarettes. This is basically unfinished - just a verse and a chorus - but the guitar parts are really nice, and I like the vocal quite a bit.
2.3MB / TINY SPOONS / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded on tape at the Hall of Justice on February 20, 2002 / mixed to tape at the Hall of Justice in May of 2002 / posted 1.31.2006
- 'Tiny Spoons' wasn't supposed to be a song - I was just checking levels on the drums for the recording od 'Shattered Dreams' (hence the spotty performance). When I record myself, I'm a drummer, a tech, an engineer, an assistant and a producer, so stuff like this happens. The 'take' was ridiculous so I used it, and by definition, it's a song.
6.3MB / NEW CANDLES [acoustic version] / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape at the Bunker sometime in 2000 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice in 2001 / posted 1.31.2006
- Technically, this is a DCfC song (the rock version with Ben at the drumkit appears on 'You Can Play These Songs With Chords'). This recording was an experiment to see if the song would hold up without cymbals and fuzzy guitars. I vote yes, with some reservations (overly assertive, though well-sung, vocal).
1.1MB / TICKING / instrumental / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape in 1994 / mixed to DAT in 1994 / posted 12.31.2005
- Just some noise, really. Hope you like that.
1.1MB / THE A.G.B. / instrumental / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape in 1994 / mixed to DAT in 1994 / posted 12.31.2005
- The tiny Yamaha keyboard is the hero here, assuming the word 'hero' has lost all its value in our world.
4.0MB / BEACHED / instrumental / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded onto a cassette tape in 1994 / mixed to DAT in 1994 / posted 12.31.2005
- 'Beached' was a huge success for me, and still is, in a way. I suspect it will get repurposed for my record, probably underneath something else. At the time I made this, I was listening to a record called 'The Shutov Assembly' by Brian Eno. It's one of his ambient records that was criminally overlooked. This points at that album pretty directly. I may never stop stealing.
4.0MB / MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW TIMES / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / drums by Nathan Good / recorded on tape at Tiny Telephone in May of 2002 / mixed to tape at Robert Lang in September of 2005 / posted 12.6.2005
- Bitter and cynical and cold of heart, this one. Dark and bleak. The sentiment is not something I'm proud of, but the song is; it's the best thing that came of my J Robbins phase. The structure is bizarre, the Steely Dan call / response vocals are totally weird, the middle 16 bars are completely incongruous. 'Make Way' is the very reason I started this website. Proud but totally confused.
4.1MB / MY HANDS [rock version] / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded on the Tascam 80-8 1/2" eight track machine at the Hall of Justice late in 1997 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice late in 1997 / posted 11.25.2005
- 'My Hands' is the only song I've ever written that came from a dream: The whole concept of the thing, the melody, the structure, and the first lyric ('If you could see it') happened one night shortly after I moved to Bellingham. The 'I bet I'll be damned' line is stolen, as suggested, from a song on Talk Talk's landmark 'Laughing Stock' record. There's some very cigarette-driven, insecure and pitchy singing happening in this version of this song. It was recorded in the very cold first version of the Hall of Justice.
5.0MB / THE CONTINUITY CARD / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded on the Tascam 80-8 1/2" eight track machine at the Hall of Justice late in 1999 / mixed to DAT at the Hall of Justice late in 1999 / posted 11.18.2005
- 'The Continuity Card' is one of my favorites. It was recorded in the same breath as DCfC's 'Forbidden Love EP' and the Revolutionary Hydra's 'The Antiphony', and shares the energy of both. This incarnation of the Hall of Justice was pretty ridiculous: A little concrete garage (often referred to as 'the bunker') built into the side of a hill, with a truly treacherous load in / load out situation. There were red kung fu mats on the floors, and the spiders were menacing.
2.2MB / SELF-TAUGHT / written and performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at home in Bothell, October of 1996 / mixed to DAT in October of 1996 / posted 11.12.2005
- I went through a phase where I'd write and record a 'song' every time I changed guitar strings, before the guitar was near any western tuning. Brainiac was a big deal in my world. It's not very good, this thing, but I love it completely. Like, do you hate a dog just because he pees on your carpet? No. You move on.
2.8MB / YOU WENT AWAY / lyrics / written and performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at 818 Garden Street in Bellingham, February of 1999 / mixed to DAT in the spring of 1999 at the Hall of Justice / posted 11.12.2005
- 'You Went Away' is from a different batch of recordings than the MYA cassette, but approached the same way. I don't think I ever gave this to anyone. It was a stream of consciousness. I'm fond of it, wiggles and all.
5.3MB / MERCANTILE / lyrics / written and performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at 818 Garden Street in Bellingham, September of 1998 / mixed to DAT in the spring of 1999 at the Hall of Justice / posted 10.31.2005
- 'Mercantile' is the second song from the MYA cassette. It's a true story; sometimes it's impossible to be a good enough friend.
4.8MB / CUPID / written by Sam Cooke / performed by Chris Walla / drums by Nathan Good / recorded on tape at Tiny Telephone in May of 2002 / mixed to tape at the Hall of Justice in October of 2002 / posted 10.19.2005
- Covering a perfect song is a dicey venture. I don't think I wrecked this one, but you simply can't argue with Sam Cooke.
4.8MB / DOOR PRIZES / lyrics / written and performed by the Martin Youth Auxiliary / recorded onto a cassette tape at 818 Garden Street in Bellingham, September of 1998 / mixed to DAT in the spring of 1999 at the Hall of Justice / posted 10.14.2005
- In 1998 I wrote and recorded a whole slew of songs. My landlord, Jeannie, took a weeks' vacation and asked me to take care of her cat and finches. I did that. I also drank a few gallons of red wine and tracked this, along with ten other songs, in her woody living room. Those recordings become the Martin Youth Auxiliary cassette, which Elsinor released in 1999. I only made a few dozen copies of the cassette, but I still get lots of questions about it. Ed Brooks just mastered the whole thing for me and 'Door Prizes' is the first song. It feels like ancient history, this, and some of it makes me cringe, but I do think it's alright. 3-5-0-1-2-5-go!
2.9MB / THE RHONE OCCUPATION / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / recorded using RADAR at the Hall of Justice in January of 2004 / mixed to tape at Robert Lang in September of 2005 / posted 10.4.2005
- During the recording of Nada Surf's 'The Weight Is A Gift', I wrote and recorded this song (in about two hours, top to bottom) for, and about, Nada Surf. I can't think of a band who deserves a superhero theme song more than them. Can you?
4.1MB / NOTE TO SELF / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / drums by Nathan Good / recorded on tape at Tiny Telephone in May of 2002, and finished using RADAR at Robert Lang in September of 2005 / mixed to tape at Robert Lang in September of 2005 / posted 10.4.2005
- I wrote this song at the end of 1998, as DCfC was gearing up to record our second record. The original demo was done in the same breath as 'For What Reason' at my parents' house. This version is totally complete, with new vocals, piano, keyboards and fuzzy guitars. I hope you like it.
6.9MB / RADIO / lyrics / written and performed by Chris Walla / drums by Nathan Good / recorded on tape at Tiny Telephone in May of 2002 / mixed to tape at the Hall of Justice in October of 2002 / posted 9.8.2005
- One of the few songs from the ill-fated Martin Youth Auxiliary record that actually got finished. I used a few pieces of 'Radio' in the song 'Transatlanticism'; they're in the same key and it made sense. It's nice to share.
5.3MB / SHATTERED DREAMS / written by Clark Datchler / originally performed by Johnny Hates Jazz / recorded on tape at the Hall of Justice on February 21, 2002 / mixed to tape at the Hall of Justice in May of 2002 / posted 9.1.2005
- This is one of the very solo recordings, something I did alone on a day off. It's way dead serious, in a way. But kind of not, you know?
