I created this blog post for the express purpose of submitting for review to WSQ “Unbearable Beings”. Marinating in the irony of upbeat house music, Fathom explores women’s demotion to sub human status by an unbearable government-Church pact. The song ends with visions of a violent mermaid uprising.
Interviewing ShyGodwin!
So excited to interview the powerful & poetic ShyGodwin female grunge punk band for the Loud Women organization in anticipation of their huge music festival in London this September. You can catch the interview live soon. Exact time & date TBA as we had to re-schedule our initial Sunday date.
“Forgotten Song” Discovered On Old Footage
For the second time, my Moxie Starpark archive journey unearthed a forgotten song. Joe Napoli stumbled on the first, “Unbroken Spirit”, collecting dust on a cassette tape in his studio. The second song was captured onto video tape by Bobby Heckman at a live show in 2000.
I received Bobby’s flash drive of video footage almost two weeks ago, the day before I left for a Cherry Grove family vacation. A beach gal to the core, I was in heaven, jogging and strolling through nature, lounging on the beach, or sipping coffee from the deck of the Ice Palace staring blankly at the Long Island Sound. My nights were filled with leisurely dinners, drag queen shows, catching up with my friend Linda who owns the ice cream shop.
The last thing I wanted to do was look at my computer. Yet this flash drive of unknown footage lured me to my laptop, late at night in that sliver of time between decompression and slumber. For starters, I posted each of five files to YouTube under the “private” setting so only Wendy could view.
I received a text from Wendy soon afterward. “What the fucking fuck is happening on the last one at The Downtown? At 19:50 and 37:40 we play songs I don’t recall, not even slightly familiar to me”…. The second one I remembered, “When You Were Alive”. It probably escaped Wendy’s recall because it lent itself better to country-folk arrangements. I played it more with my other bands, The Clam and The Pollynoses. But the first song? I had NO recollection. Wendy had no recollection. None of our fans ever mentioned it. For 20 years trading mix tapes, not a single person asked me if I had copies of that song.
The strange part was that I sang it. Which indicated that I wrote it. I’ve come across songs before and thought, “oh yeah! I forgot about that one.” But I never truly forget those songs. They just kind of fall out of my repertoire. They’re the ones I never practice or play, even to my dolls. Still, glancing at the mere title always jostles my memory. But YouTube reel 5 at timestamp 19:46? Absolutely no recollection.
Even stranger, at the risk of sounding conceited, was how good it was. Wendy and I really dug it. This was no side B “throw away”. I’m my own worst critic. Half the stuff I write because I’m propelled by some unknown force and I reach the point where I don’t know if I like it or not. I just need to create it. Yet here I was, a rare opportunity to experience a song as if it were someone else’s. To paraphrase Wendy, “it’s the best song I’ve ever heard!” To deflect taking 100% credit, a song is only as good as the band, and damn if Moxie Starpark didn’t crush it!
I revisited once or twice a night on the hotel bed. It took two nights, but aspects did come back. I remembered the song title was “Centerpiece”. I remember it was about wanting to be valued in a relationship for more than just appearance As in “I don’t want to be your centerpiece”. I remember the lyrics explored one day getting old, less attractive, with droopy tits. It was important that my partner (I believe in this instance, fictitious) appreciate my mind, heart and soul. And for some strange reason, I remember copyrighting it. Well, I can’t say foreseeing “getting old” is clairvoyant. Unless we die, we all age. But it’s so odd, as if my young self wrote a letter to my old self and I just came across the forgotten browning paper in a safe.
“Sorry” Performed Live, NYC circa 1999
Jump Man circa 1999
Disappearing Songs
Hey, head’s up, I had to temporarily delete many of my songs from streaming platforms. I opted for all these “extra” features from my distribution service when I first streamed the songs. These extras included Shazam & tracking song usage in YouTube videos. Though they only cost a little more per song per year, it’s starting to add up $$$. The only way to get rid of the extra features is to completely delete the songs. If some of my material disappears from Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, etc,, I want to reassure you that I’ll be uploading them again soon. This time, without these little costly extras. Absolutely nobody has Shazammed my songs, or used it in their YouTube Video, so it’s silly to continue to pay over $100 per year. Especially in this environment of economic inflation.
While in the process of going through my catalog, I came across this, one of the first I self-recorded and released. It was about 4 years ago. The photo is from then. I look older now, brunette, salty even. But it is true to the time. The song was actually written way back, about 1999, but only played a handful of times. Fast forward to about 2018. I tried to find a producer to record new and older un-recorded material. All my leads ghosted me. This one guy even told me I can’t really sing. However, another really sweet guy (he’s produced Big Thief) encouraged me to self-record. I already had this software Cubase, so kind of hunkered down and learned the bare minimum for this production. I played all the tracks, and sang the harmonies, too.
While in the process of going through my catalog, I came across this, one of the first I self-recorded and released. It was about 4 years ago. The photo is from then. I look older now, brunette, salty even. But it is true to the time. The song was written in about 1999, but only played a handful of times. Fast forward to about 2018. I tried to find a producer to record new and older un-recorded material. My producers leads ghosted me. This one guy basically told me I can’t really sing. However, another really sweet guy (he’s produced Big Thief) encouraged me to self-record. I already had this software Cubase, so kind of hunkered down and learned the bare minimum for this production. I played all the tracks, and sang the harmonies, too.
Post Mr. Beery’s Show
Hello! I go by my childhood nickname Fala La I’m a music artist with a passion for writing songs. If you are on this page of my website, chances are we met at Mr. Beery’s and you got a little piece of paper with a QR code. It also means that we pulled it off, after only 4 nerve wracking rehearsals, we played good enough to spark interest.
I guess you could say my claim to “not quite” fame was my stint in an all girl pop punk band called “Moxie Starpark”. In the late 1990’s/early 2000’s we played around NYC and Long Island. Though some press unfavorably compared our musical chops to Stevie Ray Vaughan, other publications ranging from Teen Beat to the Village Voice wrote “Moxie Resurrects Pop” and “up n’ comers” with Brittany Spears. Without backing from any record label, we eventually ran out of resources and enthusiasm and moved on to new projects. You can listen to The Moxie Starpark debut album, The Floor, on your fave stream service or check it out here on youtube. Songs on that album were featured on TV shows such as Dawson’s Creek and Party of Five. Though we broke up before we could release our second album, we recently “extracted” the songs from the old reel to reel tapes and are poised to release it over 20 years after it was professionally recorded at Cloud Nine Recording. The tracks are currently getting mixed by Jakob Leventhal.
Subscribe to my email list to stay updated on my projects, including Moxie Starpark’s upcoming album, my upcoming solo album, and random singles, as well as future shows with Jamie. I will also be releasing exclusive sneak peaks (music and old video clips) to the much anticipated Moxie Starpark album.
I’m in the middle of writing a new solo album. Like my solo album (*), I plan on self recording/ producing because I couldn’t find anyone to help me. I had no plans to play live, but Gerge invited me to play his farewell show, and HOW could I say no???? I asked an old music friend, multi instrumentalist & songwriter Jamie Gates, if she’d join me on drums, and was thrilled she wanted to! We’ve been having a blast descending into her basement/kids’ playroom/music space. We immediately knew that this partnership would last beyond this show.
Bedroom Playlist
Sirius XM 80’s station played Diana Ross’ song Muscles last night. It was the first time I’d heard it in years, and it inspired me to create a set list of un-apolgetic sex songs. Most are sultry with a slow tempo.
I left out the obvious “Sexual Healing” only because I’ve finally grown tired of it, at least for now. I thought Vanity 6’s Nasty Girls worked, but couldn’t find a decent Spotify version.
Most are pop (and popular!) top 40 songs. I imagine most people who predominantly consume pop culture/music may not know Lucida William’s song Righteously. Though grittier than the rest, the bass bounces like a cheap hotel mattress and the subject matter fits right in. I imagine Lucinda instructing Doug Pettibone to make his guitar buzz and hum like a vibrator. Of course, it probably didn’t play out that way.
As I finished the set list, I wondered if I had any songs that fit the bill, and thought of two. The first, “Hot, Hot, Hot” circa 1995 was never recorded, but I added “You Got Me Coming”, blessed by Katy from Wale’s vocals and included on Moxie StarPark’s cd “The Floor”.
Can you think of any songs that fit the bill? Please use this collaboration link to add them! I’d especially love to include any creations by my fellow songwriters! Don’t be shy!
Not Q104.3
Yet again, the entire hour I drove to work radio station Q104.3 did not play ONE female artist. So I made my own “classic rock” set list! I’m so happy it’s not 1995 and we can come up with our own little radio stations.
Awwww I just noticed they tweeted back and are receptive to playing more female artists!
Moxie Starpark listening party
I want to reassure the Moxie Starpark backers that this project is well on it’s way to completion. I do have rough mixes of all the songs, so if the final mixes aren’t completed by the end of September, you will receive thumb drives of something slightly and only slightly more raw. The stage we are at is pretty much final. There are just very slight tweaks. People who’ve never heard the songs probably wouldn’t notice. Thank you for your patience. If you have any questions about why the process took longer than expected, feel free to reach out privately.