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1.
The Roofer 03:47
Intro. Buried in the fog, Fourteen feet below the sea, Warm air like a blanket, Surrounds and comforts me, No past, No future, Just a moment in the mist, Tree roots crack the sidewalk, but they hold on to the bricks, In the middle of the ocean, where the land is still in motion Where did all my good friends go? Where the currents of the Midwest meet the Gulf of Mexico, and The River Meets The Mister Go A. Oscar was a roofer, Living down in New Orleans, Buckets full of gravel, Balanced high up on a beam, He wore cheapo boat shoes, So his feet could feel to grip, It'd be the first time if he stumbled, And the last time if he tripped. A. He grew up in the Ninth Ward, 'till old Betsey washed him out, Found himself in Arkansas, Pickin' berries, down and out, Surviving on hope, He had his mind set on a dream, Saving up his money and movin' back to New Orleans. B. It’s a city built on levees, It's a city built on dreams, It's a city full of people that I know, Where the trannies turn their tricks, All the children clank drum sticks, And the sound of trumpets pierce the air, C. New Orleans is a wave, it's just movin' awfully slow, You can see it in the angles of the poles, And it juts out in the ocean where it meets and the Gulf Stream, And the river meets the Mister Go. In the middle of the ocean, Where the land is still in motion, Where did all my good friends go? Where the currents from the midwest meet the Gulf on Mexico and the river meets the Mister Go. B. C. Here's a verse I added to later versions of the song: Oscar never knew what another day would bring He just lay down a shingle, and try make that hammer sing He rose early in the morning, worked till late at night Stayin' high up on the rooftops seemed to keep him out of fights
2.
Egyptland 03:54
Whiskey and water and lemons in my tea, Lazy Sunday mornin's comin' back to me, Post card memories wishin' you well. Telephone messages, stories to tell Cardboard guitar case and a carry-on bag, Raisin' up the rooftop, but cha covered in rags, Gazin' out the window when the truth is near at hand, I don't intend to die in Egypt Land. The taste of the medicine and the smell of the beer, Standin' at attention, but you're tremblin' in fear, Realizations, Stiff conversation, Uneasy understanding, No use demanding, Starin' into darkness and you tryin' to find hope, Makin' deals with the devil and you pickin' out a rope. I don't want to die in Egypt, I don't want to die in Egypt land, I don't want to die in Egypt. Talkin' bout the future but cha lookin' straight behind, Tryin' to think of reason, Nothing comes to mind, Quite often walkin' blindly looking for some sort of sign, In a maze of broken patterns can a vision be devine? I don't want to die in Egypt, I don't want to die in Egypt land, I don't want to die in Egypt. I don't wanna die in Egypt land.
3.
1. Now that I’m alone again, and I’m right back on my own again, I take my wool coat and my wool hat and go walkin’ in the rain I know not where I’m going to, and I see no one I know, I’m just an aimless wanderer tryin’ to figure out where to go, But my thoughts are back with you. What more could I do? I don’t need no more confusion, I won’t take you back again 2. Never quite asleep, and I’m never quite awake, I toss and turn about my bed as I tally up mistakes, I've turned this whole thing over, and I still don't understand, On a lonely subway platform with my notebook in my hand, Writing down thought on you, What more could I do? I don’t need no more confusion, I won’t take you back again 3. Nothing smell like loneliness, and nothing quells my pain, Nothing seeps in to my pores, much as wet wool in the rain I woke up in the still of night, saw the writing on the wall, I quietly gathered up my things and I tip-toed down the hall, But my thoughts are back with you, What more could I do? I don’t need no more confusion, your love was an illusion, I’ve awoke from my delusion, I won’t take you again, I won’t take you back again, I won’t take you back, take you back, take you back again.
4.
I got twenty-three dollars and twenty three cents, Havin’ trouble with my bills, Havin’ trouble payin’ rent Ain’t no glory in an honest day, They’ll be laughin’ to the bank when they take your pay Hi aye I wanna jump and shout Howlin’ at the moon till the sun comes out I work all day in the summer sun There’s a little bit of shade but it won’t help you none Aint no shakin’ in the leaves on the trees They aint shakin’ cause there aint no breeze Hi aye,..... Gloves on my hands, I got boots on my feet, Whistlin’ up a tune as I walk down the street, I like the sound of the hammer and the ting of the nail Washin’ off my hands in a five gallon pail Hi Aye.... Put a nail through my foot, Needed stitches in my hand, I can't keep living by your demands, You got me in a game of the crazy eights, Can't get to heaven on no roller skates, Hi Aye... Paint in my hair, I got paint in my brain, The smell of the turpentine’ll drive you insane But my hinges don’t bind and my bit don’t walk and I shoot about as straight as a line of chaulk Hi aye.... You’re a two bit hustler in a one horse town, Watch your back cause I don’t mess around If you buck if you bolt, I can do that too, You been laughin’ in my face, but now the joke’s on you Hi Aye... I mailed my letter and I checked the date, Watched the postman pick it up by the old front gate, You can run your number, you can raise your rates, Just try to tell me that my rent came late Hi Aye..... Twenty three dollars and some change Twenty three dollars and aint no sense
5.
6.
Bad Kids 03:55
Bad Kids and they won't do right, Underneath the staircase shootin' dice, Passin' 'round a bottle and a big ole spliff, Shoutin' baby can I git a hit? Bad Kids in the the dead of night, Stealin' wallets, stealin' ten-speed bikes, Walkin' down the street carryin' huntin' knifes, Carvin' their names in trees. B. Why should I fix that gate? So they can take off the hinge again, Breakin' rules, Skippin' school. They're headin' for a life of sin. It was a rough patch right on the tracks, If you waved at the train, the conductor waved back, All them little kiddies playin' snakes in the grass will never forget that day, When those bad kids, the ones that was always doin' wrong broke in the window of the old folks home, Scalin' up the all on a factory pallet, Bustin' up the bricks with a croquette mallet, Bad kids in the afternoon, We heard police sirens soon, Cops caught wind, and they caught the train, And we never saw those bad kids again, No, We never saw those bad kids again. alternate verses One day I heard somebody scream, Peered out the screen door, so as not to be seen, I figured those bad kids must have been pretty mean, Because they covered Julio's face in shaving cream I spied em, up on the roof, The ringleader and his little brother too, Thowin stones at the passersby, Somebody's gonna lose an eye, Kurt was the leader of the bad kids pack, He had a green broom handle sharpened to a point just for killing cats, and all those little kidies playin snakes in the grass, we didn't know quite what to think of that
7.
Losin' Hold 03:58
You Might think that I would learn to see it coming, when she peers from up above, I just know that I’m in love when she beckons, I come runnin’ When, When you asked me my first name, When I scribbled down your number I would never be the same. You are divine and you just float there, and I let myself forget, I relinquish all my grip, I can feel my fingers slip. I’m losin’ hold I’m losin’ hold You, would think that I would learn to see it comin’ recognize the road, pick up on the signals. She waves her hand and I walk over, I can’t fill these shoes, I’m not as bright a star as you, I can’t play my part, you’re just too tough an act to follow I know that I don’t mean a thing I’m just another fool, following her every move, I look about and see I’m just a shadow, I look about and see I’m just a shadow, Losin’ Hold, Losin’ Hold
8.
On my way out to New Orleans East, I start to picture her again, It's rainin' outside and it's rainin' down inside, I'm afraid of what I left behind. Fuel filter's out on my pickup truck, Coast down the hills and then I sputter up, Wipers shot so the windshield streaks, This old heap of junk has got all kinds of squeaks, Back at my penthouse by the railroad tracks, I've still got you on my mind, Rest my feet up on the countertop, I lay my hammer by my side, When we split I thought I'd laugh again, I just ended up cryin' I know I was wrong and I want you back again, Won't you give me one more try? .... On my way out to New Orleans East, Everything I know is gone, Above the front door lies the water line, Because the levees were not strong, Back in the city your still by my side, But our memories are stained, We left the town we love and there's no goin' back, Recollections rearranged. Split leather gloves and a mildew mask, Birthday presents never been unwrapped, To the curb go all your auntie's knick knacks, Picked up by city workers with their rakes and bobcats. When we split I thought I'd laugh again, But now I find myself cryin' We left the town we love and there's no goin back, Long to see her one more time, On my way, On my way, On my way out to New Orleans East.
9.
Big Shoes 06:29
none

about

Original linear notes by John T. Bayles

Music creates a sense of place. Regardless of where you are physically, a sound, a note , a chord, can transport you somewhere completely different. Egyptland succeeds in just that way - riding the G train, underground beneath Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn - Ted Hefko had made it incredibly easy to feel like you're 2,200 miles away, riding a streetcar above ground on Canal Street in New Orleans.

But to fully understand the accomplishment of Egyptland, you have to understand that sometimes a place can create a sense of music as well; its musical heritage so vibrant and alive that it enters a musician's repertoire and informs it ever after. Though New Orleans is only specifically mentioned in two Egyptland Songs, the Roofer and New Orleans East, the mood and the method behind the music is quintessential, New Orleans atmospheric sound.

Had Hefko chose to leave Madison, Wisconsin as a young to hone his skills in Los Angeles or Kansas City or even Chicago instead of New Orleans, his sound, his spacing, his tempo and rhythm would have turned out completely different. As it were, listening to Bad Kids, which happens to be about growing up in Wisconsin, you hear how New Orleans can transform an otherwise singular story into a plural sound - it's lazy swing, its adherence to time and context, its simplistic beauty and its call and response.

There's something about New Orleans' sound - the way a brass instrument bumps into a bass drum in a club on Burgundy Street, or how a size eight with bottle caps stuck to the bottom taps to the beat of a muddy Mississippi - which enlightens an already talented ear. When Buddy Bolden was turning heads with his "new style" of jazz at the end of the 19th century, all he was really doing was using his cornet to talk about his life. The New Orleans sound is, like the city itself, a cornucopia of experiences. It's the sound of a store opening in the Irish Channel, the sound of a funeral in the Treme, and the sound of an otherwise normal April Sunday, afternoon in the Bywater. Bold was just smart enough to ditch the music sheet, to improvise and to be a true author. It was deemed "new" because it couldn't be pigeon holed; something that can also be said of Egyptland.

Where many musicians fail, where they lose an audience, is in their selfishness - their belief that the music they are making is not for the people, but for them, or for a select few. The New Orleans sound, rather, is one of acceptance. And Hefko has succeeded in making an album that is accessible to all ears.

Egyptland is neither a jazz album nor a folk album in definitive sense, it is a collaboration of styles with a single, unifying aspect 0 storytelling. Hefko provides listeners with multiple narratives. Listen closely and you'll hear the story of exile, the story of uncertaintly after a storm. You'll hear the music made in an attempt to reunite influences and music evocative of a particular place, with all its trapping - though it wasn't recorded there, the entirety of it is played in the unmistakable key of New Orleans. At it's best, Egyptland is an example of efficiant, sincere song writing and a near perfect interplay of mood and melody.
-JTB

credits

released August 1, 2009

Ted Hefko - Egyptland
1. The Roofer
Ted Hefko - voc., t. sax, Nick Russo - elec. gtr., Ben Rubin - elec. bass, Diego Voglino - drums
2. Egypt Land
Ted Hefko -voc., flute, clarinet, classical guitar,and synth cello, Adam Ahrens - highstrung guitar
3. Wet Wool in Rain
Ted Hefko -voc., all guitars, Scott Patterson-keyboard, Kenneth Bentley, elec. bass, Jason Ewald -drums and perc.
4. Twenty Three Dollars and Twenty Three Cents
Ted Hefko - voc., acoustic guitar Adam Ahrens - elec. guitar Eric Przygocki upright bass, Cameron Dennis - Drums
5. The Short Man’s Complex
Ted Hefko - t. sax, Nick Russo - elec. gtr., Ben Rubin elec. bass, Diego Voglino - drums
6.Bad Kids
Ted Hefko -voc., Adam Ahrens - national steel
guitar and elec. guitar, Eric Przygocki - upright bass, Bobby Trimble
7. Losin’ Hold
Ted Hefko -voc., acoustic gtr., Adam Ahrens - elec. guitar, keyboard, drum programming, Eric Przygocki - elec. bass
8. New Orleans East
Ted Hefko -voc., piano, lead guitar, synth bass, Jason Ewald - rhythm guitar, drum programming
9. Big Shoes
Ted Hefko - t. sax, Nick Russo - gtr., Peter Maness - acoustic bass, Jason Ewald - drums and all perc.

Executive Producer: Ted Hefko

1, 5 Recorded at The Sweatshop in Brooklyn NY, additional vocals recorded at The House of Cha Cha. Mixed and Produced at The House of Cha Cha in Brooklyn NY, under the direction of Benny Cha Cha
2,4,6, & 7 Recorded, Mixed and Produced at Trampa Studios in Austin Tx. under the direction of Adam Ahrens.
3 Recorded and Mixed and Produced at The Studio of Kenneth Bentley, additional vocals recorded at The House of Cha Cha. Mixed and Produced The House of Cha under the direction of Benny Cha Cha
8 Recorded, mixed and produced at Bedroom Studios under the direction of Jason Ewald
9 Recorded, mixed and produced at The Institute of Audio Research, NY, NY by the students of IAR under the direction of Steve Eigner

All tracks mastered by Gene Paul at DB Plus Studios, 250 W 57th St, Ste 725
New York NY 10107

copyright Ⓒ & Ⓟ 2009 all songs written and arranged by A. Ted Hefko, thefko music, ascap
All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, hiring, lending , public performance and broadcast prohibited

for booking contact Ted Hefko at 646-294-3006, or thefko@gmail.com

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Ted Hefko and The Thousandaires New Orleans, Louisiana

Ted Hefko & The Thousandaires stir up an intoxicating brew of the profound and the profane, of virtue and vice and most importantly the volatile in-between. Ted’s songs explore hope and hustlers, saints and strays, drifters and the down-and-out. The band brings these stories to life with the spontaneity of jazz, and the rough-hewn, bare-bones tone of backwoods rhythm and bllues. ... more

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