I had this idea of starting a band called: Is Wayne Mosh, which somehow ended up just being another Wayne Mosh record. I had just started taking a new medicine and I was in those first couple of weeks when the medicine takes hold and begins commandeering the whole operation of being a human. I felt weird. So I wrote about it.
Out came “Science Fiction Heart” and “Joy Leaves”. Both songs were train of thought brain dumps and I liked them immediately. (I tend to enjoy writing via train of thought because it’s sorta like me stepping outside myself and telling myself how I really feel, the Katies’ song “Shisiedo” is my favorite example of this that I have recorded.)
“Science Fiction Heart” could be the theme of "Is Wayne Mosh” and it’s probably my favorite Wayne Mosh song to date. It definitely was the engine that propelled the whole project. I really like the line “slightly altered heartaches that prove we are alive” maybe that’s the theme of the song or maybe it’s the plea for rescue by something bigger, out there watching. Lord knows I love a rescue story.
I am a big fan of the science fiction genre so I know that has something to do with this one but I can’t remember what book I was reading at the time, so I’m not sure how it relates, but in the end it was the first song recorded for the project and set the ball in motion for the rest of the songs that would follow.
“Joy Leaves” is “Science Fiction Heart’s” brooding, darker sister. I feel it’s a pretty straight forward confession of how most of my life I feel or have felt an irreparable brokenness which has led me through all kinds of adventures in self destruction. But as Springsteen said “ You gotta learn to live with what you can’t rise above” and that’s what “Joy Leaves" is, me trying to rise above me. I do really like the lyric “Hallelujah sure will delude ya” because you know it’s hard to resist taking a swipe at my fundamental upbringing.
“Kepler186” and “St Jack’s Church” both were born out of my Wes Anderson obsession. They were written during a period where I went to sleep watching a Wes Anderson movie every night. So Anderson was seeping into the conscious and subconscious. “Kepler186” was “Life Aquatic” and “St. Jack’s” was “Moonrise Kingdom” although where Kepler’s lyrics are obviously about Steve Zissou, I don’t think "St Jacks..." has anything to do with “Moonrise Kingdom” other than it being the name of the church in the movie. I actually wanted to start a band called “St Jack’s Church” and I carried that name around in my notes forever before slapping it on as the title to a song.
“Ready Neuromancer” is a nod to William Gibson’s “Sprawl” trilogy and Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One” Conciseness within a computer. When is virtual reality just simply reality. I don’t know, but I like thinking about it. I ended up doing a whole record inspired by Gibson and Philip K. Dick, I'll release it next. It's also the second ukulele song of the collection, but unlike "Science Fiction Heart" I wrote this one on uke. I had started traveling with Ukuleles because I'd read George Harrison did. It made sense to me. Small, easy to cary and easy to play cool chords on. Why wouldn't you travel with one. On a trip to my in-laws a few years back I wrote "Ready Neuromancer". So thanks again to George Harrison...
“All The Little Pieces” is a love song for Becky. Plain and simple. And true.
It’s also the beginning of the new side B. The original “Is Wayne Mosh” had a different B-side than the “Redux” version and honestly I never really liked the original B-side. The original “Is Wayne Mosh” recordings started back in 2017 and around that time The Katies got back together and took my attention away from completing the “Is Wayne Mosh”. So I added a couple Mosh tracks I had lying around to the record and called it a day. Bingo, bango, another Mosh record. Typically I make a Mosh "record" for me to listen to. Sometimes I'll post it or send it friends. Sometimes I just play it for Joshua and Gary. And sometimes I don't do anything with it other than listen to it myself. That's what I've always loved and needed from Wayne Mosh: Making songs is the point.
“All The Little Pieces” was actually recorded for “Is Wayne Mosh” but the Katies decided to try it out and recorded it for the Die Ultra record but in the end decided it did not fit. So I said to myself “Hey man since the Katies don't need "Pieces" you should redo “Is Wayne Mosh” how it was intended to be done." And back came “All The Little Pieces” along with “Kings and Ladies” and “Vacantly Happy”
“Kings and Ladies” and “Vacantly Happy” were recorded a year after the other “Is Wayne Mosh” tracks but they were written during the “Is Wayne Mosh” writing. “Kings and Ladies” a song about being stuck and “Vacantly Happy” with its recipe for happiness. They both seem very “Is Wayne Mosh” to me.
Which brings me the “Steel Horse” the closer for the original and redux B-side and one of my favorites. This one has train of thought lyrics made up while recording (well the verses and bridge were) and it ended up producing some lines that still go though my mind on a regular basis. “This wholesale resurrection ain’t workin’ anymore” is my favorite. Also I like the idea of trying to convince someone you are well by having them listen to you scream. Another thing I like about this one is that it mentions Neil Young’s “Albuquerque” my favorite track off of “Tonights the Night”
Well that brings us to the end of my reflections on “Is Wayne Mosh” maybe it makes for a more enjoyable listen. Maybe it ruined the mystery. Either way, I’m cool with it.