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JL Stiles Presents House of Murmurs

by JL Stiles

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1.
All in a Day 03:35
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All in a day's work, all in a day, all in a day All in a day's work, all in a day, all in a day All in a day's little time You gave me sight when I was blind All in a day's time, fallin away trouble in mind All in a day's time, makin' my way, breakin the bind All in a day we worked it out You gave me your love, I lost my doubt And I had a fool for a muse And I had a voice I couldn't use There was freezing rain running through my veins til I met you All in a day's work, all in a day all in a day All in a day's work, all in a day, all in a day All in a day it turned out right When you gave your love I lost the fight And I never thought that you would care And I never thought that I could dare There was freezing rain running through my veins til I met you And All in a day's little time You gave me sight when I was blind And all in a day's grand design When I was drivin' alone missin' all the signs Now the night shine's brighter where we go Now the night shine's brighter where we go Now the night shine's brighter where we go Now the night shine's brighter where we go Where we go Where we go Where we go Where we go
2.
Spring Light of Day 03:25
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Spring Light of day is always good to me Spring Light of day is always good to me I slept through winter rain And died to light the flame I opened up my eyes to graceful world You and I remained With days and miles between no matter who I am you'll hold on to me Spring Light of Day is always good to me Spring Light of day is always good to me My mind was in a fog of overwhelming wind It's burning off the shore and reminding me Take refuge in the small And gave up on it all I was hiding unaware I was plain to see Spring light of day is always good to me Spring light of day is always good to me
3.
Song Beside My Grave 03:35
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If I walk away through this long and lonely winter In truth you will remain And if I make the grade I will never fall and fade Calling forever more So if I die I hope you play this song beside my grave Think of it as one more little thing I had to say to you If I walk away through this long and lonely winter My love with you will remain And I will feel the rain on a long hot summer day Calling forever more So you see I'm not a liar tryin to get along I'm tellin' you I love you even though my body's gone for good And I will feel the rain on a long hot summer day Calling forever more Calling forever more Calling forever more
4.
Frostbite Falls 04:01
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Come one come all Down to Frostbite Fall Dance from stone to stone The only way to go Sun bright o'er the trees Darkness down below Water borne in time Secrets we would find Hold your cold hand my friend You know you won't back again You can speak only through your eyes You led our way Gray stone risin high In the cold you dive Wait for you to rise Old friends who used to gather when Your love was young and by your side Moved on, the time's gone and none stayed behind If the old brook is runnin low We'll seize the only time to go We'll dance an ode to your life and your times
5.
Beneath the Light 05:37
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I walked on after you and I saw you in the light I walked on after you and I caught you in disguise You looked surprised They sent you to me just to pull me in their crimes You saw right through me as an actor reads his lines I was unwise You never thought it mattered much If I could see beyond your touch You knew if I refused their game All they gave they'd take away I saw the leader as he left the flashing lights his plastic smile vanished as soon as he caught my eye I looked inside He sat me down alone and I told him of his price The jackals waited for my message in the night That he would fight And you, the angel of death, came From powers hidden with no name The darkness big as pitch black night Presenting you in your disguise The leader's best friend dead and bleeding in the rain And like that leader I'd have the world or face the pain Or run in vain It's all before us in plain sight Yet no one even dares to fight I bought the leader one more day As I gave the plan away I only broke through tell tale eyes I knew too much and could not hide
6.
The Great Natchez Tornado of 1840 04:49
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Bear that I know my life is slavin through my endless days it seems their world of harmony is built on sin Hear the dinner bells drowned by the fury whirling down The lord has lain his mighty hand to set me free All of us were paralyzed I never found the time to say goodbye You were swept away they wouldn't even count you as a human life Now I'll find the underground and slip away across the borderline Now I'll take you on my way the long road to the northern borderline Down the river cross the fields a sky of charcoal black is throwing sheets of rain and bearing down on me Stood like little children hundreds swept aloft like dust It passed me by the master's house is a memory 342 and many more they didn't count as lives You and I we wouldv'e tried to find our way across the borderline You and I we hardly said a word but I saw freedom in your eyes So now I'll take you with me on the underground across the borderline I'm on my way I know it's better to tear it all down I'll run away I know it's better to see it all drown I'll run away I know it's better if I see it all drown They had no faith they built a world by keeping us down I'm on my way I know it's better to tear it all down They had no faith tear it all down I'm on my way I know it's better to tear it all down Tear it all down
7.
Movin' 03:59
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Movin to the other side where we go, where we go Movin to the other side where we go, where we go he was just a sweet teenager He was just a lost soul of our time He was runnin wild with his friends Out by the road too late at night Didn't have a music hero Didn't have a hero still alive We were all just waiting for him He was only passin through in time Movin to the other side where we go, where we go All the love and anger breaking through his shell After all the girls were cast under his spell Left us on the road late into the night We couldn't even say goodbye Movin to the other side where we go, where we go Movin cross the great divide where we go, where we go he was just a sweet teenager He was just a lost soul of our time He was runnin wild with his friends Out by the road too late at night He was feelin gravitation When he got high and blew his mind He was lyin by the ocean cold Where he made love for the first time He was such a big sensation Cuttin'up the waves when he was nine He was gonna leave the mother earth Lookin' baby blue right in the eye He was kind to all creation Didn't like to feel so uninspired We were all just waiting for him He was only passing through in time
8.
Leaf in the Snow 03:36
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You were never gonna believe me no matter how hard I tried I couldn't see your point, babe, but now it ain't no surprise always driftin' on my mind… I thought your true colors came through your sweet façade But I turned our epic love into a lightning rod Waiting to tear through our souls Callin', but I know you'll never come home Fallin', like one last leaf in the snow Now I gotta get over the fool I used to be You can never blame a blind man for what could never see Floating through a faceless town, every time I turn around Your old image tracks me down Callin', I only want you to know Callin', there's only one thing left to show Callin', I hope you'll never be alone But I'm fallin', like one last leaf in the snow
9.
After the War 05:54
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Where were the guards of freedom when we killed our father? Where was the voice of reason did they ever bother? We were lost long before the seas rose We were talking about the good old days, the ones we'd never known I know the war is over and we finally won Like a bout of pneumonia burnt out in the sun And we are the brothers and sisters no nation claims The enemy had no country, just a symbol and a name We are tired with so much ruin left unclaimed We were glorifying good old times when little else remained We gave up everything we had owned Some resigned and some still fought while the righteous burned
10.
Simple Faith 03:13
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I loved you dearly, more than I knew But I was blind with pride and so were you When you were near me it felt so right You belonged to me, I turned away from the light But what's done is done, it's the way it should be And I'll never quit the game 'Cause I'm a man of simple faith It's a hard-earned love, this life of mine Leavin' all the failures of my past behind He was a good man but he sold his soul Made a lot of money but it took its toll This sham of mine, he's always say I'd throw it all away To be a man of simple faith I'm just a man of simple faith We're bound together in the unkown Just a man who's found his grace I'll keep you warm in the dark and cold You and me, man, we were close and on the level When you never expect you always find the devil We had it out, the final word Crossed the line, no other cheek was turned We can live our lives holdin' a grudge But our love will remain Because we're men of simple faith Yeah the race is on and so they say, You're gettin' on in years, there's a price to pay Time flies by but don't disappear Livin' on forever in our love through the years We're a dyin' breed but I disagree 'Cause we're all the saving grace Yeah I'm a man of simple faith Yeah I'm a man of simple faith Yeah I'm a man of simple faith
11.
Afterthought 04:55
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I know you've heard it all before But I'm still knockin' on your door Eventhough I know I'm an afterthought I will lie with you by forgotten shores By the sea ignored And I know I got it all wrong Cause I've been fightin way too long And I'm waitin on all the clouds to break They can show the sun or meld to gray And though I know I'm an afterthought We will take the night as the days grow long In the summer warmth And we walked along the ocean hypnotized by its giant breaths Like a little child who runs on her way completely unaware of her mother's gaze Yeah we will fall into the haze yeah, we'll drift afloat til the end of days Til the end of days

about

I dedicate this album to Seth Koller and Michael Morrison, may they both rest in peace. I love you both and who you were lives on forever.

Movin' is about Seth, my student who died at age 16 in a tragic accident along Highway 1 near Half Moon Bay. Seth was a beautiful boy, passionate and troubled, full of promise and talent.

Frostbite Falls is about Mike, who died last year after a few years of a slow and inexplicable descent into paralysis. We never found out what was wrong with Mike but he was once a hearty, strong man and a great artist and there was nothing like the boom of his voice and his love of play. I learned a lot from Mike.

As for this album, when you get a crazy idea, it's usually good. In this case I had a bunch of songs threatening to be backlogged but I had not a producer. I called Etienne de Rocher and the rest is history. We didn't know each other before I sent him my demos but in a few weeks I was flying out to Athens, where Etienne lives, to track live with Andrew Borger (Norah Jones, Ani DiFranco) who is an old buddy of Etienne. We had a few great evenings hanging with Julian, Etienne's brother, and a little shindig. A lot of Bill Callahan was played.

Andrew and I tracked guitar, voice and drums live and we grooved on every one. The stuff sounded good with just me and him, in fact. We also recorded a nice live-in-studio version of Simple Faith with Etienne on Wurli. Pretty much this was how we did the basics, except for Song Beside My Grave, which I recorded in my apartment and mixed with my buddy Phil "Philbillie" Milner here in San Francisco. Frostbite as well, I did the guitar and voice in my apartment and Etienne did the rest at his house in Athens.

After the few days tracking in Athens it was overdub time. Etienne flew out a few months later to produce for a few days with a great cast players (see the credits). After some touch ups, Etienne spent a while gradually finishing a few mixes and overdubbing bits, isolating and eliminating the crud, and here we are after a year and a half!

We even got four extra tracks that will be released for sure but I didn't want to make this record too bloody long.

credits

released July 12, 2012

All songs written by JL Stiles

JL Stiles: Guitars, vocals, all instruments on track 3, marimba on 7
Etienne de Rocher: production, keys on tracks 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, bass and bv's on track 2, guitar on track 6
Andrew Borger: drums, percussion
Ben Bernstein: Bass on 1, 6, 7, 10 and 11
Todd Sickafoose: Bass on 5, 8 and 9
Doug Ellington: trumpet on 1, 9, 10 and 11
Chazz Alley: Sax on 1, 9 and 11
Emily Schmidt: vocals on 5,6 and 7
David Newman: vocals on 5, 6 and 7, electric guitar on 9 and 11
Catherine Sommer: vocals on track 9

Scott McDowell: Mix and overdub engineer on 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11
Jason Robira: Recording engineer on all except 3 and 4
Etienne de Rocher: Mix engineer on 2, 4 and 6
Phil "Philbillie" Milner: Mix engineer on track 3
JL Stiles: Recording engineer on track 3
John Greenham: Mastering engineer

Special thanks to Stephen Namara, who generously allowed the usage of his painting for the cover.

Recording studios:
The Bakery in Athens, GA
Hyde Street Studio C in San Francisco

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JL Stiles San Francisco, California

I would love to fingerpick and sing just like Blind Blake but as everyone knows, this is like becoming the Buddha.

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