Wacky's Dark Turn (1994-1997)
When you graduate college, you find people have better things to do than park their butt in the student union to listen to garbage bands, liberal whiners, and stoned college radio staff. And then there were just two in Northern Virginia. No more soulful Dave Braxton on trumpet, bongos and harmonies. No more Kelley to inspire, promote, or record. Nor Army of One fan base. So Chris and Matt became the Thelma and Louise of Wacky Wacky, taking that beautiful American classic and driving it over the edge of the Grand Canyon until they hit rock bottom.
As a clever aside, this period closed when our girls stopped playing at Rock Bottom Brewery. It didn’t happen often. Appearances included a famous guest vocal appearance by Matt’s sister and an attempt by Matt to impress a date who turned out to prefer women (you're welcome, ladies) with a maudlin cover of Blue Rodeo “Disappear” about shit that’s gone. We went to a movie after. Fin.
As a second clever aside, one notable entry from this period is a song Matt made up on the spot about a woman Chris was dating who was pretending not to be a lesbian. See the first segment of Medley One, below. I still heart that one.
So yes, we played at your local coffee house (I need to find that picture). We played the docks of Old Town. And then got busy. But not with the ladies. And it was over.
Notable entries from this period are scarce, like sasquatch sightings or our talent. This is regrettable because there were some classics, like Chris’ thumping groove written to a TV commercial woman called “Hot Sex Now, Milk Lady”
Really. Or Matt’s song about catching love like holding onto fireflies and then decades later a real song called fireflies comes out and his was so much better. Fuckin "Owl City". This period also featured other hits like a lame serious entries about Christian girls (“Cathedral”) and not serious rockers about Ninja Girls (“Two Kicks to the Heart”).
Most recorded versions are solo renditions Matt recorded while on a family vacation to West Virgina as noted below, including some terrible covers of early area Wacky. The intent was to record songs so we wouldn’t forget the words only to learn during recording that we’d forgotten the worlds. WaClassic!
Medley One
features abbreviated versions of “Anita” who was confusing the whole house, “The Show” which had a pretty hook but was never finished, and the old “Missy Christmas” which we performed at a SMC Christmas Concert. Deckman
Fall's Finest Hour
is about fingerpicking and lamenting loving someone. Because Matt just can’t write happy shit anymore.
Star of an Age
is about fingerpicking and lamenting loving someone but is actually a song Matt is proud of even though he didn’t get the harmonies or a instrumental section in this early recording.
Fun aside: on this same trip Matt discovers his portable multitracker has built in drum loops, so he’s off to the races to see how some songs would sound… not good
Matt starts to record a song he’s started writing (“Lovely”) which is “90% E chord with no words written” but realizes halfway through that there are no drums just the metronome effect so closes strong.
Matt starts to record Joline but realizes after finishing the first chorus he can't remember anything else. Fail.
Matt starts to record Julie Julie with a western groove about a lovely Artie’s waitress with a weakness for Polish men. The Polish rage swells so he stops and finishes in Will Smith form.
Matt stretches and tries Aching Wave with drums but it doesn’t work but he still takes it to the end and likes the last note.
Matt messes up when trying a Chris classic Want You To Stay but with drums and accidentally set the drum tempo/time signature to double what he meant. He goes with it.
Yeah, it’s silly but a silly version of a good song (and yes there’s a history here). But honestly this song has the best vocal and instrumental bridge of anything we’ve done before or since. Really. Even with Matt playing crappy with a too-fast drum track that Matt fails to keep up with and having to sing the part Chris would play on guitar. It’s solid in a not goofy way. Check out between 1:25 and 2:30.
The Hurting
