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The Make Up And Break Up Of Shambaholic


While reading reviews of the first Donovan's Brain cd release, I was pleased that they were generally well received. A few writers made far too much of the title. Several assumed that Carelessly Restored Art was an exercise in rewriting some pop psych classics. Other critics were baffled by partial appearance of songs from the rock opera Shambaholic. Jud Cost wondered aloud if Shambaholic would ever be released.

The trail leading up to the non-release of Shambaholic and beyond is a long and twisted one, but maybe a little explanation will clear up some of the fog, and give some insight as to how the Brain works.

The Shambaholic/Carelessly Restored Art overlap
Shambaholic
carelessly restored art
Dandelions Are Back (Sanchez)
Interlude #1
Highway 94 (Carroll, McCaughey, Silva)
Hit Me In The Face (Kehoe, Sanchez)
Pollyanna Disillusioned (Sanchez)
Make A Noise Quietly (Sanchez)
Holly Green (Kline, Langan, Sanchez)
Interlude #2
Heavy Water (Sanchez)
Kew Observatory (Sanchez)
Interlude #3
Sleep Deep (Jones, Sanchez)
Everything I Know Is Wrong (Sanchez)
Shambaholic (Sanchez)
Pollyanna #2 (Sanchez)
Row Out (To Sea In A Leaky Boat) (Sanchez)		 50,000,000 Before My Time (Sanchez)
Kew Observatory (Sanchez)
Everything I Know Is Wrong (Sanchez)
Tad's New Cymbal Stand (Langan/Mesko/Sanchez)
Heavy Water (Sanchez)
Dandelions Are Back (Sanchez)
Holly Green (Sanchez/Kline/Langan)
Anna Lee Page (Koch)
Follow The Shining Path (Sanchez)
Smothered In Hugs (J.Pollard/R.Pollard/Sprout)
Make A Noise Quietly (Sanchez)

After the release of the Donovan's Brain cassette Butterfly Wheel at the end of 1991, we started back to work on some new material. One of the first songs laid down was one of Paul Rose's, Joey's In The Pouch. Paul's band "K" had failed in their attempt to record this, and he asked if I wanted to do a Brain version. Paul and I banged down a track in just a couple of short sessions, and then filed it away.

Some of the other songs cut in 1992 included: Two White Spiders, Heavy Water, Dull Days, Central Services, Sleep Deep, "22", Sad Eyes, Ox Blood, "One Song" (Dandelions Are Back), Rollin' And Tumblin' and Baby You're A Rich Man. The original demo for what was to become Moon Shines was also cut, but stayed on the shelf for another two years. After a year and a half of work, there didn't really seem to be much in the way of a new album.

An important clue here is the fact that between 1990 and mid 1992 my new wife had taken a job in Helena, the state capitol, some 100 miles away. While she returned home every weekend, my job required me to work every other weekend. In the end we were lucky if we saw each other twice a month. I had figured to keep myself busy working in the studio, but not much was completed during this time. After two years of living life as a married bachelor things had become a little tense around the ranch. It was only when I made it clear that this wasn't going to work for much longer, that a satisfactory job materialized at the University in Bozeman, and life returned to normal. The return to domestic bliss also had the effect of jarring the brain cells into a flurry of activity.

Holly Green was probably the first song to emerge from the dark cloud that dominated the previous two and a half years. In short time Human Is, Kew Observatory, Pollyanna Disillusioned, "22 Marbles" ("22" with lyric by Paul Rose), Everything I Know Is Wrong, Sounds Of '73 (three versions), No Cops Haul Ass, Shambaholic, and The Single #2 were written and/or recorded. A new song, Electric Trains was also demoed. A potential album was assembled at the end of 1993 that looked like this:
  1. Holly Green
  2. Kew Observatory
  3. Dandelions Are Back
  4. Pollyanna Disillusioned
  5. "22 Marbles"
  6. Central Services
  7. Everything I Know Is Wrong
  8. Heavy Water
  9. Highway 94
  10. Sounds Of '73 (version 2)
  11. Sleep Deep
  12. The Single #2 (TV Dinners)
  13. Rollin' and Tumble.


In early 1994 I got a message from Jerker Emmanuelson in Sweden. He wanted a Donovan's Brain track for his compilation cd Hit The Hay. With all the new material still in rough form, I decided that Dandelions Are Back would be the most suitable for his power pop collection. This was given a mix and sent off along with the time travel psych piece from Butterfly Wheel, 50,000,000 Years Before My Time. The latter was give a major overhaul and a new mix. It was Dandelions that Jerker chose for his release, and we returned to work on Shambaholic.

At this point it was just a collection of songs. While studying the list it became apparent to me that there were two themes running through some of the songs. And what were they? The first was loosely based around a major bust up I went through in 1979. This was the final push that found me packing up the record collection and moving to Montana. The breakup of the relationship was a major blow, and I found myself suffering from both insomnia and a debilitating depression that caused me to sleep 20 hours a day for nearly two months. The disruption of my normal sleep resulted in intense, vivid and disturbing dreams. By sleeping away my days I could avoid the cruel reality of my situation: no job, no girl, no money, no fun. In my dreams I would meet the perfect date, but just as often they would be frightening and monstrous. The second theme. Clearly the perfect libretto for Shambaholic.

With this in mind, I wrote "Row Out" which was to become the finale of the piece. I also came up with the melody and chorus for Hit Me In The Face while watching the band the Woggles at the Garage Shock Festival in Bellingham that spring. After their set, I had to run back to the hotel and write down the chords I thought I was hearing. I worked the changes out two days later at Jim Sangster's, while waiting to meet up with Jim Silva for a birthday drink. Jim Kehoe wrote the other half of the the chorus and most of the verses. We finished up writing the lyrics as we put them to tape, so I was able to drop in a few key lines.

The last song recorded for Shambaholic was Make A Noise Quietly. The track for this is actually a reworked version of Row Out. I thought a rock variation would be interesting. The title comes from a line heard in a Laurel And Hardy film. I tried to glue together some of the ideas with the lyrics to this song. Shambaholic was mixed and edited just a few weeks after the release of the Hit The Hay compilation, the first proper Donovan's Brain release; and three days before I left to work with Man in Seattle.

Shambaholic:

The Characters:


The Sleeper: Our hero takes a blow to the brain, and sleeps for forty days and forty nights. Twenty years later he still can't sleep if the pillow isn't fluffed up and cold.

Ms Maddatme: Confident and full of piss and vinegar, she dons her kick boots and beats Our Hero into unconsciousness. She later reappears as Pollyanna Disillusioned.

The Dream Girls: Who are they? Are they real? Why do the only appear when our Hero sleeps, or do they? They are a vision of perfection, until you wake up.

The Songs:


Dandelions Are Back: This is where we find our hero desperately trying to write down his dreams when he first awakes. Is the catchy outtro the nastiest put down ever? The version on Carelessly Restored Art omits an important audio sample from the Thin Man, where the young girl announces "I'm not going to get married and I'm not going to have any children. From now on I'm just along for the ride"

Highway 94: An ominous clap of thunder opens this travelogue that follows the interstate through much of Our Hero's past, present, and future.

Hit Me in The Face: The cold cruel realization that life will never be the same again for Our Hero. "Gotta get back on my feet again" is the new plan.

Pollyanna Disillusioned: The ex: Ms Sunshine Maddatme, returns in her dark form as Pollyanna Disillusioned. The new face is cold, bitter, and scheming. Watch your back.

Make A Noise Quietly: Lightproof Visions indeed. Our Hero doesn't know if he's coming or going crazy. Don't open that door, don't open that door.

Holly Green: The first appearance of the Dream Girl. Holly will drive you crazy, she drives all the boys crazy. Our Hero is only one of the many victims.

Interlude #2: Too much volume is of course very bad, and can cause distortion.....

Heavy Water: Dream Girls do come true, but it can lead to more serious complications. One side of a heavy argument. You can not stop the relentless tide of time and space.

Kew Observatory: An encounter with yet another Dream Girl. This is a verbatim account of the same. Very peculiar, but at least it wasn't scary.

Interlude #3: The ghost of Pollyanna Disillusioned reappears to haunt Our Hero at a critical turning point in his life. She nearly causes as much damage as the first time.

Sleep Deep: Our Hero goes to sleep and hears a song. The Brain is revitalized. He wakes and writes it down. This isn't that song.

Everything I Know Is Wrong: Our Hero nearly collapses under the weight of the world. A look at the big picture and the little picture. The Dream Girl is there for him when the going gets tough.

Shambaholic: The big finale. The tempo picks up and Our Hero rocks away the blues. It's simply a matter of coming to grips with the past and the day to days.

Pollyanna #2: As she moves away at the speed of light, the Doppler effect makes her sound backwards and scary.

Row Out To Sea: The epilogue. A moment of time is frozen on glass. Would that be a photo or a digital recording?

I decided that I didn't want to release another cassette, but would look for a proper deal for the release of Shambaholic. Meanwhile upon returning from a month in Seattle, it was decided to reform the Brain for some shows. I was surprised to learn that one of my employees was also a drummer. Jason McKnight's audition for Donovan's Brain was a recording session at which he added drums to version of Joey's In The Pouch that Paul and I had cut three years earlier. When Paul heard this he was quick to rejoin the Brain, moving from drums to guitar for this new lineup. With a little persuasion, Jim Kehoe also returned to the Brain.

With no sign of a deal for Shambaholic, we began recording once again. The original ideas was for Paul, Jim, and myself to share the writing chores. With Joey nearly complete, we began rehearsing and recording some new material. The first sessions were done on 8 track and saw Perky Pat, "22 Marbles", Two White Spiders, Central Services, and covers of Hey Bull Dog and Smothered In Hugs tracked. Shortly after the 16 track was installed at GLEA. The initial recording on the new format was Tell Me, one of Paul's compositions. As the sessions progressed, it was clear Jim didn't want to bring out any of his songs.

We recorded a new version of Perky Pat, from Shambaholic, which had become part of our set list. This might of been the first sign that the rock opera was not going to see the light in it's original form. Through the summer we continued to record songs for the next album. Paul brought Shot Gun Seat and To One Who Waits, and I had finally completed Moon Shines. We rehearsed Moon Shines for a week, and then managed to record it in one take. Also captured on tape was a short chaotic jam which was later reworked into the song Eclipse And Debris.

Unfortunately by mid summer, the cracks in the band began to show. While attempting to record Shot Gun Seat, Paul spent a day totally confusing Jason about what to play. The final take of the song was a terrible mess. Nothing like the brilliant song we had played live. Paul outright refused to record another song of his we'd been playing live, Burning Love. Not to waste a good idea, I recycled my slide part from this on a song that will appear on Tiny Crustacean Light Show.

The final blow came when Paul provoked a heated argument about the fate of the songs we had recorded. He asked why were we spending so much time in the studio and what was I planning to do with all these recordings. I told him we would get a deal and see a proper release. Paul thought that we should just finish them up in a week, and make a cassette. He went on to suggest we drop the set of originals, learn 40 covers, and start doing bar gigs. That was not why I reformed Donovan's Brain. We played one more gig after this and that was it.

Wait, now what happened to Shambaholic you are asking? A week after the band exploded, I got a call from Norbert Schilling asking to hear Shambaholic. He wanted to put a Donovan's Brain ep out on his Magical Jack label.. That would be four more songs from the opera out. After hearing the tapes he picked Sleep Deep, Make A Noise Quietly, Holly Green, and Kew Observatory. I agreed with his choices and the deal was made. Over Thanksgiving, I got a call from Gregg Kostelich at Get Hip. I had sent him Call Down The Moon for consideration, but it was Shambaholic that he was interested in. He asked if he could have a single from the Brain. Knowing his tastes in music I offered him Hit Me In The Face and the remix of 50,000,000 Years I'd done for Jerker a year earlier. I thought Hit Me In The Face was a good Stones/Johnny Thunders bit of drug rock. It was also the only one that featured Jim Kehoe, and I knew he would love to be on the A side of the single. 50,000,000 Years was my other choice, because I wanted to make sure it would come out. Little did I know.

All of 1996 and the first months of 1997 were spent finishing up the new material. The album was tentatively titled Carelessly Restored Art, and was listed in The Welsh Connection under this name.

In early 1998 Get Hip once again called and inquired what was up with our album. I told Gregg that we'd made a deal with Camera Obscura for its release. He asked if we had an album for Get Hip. Why yes, we must. At this point I had to decide if I wanted to release Shambaholic in its original form. In the interim, Highway 94 had come out on the Big Sky Underground compilation. That meant that seven tracks from the opera had been released, and one more was scheduled to appear on what was now known as Eclipse And Debris. There were some things left over from Eclipse, and I figured I could pick two songs off the Butterfly Wheel cassette. After living with Shambaholic for three years, there were some bits I wanted to fix, and this seemed to be the time for that. I also wanted to have another go at mixing 50,000,000 Years.

From the Eclipse sessions there was Kels' song Anna Lee Page. This had been on the short list right up until the last minute when Ken Stringfellow cast his vote for the new version of Two White Spiders we'd done with Seth, Jim, and Tony. There was also the Guided By Voices cover, Smothered In Hugs which would fit right in with the originals. Then there was the matter of the short version of Tad's New Cymbal Stand. The other song from Butterfly Wheel would be Follow The Shining Path. It was the best of my two that were cut at Egg with the Young Fresh Fellows. The other song from that session was an early version of Underdose.

What to pick from Shambaholic was a harder decision. I wanted to make sure the 7" releases each retained a song unique to that format. Since we were using 50,000,000 Years, Hit Me In The Face would not be on this new compilation. As for the EP, the choice was much harder because I liked all four of those tunes. In the end I decided to stick with the heavy psych numbers, so Sleep Deep was given the elbow, and remains only available on the German release.

Of the remaining unreleased tracks I decided that the new album was going to be only 12 songs, so two were not going to make it onto this cd. Heavy Water and Everything I Know Is Wrong were at the top of the list. That meant that once again the title track to a Brain album wasn't going to be released. As for Row Out, you'll just have to keep your ears opened. It could turn up when you least expect it.

In an incredible feat of record company what zit, Get Hip managed to get Carelessly Restored Art released only six weeks from the initial discussions. Needless to say there is much irony in the fact that Camera Obscura sat on Eclipse And Debris for six months before they announced that they wouldn't be able to fulfill their commitment to the Brain. On the up side of all this is that Donovan's Brain has seen its catalog released in the order it was recorded. More or less anyway. The additional year delay in the the release of Eclipse also gave us time to finish the follow up album, Tiny Crustacean Light Show. There was actually enough material recorded for better than two albums. Many of the loose ends dating back to the earliest Shambaholic sessions will appear over these next two albums, the first of which is due in May or June of 2000.
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