L U N A T A L K with Eva Moon

The odds are good that the goods are odd

Personal Ads
© Eva Moon

Tired of sitting home at night waiting for my shining knight
Personal ads might shed some light looking for a man who’s…

Having fun… with the personal ads
Just begun… in the personal ads
On the run… in the personal ads
Son of a gun… in the personal ads
The odds are good that the goods are odd

Here’a an ad from a guy named Rex. Seeks a woman he respects
Even so, one suspects all he really wants is…

What’s in store… in the personal ads
Give me more… of the personal ads
Will I score… in the personal ads
Can’t ignore… the personal ads
The odds are good that the goods are odd

Here’s an ad from a guy named Rick. Thinks that he and I will click
His ad looks pretty slick, but I fear he’s just a…

Little blind… to the personal ads
What a find… in the personal ads
Same old grind… in the personal ads
Out of my mind… in the personal ads
The odds are good that the goods are odd

I’ve had enough. That’s it, I am done
No more wasted nights. Wait… this guy might be the one…

Here’s an ad from a guy named Chuck. Say’s he’s built like a pickup truck
I don’t know if I trust my luck. He just hopes I like to…

Meet guys… in the personal ads
Nothing but lies… in the personal ads
Big surprise… in the personal ads
Getting wise… to the personal ads
The odds are good that the goods are odd

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12:34:56 7/8/9

Just saying.

A friend reminds me, if I go to europe I can experience it again in a month.

Mr. ESP

From the CD release party…

Mr. ESP
© Eva Moon

My heart has been abducted and flown around the globe
My head’s been deconstructed I’m ready for your probe
You’re using psychic powers to send me to the moon
The rapture lasts for hours the heat could bend a spoon

Ooooooh, Mr. E.S.P. You’re playing with T.N.T.
Channel the limits of X.T.C. Please don’t stop, Mr. E.S.P.

An out of body feeling, is this just lunacy?
Or have you been revealing a dark conspiracy?
Our thoughts are intertwined. You’re filling up my soul
You penetrate my mind and then I lose control

Ooooooh, Mr. E.S.P. You’re playing with T.N.T.
Channel the limits of X.T.C. Please don’t stop, Mr. E.S.P.

I’m rising toward the light, the feeling so intense
Transcending at the height near death experience
My paranormal lover you must have ESP
How else could you discover just what would set me free?

Ooooooh, Mr. E.S.P. Oh baby, it’s XTC
C’mon and set off that TNT Please don’t stop, Mr. E.S.P!

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Lying Eyes

Some optical illusions you can “get” once you see what’s going on. But some are so persistent that you flat out don’t believe it no matter how many times you drag swatches around in photoshop. Like this. I came across another one. The blue and green spirals really are the same color. Really, they are. No, really.

Read about it here.

I made another version of it to prove that it REALLY IS the same color:

You know, I still don’t believe it.

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Zombiespeak: A Linguistic Analysis

The phenomenon of “Dudespeak” is well-known. According to Urban Dictionary it’s “The language or mode of conversation that includes, but is not limited to, use of the ever-evolving term, “dude.” Meaning and connotations of the word “dude” depend on the circumstances and tone and attitude of the dudespeaker.

“Dude.” (Hello, friend. Here, have some nutella)
“Duuude.” (Hey, this nutella is amazing)
“…dude?” (Um…where the hell do you think you’re going with my nutella?)
“DUDE!” (Get AWAY from my nutella!)

So I started thinking, is Dudespeak linguistically unique? Are there any other populations where language has devolved to little more than a single word? The answer is yes: Zombies. If you conduct an analysis of Zombie semantics, you will find that while not limited to the single word, “brains” is so central to the Zombie lexicon that one can have entire conversations consisting of nothing else:

“Brains!” (Hello, friend. What’s going on?)

“…brains?” (I’m struggling with the existential dilemma of being undead. What do you think?)

“BRAAAAAAIIIIINSS.” (Existence precedes essence, ergo life is a prerequisite for self-definition. Without either true life or true death, the question is moot. Let it go, my friend.)

“Brainssss.” (Yeah, I guess so.)

“BRAAins.” (Hey, you just dropped a lung.)

“Brainsss.” (Oh, thanks, man. See ya.)

“Brains.” (Bye!)

(Happy Birthday, Alan!)

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Our First Review!

It’s nerve-wracking sending your baby out to be judged by people who don’t know and love you. We worked so hard on “Moon Falling Down,” striving to give it every advantage, but now it must toddle out into the world and stand on its own merits or lack thereof.

The album’s first review is gratifying. I’m reprinting it here, but you can read the original at BVS Reviews too.

Moon’s Falling Down Fun

Bruce Von Stiers

Irreverent and immense fun. That is what I thought while listening to an album titled Moon Falling Down. This album is from a Seattle area band that calls themselves Eva Moon & the Lunatics.

From the name you might guess that this was a whacked metal band, a strange ambient band or just a goofy pop band. But none of those are correct. I don’t even really know what category Eva and her band falls into. They have a bit of pop, but their music falls more into the jazz and light funk modes. Oh, also comedy. The songs on the album are tongue-in-cheek, innuendo filled or just downright irreverent. You just know that they were having fun recording this album as you can almost hear the laughter in the vocals and music.

The members of the Lunatics are Ferko Saksmanoff, Dave Quick, Mike Gordon and Sue Niemann. Mike is on bass. Dave plays guitar and keys. Sue is the band’s drummer. Ferko plays the flute, saxes and does percussion. As for Eva, she does the vocals. She also does some keys work. And with tongue planted squarely in her cheek, Eva lists “charm” as another thing she brings to the band. And all of the members except Dave play in a regional Eastern European Gypsy music band called Balkanarama.

For the first song we have a hoodoo jazz mix tune called Mr. ESP. It has fun lyrics, solid vocals and great horn music.

Hard For Me has a soft samba styling with terrific guitar and sax music.

Fat Chance has a concrete jazz base. Eva sings about this flashy guy trying to get next to her. She sings about the extraordinary steps he’ll have to take for her to go be with him. Things like winning the Tour de France and scaling the highest mountain. In other words, “fat chance.” The song has a really tough guitar solo in it.

Don’t Answer Yet is a fun torch singer styled song. At least at first. Then it moves into a kind of toe tapping smile bringing jazz beat.

For all of you fufu coffee drinkers out there, Eva sings a tongue-in-cheek tune called Mista Barista. The song kind of brings back the girl group sound of the ‘60’s.

Super cool jazz and guitar permeates another hilarious tune called Snap On Girl. Use your imagination about what the song is about.

Boomerang Boy has a Reggae feel to it. The song’s about a son leaving home only to come back home again. A lot of parents can definitely relate to this song.

Eva and the band do a wonderful job of capturing a Brazilian flavor in the amusing tune Brazilian Wax.

Personal Ad begins as a light R & B tune then moves into a slight funk mode. A sort of scorching lament, the song is about the unrealistic content of personal ads. As Eva sings, “the odds are good that the goods are odd.”

Another samba styled song is Circle of Stuff.

The band ends the album with the title track, Moon Falling Down. Beginning as a soft lullaby, it transcends into an almost otherworld sound.

Eva Moon & the Lunatics have a really great sound. Their music is top notch, mixing several different styles for an eclectic sound that fits well. And the lyrics are fun; filled with innuendo and biting commentary.

The King Country Journal called the band “the musical equivalent of stand-up comedy.” And the band’s own description of their music combines comedy shtick, a smidgeon of Amy Winehouse, a shot of Fiona Apple, one part Bette Midler chutzpah and tops it with the flaming red hair of Tori Amos. Yes, Eva is a redhead. Anyway, I more than agree with the Journal’s view of the band. And more. They are irreverent, comically in-your-face and just plain fun to listen to.

To hear some music from Moon Falling Down, or to even see some of the band’s videos, check out their official site. That site can be found at www.evamoon.net.

Thank you, Bruce, for getting it and please, God, let this be a harbinger of reviews to come.

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Video is a Slut

So there we were. All the months of recording, mixing, production, promotion, preparation for the new CD and at last it was time to stand on stage and play it. And it was a blast! We played in three worlds Saturday night. First, to our audience at Soulfood Books. (Thank you all for coming out!) Second, in the virtual world, Second Life. (Thank you all too!) Third, via live streaming video.

The video was a late surprise. We stopped by Soulfood Books Friday night and discovered they’d just added streaming video. I grabbed the url, posted it to my blog and emailed some out of town friends. Compare that to weeks of notices, press releases, emails, phone calls and smoke signals about the other two avenues to watch. And yet more people watched the show by video than any other way.

I’ve been mulling that over. Attending a show is like dating. There’s some commitment involved. You have to choose it over any other possible activity for the evening. You have to dress and get in the car and drive somewhere and be at least minimally sociable. Even though Second Life is easier once you’re familiar with it, you still have to get an account and learn basic skills to manage it.

But video is a slut. YouTube proved that. Ease of access outweighs almost any other consideration. Video and audio quality might suck, but it doesn’t matter. It’s irresistible.

Very well. I’m not proud! Here are the video archives from the CD release party, laid out spread-eagle for you. Just click.

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A Four-way with Eva

There’s more than one way to be part of our party for the release of our new CD “Moon Falling Down” tonight. Join us from anywhere in the world.

• Soulfood Books, Redmond. This is where the moon will fall to earth tonight. The party starts at 7 pm with visiting friend, Alex Whitmore playing a set of his hilarous songs and continues with the Lunatics from 8 - 10. 15748 Redmond Way. Free.
• Second Life. We’ll have the whole band on stage together at a mega party on the internet. If you have an account, click this link to go directly to the show. (And here to get a free Second Life account)
• Live Streaming Video. Bandwidth-willing, the show will be streamed live on the internet. Go to the Soulfood Books website and click on “Soultribe TV” to watch.
• Live Streaming Audio. This will probably be the best sound quality outside the actual venue. Put this link directly in your browser to listen: http://97.74.80.31:8063. The show stream will also be simulcast on several internet radio stations. I will update the list throughout the day, but for starters: Indie Spectrum Radio

Oh, and wherever you’re coming from, don’t forget to pick up a copy of the CD!

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The Power of Levitation

It would be hard to overstate the influence and popularity of Goran Bregovic in Eastern European music of the last three decades. For anyone from that little piece of troubled real estate, the opening strains of one of his songs has the power of levitation. Bodies rise from chair to floor to table top, voice rise from murmurs to drunken brays, glasses rise and crash tinkling to the floor and crunching underfoot.

I remember one night when we were playing at a club. An inebriated Serb pulled a wad of bills out of his pockets and gave it to us to play just one song again. $72! We played it three times.

Last night, Bregovic, traveling with his Weddings and Funerals Band played in Seattle for the first time. We were among a tiny minority of Americans in a sea of rapturous ex-pats. What a great night. Gravity lost its grip on us too and we rose and danced, hands to the sky.

Of course I had to choose a song about the moon!

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Moon Falling Down, Mother Goose Take

Synchronicity is everywhere. My CD “Moon Falling Down” is being released this week. Sunday, an ABC mini-series about the moon crashing into the Earth aired. And also this week, my son, Eric, shared a charming scene he had written for his scriptwriting class about the moon coming down to earth in human form.

The assignment: Take a Mother Goose rhyme and use it to write a children’s play.

The Moon
by Eric Gordon (with help from Rowan Dart)

The man in the moon
Came down too soon,
And asked his way to Norwich;
He went by the south
And burnt his mouth
With supping cold plum porridge

[It is a gorgeous summer evening at the park. JACK and JILL, brother and sister, ages eight and nine, respectively, are both standing face-to-face, inches from each other, glaring, JACK’s face is smeared with BBQ sauce, Jill’s is clean. Both of them are holding onto a plate fiercely, on which is one last serving of plum pudding.]

JACK
You already had two plates!
JILL
I’m older than you, and Mommy said that I need to eat if I want to grow up and be a big girl!
JACK
Yeah, but Mom said peas and vegetables! [Yank yank yank]
JILL
You’re gonna break the plate! [Tug tug tug] If you break it I’m telling!
JACK
Noooooo, don’t be a tattle tale!
JILL
Give iiiiit!
JACK
Stooooop!
[At this dramatic juncture in the narrative, a young boy approaches. He might be glowing, it might just be that he’s very pale and wearing all white, it’s not clear. Either way, he is the MOON.]
MOON
Hello.
[JACK and JILL freeze, then look at MOON.]
JILL
[suspiciously, who does this newcomer think he is, interrupting their epic struggle?] Who’re you?
MOON
I am the moon. Please, what are you doing?
JACK
You’re the moon!? Cool!
JILL
Don’t be stupid Jack, he’s not moon! The moon is a giant ball of rock up in the sky! [She points upwards dramatically to the sky, where there is no visible moon.] That’s what Mrs. Morison said in school.
MOON
I am not a ball of rock. I’m a [slowly, as if quoting] An-thro-po-mor-fic per-son-i-fi-kay-shun.
JACK
What does-
JILL
[overriding him] What does that mean?
MOON
I…uh…It means I’m not a big ball of rock. [He shrugs]
JILL
Well if you’re the moon, what are you doing on the ground?
JACK
You’re always so bossy. He can come to the ground if he wants to! [To MOON] I’m Jack, and this is my sister Jill.
MOON
Hello Jack and Jill. I wanted to see what the Earth was like, so I hid from the Sun behind the Earth, then I hung onto a comet until I was close enough to get to the ground and fell down.
JACK
That must’ve been scary!
MOON
It was, but I landed in those trees, so it didn’t hurt.
JILL
[Determined not to be left out of the conversation.] Nuh-uh, Landing in some trees would hurt!
MOON
Have you ever felt a leaf? They don’t hurt at all, they’re really kind of soft. [JILL looks like she wants to keep arguing, but MOON powers through before she has the chance.] So what were you doing when I landed?
JILL
Jack was being stupid.
JACK
Nuh-uh! You were bein’ bossy again! AND trying to take the last plate of pudding!
[MOON sits down cross legged, and watches them argue with interest.]
JILL
Well you had the second-to-last plate!
JACK
No! Dad did!
JILL
You lying little-
MOON
Ah, I get it! This is a fight?
JILL
It wouldn’t be a fight if Jack would stop hogging all of my pudding!
JACK
[Sulkily] ‘s not your pudding…
MOON
Then, do you two…hate each other?
[The siblings are thrown off their stride]
JACK
What!?
JILL
Well…not really.
MOON
But you were yelling at each other.
JILL
Yeah, well he’s trying to take all the pudding.
MOON
You must really want that pudding
JACK
Mom makes the best plum pudding in the whole world!
MOON
What does pudding taste like?
JILL
You mean you’ve never had pudding!? [horrified]
MOON
No.
JACK
What d’you eat off in space?
MOON
Stardust, mainly.
JACK
What’s that taste like?
MOON
I don’t know, I’ve never eaten anything else. I don’t think it really tastes like anything, but it leaves you feeling nice and full.
[JACK and JILL make eye contact and come to a silent agreement. Compared to MOON’s plight, their argument seems petty and unimportant. Here is a soul who is truly more miserable than themselves, even if he doesn’t realize it.]
JILL
Hey, uh, Moon? If you’re coming all the way down here, you should at least try out people food…
[JACK hesitates until JILL gives him a nudge.]
JACK
So uh…d’you want to try our pudding?
MOON
I thought both of you wanted it.
JILL
Well, you know, we can get it all the time, but for you it’ll be sorta special like. Like your first people food.
JACK
Yeah.
MOON
Well, if you’re sure you don’t want it.
JACK
No, you can have it.
JILL
But you owe me!
[JACK gives MOON the pudding, who tries it. MOON coughs and splutters.]
MOON
Wow! It’s really hot!
JACK
It’s not that hot.
MOON
Well, stardust is really cold, like snow.
JILL
If you don’t want it can I-
[But MOON is digging back in to the pudding, making “omnomnom” noises. He eventually finishes the plate.]
MOON
Wow, people food is amazing!
JACK
Tol’ you Mommy makes the best pudding! Hey, wanna play a game?
MOON
Thanks, but I need to go back up into the sky before the sun notices I’m gone. She’d get mad.
JACK
Aw…
MOON
But I’m really glad I got to meet you!
JACK
Bye Moon!
[JILL waves. MOON exits. Scene end.]

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