Week 52 - All You Need is Love (The Beatles, 1967)

Week 52 - the Beatles

We made it! For our last song, well…the song says it all. Thank you for all your support - every comment, every “like” inspired us to keep going. We couldn’t have done this without all your support. Thank you. 

I’d especially like thank James for his loving and patient support, I know it was a lot to take on! The same goes for Evan - thank you! And most of all, Rebekah. You constantly challenge and inspire me to do better. Thank you lady, I love you so much!

As for the future, I don’t know…but I’m going to do my best to cover all the songs that all of you have suggested. Eventually ;)

And please come see us celebrate at Rockwood Music Hall stage 3 on Thursday, April 27th!

Yay! We. Did. It.

Week 51 - Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (Beyoncé, 2008)

Week 51 - Beyoncé  & The Dixie Cup

Last week, when I got stuck choosing songs, I asked for help on the FB and got some amazing suggestions.  This week’s idea came from some of those suggestions.  I confess - I know almost next to nothing about Beyoncé and her musical career.  It seems so crazy considering she is one of the best selling artists of all time!   It shows to see how much one can live in one’s own musical bubble…  Of course her music is so far away from anything I do, so I decided to bring in a little of my element, hence the 60’s girl pop group The Dixie Cups.   It was a lot of fun!  Hope you enjoy.  

I’d like to thank Megan and Cody for suggesting Beyoncé, and Sophie for suggestions the Dixie Cups!  You ladies are wonderful!  Thank you!

Week 43 - Bacherolette (Bjork, 1997)

Week 43 - Bjork

I still remember very vividly the first time I saw Bjork.  There was this very short lived music program on NHK (PBS of Japan) that I loved and they used to play lots of music that were relatively unknown in Japan.  One night they talked about this Icelandic band called “Sugarcubes” and showed their video.  The song was called “Birthday” and a girl in a red dress was singing.  Her voice was nothing like I’d ever heard, it blew my mind.  I went and bought their album the very next day.  Ever since then, Bjork’s music has become part of my life.  I love that her music (and herself) is always unique, strange and beautiful.  And I love her visual and conceptual approach to her music.  She’s a very visual musician and that’s what I wanted to bring to the filming of this song.  Rebekah and I had a great time painting flowers, ha!  

Also I’d like to thank Marianne from MSO for planting this seed in my head, what seems like such a long time ago now.  When Main Squeeze Orchestra was discussing new additions to their repertoire, Marianne suggested this song and that I should sing it.  That never happened but we incorporated accordion for you Marianne.  

Hope everyone enjoys it!

Week 38 - Jockey Full of Bourbon (Tom Waits, 1985)

Week 38 - Tom Waits

Grand Finale of Tom Waits December!  The song that started it all for us.  We have been singing this song for so long that sometimes we even forget that it is a cover, ha!  We’ve been wanting to collaborate with our California half of the band and finally our dream came true.  Bi-coastal video!  Rebekah and I miss these gentlemen so much. Even though we didn’t play together in real life, I think this video portrays the feeling of what it is like when we do play together.  

I think it is important to close a year right and I’m glad we are able to do so with a style!  Hope you enjoy.  

Wishing you a very happy new year!

Week 37 - Tango Till They're Sore (Tom Waits, 1985)

Week 37 - Tom Waits

It was a very difficult task to pick songs from Tom Waits’s vast collection of songs.  And it was wonderful to see that so many people have such an affection for him and his songs.  In the end I decided to cover one of my all time favorite songs.  This was the song that made me fall in love with Tom Waits and I’ve tried to sing in the past but coudn’t quite get it.  So it was time to try again!  It’s the intro of the song that gets me every time so we had to work on that - it’s just so perfect in a drinking whiskey in the afternoon kind of way.  It also has the line “just get me to New Orleans” which is pretty much how I feel every time I think about that beautiful city.  As I was recording the song I realized that this song is probably about Mardi Gras, which meant we sang about entirely wrong holiday but that’s how we roll over here in Miwa Gemini land.  Enjoy.

Happy Holidays!

Week 35 - Cemetery Polka (Tom Waits, 1985)

Week 35 - Tom Waits (1985)

One of the many things I love about Tom Waits is his ability to make music with just about anything.  Unusual instruments, unusual subject matters, unusual ideas, unusual situations - all of these things makes his world so exciting and interesting.  Like this week’s song, Cemetery Polka from the album Rain Dog. It's a song about aging relatives who are mostly insane, dying or both. Absurdity with a twisted sense of humor ran through this song and it includes some of my favorite rhymes like “egg” and “wooden leg” and “hotel” and “hell.”  

I read that Tom Waits walked around NYC recording street sounds and other ambient noises on a cassette recorder in order to catch the sound of the city for recording Rain Dog.  Rain Dog is one of my favorite albums and it makes me happy that it was written in my old neighborhood West Village, though I’m sure it was quite a different neighborhood back then.  

I’ve been wanting to to do all toy instrumentation and this seemed like a perfect opportunity.  We had a great time working on this song.  I hope you enjoy!

“If I want a sound, I usually feel better if I've chased it and killed it, skinned it and cooked it.”  - Tom Waits

And a happy belated birthday, Mr. Waits!

Week 34 of 52 Weeks - Hold On (Tom Waits, 1999)

Week 34 - Tom Waits

Week 1 of Tom Waits December!  Things changed for me drastically as an artist the day I discovered Tom Waits.  I love his originality - in his music, in his lyrics, in his style and in his imagination. And I love and love his sense of humor.  Frustratingly I’ve only seen him performance once and that was for his Mule Variation tour.  Still to this day, it’s one of my favorite shows of all times.  This song has been stuck in my head lately and was thinking about covering it, but there are just too many songs I want to cover.  Since it’s his birthday next week (12/7) I decided to dedicate this whole month exploring his world.  Hope you enjoy!

This one goes out to miss Erika - not only because we went to see Tom Waits together but also she has the best sense of humor and the most infectious laugh.

Week 32 of 52 Weeks - Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen, 1984)

Week 32 - Leonard Cohen

When I heard Leonard Cohen passed away, I cried.  Not only he’s one of the artists that I hold dear to my heart but his passing seems to make things look even more desperate than it is, just when we need his music more than ever.  I argued with myself back and forth as to which songs I was going to sing for a long long time, but in the end I decided with Hallelujah, simply because I wanted and needed to sing it right now.   

Thank you, Leonard Cohen, for your clear and honest words and for your beautiful melodies.

Week 25 of 52 Weeks - Ruby Tuesday (The Rolling Stones, 1967)

Week 25 - The Rolling Stones (1967). 

Growing up I was more of a Beatles fan than the Rolling Stones.  Not that you have to pick one of them…  It wasn’t till we began collecting vinyl that I really fell in love with the Rolling Stones.  Especially with their early recordings.  This song although credited to Jagger/Richards, both Bill Wyman and Marianne Faithful mention Brian Jones’s contribution. 

I love it because it reminds me of so many of my friends.  I’ve been extremely lucky to have many many colorful ladies in my life. Although I don’t get to see them that often, even the ones that live close by, but I’m always grateful for their inspirational existence and I know I can call any one of them if I need a pick me up or a good laugh.  Thank you!  You know who you are.  I love and miss you!

Week 23 of 52 Weeks - Love Me Tender (Elvis Presley, 1956)

Week 23 - Elvis Presley.  Last week we covered The King of Pop, and this week we are paying tribute to the King himself.  But my inspiration came from the time I saw a singer in Japan singing this song to a music box.  I was little then but I remember it sounded beautiful.  I made our version with a toy piano and Bekah added some lovely trumpet.  Hope you enjoy!

Week 22 of 52 Weeks - Billie Jean (Michael Jackson, 1982)

Week 22 - Michael Jackson. 

I was thinking that doing this project might be similar to speed dating.  You have to assess the personality of each song and try to figure out how you can relate to it, and the end result is somehow always surprising.  I had a vague idea that we might want to do Michael Jackson but picking this one was a surprise and an even bigger surprise was that how much we enjoyed it!  It’s such a well written song, during the rehearsal Bekah and I kept on saying “one more time!” because we couldn’t stop.  Michael himself said that he knew it was going to be a success - "A musician knows hit material. Everything has to feel in place. It fulfills you and it makes you feel good. That's how I felt about 'Billie Jean'. I knew it was going to be big when I was writing it."  Quincy Jones wanted to cut the long intro (29 seconds!) but Michael told him that that’s what makes him want to dance!  Later Jones said “and when Michael Jackson tells you, 'That's what makes me want to dance', well, the rest of us just have to shut up."  

Hats off to you Michael.  You were a true genius.

Week 18 of 52 Weeks - Sunnyroad (Emilíana Torrini, 2005)

Week 18 - Emilíana Torrini.

I love good story telling and many of the musicians and songs I love usually spins a good yarn. This song by the Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini tells a beautiful one and when I first heard it, I wished that I had written it!  The challenge of covering this particular song was how to make it our own.  Luckily Rebekah had a brilliant idea of bringing in a trumpet.  I really love how it came out. 

Emilíana Torrini has released many albums and has done some interested collaborations with the likes of Thievery Corporation and Kylie Minogue.  If you are Lord of the Ring’s fan, she’s the singer that sang “Gollum’s Song.”

Week 17 of 52 Weeks - Changes (Black Sabbath, 1972)

Week 17 - Black Sabbath. 

This song was requested by Matt Brundrett, our drummer on the west coast.  The piano is the main instrument in this song and it’s not what you’d expect of Black Sabbath but it’s really a pretty song.  Maybe next time we will cover a metal song that’s more typical of Black Sabbath - in our style, of course ;)  I do have a soft spot for Black Sabbath though - my dear friend and my first band member Christy Kane loves them, and Matt, of course.  A little trivia, Bekah and I encountered Ozzy’s wife Sharon once when we both appeared on America’s Got Talent with our accordion orchestra, The Main Squeeze Orchestra.  Sharon Osbourne called us “the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen!”  Given that Ozzy was rumored to be pouring cocaine on his breakfast toast, and snorting ants off the ground through a plastic straw, I can’t believe that’s true!!! 

Our show at Rockwood Music Hall is tomorrow at 5pm.  Please come see us if you are in NYC area!

Week 16 of 52 Weeks - Rum and Coca-Cola (the Andrews Sisters, 1945)

Week 16 - The Andrews Sisters. 

I have such a love for harmonies, so of course I love the Andrews Sisters.  I’ve been wanting to cover one of their songs for a long, long time and finally we were able to do it with help from one of our accordion sisters, Jennie Muoio!  We were going with the beach/summer theme but didn’t realize the actual words till we really learned the song.  Musically it’s such a cute song but the words are, well morally questionable to say the least! It seems like a similar thing happened to the Andrew Sisters.  They recorded the song with 10 minutes to spare in their recording session. Years later, Maxine Andrews recalled, "The rhythm was what attracted the Andrews Sisters to 'Rum and Coca-Cola'. We never thought of the lyrics. The lyric was there, it was cute, but we didn't think of what it meant; but at that time, nobody else would think of it either, because we weren't as morally open as we are today and so, a lot of stuff—really, no excuses—just went over our heads.”  The song was banned by network radio stations despite being a big hit, because it mentioned….an alcoholic beverage!  Things were certainly different back then. 

Anyway, hope you enjoy the song and if you are in NYC area, please come see us next Sunday (8/7) at Rockwood Music Hall.  It’s going to be a special one because Jennie is going to make a guest appearance, yay!

Week 15 of 52 Weeks - Rockaway Beach (the Ramones, 1977)

Week 15 - the Ramones.

The Ramones will always have a special place in my heart.  They were the first punk rock band that I really fell in love with, they were the soundtrack to my summer days when I first got to NYC, and Jarvie was dressed as one of the Ramones for his first Halloween.  I even got to meet Joey Ramone a few times!!! Recently I went to the Ramones exhibit at the Queens Museum and it made me think of covering this song.  Singing this song was so much fun, much like listening to the Ramones!  If you are in the NYC area, go check out the exhibit- it’s up till the end of this month.

Week 14 of 52 Weeks - Blowin' in the Wind (Bob Dylan, 1962)

Week 14 - I know we covered Bob Dylan only two weeks ago.  But I had to cover this song and this is why.  As a mother, I hope to raise a child who sees beauty in our differences.  A child who won’t turn away from injustice and will be compassionate to those who are in need.  A child who will listen to others yet always looks for his own truth.  I hope to be a good role model for my son and as I get to know him and his little friends, I wish more and more to make this world a better place for them.  But times like these, I’m feeling small and lost.  So instead of giving into despair, I’m going to do one thing I know how to do. 

“Too many of these hip people are telling me where the answer is but oh I won’t believe that. I still say it’s in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it’s got to come down some  ...But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know . . . and then it flies away. I still say that some of the biggest criminals are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and know it’s wrong. I’m only 21 years old and I know that there’s been too many” - Bob Dylan, June 1962

Week 9 of 52 Weeks - Rumor Has It (Adele, 2011)

Week 9 - Rumor Has it, Adele. 

I began this project hoping to broaden my musical horizon and challenge myself and so far I’ve been firmly stuck in my favorite musical era, the 60’s (haha).  With this song, I finally made it to 2010's!  Yay!  Although I respect Adele as a performer and a songwriter, her music isn’t something I can relate to easily, so it was a fun challenge.  I tried to make it mine as much as possible.  Hope you enjoy!