Blow the Brakes Out (EP)
by Emily Bezar
Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)
Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)
This EP celebrates 20 years "Four Walls Bending" - one of Emily Bezar's best albums ever. It includes some highly interesting archive material from the same era, plus one outtake from her latest work. Thus the pair of vocal tracks spans around 20 years of immense creativity. The remaining instrumentals, which sound unusually bizarre, are related to "The Rococo B-Sides" EP, since they complete the release of Emily Bezar's "Grit to the Wire" trilogy, partly found on the latter.
Favorite track: The Empire Bloom (Live).
-
Streaming + DownloadIncludes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Purchasable with gift card
$4 USD or more
1. |
Blow the Brakes Out
06:14
|
|||
|
I decided against including "Blow the Brakes Out" on "Out of the Moment", mostly because I felt that in the ebb and flow of the album's tone, "Nonstop Flight" worked better as the album's big Act II almost-pop-aria moment. But here it is, and maybe you can find the right spot to place it and its full-speed outro among OOTM's other 15 songs....
LYRICS:
in his book of arrangements, a chapter was turning over
he knew his lucky days were sliding to an end
into the cruelest months of the long, hot summer
into the blue expanse again
november freeze down and the lights change
and the days grow shorter
his derby roller girl slipped on ice again
he picked a cruising speed for the long, long skate
she was already miles ahead, crashing through the gate
he was her cloud nine plan, end of the incline
she was only a narrow band on his radio
she’s getting ready to love him, like he’s never loved before
but he glides so slow, like every ending is impending
she says you don’t don’t know
how the road ahead is bending
so come on and blow the brakes out
and let her roll
windy city lightning spiked like dendrites
on the lake that evening
he slipped inside before the atmosphere began to glow
‘round every ruined life, angels hover waiting
he moves to shield his eyes from the radiating
he was her cloud nine plan, end of the incline
she was only a narrow band on his radio
she’s getting ready to love him, like he’s never loved before
but he glides so slow, like every ending is impending
she says you don’t don’t know
how the road ahead is bending
so come on and blow the brakes out
and let her roll
on the skin of your knee, in the palm of your hand
a revelation, all unplanned
like fluid moving through you
she’s ready to love, he’s ready to lose
but you take your time and you never choose
and this life, this life goes on without you, goes on without you
blow the brakes out
come on and blow the brakes out
let her roll
Music and Lyrics by Emily Bezar
Copyright 2019 Blue Countess Music, BMI
MUSICIANS:
Emily Bezar
Voice, keyboards
Brian Mesko
Guitar
www.brianmesko.com
Andrew Waldeck
Electric bass
www.killerdeluxe.com
Nathan Brown
Drums
www.killerdeluxe.com
Produced by Emily Bezar
Recorded and Mixed by Andrew Waldeck
at Ravensworth Studios, Scottsville, VA
www.ravensworthstudios.com
Mastered by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
|
||||
2. |
Circus Ponies
04:12
|
|||
|
This is the studio recording of "Circus Ponies" from the 1999 "Four Walls Bending" sessions. I released a 1997 live performance of this instrumental piece in 2005, on "The Rococo B-Sides" EP.
I hope you enjoy hearing this more structurally compact version, in which the Ponies were confined to 2 out of 3 Circus rings and were not allowed to drink from the bowls of purple-colored water before the show. :)
Music by Emily Bezar
Copyright 1999 Blue Countess Music, BMI
MUSICIANS:
Emily Bezar
Keyboards
Morris Acevedo
Guitar
www.morrisacevedo.com
Andrew Higgins
Electric bass
Steve Rossi
Drums
Produced by Emily Bezar
Recorded by Justin Phelps
at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, CA
www.justinphelpsrecording.com
Mixed by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
Mastered by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
|
||||
3. |
Blinkers Off
03:44
|
|||
|
It's race time....and they're out, blinkers off!
This 1999 studio recording, recovered along with "Circus Ponies" from the "Four Walls Bending" analog multitrack tapes and mixed in 2019, is the third movement of "Grit to the Wire", my equine fantasy for rock band and electronics. The first movement, "Circus Ponies", exists as both a studio version (track 2 on this EP) and as a live version (track 4 on "The Rococo B-Sides" from 2005.) The second movement, "Aerial at the Gate", can be found as track 2 on "The Rococo B-Sides".
Sorry for the confusing timeline...as in life I guess, art never follows a linear progression! But now "Grit to the Wire" is finally complete.
Music by Emily Bezar
Copyright 1999 Blue Countess Music, BMI
MUSICIANS:
Emily Bezar
Keyboards
Morris Acevedo
Guitar
www.morrisacevedo.com
Andrew Higgins
Electric bass
Steve Rossi
Drums
Produced by Emily Bezar
Recorded by Justin Phelps
at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, CA
www.justinphelpsrecording.com
Mixed by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
Mastered by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
|
||||
4. |
The Empire Bloom (Live)
05:12
|
|||
|
In July of 2019, as I gathered the "Four Walls Bending" tapes to be transferred to digital files, I was excited to find that we had actually recorded two full takes of my long-forgotten song, “The Empire Bloom”. But the studio tracks, marred by a wan vocal, constrained by a slow click-track and missing guitar, proved unworthy of resuscitation.
After an exhaustive search of very old hard drives, I finally found a live version of "The Empire Bloom" from the late 1990s that deserves to be unveiled, as I'm sure that this song could have made the cut for "Four Walls Bending" had I ditched the click track and pressed on in the studio through takes 3, 4, 5......
Two decades on, I'm struck by the ominous vibe of the lyrics, which reveal the pre-millennial anxiety I can now clearly read in all my darkest images from "Four Walls Bending" with its falling engines, tumbleweed in flames and underwater cities.
LYRICS:
when steel meets sky
beautiful steam rise on the hill
grace my dark eyes
aluminum and chlorophyll
if everything green grows in pattern
then why do the things we build all scatter?
two grey planes glide
onto this hazy afternoon
I stand bayside
watching the aging Empire bloom
a fisherman craves what he catches
so why do I dream in oil and matches?
I’d follow poison rivers
to the great sea
if you, you would swallow
the open water
I would
flow like
blood through
mercury
hey, an omen of omens
an omen came down
in a honey bee
flash of rain
a storm drain
and as he came down he said
"don’t believe what you can’t see"
over the earth
last coat of glaze is drying
I will return my brushes
when they have stopped
all their crying
I’d follow poison rivers
to the great sea
if you, you would swallow
the open water
I would
flow like
blood through
mercury
Music and Lyrics by Emily Bezar
Copyright 1999 Blue Countess Music, BMI
MUSICIANS:
Emily Bezar
Voice and Keyboards
Morris Acevedo
Guitar
www.morrisacevedo.com
Andrew Higgins
Electric bass
Steve Rossi
Drums
Produced by Emily Bezar
Recorded live in San Francisco, late 1990s
Mixed by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
Mastered by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
|
||||
about
As 2019 comes to a close, I want to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of my album "Four Walls Bending", which I released in the Fall of 1999. Here are three discoveries I made last summer during the process of digitizing my old analog tapes from the FWB recording sessions (tracks 2, 3 and 4).
And to mark "Out of the Moment's" first year, I want to open with "Blow the Brakes Out", a recording that I decided not to include on the album, but one that I know will remain important to me as the years go on.
I don't know if you'll find any revelatory musical comparisons between old and new here, but I wanted to present these tracks together on the threshold of 2020, as a reminder to me (and anyone else who needs to hear it again) to navigate the next decade of life and art without fear, brakes out and blinkers off.
You can find more information about each track on the individual track pages. Thank you for listening!
And to mark "Out of the Moment's" first year, I want to open with "Blow the Brakes Out", a recording that I decided not to include on the album, but one that I know will remain important to me as the years go on.
I don't know if you'll find any revelatory musical comparisons between old and new here, but I wanted to present these tracks together on the threshold of 2020, as a reminder to me (and anyone else who needs to hear it again) to navigate the next decade of life and art without fear, brakes out and blinkers off.
You can find more information about each track on the individual track pages. Thank you for listening!
credits
released December 20, 2019
All music and lyrics by Emily Bezar
copyright 2019 and 1999
MUSICIANS:
Emily Bezar
Vocals and Keyboards
Brian Mesko (track 1)
Guitar
www.brianmesko.com
Morris Acevedo (tracks 2, 3, 4)
Guitar
www.morrisacevedo.com
Andrew Waldeck (track 1)
Electric bass
www.killerdeluxe.com
Andrew Higgins (tracks 2, 3, 4)
Electric bass
Nathan Brown (track 1)
Drums
www.killerdeluxe.com
Steve Rossi (tracks 2, 3, 4)
Drums
Produced by Emily Bezar
Recorded and Mixed by Andrew Waldeck (track 1)
at Ravensworth Studios, Scottsville, VA
www.ravensworthstudios.com
Recorded by Justin Phelps (tracks 2, 3)
at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, CA
www.justinphelpsrecording.com
Mixed by Greg Abate (tracks 2, 3, 4)
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
Mastered by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
Analog multitrack tape restored and digitized by Mitch Easter
at Fidelitorium Recordings, Kernersville, NC
www.fidelitorium.com
Cover Photo by Christina Shook
1999, Tilden Park Steam Train, Berkeley, California
www.christinashook.com
All music and lyrics by Emily Bezar
copyright 2019 and 1999
MUSICIANS:
Emily Bezar
Vocals and Keyboards
Brian Mesko (track 1)
Guitar
www.brianmesko.com
Morris Acevedo (tracks 2, 3, 4)
Guitar
www.morrisacevedo.com
Andrew Waldeck (track 1)
Electric bass
www.killerdeluxe.com
Andrew Higgins (tracks 2, 3, 4)
Electric bass
Nathan Brown (track 1)
Drums
www.killerdeluxe.com
Steve Rossi (tracks 2, 3, 4)
Drums
Produced by Emily Bezar
Recorded and Mixed by Andrew Waldeck (track 1)
at Ravensworth Studios, Scottsville, VA
www.ravensworthstudios.com
Recorded by Justin Phelps (tracks 2, 3)
at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, CA
www.justinphelpsrecording.com
Mixed by Greg Abate (tracks 2, 3, 4)
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
Mastered by Greg Abate
at Neon Audio, Lawrence, MA
www.neonaudio.pro
Analog multitrack tape restored and digitized by Mitch Easter
at Fidelitorium Recordings, Kernersville, NC
www.fidelitorium.com
Cover Photo by Christina Shook
1999, Tilden Park Steam Train, Berkeley, California
www.christinashook.com
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
Emily Bezar
Singer, composer and keyboardist
Emily Bezar creates intricate, uncategorizable music, drawing freely from classical, jazz, rock, pop and electronic genres to create an enchanting, dynamic sound world.
discography
-
Jan 2019 -
Dec 2019 -
Nov 2011 -
Jul 2008 -
May 2005 -
Sep 2004 -
Oct 1999 -
Oct 1996 -
Sep 1993
contact / help
If you like Emily Bezar, you may also like:
-
supported by 9 fans who also own “Blow the Brakes Out (EP)”
The new live EP by Ryan W. Stevenson's project reminded me, that this debut album must have been gone down the wishlist... If instrumental Canterbury stuff is your thing, this should be a no-brainer. Firmly rooted in the past (late 60s, 70s), nevertheless with a fresh sound. Guests incude The Tangent's Andy Tillison and Soft Machine's Theo Travis.
go to album -
supported by 8 fans who also own “Blow the Brakes Out (EP)”
got recc'd this on youtube and loved it- reminds me a lot of late 60's and early 70's records i used to hear playing out of my parents' stereo on sweltering summer days.
go to album -
supported by 7 fans who also own “Blow the Brakes Out (EP)”
Though only their third studio album release, these veterans have been around for almost fifteen years--and they keep getting better with each release--which is hard to manage since their quality of compositions, performances, and production have always been top notch. A band that really should be heard!
go to album -
The London-based group trio combines jazz, funk, soul, and progressive rock on their latest project.
go to album -
A mesmerizing fusion of traditional Turkish melodies and contemporary sounds, creating a captivating musical journey.
go to album -
The Great Reset
by Milton Man Gogh“Prog-jazz” group Milton Man Gogh’s latest pairs their skewed take on the form with a darkly comic graphic novel.
go to album -
supported by 6 fans who also own “Blow the Brakes Out (EP)”
Iamthemorning’s keyboardist strikes again. A huge team of geniuses (including Gavin Harrison) cooperating for a thoroughly enjoyable record, regardless of the genre you want to classify it in.
go to album
