This was my first official release. It was out in 1984 on cassette tape. . Some say this is some of the best of my songwriting. I've never been sure of that so I keep trying... I think of it as the high school years. These songs were recorded between the ages of 14 and 18.

Classified Ad: Before, I had a shop teacher, electronics, who used to meet these anonymous women he found in the classified section at the gig I had at The Wine Cellar in Ghiradelli Square in SF. In 10th grade I and was all about music. I didn't date at all in highschool. I saw him looking for love in all the wrong places. He inspired me to write this song. 1982

The Dream Machine: There was quite a bit of talk in the early 1980s about record companies molding artists. This was also around the time Neil Young was getting sued by David Geffen for not sounding enough like himself! I wrote this after hearing about that. 1984

Bartholomew Roberts: This song was crafted after listening to Stan Rogers and his amazing maritime songs. Neil J Young, who produced this song, sent it to Stan Rogers before Stan's death in 1983. Stan wrote back to Neil that the song sounded a lot like his early songs. Maybe too much like his early songs.

When Everything Was New: A song I wrote for my Grandfather on my step mother's side.... Lou Tisdale. Skep Henderson heard this song and thought George Burns would be a good guy to sing it. He took me to Lake Tahoe where George Burns was performing. He bought us both tickets to see the show. Then Skip found his way backstage somehow and got a tape of When Everything Was New to George Burns through his manager. I got a letter back from his "people" saying poor George wasn't allowed to listen to "unsolicited" material. I sent a letter back saying a person as well known as George Burns should be able to listen to anything he wants - he was God in the movie Oh God! I got another letter back saying they were sorry I didn't understand. 1982

Zoo Blues: Written when my high school friend got a job working the carousel at The San Francisco Zoo for the summer. Andrew Dulaney later would fund a project called The Songwriter's Workshop i came up with that was an artistic success. That means it made no money. Andrew passed away too young and in a bad mental space. I talked to him about 6 months before he died and he just sounded so sad. I wished I could have helped. 1982

Shot At The World: I wrote parts of this song in a song I called Tropical. It was written in 1977. I there is a recording of my 10 year old squeaky voice singing it to a hand barely able to get around the neck of a guitar. In 1981 I was in SF on a Muni bus and I wrote the lyrics. It was a foggy day and I was depressed. I came home and put a little guitar riff to the thing. Recorded it in 1982 and now that recording is in a movie called Boris And The Bomb that screened in March of 2019. Written in 1981

Heart In The Wind: Stan Rogers died in 1983. I wrote this song for him and Neil sent it to Stan's mother after his death. Valerie Rogers wrote back saying how much it moved her. Mission accomplished. 1983

Looking Down: I used to go with my older high school friends to Twin Peaks and play guitar in the back seat of my pal Len's car while we all got stoned and simply looked down at the city. That's all there is to it.

The Marionette: I wrote it and threw it out. Who was going to understand this from a 15 year old? Before taking the trash out I dug into the can and recovered the poem and decided to write the song anyway. It became a song requested all the time at The Wine Cellar.
I have no idea what people are going to get or not get. That's been one of my shortcomings in life. 1981

Broken Heart Harbour: Written in Arizona. With so many people into Bartholomew Roberts, my music friends wanted to learn it and play it at their own gigs, why not write another sea chanty? This song was covered by the band Amicus when they were together. It was thrilling for me to hear them do a 7 minute epic version of the song with flute solos. Who does that anymore? 1982

Always That Way: Just a song about being a teenager. 1983

Johnny Chrome Engine: Wrote it in Auto Shop Class. The shop teacher, Mr. Zinky, knew I was a performing songwriter and gave me a choice, I could write a song and perform it for the class or take the final exam. I wrote the song and got a B. Great! Until my car broke down and I tried singing the song but it still wouldn't run. Go figure. 1983

Outlaw Hobo: Maybe a self prediction? Time will tell. 1984

Bridge Of Wood And Stone. I went to Forest Farm Camp in Forest Knolls Ca. There was a trail that lead to a stream with a little bridge over the stream just off the camp grounds. I wasn't supposed to go there but I went there almost everyday alone to ponder on that bridge. That is where this song came from. 1984