Soulstice - In Its Own Words

writer: Detrick, Dana Marie (ASCAP)
publisher: Serious Vanity Music (ASCAP)

It’s about a feeling
A global sense of healing
Our future’s fate we’re sealing
Let the snow flakes fall

They’re like diamonds in the night
Nature’s riches shining bright
Returning everything to right
Love reigns now for all

Let your soul dance
Let your spirit take a chance
Let your soul dance
Raise you glass to the new day

It’s not about religion
Nuclear fission
Racial division
We’ve cast all that away

We won’t disparage
or let our hearts perish
We’ll join up in marriage
Everyone today

All of the creatures
Become our teachers
We’ve got to feature
The best that we can be

Our hearts will lead us
Will warm and feed us
The ones who need us
Will finally be free

When we let our souls dance
Let our spirits take a chance
Let our souls dance
Raise a glass to the new day
Interdependence
An end to violence
An age of tolerance
These are our sacraments

Of our soul
copyright 2008 Serious Vanity Music. All rights reserved. That means no naughty usage - Santa is watching.

Black Patent and Sparkles - In Its Own Words

writer(s): Detrick, Dana Marie (ASCAP); Clark, Paul Martin (ASCAP)
publisher: Serious Vanity Music (ASCAP)

I place a velvet top hat upon you chilly head
No buttons for your shirt (you cold hearted flirt)
You wear sequins instead

And in your twiggy grasp, no silly broom will do
I give you a guitar (you rock star)
To rock the cold night through

Black patent and sparkles
Shimmer in the snow
Like a million spotlights
Shining on the mistletoe
Black patent and sparkles
To melt your frosty heart
Now to make you a companion
Another little cold and lusty tart

Embellishments in black upon your flesh so white
Coal creates your nose (to match your painted toes)
And your eyes that match the night

The scarf around your neck becomes the envy of the crowd
But I’ll protect you from them all (among suburban sprawl)
While the sun says I’m allowed

Black patent and sparkles
Shimmer in the snow
Like a million tiny lights
Shining on the mistletoe
Black patent and sparkles
To melt your frosty heart
Now to make you a companion
Another little cold and lusty tart

Playing in the snow’s my favorite part

copyright 2008 Serious Vanity Music. All rights reserved. That means no naughty usage - Santa is watching.

The Garland Song - In Its Own Words

writer(s): Detrick, Dana Marie (ASCAP); Clark, Paul Martin (ASCAP)
publisher: Serious Vanity Music (ASCAP)

As we hang the garland boughs
Around our hearth and home
I think of all the holidays
With you that I have known

You make the season seem so right
Basking in your spirit burning bright

As we plan the gifts to give
To family and friends
The best gift I’ll receive
I know is on that never ends

Your love is always joy to me
Better than all that’s under the tree

Traditions may evolve with time
And some may pass away
At least on thing will always be
On every holiday

I’ll wake to see your smiling face
Marvel at the power of your grace

And as we take the garland down
Once the year is new
I’ll have but more fond memories
Of time I spent with you

The magic of the season I hold dear
Sharing it together every year

copyright 2008 Serious Vanity Music. All rights reserved. That means no naughty usage - Santa is watching.

Merry xXxmas - In Its Own Words

writer: Clark, Paul Martin (ASCAP)
publisher: Serious Vanity Music (ASCAP)

I’d like to say it’s just another Christmas
Just like all the years before
But now I think it’s time for all of us
To remember what the season’s for
Mass consumption
Disorderly and drunken

Merry Christmas...

Let’s start a riot at the mall
I wanna spend the night in jail
There I’ll find some peace and quiet
And escape my Merry Christmas hell
Florescent lights
Shitty food and fights

Merry Christmas...

I’d like to say it’s just another Christmas
Just like all the years before
But now I think it’s time for all of us
To remember what the season’s for
Mass consumption
Disorderly and drunken

Merry Christmas...

copyright 2008 Serious Vanity Music. All rights reserved. That means no naughty usage - Santa is watching.

A Christmas Spark - In Its Own Words

writer: Detrick, Dana Marie (ASCAP)
publisher: Serious Vanity Music (ASCAP)

Red velvet suits
And big black boots
You’re lookin’ like I know you
On Christmas Eve
I will believe
Got a present I want to show you

You’ve got a million more to see
But I want you just for me
Please don’t keep me waiting
All the games we could be playing
All the time you keep me saying

Ho -

Among the stars
Dodging all radars
You know you’re shining brighter
You look so free
Supernaturally
I just want to hold you tighter

I will keep you by my side
Will you take me for a ride
On the rooftops we’ll be parking
All the night we will be sparking

Ho -

In the morning light you’ll disappear
And I’ll have to wait a year
No more misbehaving
So down my chimney you will climb
To fill my stocking one more time

copyright 2008 Serious Vanity Music. All rights reserved. That means no naughty usage - Santa is watching.

Twas the Week before Christmas..

'Twas the week before Christmas
and under the tree
not a present was sitting
with a tag marked from "me".

I've waited to shop
now what's left is the same
boring gift cards or knick-knacks
that make me look lame.

But wait! Who's that sending me
an email with care?
Serious Vanity Records - of course!
They have the perfect gifts there!

Too Cool for the Yule
is their holiday treat.
They'll mail it, or I can download
and my list is complete!

Or there's Bangs...Sounds of the 80's
with pop, folk, and rock.
They sell both sets together now
to stuff that rad retro sock!

To make the holiday a little "Duran"-ier
I'll have to grab Glue.
At 2-for-1, I'll get one for a friend
and save one for myself, too!

Serious Vanity Records
once again saved the day!
And with some releases a instant downloads
I can even shop on Christmas Day!

So music fans take heed
and always remember
we've got what you need
any day in December!

In fact, here's a free track
to share with your friends.
Happy holidays to all
Together, we'll make music FUN again!

x0x0,
Dana and Paul from Serious Vanity Records

Artist Profile - Black Bar Prophecy

I’m a little bit country, and I’m a little bit Edgar Allen Poe isn’t exactly how the song went, but this outfit is all about breaking tradition. Black Bar Prophecy lives at the crossroads of Loretta Lynn Boulevard and Robert Smith Drive, blending twang and twilight without apology, while cordially creating a buzz. “Bat Country” has never been such a nice place to visit!

Artist Profile - Post Orgasmic Trauma

David Bowie may have been the man who sold the world, but Post Orgasmic Trauma are making a valiant effort to buy it back. Combining old school glam rock riffs with a penchant for strong pop hooks, funky, made-for-the-dancefloor bass lines, and sophisticated yet sassy fashion, it’s easy to see the influence of classic acts like Bowie and P-Funk, as well as new wave mainstays like Blondie and Duran Duran. But this ain’t your mama’s retro act; there’s something futuristic in their sound, too, that won’t isolate the moderns looking for the next big thing.

Artist Profile - Gentlemen Prefer Bombs

Gentelemen Prefer Bombs is like a science fiction poetry slam at a European disco, with the ghost of Andy Warhol taking pictures in the corner. Mixing driving electronica with visual media, old fashioned radio programs, and classic storytelling, it creates a pop culture phenom worthy of the origin of its name (The Simpsons, for anyone not keeping score at home).

Artist Profile - Dana Detrick

Like many of her idols before her, Dana Detrick has chosen to wear many frilly hats: guitar virtuoso, producer, bandleader, voice over actress, mini mogul, singer/songwriter, opera composer, cat herder. She’s now embracing her pop roots and accepting her destiny to spread infectious, hook-laden, guitar driven productions across the independent music landscape, etching her name in the earth big enough to be seen from at least Venus.

Long Hard Winter - What's the Story?

Alright, it's not really a "Christmas" song and it's a little twangy, sue me. "Long Hard Winter" came about after I'd come up with that Keith Richards style guitar part that you can hear throughout the song. I'd been in a REAL Stonsey frame of mind around the time that it was recorded and I just let it flow.

The lyric was written after the fact, but I wanted to kinda play up on the blues feeling that the music brought to the piece. I wanted to capitalize on the harshness of Winter and how it can tear down the soul and how it takes a strong person to see it through without falling victim to the grayness of it all. I guess maybe it's really just an ode to depression, or maybe a ballad to the feeling of seeing the light of Spring.

~Paul Clark of Tailhook Echo

Merry xXxmas - What's the Story?

Tailhook Echo Merry xXxmas

So, It was a couple of years ago that I wrote this little gem. It was looking to be a pretty bleak Christmas season and I was totally not in the mood for Christmas Cheer. I got to dwelling on the commercialism of the holiday and what it has really come to mean for so many people. Now don't get me wrong, I'm far from being all Bible thumpin', but I do feel that there is more to the holiday than the economic boon. It's just turned into another reason to lavish tons of un-needed crap onto a bunch of kids that already have an over developed sense of entitlement.

So, I approached my new Christmas song from a very jaded, almost punk rock mental space and I think it comes out pretty well in the delivery. It's simple, it's honest, it's catchy, and it's me. Take from it what you will and Merry xXxmas!

~Paul Clark of Tailhook Echo

Artist Profile - Tailhook Echo

Sometimes a tailhook echo precedes a vicious, violent storm. Sometimes it just gives a hint that one might develop, keeping you on your toes to either run for cover, or get ready for the show of your life. With layers of guitar riffs, bass grooves, electronic architecture, and soulful poetry, Paul Clark and Tailhook Echo proves that a focused pen and a volatile heart can be more dangerous than a midwestern twister.

Artist page
Facebook fanpage
Myspace page

Night Sledding - What's the Story?

Danamaria Detrick Night Sledding

I'm a bit of an eclectic composer, inspired by everything from Eno to Bartok. For this track, I wanted to clearly invoke things like the pictures of scenes I got from pieces like Claude Debussy's "The Snow is Dancing" and Erik Satie's "Gymnopedie No. 1" (though I prefer the sparseness of the solo piano arrangement, the strings in the prior example really illustrate where I went with my tale a bit more). I like composing with real and unreal (surreal?) sounds and instruments, so I brought that element in, too.

Being predominantly a guitarist, but not using guitar as the lead here, I wanted to incorporate it in a non-traditional, unexpected way. I went with an almost percussive accompaniment role for it, giving just a little bit of low-end to an otherwise treble-heavy piece for me (I didn't want anything to compete with the cello, so I left any sort of traditional bass completely off).

There's some odd layering and repetition that's staggered, but ultimately, all of those details don't matter. The story does.

In my mind's "painter's" eye, I wanted the light of the moon shining off of snow to be the source light for the children trickling slowly onto the cold slope. I wanted the crystalized crispness of the air to take the listener's face off-guard, freezing tear ducts and noses, raising scarves up just a little bit over their chin. Gradually, warmth builds between the body heat of multitudes of children huddling together in the repeated treks up and down the hill, and all discomfort is forgotten in the magic of the quick journey down, with laughing and distant barking and that indescribable sound of snowfall as the soundtrack.

In the end, there's one last child straggling back, heading toward home as the traces of precipitation are only faintly visible nearest the glow of the streetlight. The listener can sense that, in the lone child's mind, they are still playing out that last pass down the hill, and preparing for the next snowball fight as they will soon be snuggled under covers, heading off to dreamland. Or were they already there all along?

~Dana(maria) Detrick

The Reason for the Season

The holidays are a perfect time for remembering the organizations that keep the love flowing year round, and we've got a few favorites we want to spotlight. Ending the spread of AIDS in Africa is definitely a cause we get behind, and (Red) is certainly an organization that has rallied the troops to get some big names and big brands in on the fight. Check 'em out, and learn all of the small ways you can get involved to make a big difference.

Too Cool for the Yule - Can I license it?

You can easily license the track "Too Cool for the Yule", as well as all of the other tracks on Too Cool for the Yule through Serious Vanity Music, the resource group and production studio twin to Serious Vanity Records.

Contact us for immediate information on any of these completely controlled pieces:

• “Too Cool for the Yule” by Paul Clark and Dana Detrick
  
• "A Christmas Spark (Ho Ho Ho)" by Dana Detrick
  
• "Merry xXxmas" by Tailhook Echo
  
• "The Garland Song" by Black Bar Prophecy
  
• "Soulstice" by Gentlemen Prefer Bombs
  
• "Black Patent and Sparkles" by Post Orgasmic Trauma
  
• "Jingle Blues" by Black Bar Prophecy
  
• "Long Hard Winter" by Tailhook Echo
  
• "Merry Christmas to My Baby" by Gentlemen Prefer Bombs
  
• "Night Sledding" by Danamaria Detrick
  
• "Hollywood Holiday" by Post Orgasmic Trauma
  
• "Warm Winter" by Dana Detrick

Too Cool for the Yule - In Its Own Words

writer(s): Detrick, Dana Marie (ASCAP); Clark, Paul Martin (ASCAP)
publisher: Serious Vanity Music (ASCAP)

This is a tale
Of a superstar pair
Who on Christmas morning
Found fate waiting there

One little boy
With a grin on his face
Ran under the tree
To retrieve his first bass

At the same time
In a house not too far
Was a small little girl
Strumming her first guitar

And as other kids raced
To fight out in the snow
These two forged the plans
For their first studio

They dubbed and they tracked
and they mixed down with glee
And soon this young set
Was bound for T.V.

They were Glam
They were Folk
They could sure bring the Rock
But also they dabbled in Bartok and Bach.

When Santa Came back
To check in on these two
He’d given them instruments
To see what they’d do

He giggled and laughed
As only he could
Not even he knew
That they’d be this good

So he left them a spotlight
The last gift they’d need
And left it to them
To fail or succeed

But his last words were heartfelt
Not bitter or cruel
“You don’t need me now that
You’re Too Cool for the Yule!”

The two found their spotlight
And then they were set
Their rockin’ new tunes
Made the best Christmas yet

copyright 2008 Serious Vanity Music. All rights reserved. That means no naughty usage - Santa is watching.

Too Cool for the Yule - What's the Story?

Dana Detrick and Paul Clark Too Cool for the Yule

Our opening track on Too Cool for the Yule is, well, "Too Cool for the Yule". It doesn't hurt that we're voice over artists, as well as musicians, and this track brings that up front and center, especially from Paul Clark. You can even hear Dana Detrick's first self-produced voice over ever, if you're paying close attention.

This piece really sums up why we chose to do this record in the first place: making music is fun, it's something to be celebrated. It revels in myth, it takes itself seriously while it let's loose and allows itself to play in the dirt. Sometimes it's quirky, it's cheesy, and unapologetically so. That's what makes it awesome. Enjoy!