Blue Eyed Doe

And now, introducing a new album, "Love Is Not An Open Door." Listen to it HERE. The first track is "Blue Eyed Doe."

Back in 10th grade (that's right, this was the year of my supergroup Extreme Delusion) I liked a certain girl who rode my bus. I asked her out in the summer but she said she didn't know if that made sense because she would be away for a month at camp. I went off to camp myself and developed affections for somebody else (that's a whole other song called "Amiss"). But nobody can take away those bus rides home after school.

I decided to keep the song light in tone, and add an electric guitar solo.

The album cover art is by my friend Portside.

Lee's Second Band

Q: OK, so what happened after Extreme Delusion dissolved?

A: Well, I went to a new high school starting junior year. In my physics class, I met a guy named Ian who was a blues fan like me, and played saxophone and flute. We planned to jam sometime. But when he said he was in the school marching band, I didn't know what to expect; was he going to want to play John Phillip Sousa marches? Ian turned out to be a cool cat who could play the blues and jazz with great technical skill as well as improvisational flair and emotion. He got me into John Coltrane, and during my junior year we played a few live gigs and recorded several tunes, whose stories you can read in the Istrail Tunes archive: "Blue Rain," "A Picture of You," "Amiss," and "Nostalgia"

Ian eventually went off to rabbinical school, and I hope he's entertaining a congregation somewhere with his musical stylings.

Wake Up in the Morning: Song for Economic Stimulus

I originally wrote "Wake Up in the Morning" as a cheer-up song to a friend. However, I think it can be recast as a song for these tough economic times. So buck up, America, because Lee Istrail is on your side.

Click on the following link and scroll to track 6:
http://amiestreet.com/music/lee-istrail/live/

Lee's First Band

Q from loyal reader: Lee, what's the story of your first band?
A: From eighth grade until 10th I was in solo artist mode, but in 10th grade I was invited to join a rock 'n roll outfit that needed a guitarist. The band frontman insisted on the name "Extreme Delusion." I was not thrilled at the moniker (are we conceding that we have delusions of being a band?), but in the interest of getting down to business I did not lobby for an alternative.

The frontman decided U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" would be our first song. Now, you might think we'd start off with some Chuck Berry or "Wild Thing," but no; we had to try a song with challenging drum and vocal parts, in the same key that Bono sang it. That song never came together, but we did play a good cover of The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (I have a live performance on tape), an original I wrote about an unrequited crush (taped from the same concert), and an original about Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange," which we performed as an English class assignment (the recording was lost, but I know how the tune goes). At the end of 10th grade, I changed schools and we did not have the momentum to continue. But it was a fun time creating something with others, and we managed to rock out in public a few times.

During college, I saw a new reincarnation of this band, which went by the name, "Urine Sane." The band had gotten much better, but the name had gotten much worse. I shook my head.

Cliff's Return

Yes, Istrailtunes is back, my friends! And in a new format. Every 2 weeks on a Monday morning, I will tell the tale behind a song and provide a link so you can listen and download. Each Monday in between, you'll get my views on some music-related topic, such as stories of high school and college performances. And you are encouraged to post "comments" on this blog.This week's tune is the closer in the hiking trilogy.

First we had "Wrong Way in the Rain," then "Cactus," and now, "Cliff's Return."The first thing you should know about this tune is that part of the music was written by my high school buddy Zach Ireland. Zach played the song to me in draft form, and the lyrics depicted a surreal dream Zach had. The tune stuck in my mind, and during first year of college, I found my own lyrics for it. Zach recently tracked me down on Facebook, so Z, this one's for you!

True story. During a college hiking trip, we had set up in our cabin and found that a guy named Cliff had written in the cabin log. Late that night, he and some friends paid us a visit. To hear what happened, check out Track # 11:
http://amiestreet.com/music/lee-istrail/in-the-studio

My Parents

I am very into the Beatles, Dylan, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Louis Armstrong, and others, but my parents are really my biggest influence, both musically and otherwise. In this season of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for my parents' influence in many ways. To give you a flavor for the music side of this, recall the song "Your Mama Don't Dance (and Your Daddy Don't Rock 'n Roll)," originally recorded in 1972 by duo Loggins and Messina, and then covered by Poison in the 1980s. Well, my parents turn that one one its head; both my parents dance, and they both rock 'n roll!! They dance really well and they got my brother and I interested in ballroom dancing and piano lessons. My dad taught me guitar when I was 13. Plus, they introduced me to the Beatles, Dylan, Joan Baez, Queen, and others. For having cool parents, I am grateful.

To resume next week

This week I will take a break because I don't want to compete with the impending release of the new Guns 'n Roses album, "Chinese Democracy." Just kidding. I will be back with a new post one week from today, and then there will be a post every 2 weeks rather than every week. So, I hope you can defer your curiosity until next week.