Album Notes

Mike Keneally with Chris Opperman January 7, 1999 by Mike Keneally MK's involvement: Producer; lead guitar, synthesizer ("the Netherworld") and spoken word ("Marcelo Bi'Afro") on "Sophia's Dream (vs. Reality)"; electric piano and high keening background vocal on "Shipped To The Sky"; backing vocals and woodblocks from 5:35-5:38 on "The 22nd Overture"; spoken word ("Humphrey Boogart") on "Snot Woman: Act I, Scene 4"; spoken word and lead vocal ("Taco Bell Employee of the Month") and James Brown impersonations on "Ain't Got No Beef"; synthesizer ("Hell Noises") and partygoer on "Send Your Money." Comments: This album is one of the most important things I was involved with in 1998 - involved with EVER, actually. It happened in Boston at the end of April, at a time when I just happened to need a bit of a morale boost, and it turned out to be a magnificent precusor to the headiness of May (May '98, in case any of you haven't been hipped to this yet, was the single most significant month in the history of BFD's development - we gained a lot of ground in those seven gigs). In April, BFD did a gig at the Roxy which was hugely important to me, and thank goodness it was a great success, but it was quickly followed by a mostly solo gig at Lumpy Gravy during which I felt like I lost a lot of ground. I was an adrift little artist and I found myself questioning my abilities; then I had to go to Boston and supervise a batch of Berklee students, most of whom hadn't recorded before, in the rehearsal and recording of a clump of weird songs by this kid Opperman, who had been inundating me with email, charts and tapes for quite some time. I never listened to the tapes but I looked at the charts and met with him at a couple of Vai gigs - I admired his spirit and ambition, and he was really funny. So he hired me to produce his album and I said sure, but spiritually I wasn't completely there yet. It's a hard thing to use the word "spiritually" in 1999 and not sound like you're ripping off people who rip off Jewel, but I couldn't think of a better word. I'm in Boston and start having the time of my life. I get to a rehearsal and hear Oppy's music for the first time. My jaw hits the ground. What a fascinating hybrid - my first impression was if Monk and Zappa wrote a Broadway musical about cans, it might sound like this. But the more I focused on Oppy's piano style and his arrangements I realized that there was real individuality there; he was receiving messages to which other people are denied access. Here's what I wrote about his music in the liner notes to the CD: "Can you imagine a silken scarf, studded with turquoise Necco wafers? Opperman's music starts on the 'and of 2.' If you think you understand it, you're wrong. There's this weird little plot of land occupying a hitherto unexplored region between rock, jazz, contemporary classical, and some weird fucking shit nobody can explain. There's Opperman. I don't know if you'll ever get there, but Opperman'll let you watch." I wrote that while I was spectacularly drunk at a party at Ty Paulsen's (drummer on the album) apartment, but I meant it and still do. The making of the album was probably the most fun I've ever had in a recording studio - definitely in the top two. All participants were smashingly capable and enthused. Lots of hangers-on, too, which really doesn't bother me - there was a constant and wonderfully amusing parade of personalities throughout the sessions. We worked all night and day for three days - engineer Steve Revilak and I became a mean recording machine. I frankly adored being the big guy in charge of all these young'uns, and I could feel my temporarily drained creative power and self-confidence returning a thousand-fold. By the end of the session I felt completely unstoppable (if very exhausted), returned to my band in California, and May '98 happened. This album is packed with memories for me: "Sophia's Dream" - it was Oppy's