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The Coal Room EP

by Ryan Sutter

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1.
Yvonne Marie 03:44
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you were ten of thirteen, Yvonne Marie and with your number you retained a sympathy you were coiled like a spring but not set free my god what happened when it rained on thee? Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie I would you to see Yvonne Marie that all these people ain't the real enemy there is not any doubt in what I see my god what happened when it rained on thee? Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie drifted from her room and with her heart expelling bullets made a perfect doom so she could live forever as the ghost of a little girl playin' make believe with her second groom and now she's waiting by the phone that she'll never answer and wonderin' how much longer 'til she gets to be a dancer among the clouds and airplanes everybody in the wings tries to occupy their mind to keep from wondering the same damn thing Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie Yvonne Marie if you only knew we loved you Yvonne Marie there ain't no one out here who's out to get you Yvonne Marie I don't want you to be alone Yvonne Marie I just wish you'd stop screaming at the phone
2.
Frustrated 03:04
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gotta be frustrated by now can't figure how I fell in love with you gotta be feeling insecure I don't know what to do I'm so in love with you I'm waiting for you to call me so we can sort it out what's this all about? I'm waiting for you to call me so we can sort out what's this all about? just wanna feel satisfied just knowing you'll be mine 'til the end of time I know I feel just like you but I won't pretend like some rejects do I'm waiting for you to call me so we can sort it out what's this all about? I'm waiting for you to call me so we can sort out what's this all about? what's it all about? what's it all about? do you, do you wanna call me? do you, do you wanna call me? do you, do you wanna call me? do you, do you wanna call me? do you, do you wanna call me? do you, do you wanna call me? wanna call me?
3.
Dog Days 02:33
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4.
Things You Don't Need Anymore 02:14
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Dr. Seuss books Pop-O-Matic Trouble all those puzzles you meant to solve on a rainy day these are things you don't need anymore now that your children have all gone a rope and tire hung from a silver maple tree mitts and bats and gloves and those water wings these are things you don't need anymore now that your children have all gone you pack the car up Salvation Army looms can't wrap your mind around this now empty room
5.
Catastrophe 03:00
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you hear the warning note you feel the cold winds blow and though everyone seems to get along can't shake the feeling something's wrong you feel alone and alone and alone and alone and alone so you take it outside but you feel alone and alone and alone and alone and alone you're all out of faces behind which to hide can you be satisfied? don't get caught up in your signals history teaches you that things will never be alright as your heart stands up and turns to leave you reach for something you can't retrieve oh god just let me make it through it this night you feel alone and alone and alone and alone and alone you feel alone and alone and alone and alone and alone you feel alone and alone and alone and alone and alone you feel alone and alone and alone and alone and alone you feel alone and alone and alone and alone and alone you feel alone and alone and alone and alone and alone you're all out of faces behind which to hide can you be satisfied? I wish I had a better thing to say catastrophe's the order of the day
6.
Smile 03:16
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smile though your heart is aching smile even though it's breaking though there are clouds in the sky you'll get by if you smile through your fears and sorrow smile and maybe tomorrow you'll see the sun come shining through for you light up your face with gladness hide every trace of sadness although a tear may be ever so near that's the time you must keep on trying smile what's the use of crying? you'll find that life is still worthwhile if you just smile

about

I have long been a lover of liner notes and therefore I am going to take a moment to tell you about this little batch of songs. The Coal Room EP had multiple inspirations. The first inspiration was the songs themselves, which consist of three new original pieces (Yvonne Marie, Things You Don't Need Anymore, Catastrophe), a reprise of an early Lavone song (Dog Days), a cover of one of my favorite songs by Cindy Ivy and Kloey (Frustrated), and a classic song written by Charlie Chaplin and once recorded by Nat King Cole (Smile). These were all songs that I wanted to record in as simple and direct an arrangement as I could and songs that I felt went together thematically. A second inspiration was the coal room itself, a literal 8x8 room in the basement of my old farm house which used to serve as coal storage and now makes a rather cozy little recording and performance space. All of these songs were initially recorded as a single live acoustic guitar and vocal performance in the coal room with a simple two microphone arrangement. I've always wanted to challenge myself to just sit with a guitar and record an album in the coal room, and now I have. A third inspiration for the album came in the form of albums I love that have similar sparse acoustic arrangements such as Julie London's "Julie Is Her Name", Johnny Cash's "American IV: The Man Comes Around", and classic recordings of the Everly Brothers. My music is stylistically different from these classics, but they certainly served to inspire my choices in production and arrangement.

As I mentioned, I was aiming for simple, sparse. These songs feature acoustic guitar, vocal, and in some places light strings, accordian, drums played with brushes or bass, but the goal was always restraint. To try not to put any more into the arrangement then I felt was necessary. That's easier said than done in my case. It is always so tempting to add "just one more little thing". I think I hit the balance I was aiming for. Let me know if you disagree.

Thank you to Cindy Ivy for writing such a great song in Frustrated and letting me record my version. Thank you to the late great Charlie Chaplin for making the beautiful movie Modern Times and crafting it's elegant theme song Smile, which said exactly what I wanted to say to finish the album, and thank you to all my family and friends and you reading this for lending me your ears for the 18 minutes it will take for you to share this little collection of music with me. You're awesome. Don't ever change.

credits

released December 25, 2014

Recorded, performed, engineered, and produced by Ryan Sutter. Songs written by Ryan Sutter with the exceptions of "Frustrated", written by Cindy Ivy and originally recorded with Kloey (2002) and "Smile" composed by Charlie Chaplin (1936) with lyrics from Geoffrey Parsons and John Turner (1954).

Technical notes: This album was recorded using both Mac and Windows PCs using software from Cockos, Slate Digital, Native Instruments, and Izotope as well as instruments from Martin, Akai, and Fender, monitors from Audio Technica, Alesis, and Akai, microphones from RØDE and MXL, preamps and interfaces from Tascam and Triton, and studio dogs from Safe Hands Rescue (www.safehandsrescue.org).

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Ryan Sutter Hugo, Minnesota

Minnesota-based singer-songwriter formerly of The Lavone, Trumpet Marine and Nuclear Gopher Records.

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