Mistergreene's
TIME TO GET UP!
Very Normal Songs, Volume 1
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Mistergreene's Time To Get Up! (Very Normal Songs, Volume 1) is available on all major streaming and download services.
*A portion of the proceeds from sales and streaming will be donated to the Jefferson Avenue School PTA.
CDs and USB Flash Drives will be available soon.
Watch this website for updates .
Liner Notes
Allow me to explain...
On Friday, March 27, 2020, during the daily live streaming of the Jefferson Avenue School (JA) Morning Announcements, Mistergreene made the perhaps ill-advised pronouncement that he would challenge himself to write a new song each and every weekday and perform it live on the Morning Announcements for the remainder of the Corona Virus pandemic school shutdown. "I mean, how long could that be, a couple of weeks? No problem," Mistergreene is reported to have said in his mind at the time. Little did he know he was destined (doomed?) to write a total of 56 songs, some of which turned out to be "not bad," according to several sources.
Time To Get Up! is the first attempt to interpret some of those tunes with full-blown rock band orchestration, using the talents of Mistergreene's family and friends who are really good at making music. Time To Get Up! contains four songs and is merely the first of what is planned to be a multi-volume collection of the best not-bad songs of the 56 written in the spring of 2020. The collection is entitled "Very Normal Songs."
Here are the songs in Volume 1 with a little blurb about each.
Funky Reveille (Time To Get Up)
Song #21, first performed on Monday, April 27, 2020
Whoever heard of putting an acoustic guitar part in a funk tune? As of now, you have! Inspired by every funk song ever written, this rollicking alarm clock of a tune was featured many times at the start of the Morning Announcements throughout the school closure. Upon hearing the song, Mr. Kockler, a JA parent, was inspired to create his own backing track including drums, bass, and horns, and sent it along to Mistergreene. That version was played many times at the start of the Announcements throughout the spring. You can see and hear that version further down on this page. This was the song parents most requested a recording of so they could use it to rouse sleeping children from their beds. Presented here with acoustic guitar unabashedly applied. Vocabulary challenge: Do you know what a clinomaniac is?
Kitty Cat
Song #32, first performed on Tuesday, May 12, 2020
At some point, Mistergreene was feeling a bit taxed in regard to coming up with workable topics to write songs about. So he asked for help from the Morning Announcements audience and was rewarded with many great suggestions of song topics and titles. One such suggestion came from JA student Zoe Wheeland, who very helpfully requested a song about "cats." This song is that song! As it turns out, this song turned out to be a favorite of Leo Greene, Mistergreene's two year old grandson.
Hey Sunshine
Song #16, first performed on Monday, April 20, 2020
During the school closure in the spring of 2020, our very dedicated Fairport kitchen staff, along with some equally dedicated Fairport bus drivers, helped put together and distribute free breakfast and lunch meals to Fairport residents every weekday. The JA parking lot was one of the meal pick-up locations and, on most days, JA Kitchen Manager Julie Sheehan and Assistant Manager Karoline Zito would be the ones handing out the meals, always greeting the folks who drove in to grab some grub with a smile and a hearty hello. In Miss Julie's case, that greeting was usually, "Hey, Sunshine!" It never failed to elicit a smile from visitors. And Mistergreene just had to write a song about it!
It's a Friday Song
Song #54, first performed on Friday, June 12, 2020
This song was influenced at least a little bit by Robby Fulks' Fountains of Wayne Hotline, a really funny song that Mistergreene was turned on to by the Quimby-Fischer clan. Written on a Thursday and first performed on a Friday, it's a song about writing a song. A Friday song. Oh yeah, oh yeah!
Credits
All songs written by Richard J Greene (ASCAP) and published by Very Normal Publishing, Fairport, NY
All songs produced by Sam Gruttadauria at Ultra Huge Studio, Geneseo, NY
Funky Reveille (Time To Get Up!)
Dallas Greene - Soulful "Mine" vocals
Gary Rose - Electric guitar
Mistergreene - Lead vocals, acoustic guitar, and shaker
Nevada Greene - Bass guitar
Sam Guttadauria - Keyboards
Steve Krauss - Drums
Kitty Cat
Dallas Greene - Harmony vocals
Gary Rose - Electric guitars
Mistergreene - Lead vocals
Nevada Greene - Bass guitar
Sam Guttadauria - Keyboards
Steve Krauss - Drums
Hey Sunshine
Dallas Greene - Harmony vocals
Gary Rose - Electric guitar
Mistergreene - Lead vocals and acoustic guitar
Nevada Greene - Bass guitar
Sam Guttadauria - Keyboards
Steve Krauss - Drums
It's A Friday Song
Dallas Greene - Harmony vocals
Gary Rose - Electric guitar
Mistergreene - Lead vocals and acoustic guitar
Nevada Greene - Bass guitar
Sam Guttadauria - Keyboards
Steve Krauss - Drums
Thank You
To Kathy Greene for expert life advice and cover artwork
To bandmates for being family, literally and figuratively
To Sam Gruttadauria for always being so generous with his time and talents
To Kristie Clark for expert marketing advice
To Steve Bartolotta for expert musical advice
To everyone who watched the JA Morning Announcements on weekdays between March 16 and June 16, 2020
Lyrics
Funky Reveille (Time To Get Up!)
It's time to get up!
Time to get up
Time to get up
Time to get up
Get out of bed
Time to get up
Time to get up
Time to get up
You sleepy head
The sun is up and the morning’s here
You’re such a clinomaniac
Don’t you hear this funky reveille?
It’s time for you to get out of the sack!
Time to get up
Time to get up
Time to get up
Get out of bed
Time to get up
Time to get up
Time to get up
You sleepy head
Don’t try pullin’ the covers up
And hope that I’ll just go away
Mr. Greene don’t play like that
How many more times do I have to say...
Time to get up
Time to get up
Time to get up
Get out of bed
Time to get up
Time to get up
Time to get up
You sleepy head
(One more verse, here we go!)
The shades are up and the coffee’s on
It’s time for you to rise and shine
Can you smell that frozen waffle in the toaster now?
If you don’t get up soon it will be (mine) mine!
Time to get up
Time to get up
Time to get up
Get out of bed
Time to get up
Time to get up
Time to get up
You sleepy head
Get out of bed!
Kitty Cat
My dog turns to jelly
When I rub his belly
But I can’t do that with my kitty cat
My puppy plays catch
And he’ll even go fetch
But I can’t do that with my kitty cat
I say, meow meow meow when I’m talking to my kitty cat
He says, Purrrrrr and I know that he likes it like that
My hamster will squeal
When he runs on a wheel
But it’s not like that with my kitty cat
My lizard eats flies
And he licks his own eyes
But it’s not like that with my kitty cat
I say, meow meow meow when I’m talking to my kitty cat
He says, Purrrrrr and I know that he likes it like that
When it’s time to pick a pet
It’s a really good bet
I‘ll want a feline, stat! Give me a kitty cat
I don’t mean to sound crabby
But I got to have a tabby!
Nothing other than that. Give me a kitty cat
I say, meow meow meow when I’m talking to my kitty cat
He says, Purrrrrr and I know that he likes it like that
I say meow meow meow
Meow meow meow
Meow meow meow
Purrrrrrr
Hey Sunshine
Hey sunshine, is that you?
You always seem to know just what to do
Hey sunshine, it’s another day
“Good morning!” is the thing I want to say
I love your light when it’s shining bright
But even when it’s cloudy that’s quite all right
Just knowing you’re near makes me feel okay
You’re just one astronomical unit away
Hey sunshine, I feel your warm embrace
I thank you for the smile on my face
Hey sunshine, yes, I feel all right
Good morning! You’re a beautiful sight
When morning’s here, you’re welcome, dear
There’s not a single problem when you appear
You’ve been gone all night. Now we’re glad you’re back
You’re our favorite superstar and that’s a fact.
Hey sunshine (Whistle echo)
Hey sunshine (Whistle echo)
Hey sunshine (Whistle echo)
It's A Friday Song
This is the song I’ve written for this morning
It’s got a bouncy beat, I think you’d agree
It’s light and kind of poppy with perhaps a hint of whimsy
But what kind of song is it?
Let’s just wait and see.
As previously stated the rhythm is noteworthy
Like other songs I’ve written in a similar vein
The chords are repetitious but they’re leading up to something
Just one way to describe it
Allow me to explain...
It’s a Friday Song
The song you are now hearing
It’s a Friday Song
Oh yes, it’s one of those
It’s a Friday Song
You might just find endearing that
It mentions “Friday” 18 times and this is how it goes
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, hmmm
I’m trying to decide if I should write a double verse here.
Sometimes after the chorus, I’ll just leave it at one
I don’t have much time left to make this pivotal decision
I guess it’s gonna be a double ‘cause this verse is done
I’ve never taken this approach to musical expression:
To write a song in such a metacognitive way
Though a song based in chronology can be a bit constraining
(I mean) Should you sing a Friday song on any other day?
It’s a Friday Song
There have been many others
It’s a Friday Song
And this is just one more
It’s a Friday Song
Go ask your dads and mothers
They’ve probably heard a song or two or three like this before
It’s a Friday Song
Not substantive or sapid
It’s a Friday Song
Predictable and trite
It’s a Friday Song
Perhaps a little vapid
I shouldn’t write another but it’s possible I might
It’s a Friday Song
It’s a Friday Song
It’s a Friday Song
It’s a Friday Song
It’s a Friday Song
It’s a Friday Song
It’s a Friday Song