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.

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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

Get out of bed

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

Get out of bed

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

Get out of bed

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

Get out of bed

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

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)

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

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