Friday, June 21, 2013

WHER'M I GONNA LIVE | the Memory Brothers

CLICK BELOW TO PLAY SONG:



writers: (B.R. Cyrus-Cindy Cyrus)
album: Feelin' All right (BOF-94) 2013
artists: the Memory Brothers
produced by: Doug Koempel


  • lead vocal: Christopher Jon
  • background vocals: Christopher Jon and Doug
  • rhythm guitar: Christopher Jon
  • piano and bass: Doug
  • backing tracks programmed and played by Doug:
               sequenced on Sonar 3.1 Producer Edition

               VSampler 3; Papelmedia GM 2006; EZdrummer; RealBand 

               VI.One; Alesis QS7.1; Yamaha NP-V80

  • recorded at: Bird-On-Fire Recording Studio / West Union, Iowa


Doug's notes:




Wher'm. Is that even a word? Billy Ray Cyrus and his ex-wife Cindy may have coined a new contraction back in 1992 for the two words "Where am" for their song title "Wher'm I Gonna Live (When I Get Home)." 



Despite the folksy, down-home persona that Billy Ray cultivated back in the early '90s, he was actually a savvy marketer (just like his daughter Miley is today.) No doubt his novel word construction was all part of a calculated strategy. With an emerging reinvention of country music underway, he aimed to project a good ol' boy image to the youth market.



"Wher'm I Gonna Live" was Cyrus's 3rd single released in October of 1992. One part tongue-in-cheek satire and one part all-too-real heartache, just about everyone can relate to some degree to this classic song. So we decided to include it on our "Feelin' Alright" CD released in 2013.



Featuring Christopher Jon on lead vocals, our version was released some 21 years after Billy Ray's original recording. Chris had come to West Union, Iowa to do a fundraiser with me; and since West Union is where my studio is, we decided to commence work on an album featuring some of our favorite songs such as Mustang Sally, Big Man, Bye Bye Love, Let Me Roll It, Kansas City and of course, "Wher'm I Gonna Live (When I Get Home.)"



We've pepped it up a bit from the original tempo, and Chris delivers a vocal thankfully devoid of any hillbilly affectations! 


Christopher Jon "at home" on his yacht in the Florida Keys!



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