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A Map and a Pocket Knife

by Daniel Slama

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1.
Three Falls 06:00
"i've seen too many cloudy days" he said through his teeth as he stared up towards the sky "not to say that i'm always expecting rain the temperature drops, i stop, don't ask me why" three falls strand a man of might if two wrongs won't fix it up right when the bow leaks, the boat sinks in its own good time "springtime the river always floods look there toward those trees, you can see, it ain't nothin new you can't farm in five feet of swap and mud you can't sell when it's worth less then what's still due" three falls strand a man of might if two wrongs won't fix it up right when the bow leaks, the boat sinks in its own good time "i've talked less since the day i took a life with debts left unpaid, i schemed how to make ends meet a banker, a briefcase and a knife his long walk home down that quiet, deserted street" three falls strand a man of might if two wrongs won't fix it up right when the bow leaks, the boat sinks in its own good time one shot to jump that morning train seems a last chance has always been my fate? when the rules never change still lookin for a break cuz there's always an angle left to play an outlaw, he's tired, he's on the run caught by the law as he's headin for the door shot down, reaching for his gun five feet away across the dirty plywood floor
2.
truth or dare is a timid way of exposing mysteries 'bout time i step back and take a fresh new look at things cuz i've read about women collecting men for this twisted little game to build him up just to tear him down there's no mistakin the way you toss that line to see what tangles in i could never escape no matter how hard i try - so i'm here again but i saw you itchin as you faked your way through another one it's times like these that make me want you more tongue tied, twisting like a sari from a misfire to complete desire like my rocio just like my rocio one's so sweet, one got some many friends, one got money to see you through and when you can never be sure where their patience will end you want no one to follow you cuz when they come knocking on your front door you close the blinds and pace the floor you'll know how it feels to be pushed around "truth" she said, "is there something you need?" i asked like i gave a damn "just to be here with you, this is not about greed" she said as she stroked my hand but don't trust your instincts when this kind of love it comes on to flatter you take it from me you'll be better off in the end
3.
Tug-of-War 06:39
there's nothing more to say about this thing tonight when we had met you smiled and said you'd like to keep things light telling me how cool it was i needed time alone when i was cuttin off them talks with you at night on the telephone but now you're calling me just like you said you wouldn't need to do only minutes before you're reminding me i continue loosing ground to you i better check upon the score cuz we're playin tug-a-war but i can see the rope is frayed and i know i shouldn't stay but babe you blew me away with a gentle touch. the one i needed way too much and i feel it's emptiness but it takes my breath yeah i didn't my best but i got one more lesson to learn i'm still singin about you girl a matted dress, a sweet caress, the damage done the falling drapes leave no escape good God here comes the morning sun as streams of light flow through the room the darkness trickles out and the desire that has left us here we both forgot what that was all about my spots to hide in the summertime you know them well and i'll ask you where you're coming from though i know you're never gonna tell but i can see by the way you move you've got somethin to say and no matter how i leave you baby you're gonna be saying it anyway
4.
sometimes an emotion takes you by surprise sometimes the better life, it seems, never passed you by i saw you trip, you stumbled, you made it look like some new dance move but it didn't show there's no one that know except for me and you but it's all right sister i got a map and a pocket knife it's all i could lift from that bag of tricks that grandpa left behind now what's the fuss with ana - she got a ladder to the top shelf she's wishin it was her idea, wishin she was someone else that gal she kinda reckless - she'll hand you scissors with the pointed end and if you're asking me she's all right company but i'll never call her my friend boxcar jim was twenty to one so i wagered on his side you see i knew him on the streets i seen that fightin was his way of life i went to the match last saturday night jim was nowhere to be found he's tired of loosin he's at the rail yards boozin with his friends from the fairground it's getting kind of breezy, we got our clothes out on the line i guess then when i go get yours i might as well go grab mine but what's the point in cleaning up when your livin in this dirty town? trust me dear the way they build things 'round here it'll all come crashin on down
5.
my blood it rises, i hope that it don't show ah but she got that look in her eyes i'm wondering how she knows well i don't belong here i'm singing to myself should never have come here should've gone somewhere else you can't find no place you're gonna settle down when you're all torn up inside these times are heavy they're gonna weigh me down but it's wintertime and there's a fire that feels so right there's a wood furnace fire burning i can smell it in the air the kinda thing make you start thinking 'bout forgotten years when i see the smoke rise up i know memories fade but the feeling it's always here when i can't recall the days the rain pouring down i was knocking on an antique door in the dead of night she opened up and said "come on inside" and i swear mama we've been here so many times before when it's wintertime and there's a fire that feels so right i've taken no notice of time since arriving here and how i came and how i'll leave it's still unclear for the trail's unmarked on which i tread upon and though its labors have cut my skin my heart grows strong i rode nine hundred miles to see my natalie natalie say "it ain't gonna be enough this time" she said it so loud, so proud and so easily but it's wintertime and this fire still feels so right when it's wintertime and there's a fire that feels so right
6.
Tea Party 05:34
well isn't this just one ordinary world? so much for solitude and disarray i'm leaning on a shelter built from stray driftwood you're lining tin cans up and take your aim then one by one they fall church bells sound as your shots ring out then nothing's said at all then a cloud wanders by the path of the setting sun and its light shines down as if in rays reflecting off the barrel of your hot, smoking gun like some coded SOS in the amber haze then a breeze blows by your face throws your hair back, makes me feel a little out of place but i can see your watch it reads 'time for war' your battles know no shame i know you're stalking me to my front door i hear your steps and i feel your breath and i know your pain and jo you know i love the way you sometimes play like some five year old in your own made up game and i never meant to be the one to stop and say "there's no tea in these cups" well i just drank but you've sent invites to all my friends i guess it's time we all ask what's real and what's pretend? cuz i can see your watch it reads 'time for war' with your glass eye and your cane i know you're stalking me to my front door i hear your steps and i feel your breath and i know your pain and i remember how you tried to teach me life's not fair and we'd go on and on over who was right in return i had to prove there are things you can't repair and that not everything is worth such a fight so if we've got some fence to mend well you got time, i got sense - you work it out, yeah work it out maybe tell me how it ends? cuz i can see your watch is it time for war? well don't expect some sweet reply tell me exactly what it is that you're waiting for? some kind of sign? like 'please be mine'? scrolled across the sky? is there something in the night tapping on my window? is there an icy grip crawling up my spine? are these walls stretching out is the clock movin way too slow? have i lost all sense of space and time? rehearsing words i should never say there may be hearts i'd sure like to steal just not that way cuz i'm not the one i'm just a shadow of this love that no longer remains just pack it up and say "what's done is done" as the clouds roll in - can you stop the wind? or the driving rain?
7.
The Mix Up 05:58
that month was too much i thought i had it rough searching for peace of mind enough's enough i think i'll pack it up and settle down inside holding the reins of what appears to be a magic steed with a magic name in a land of uncertainty but a few more days it don't take long to find out that horse went lame now who's to tell i though i'd seen it all i can't define what i put on the line what would be the use? of adding up all i've left behind when there's nothing left to lose i jumped a train to sit and count the days a face can hold a smile they found me out they were lookin for a stowaway i didn't stick around for that trial i was thrown from a cage moving fast through an autumn storm i landed face down in the rain i just slept there until the mornin the sky has cleared i wake up to the sunshine i lost that fear now who'd a thought i'd get up from that fall? yesterday seems so different now played in a different time who it was? what was it all about? this mix up may have been mine throwing a line through a scene in a picture book i'm taking in all sorts of signs looking lightly for their worth but nowhere to run there's nothing left to run from it has begun not just me or my account of it's like a wave it heaves across the skyline now taking shape many times i've heard that same voice call
8.
the rain has stopped thunder once roared now has moved on take my first breath as these strange new skies are born again no time for rest they’ll run downhill like streams they trickle through the field into the night i hear their thoughts like time they filter to an end but still they fight the war is long it’s fought in every lonely heart of man they’re taking aim the time has come i can’t resist and i can’t move on beloved one some wait so patient, some persist and some turn back some gather much and in secret places they cry out for still they lack the kingdom of God it’s boundless it provides without an end the songs of yesterday i start to sing from high on this mountaintop so my heart won’t freeze it’s warmer now, my thoughts are clear yeah i’ll find my way back down form here all night i wait for you to sing me into sleep like you did that day wait not till spring rise forth you early blooming child you morning star you’ll take my heart i grow so weak, so weak my dear i’ve come so far my feet give out with one last sigh I fall into your arms the songs of yesterday i start to sing from high on this mountaintop so my heart won’t freeze it’s warmer now, my thoughts are clear yeah i’ll find my way back down form here look close my love you may mistake my eyes for stars, my mouth for wind look close my love you may find where you thought i’d end is where i begin

about

In April of 2013, with a microphone and an obsolete, malfunctioning Roland VS1880 Digital Studio Workstation (top of the line home digital recording in 1999) I began recording some original songs in the bedroom of a Huntington Beach, CA apartment. My original intention was to make a rough demo with the sole purpose of recruiting musicians to start a band - but as I became more involved in the process, started to really believe in the material and learned more about recording and mixing techniques - I also became more inspired to attempt to create something I felt was interesting, creative and professional enough to share with everyone as 'art'. In May of 2015 I finally called it finished - the final CD being entirely written, produced, engineered, recorded, mixed, released and set up for manufacture and distribution by me - as I did my best to learn as much about the process as I could along the way. My brother Chris Slama sings backup vocals on many of the tracks (and whistles on one) and Viking plays bass on 3 of the tracks but besides that all of the performances are mine - tracking out one layer of guitar on top of the other, then bass, then vocals, etc.

I knew I would be facing many obstacles that perhaps wouldn't be present if I had chosen to record in a studio - but I was determined. The first thing I had to do once I had settled on this more lofty goal for the recording was to go back and redo any take that had a dog barking, kids playing, a car horn honking, a door slamming, traffic sounds, car alarms, helicopter, etc in the background - which was pretty much all of them. Eventually what became a "good take" was not the performance with the most inspiration, emotion, passion or skill - but the take without kids playing handball against the back apartment wall. Another major obstacle was the Roland - I thought it would suffice when I first began the project but as I learned more about mixing I realized how limited I was by having to do all my mixing inside that box, limited to 15 year old technology, 15 year old signal processing, only being able to use 4 effects at once, a hard drive that kept crashing, and an effects signal path that would create digital clicks in my recordings. Many times I wanted to start over on modern computer recording software just to be able to have a 4 band EQ and compressor available for each separate track (with only 4 effects I could only use compression and EQ on 2 tracks at once) and to not be forced to negotiate around digital clicking noises on the recordings - but I had already come so far. Money and time also became a challenge because I wasn't gainfully employed so there were times when I would be couch surfing, loading all my studio equipment into my car, setting it all up at a generous friend's house to get some mixing done, then loading it all back up and moving to a new place to continue working (all the while keeping up an active festival/ camping/ unemployed lifestyle). Not only was this a tactical challenge but it was tough adapting my ears to new mixing environments while trying to keep the same direction on how I wanted the mix to eventually sound. I am forever grateful to all the friends and family that helped me out along the way - and it all has been a very fun adventure and learning experience.

Recording alone also was a challenge because my songs were absolutely written for a 'band vibe'. A drummer, bass player, keys player, guitar player, etc all bringing their own tastes, influences, skills, interpretations, etc into the song structures and all playing off each other, adapting to each other and grooving with each other definitely have more potential to produce a danceable CD than one guy layering guitars on top of guitars in the digital recording realm. Even a different producer or mix engineer adds a lot of variety, taste and input to a final product that would make it more dynamic and multi dimensional than just one person following their vision. As I was finishing tracking the performances I realized this and asked my brother Chris Slama (a great singer/ arranger of vocal harmonies) to listen to my rough mixes and see if he had any ideas. In the following weeks - through hot, sweaty, summer afternoons locked up in my apartment bedroom with all the doors and windows closed (for outside noise) - he dreamed up, figured out, and sang all his backup vocal parts into the mic with more enthusiasm and energy than I thought would ever be possible in a professional studio on some engineer's clock. Those moments were such a pleasure for me to produce and witness and his contributions are a delight to listen to on the CD. I knew the CD needed more groove also, so I asked a local bass player friend Viking (of Delta Nove and other funk, fusion bands) to see if he could track some bass. In one night, in just a few hours, he came over and listened to three of the songs, learned the changes, the nuances, figured out what the songs needed and in a few takes put his low end, groovy, funky magic on those three tracks. When I listen to those tracks now I'm still amazed by how quickly, efficiently, skillfully and tastefully he had worked, that we did all that in a few hours in one night, and how lucky and grateful I am that he lent a hand.

I had finished recording just about all the performances by winter of 2013 and had read a few books on mixing - but I had no idea what I was in for. It's amazing how much information (and misinformation) is out there on the internet on just about any subject - and from there my self teaching began (and months of trial and error). Come summer of 2014 I thought the mixes were nearing completion and it occurred to me I had no art work for this CD which I was considering releasing as 'art'. It didn't bug me much, I just figured I would put my name and the album name in black and white across the front - but some articles which I had read convinced me this would be a bad way to go if I ever wanted even a chance that people would take the CD seriously. I have zero visual art or graphic design skills so I started bouncing concept ideas off people who did. Eventually my friend Cat Riley painted up a map concept - like a fantasy, adventure filled planet floating in a starry sky - for the CD artwork. I was so touched by what she had created I felt obligated to create something that would be worthy of that cover art so I went back to trying to work more kinks out of the rough mixes I had almost been ready to call finished. In November of 2014 I began talking with printers and packaging people and was told the different digital formats and sizes and such my artwork needed to be in to be usable (none of this made any sense to me). I sat and looked at this beautiful painting which Cat had made, holding it my hand, scratched my head, picked up the phone and called my dear friend Connie Benedict. With her expertise in this field we had it digitally scanned, photo shopped, digitally sized correctly, album and artist name put across it in the perfect, artistic, handpicked, stylistic font for the existing art and matched up to the printers template and ready for print. Connie also took the art idea and ran with it to set up the CD surface art and the background of the back cover. When I look at the CD art and packaging now I'm still filled with wonder by my friend's talents and generosity and how it all came together - how I went from having nothing to watching everything come together and really having no idea how..... but here it is.

In December of 2014 the project started to seem never ending, I was having a hard time finishing the mixes and money was running out. I started a Kickstarter campaign to raise some funds but as I did so I also realized that the moral support and encouragement I received from my friends was just as needed to inspire me and keep me enthusiastic about completing the CD. I met my goal and was able to use the funds to get the final mix mastered (once it was completed in May 2015) and I'm so thankful to all those who contributed. Thanks not only for the financial contribution - but for caring.... it means a lot. It's really hard to get people to care about his sort of thing (funny, it seems there are actually people that will subtly root against you when you're trying something like this) and I know it will be hard to even get people to take a listen, but I'm happy I tried. And to anybody out there that may be reading this, maybe even after listening to the CD, I sincerely thank you for taking the time and giving it a little bit of attention when there are just so many things out there competing for your time and attention at every moment. And let's all keep rooting each other on.

And be on the lookout for a band setup up in the future. Jam band with electric guitar rather than acoustic, edgier, more jammy, dancey, funky, psychedelic, energetic and hopefully more layered as different, diverse musicians add their input and influences to the vibe.

credits

released June 2, 2015

Daniel Slama - vocals, guitar, bass, drum machine, hand claps
Chris Slama - backup vocals and whistling
Viking - bass on tracks 1, 6 and 7

All Songs Written by Daniel Slama

Produced, Recorded, Mixed by Daniel Slama in different rooms of various homes and apartments from Huntington Beach to Fallbrook, CA between April 2013 and May 2015

Cover Art by Cat Riley

Cover Layout design by Connie Benedict

Mastered by Ron Leeper at Sound Affair Mastering, Santa Ana, CA

(c) 2011 Daniel Slama
(c) (p) 2015 Daniel Slama
All rights reserved. Lyrics used by permission only.

This CD would not have been possible without the support of: Mom and Dad thanks for everything - you guys are the greatest and I love you very much; Jason Corbin wow! so much gratitude for all that you do; Chris Slama thanks for all of your encouragement, support and patience and for rocking the backup vocals; Khalid Raza thanks for your kindness and spirit.

Thanks to Jeremy Frieze this whole thing wouldn't have been much fun without you; special thanks to Shanaz Raza; thanks to everyone who contributed on Kickstarter - Damon Barry you're awesome.

Thanks to Connie, Cat and Viking for your contributions to this CD - the heart, talent, expertise, time and effort you put in is greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all the friends, family and casual acquaintances who inspired and roused me; and all the cosmic strangers which I have met, danced with and/or strummed songs with at shows, festivals, trails, campgrounds and highways along the way and all the artists that made all the music which helped bring us all together - you're all in here.

Please say hello at DanielSlama.com, Facebook.com/DanielSlamaMusic, or DanielJ714@gmail.com

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Daniel Slama Los Angeles, California

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