ADVANCE BASE- Wall of Tears & Other Songs I Didn't Write ORD-64
Digital release date: September 13, 2021
Vinyl release date: August 1, 2025
Aside from playing Advance Base shows, the form of musical expression I’ve most desperately missed during our current era of social isolation is singing karaoke. I have a great affection for the tiny communities that come together in any dive bar or pizzeria willing to invest in a modest PA & karaoke license, united by a common compulsion to earnestly sing their favorite pop songs in front of friends & strangers, accompanied by the artifice of prerecorded electronic instrumental arrangement. Wall of Tears & Other Songs I Didn’t Write is my ode to karaoke bars & karaoke singers. Consider it an album-length karaoke performance by me, Owen Ashworth.
The ten songs on this album were written by some of my very favorite songwriters, including a few I’m lucky enough to call friends. The original recordings of these songs have been constant companions in recent years, accompanying me on late night walks & aimless drives around Chicago & its suburbs. They have all made me cry at various points as I imagined how good it would feel to sing them at karaoke.
The instrumental arrangements were performed & recorded in my Oak Park, IL basement using electronic keyboards, samplers & drum machines with the single exception of the pedal steel solo on “Love at the Five & Dime,” which was performed & recorded by Xandy Chelmis from the Asheville, NC band Wednesday. Nicholas Krgovich sang & recorded the backing vocals for that same song, & the backing vocals on “Wall of Tears” were provided by Rebecca Clay Cole, two dear friends who share my love for these songs’ original recordings.
The guitar-like tones on “Wall of Tears,” “How Can You Live…,” “Solid Heart” & “Love at the Five & Dime” (other than Xandy’s pedal steel solo) were performed on a little Korg sampling keyboard loaded with single-note recordings I made by plucking the strings of an Oscar Schmidt autoharp, run through a chain of guitar effect pedals. I call this instrument an “Oscartron.” As much as I love guitar music, I have never been a guitar player, but I have come to love the sound of the Oscartron’s eerie approximation.
My sincere thanks to the recording artists who taught these songs to me: K.T. Oslin, Lucinda Williams, Nanci Griffith, Wednesday, Iris DeMent, John Prine (times three), Dan Wriggins & Gia Margaret. Even more thanks to Matt Bachmann for lovingly mastering these recordings, & to Margaret Hitch for creating the fabulous cover art.
Tracks
- Wall of Tears (3:27)
- Sweet Old World (4:04)
- Love at the Five & Dime (4:25)
- How Can You Live If You Can't Love How Can You If You Do (2:49)
- Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day (4:35)
- One Red Rose (2:15)
- Unwed Fathers (3:35)
- Come Back To Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard 03:49
- Mr. Chill (3:35)
- Solid Heart (3:44)
Pressing Information
Tape edition:
200 professionally dubbed Super Ferric tapes in yellow shells imprinted with some kind of ink. Tapes are packaged in standard Norelco cases with full color J-cards designed by Jon Samuels. Cover art by Margaret Hitch. 10 tracks, 36 minutes. SOLD OUT
CD edition:
300 professionally replicated compact discs packaged & shrinkwrapped in heavyweight, full color, mini-LP jackets designed by Jon Samuels. Cover art by Margaret Hitch. 10 tracks, 36 minutes.
Vinyl edition:
High quality, 140 gram, clear pink vinyl LPs with full color labels packaged in extra heavyweight, full color, reverse board photo jackets designed by Jess Jones w/ big, beautiful cover art by Margaret Hitch. 10 tracks, 36 minutes.
250 copies on clear pink vinyl
250 copies on classic black vinyl
Vinyl pressed by Smashed Plastic in Chicago, IL.
Jackets printed by Stoughton Printing in City of Industry, CA.
Vinyl orders ship August 1, 2025.
All orders include an instant digital download.
Wall of Tears & Other Songs I Didn't Write tapes & CDs are distributed by The Business.