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5400 VALENTINE ROAD
Let’s drive too fast down streets we both know too well
Let’s tell ourselves that nothing ever dies, that we’ll always be the same
Let’s pick out names (I know, we barely know each others’ names
But let’s dream of ever after)
Let’s open up! and show each other all the shit we hide so well from everyone else
Cause I don’t know if I could ever tell anyone, admit that I’m afraid
Let’s pick out names (I know we barely know each others’ names
But still I wanna lie in fields of flame with you)
Cause I know that I’m already changing
I know that I’m already changing
I knew from the first moment I saw you
That everything had changed
Let’s drive too fast down streets that only ever seem to lead to our son’s grave
words & music by Frank Cruz
Frank Cruz - vocals, acoustic guitar, shaker, and tambourine
Recorded in the basement at Rand Avenue
Mixed by Scott Goodrich at Nu-Tone Studios, Pittsburg, CA
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NO NAME WALTZ
I'm gonna sleep beneath the stars tonight
And wonder where you are
Cause every time I hear the freight train cry
I say, "I love you, too"
It don't feel much like a conversation anymore
But I guess it has to do
I guess you can’t change the past
Sometimes I forget that, I think I gotta go back
To the way that we were before we heard the words
Those awful words
I'm gonna crash into the waves today
Get swallowed by the sea
And if the ocean spits me out again
I catch my breath, breathe out and in
I feel so much smaller but in the end
The problems are just the same
I guess you can’t change the past
Sometimes I forget that, I try so hard to go back
To the way that we were before we heard the words
Those awful words
I’m gonna drink till I don't feel no more
Make love until I'm tired
Cause there's no such thing as moving on
There's only getting by
So I can't blame you
For wanting me to try
words & music by Frank Cruz
Frank Cruz - vocals and acoustic guitar
Recorded in the basement at Rand Avenue
Mixed by Scott Goodrich at Nu-Tone Studios, Pittsburg, CA
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JEREMY DREAMS OF TIME MACHINES
(for Barbara and Jeremy)
It was forty days and forty nights
I was wandering through the desert alone
This ain’t no fairy tale, I never heard the voice of god
But I’m not complaining cause I found my way home
But I was empty and I was restless
Didn’t know just where I belonged
Familiar things didn’t seem the same
With you gone
And I know I just got back
And so I hate to say, so long
But I gotta go back on the road
Find the place that we went wrong
It rained for forty days, it poured for forty nights
I thought the desert heat was bad but it’s got nothing on the cold
I saw the river rise, I met a whale, got ate alive
But by the time he spit me out I guess I missed that old rainbow
Cause I was empty and I was restless
Didn’t know just where I belonged
All the good things didn’t feel so good
With you gone
And I know I been making excuses now
For way, way, way too long
Could you forgive me
If I never come home?
Bridge:
Cause Jeremy dreams of time machines
(And baseball cards, and space wars, and his best friend’s eyes)
Jeremy dreams of time machines
(And race cars, computer games, and deep blue skies)
But me, I never dream, and if I do
I see earthquakes, and endless wars, and open graves, I don’t see you
So let’s just let him sleep, I know just what he means
He’s just trying to find a way to turn back time
words & music by Frank Cruz
Frank Cruz - vocals, acoustic guitar, and glockenspiel
Khalil Sullivan - harmonium
Recorded in the basement at Rand Avenue
Mixed by Scott Goodrich at Nu-Tone Studios, Pittsburg, CA
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BALLAD FOR A FRIEND
Sad I’m a-sittin’ on the railroad track
Watchin’ that old smokestack
Train is a-leavin’ but it won’t be back
Years ago we hung around
Watchin’ trains roll through the town
Now that train is a-graveyard bound
Where we go up in that North Country
Lakes and streams and mines so free
I had no better friend than he
Something happened to him that day
I thought I heard a stranger say
I hung my head and stole away
A diesel truck was rollin’ slow
Pullin’ down a heavy load
It left him on a Utah road
They carried him back to his home town
His mother cried, his sister moaned
Listenin’ to them church bells tone
words & music by Bob Dylan
Frank Cruz - vocals and acoustic guitar
Recorded and mixed in the basement at Rand Avenue
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THIS IS JUST TO SAY
Your baby brother’s getting bigger
Man, he’s growing like a weed
He’s asking questions I cannot answer
So I just tell him how we used to be
And your momma’s getting older
But she’s aging gracefully
Talking about another baby
Finding reasons to believe
And me, I’m writing you this letter
Between faith and misery
Man, I get lonesome here without you
Between what is and what ought to be
And me, I'm writing you this letter
Man, I been looking for some peace
Just can't stop myself from thinking
This isn't how we were supposed to be
words by Frank Cruz
music by Frank Cruz and Chris Dixon
Frank Cruz - vocals, keyboards, glockenspiel, drums
Chris Dixon - electric guitars
Recorded by Chris Dixon and Frank Cruz at The Lab in Oakland, CA
Mixed by Scott Goodrich at Nu-Tone Studios in Pittsburg, CA
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AN ATLAS OF THE DIFFICULT WORLD
Took a plane ride to London
Hopped a train to Italy
Caught a speed boat and sailed off to sea
I saw the temples of Athens
The lights of Paris
Saw some sunsets you would not believe
I ordered whiskey and water
I drank tonic and gin
In every town, behind the bar, I found a friend
I stayed up till the morning
Made my days into nights
Anything that was wrong the maid made all right
I tried to burn myself out
Like a moth to the flame
But every wonder I saw said your name
So I guess I’ll stop running
Try to stay in one place
I’ll probably never stop seeing your face
I said, there’s no use in running
Besides where would I go?
So I’m learning to live with your ghost
words & music by Frank Cruz
Frank Cruz - vocals, keyboard
Chris Dixon - bass, electric guitars
Recorded by Chris Dixon at the Lab in Oakland, CA
Mixed by Scott Goodrich at Nu-Tone Studios in Pittsburg, CA
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HEREAFTER
I gotta try a little harder
And get myself together
“Be thankful for things I have”
Cause is it here, hereafter
I can put it back together?
I’ll finally get the answer
I waited for so long
We gotta try a little harder
Do your best to remember
A time we didn’t always have to try so goddamned hard
Is it here, hereafter
We can put it back together?
We’ll finally see our sunshine
We’ll forget it ever rained
Till then I try to remember to breathe
I block out the evidence this don’t mean a thing
Cause I know I can’t pretend it’s any worse for me
Sick of waiting for Jesus to speak to me
I gotta try a little harder
And get myself together
“Be thankful for things I have”
words & music by Frank Cruz
Produced by La Practica De Familia at home in Oakland, CA
Sequencing and MIDI programming by La Practica De Familia
Mixed by Scott Goodrich at Nu-Tone Studios in Pittsburg, CA
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THIS IS JUST TO SAY
Your baby brother’s not a baby anymore
Man, he’s growing like a weed
He’s asking questions I can’t answer
So I just tell him how we used to be
And your momma’s getting older
But she’s aging gracefully
She’s talking about another baby
She’s finding reasons to believe
And me, I’m writing you this letter
Between faith and misery
Man, I get lonesome here without you
Between what is and what ought to be
And me, I’m trying hard to get myself together
I been praying for peace
To some god I don’t believe in anyways
But desperate men do desperate things
And now the bottle’s almost empty
So I guess I’ll get to sleep
But right before I close my eyes I see you suddenly alive
I linger in-between to watch the way we used to be
words by Frank Cruz
music by Frank Cruz and Chris Dixon
Produced, recorded, and performed by Hulk Hogan Sex Tape at home and the Lab in Oakland, CA
Mixed by Scott Goodrich at Nu-Tone Studios in Pittsburg, CA
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Outtakes, demos, alternate arrangements, and acoustic versions of material from "Ofrenda." This companion album features a remix by La Practica De Familia and a cover song by Hulk Hogan Sex Tape.
released November 1, 2014
Written and performed by Frank Cruz and Chris Dixon with La Practica De Familia, Hulk Hogan Sex Tape, and Khalil Sullivan
Recorded by Frank and Chris in the basement at Rand Avenue and at the Lab in Oakland, CA
Mixed and mastered by Scott Goodrich at Nu-Tone Studios in Pittsburg, CA
J-card photos by Kim Keever (front) and Chris Dixon (back). Used by permission.
OFRENDA is available on Día de los Muertos 2014 in vinyl and digital formats
frankcruzandthenewdeal.com
lapractica.net
soundcloud.com/hulk-hogan-sex-tape
Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram @newdealband
FB /frankcruzandthenewdeal
#ofrendaLP
#tryharderdemos