the gifted children - my museum pieces

Release date: September 15, 2009

the next full-length release from the gifted children brings the largest cast of characters yet, with over 15 people contributing to the sounds of the 11 new songs. 
this album has everything from bombastic group sing-alongs ('you smashing young prince') to quiet folk songs ('a weathervane alliance') to apoplectic sax screams ('offshore news') to crazy, noisy electronic beats ('and so it ended'), all cohering together for a great autumn record.

Credits:
chris berroth - voice on 5 
aaron boucher - voice on 5 
brett dreyer - saxophones on 3; voice on 5 
tim grimaldi - drumset on 1,2,3,5,7 & 9; voice on 5 
nick hall - voice on 5; drumset on 6 & 11 
katherine jacobs - cellos on 2,8 & 9 
jesse koennecke - percussion on 11 
meaghan o'brien - voice on 5 
tim rizzo - guitars on 1 & 5 
jim sahr - voice on 5 
justin sheehan - voice on 5 & 11 
jeff suszczynski - guitars on 1-5,7-9; keyboard on 1,2,3,7,9 & 10; pianos on 1,2,6,7 & 11; voices on 1-11; shakers on 4 & 11; bowed saws on 8; drum machine on 10; vocoder on 10 
pam swarts - voice on 5,6 & 9; flute on 6 
bill trautman - bass on 1,10 & 11; upright bass on 4,6 & 8; voice on 5 
alexander trimpe - bass on 5; voice on 5; guitars on 10 
amy-marie trimpe - voice on 5 
rob wirstrom - guitar on 1,5 & 11; ebow on 11

Recorded June, 2003 – September, 2009 on MD8, PC and Mac.

All songs by jeff suszczynski except: 1, 5 & 11 by jeff suszczynski/rob wirstrom

Lyrics and individual track credits:

01  the coalition breathing down your neck

you ask for more
but my sunken half-castle only shines in midday
and i’m begged to build more
at least as much above ground as below
so i’ll build a fence
the coalition’s breathing down my neck
say hello to gated communities
let’s hope no one starves us out
let’s hope no one starves us out...

tim grimaldi – drumset
tim rizzo – guitars
jeff suszczynski – guitars, keyboard, pianos, voices
bill trautman – bass
rob wirstrom – guitar

02  my museum pieces

a talisman, a broken ark
your picture in a wooden frame
the elevator to your heart
is cold and rusted out

i’m writing poems on your hand
but you don’t see them
so i’m going back inside
to preserve the last traces of you
my museum pieces include
a grocery list with your handwriting
vanilla on a pillow
and a half-smoked cigarette

tim grimaldi – drumset
katherine jacobs – cellos
jeff suszczynski – acoustic guitars, keyboards, voices

03  offshore news

i crawled into an iron lung
and went beneath the waves
gone again my love, my exile
i left a trail behind
that you never found
i waited for you
but you never came

brett dreyer – tenor saxophones
tim grimaldi – drumset
jeff suszczynski – guitars, keyboards, voices

04  a weathervane alliance

at nightfall
after grey skies
we need to huddle together
we’re bundling everything
to keep a little fire

someday maybe
we’ll be more than kindling

jeff suszczynski – acoustic guitars, shakers, voices
bill trautman – upright bass

05  you smashing young prince!

share your victories with losers
smile when they begin to drool
your electric hum
you, the center of attention
a caterwaul, a trumpet blast
a generic bee sting
to spring them into action
not as cold as a pinprick
not as comforting as static
an online chat with incubation
a coveting of information
cards decked out like peacocks
grown sudden soporific and over-specific
with protocol and standard enchantments

tim grimaldi – drumset
tim rizzo – guitar
jeff suszczynski – guitar, voices
alex trimpe – bass
rob wirstrom – guitars

featuring the craig bradford family singers – chris berroth, brett dreyer, tim grimaldi, nick hall, meaghan o’brien, amy-marie rivera, jim sahr, justin sheehan, jeff suszczynski, pam swarts, bill trautman, alex trimpe & sarah trimpe

06  a prayer

when you wake will you find filled lungs
and heart attack arms
or will you breathe freely and rise
i hope the swarms will always pass you by
always be under country autumn skies
don’t diminish with time
always have the blush and pride.

nick hall – drumset
jeff suszczynski – piano, voice
pam swarts – flute, voice

07  if you get there

under the evil eye of lacking sleep
you become cheap and contagious
i want your password to be secret
why can’t i make you pure?
dig holes and never surrender
take bullets and move on
a metal voice shakes my teeth
and i don’t know if i can reconcile

is there any value to a broken code
are we only here for photo ops and future anecdotes
bring you back to forgive - the jesus eye
do i kiss your cookie jar hands
we’ll go to a masquerade ball
you’ll leave with someone else
i don’t know if i can ignore the scars
but when you’re near it’s like glowing
and i forgive the ugliness –
does the path matter if you get there?

tim grimaldi – drumset
jeff suszczynski – guitars, voices, keyboards, piano

08  photoshop universe

come crashing down
when stones thrown at pillows
i enlarged the photos
but had to acknowledge the flaws
i’d rather make you small

katherine jacobs – cellos
jeff suszczynski – acoustic guitars, voice, bowed saws
bill trautman – upright bass

09  cherubs

buildings crumble from passing glances
so surprised that you’re here
and easy to forget – no cherubs
that lock has been picked too many times before

tim grimaldi – drumset
katherine jacobs – cellos
jeff suszczynski – guitars, keyboards, voice
pam swarts – voice

10  ...and so it ended.

your grip has gotten cold
our fights have gotten old
a cast of characters that don’t exist
a bed more like a sick ward

but you were proven to be the lit match,
foretold in legends?!

jeff suszczynski – keyboards, drum programs, voice, vocoder
bill trautman – bass
alex trimpe – guitars

11  across the plains

nick hall – drumset
jesse koennecke – percussion
justin sheehan – voices
jeff suszczynski – shakers, pianos, voices
bill trautman – bass
rob wirstrom – guitars, ebow