the gifted children - one clear minute, volume 01

Release date: September 15, 2009 

one clear minute, volume 01, marks the beginning of a new vinyl 7" series from the gifted children. responding to some who complained of too-short songs over the years, they decided to write and record several dozen songs with one rule: the maximum song length is 60 seconds. in that single minute, the gifted children have managed to create fully realized songs, not just little fragments or tossed-off ideas. and 7" vinyl is the perfect medium to exploit for such a project - each volume of the one clear minute series will contain 8-11 songs, making for mini-albums on each record. 

volume one kicks off the series with a wide variety of sounds, with straight-ahead indie rock ('forget about the mountains'), piano ballads ('dirigible army'), oddly catchy diatribes ('no saviors, please'), beatlesque ('marina sirtis') and much more... these 9 songs pack more coherent ideas into a mere 8 minutes than many full-length albums.

Credits:
aaron boucher - drumset on 3 
tim grimaldi - drumset on 1,6-8; hi-hat on 3 
jim sahr - guitar on 7; voice on 7 
justin sheehan - voice on 3 & 8 
jeff suszczynski - guitars on 1,3,6,8 & 9; voices on 1,2,3,5-9; piano on 5 & 8; keyboard on 6; floor tom on 6; ebows on 7 
bill trautman - bass on 1-4,6-8; guitars on 2,4 & 9; voices on 2,4 & 9; drumset on 2 & 4; snare drum on 9

recorded 2003-2009 on minidisc and pc, at roycroft studios (cheektowaga, ny), bad wallpaper (rochester, ny), the gamble room (rochester, ny) and the homestead (grand island, ny)

tracks 1, 3, 5-8 by jeff suszczynski
tracks 2, 4 & 9 by bill trautman

cover collage by jeff suszczynski

Lyrics and individual track credits:

01        one clear minute (suszczynski)

all the perfect words
go motoring through your skull –
you won’t heed them

and your brakes go
just before you need to swerve

i wallow in these thoughts

tim grimaldi – drumsets
jeff suszczynski – guitars, voices
bill trautman – bass

02        introspective opus (trautman)

you could write an introspective opus
but i won’t hear it all
if it takes too long
today then run away

bill trautman – guitars, voice, bass, drumset

03        forget about the mountains (suszczynski)

forget about the mountains
i’m after drumlins
no scanning for perfect stations
no more high-rise hope
mine is simply not to miss the cut

aaron boucher – drumset
tim grimaldi – hihat
justin sheehan – voice
jeff suszczynski – guitars, voices, keyboards
bill trautman – bass, voice

04        tapestry windows (trautman)

it’s like looking outside if the outside had
a thickly piled nap
you could make toe fists
tapestry windows

nick hall – drumset
jeff suszczynski – voices
bill trautman – guitars, voices, bass, cymbals

05        dirigible army (suszczynski)

your hamilton duel, what will it be
who is the one with the dirigible army
who will make your ghosts recede?
i hope it's not me

jeff suszczynski – piano, voice

06        fizzle and crack (suszczynski)

standing in the doorway of the new century
point at the horizon but never go there
instead -
bulk food and trinkets,
too many buildings,
drunken phone calls
and smalltalk crosswords with you

burn this mountain of unsent letters
step up and out of your air-raid drill desk protection
but -
the alarm clock is ringing,
lightbulbs imploding,
ill-concealed moments of infidelity
i ape you and you ape me

tim grimaldi – drumset
jeff suszczynski – acoustic guitars, keyboards, voices, floor tom

07        no saviors, please (suszczynski)

fortune smiles when she wants to
a sniper at the barbecue
no princess of touch and feel
she’s all about timing
and the carnival will be brief
so rejoice over little things
not over lambs but plastic bags

tim grimaldi – drumset
jim sahr – guitar, voice
jeff suszczynski – ebows, voice
bill trautman – bass

08        do the galaxy  (suszczynski)

when perhaps my dust is paid
i’ll bend the road with you again
or some moving stairway
this time we’ll do the galaxy

brett dreyer – tenor saxophones
tim grimaldi – drumset
justin sheehan – harmony voice
jeff suszczynski – guitar, voices, piano
bill trautman – bass

09        marina sirtis (trautman) 

empathy and skilled control 

bill trautman – acoustic guitar, voices, snare drum