Music

The lyrics to following songs were written by Noah Bond, as was the music for most of them. Arranger Chris Cappoza wrote the music for several, including Mr. Wrong. Jeff Withrow provided the music that became Accessory to Love, which has been played over 100,000 times all over the world.  Over half a million people have heard these songs, which have thousands of fans worldwide. Noah Bond, Kathleen Patricia and Nicholas Coppola provided the vocals. Chris Capozza provided the arrangements, engineering and all the instruments. The songs may be downloaded from Amazon.com and other sites.

I always get questions about the songs mentioned in my books. In the 1930’s there was a weekly 15-minute live radio show in Columbus, Ohio, called Ken & Lou, the Singing Two. My father was the Ken component of the Singing Two. He sang and played the ukulele. I once asked him what they were paid. A confused look came over him for a moment. Then he said “We weren’t very good. We called it square.” Thus was born a family musical tradition of singing and playing stringed instruments with little talent, inadequate preparation and nominal compensation. I did my part, as evidenced by the songs in my novels and the dozens that lie in wait for unsuspecting future novels.

The genetic predisposition toward musical performances reached its inevitable conclusion in June, 2013, at Chris Capozza’s Bluestar Studio in Orlando. Noah Bond, Kathleen Patricia and Chris were joined by Nick Coppola for a marathon session – 13 songs in 12 days. Taking into account that none these songs had been rehearsed, it was a determined effort that left the participants drained, but happy. The results of this have been preserved, along with 5 songs recorded in 2012, in the CD album Fine as Frog Hair.

Since most of the songs were written by Noah on a 6-string acoustic guitar, they tend to be country songs. Perhaps because the guitar was made in Brazil during the 1960s, two songs became bossa novas. In any event, several songs were liberated in the studio, where they achieved their potential as songs in the styles of The Byrds, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Moody Blues and (gasp!) Pink Floyd. When the dust cleared, about half of the songs remained country songs.

Every song has a story. Backward I Gaze is based on a haiku poem by the venerable Japanese poet, Shiki. Silver Ball on the Roulette Wheel of Life began as a friendly parody of country songs, but quickly became the real item. Light Shadows was originally the spooky introduction to a song that wasn’t good enough to make the cut. Accessory to Love was the result of a series of miracles worthy of a novel. I Love You, Keep Reading was intended to be a country song, but – like Hotel California – became reggae. Chelsea was originally recorded in Nashville and released in 1971 as Kelsey. It was updated before its reappearance.

Many of the songs were written four decades ago. The others are new. The music for some was written by James Jeff Withrow (Accessory to Love) and Chris Capozza (Fine as Frog Hair, Baja Manifesto, Mr. Wrong). The music and lyrics to Time Suite Time were written by Nick Coppola, Chris Capozza, Bryan Wilson and Jon Agee, who jointly hold the copyright. Except for the foregoing, the lyrics and music were written by Noah Bond.