The "Late for Dinner" CD is a collection of home recordings. Some songs were recorded at Woody's home in the middle of the night. A few songs were recorded at Andy Tolleys house in San Deigo. The live version of "Fanatics" (one of the hidden tracks) was actually recorded on a little boom box in 1989. "When I get the Money" (the other 'hidden' track), was lifted from an old 45 rpm vinyl disc that Woody recorded with his band, Digits, back in 1979.
Article reprinted from Show Magazine, The Orange County Register, 3-24-2000 The influence of the Beatles on singer-songwriter Woody Woodham's latest effort is obvious. Yet that doesn't mean listening to "Late for Dinner" is nothing more than a nostalgic walk down memory lane. Rather, the Huntington Beach High School graduate, who now makes his home in Murrieta, Ca., has used the release of "Late for Dinner" to look back at his own life and the world around him. The result is more of a contemporary version of the self-revelatory stuff that John Lennon and George Harrison released throughout the 1970s. …..Woodham surrounds himself with plenty of good company to spruce up his acoustic-flavored material. In addition to guest vocals by his wife, Merlinda, and fiddle player Dave Russell, guitarist Greg Vaughans work is especially strong on "Won't Say Goodbye".
1. You can go to all the meetings, And speak your mind. You can put your head in a big, big book, And still be wasting time. If you're out there on the ocean, Or if you're out there on the bay, Better keep an eye over your shoulder, Or they'll be taking the boat away.
Fanatics, fanatics, fanatics, fanatics What's wrong with the world ? (Repeat)
2. You can protest the movie, And make it number one. You can put a bullet through an authors head All in the name of God. You can bomb an abortion clinic, In His name, But we're all here on this one big world, And deep inside we're all the same.
Fanatics, fanatics, fanatics ,fanatics What's wrong with the world ? (Repeat)
(c)2000woodham.. Written in 1989
PROTEST SONGS "Someday I would like to put together a whole collection of protest songs that address some of the injustice we see in this life. I wrote Doing Business with a Gun before the Columbine High School shootings. It was actually inspired by a gang related shooting right across the street from my house in Escondido. A 3 year old boy was shot and killed by a stray bullet in the crossfire." ……………..Woody LINKS: rebelromantic.com garageband.com
Doing Business with a Gun
1. Wanting to retaliate, They thought they'd do a drive-by To turn back now was too late, An innocent child would die.
CHORUS They're doing business with a gun, to liven up the day, You know it's how the West was won, The good ol' American Way.
2. A man went into work one day, And in a panic, He blew his comrades all away, With a semi-automatic. (To chorus)
3. A tourist in a parking lot, His wife and daughter by his side, Out of nowhere came the shot, Another senseless homicide.
Doing business with a gun To spice up the day 'Round here I guess it's how it's done, The good ol' American Way, THE GOOD OL' AMERICAN WAY
In kindergarten my teacher asked if anyone could write a song. Suzie did. I figured if this is what Suzie liked, then I would write a song too. Thus, I wrote my first song, 'Valentine'. By 7th grade I was performing my compositions in the hallways at school. One coach took me aside and accused me of being a queer. I didn't even know what a queer was. All I knew is, that when I was a kid and had seen the Beatles perform live, the girls were climaxing in their seats. I knew then that I wanted to be a songwriter. In high school I was hitch hiking to a hippie love in when I fell out of a car. As a result of that, I was on crutches for 3 years. I spent a lot of time then just writing songs. After high school, I started playing at church . I was part of a handful of musicians playing modern music at churches in an age when a lot of churches thought that amplified music was the devils domain. A few years later I joined Blue Jay Way, one of the first Beatles tribute bands. In the late 70s, I formed the original Digits. Our most famous gig was opening for the Dead Kennedy's at the Cuckoos Nest in Costa Mesa back in 79, (or maybe it was early in 80). Biafra Jello (leader of the DKs) asked if he could borrow our SM58 microphone. He took it out on stage and destroyed it. (Hey Biafra, if you ever read this, you owe me a mic.) We were an emo/pop band. A lot of our fans were roughed up that night. I just about got killed. After Digits, I became a barber and wrote a book called, Cut Hair at Home Like a Pro. In the 90s, I couldn't resist forming Rebel Romantic. Our song, Philip T. Kramer, about the missing Iron Butterfly bass player turned rocket scientist, was used on Leeza Gibbons Show. We did an open mic at Brick by Brick and the local bands came up to us afterwards and were giving us compliments and asking advice. Rick Ruben (American Records) actually sent an A&R guy out to see us when we did an open mic at McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. Alas, nothing big ever really happened. God knows, I don't care much about fame. I don't care if I have any groupies. That Hollywood stuff doesn't excite me. These days, all my favorite rock stars are dead. All I want anymore is to document my work. My hope is that someday my great grandson, or someone else perhaps, will be able to hear me when I'm in the ground pushin' up daisies.
