2003 MAY 7 #127
Dana Drake - Ahoy, Columbus!/Happy Happy Birthday
In mid-2001, Irwin Chusid mailed me a cassette tape of Dana Drake. Dumbfounded and in total glee I transferred the audio to a CDR and sent a copy back to Irwin. Play of Dana commenced further on the Incorrect Music radio show with Michelle Boulé (WFMU). I'm playing not one, but two selections by Dana today. The first being a favorite as he tries desperately to set forth a sound resembling a human beat box on "Ahoy, Columbus!" It's quite possible that Dana took a late night television excursion and caught one of the dozen Police Academy movies with that timely sound effects fellow making amazing sounds with his mouth... but I digress, there could be a number of possible scenarios for Dana's creative touches. "Happy Happy Birthday" follows Columbus' exciting adventures in song and dear friends, today is my birthday so I hope you'll enjoy the slow monotonous flow of this original birthday composition.
More information from Irwin Chusid's SECCA outsider music installation:
No artist information available, except that this was recorded around 1992, and that it came from a Drake cassette song collection entitled Lighthouses and Companies. Drake's tunes are catchy, earnest, and unabashedly optimistic. Besides singing about Niagara Falls as "the perfect place to spend your honeymoon," Drake croons about Christopher Columbus, visiting London, enjoying a warm Christmas, and loving Jesus. Tape provided by Brooklyn-based musician Brian Dewan, who has added Drake's "Niagara Falls" to his own performance repertoire.
- Otis Fodder
TT-5:08 / 5.9MB / 160kbps 44.1khz
