The Near Myths

Andy Oglesby (aka "Liberal Andy," aka "Oglesmyth") on "Fool Me Once" - It was the first week of June, 2004. I knew I had to get to work. The recording sessions in Wilson were only a little over a month away, and I had nothing newer than late '70s compositions to bring. It had been a bit of a dry spell, songwriting wise.

A song had been swirling around in my head for some time. It was a protest song, I knew that much, but not much more. So I sat down after work one day, and wrote the first two verses fairly quickly. The chord progression was OK, same as Let It Be, and Willin', close to Lola. Acceptable, but no hook. The chorus chords came next, but with lyrics that did nothing for me, just filler. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to let Gee-Dub speak for himself, being the master of the spoken word that he is.

Then it hit me. "Fool me once, sh-sh-sh-sh-shame on you.", it just fit. I think I might have even pumped my fist into the air. Tiger style. A eureka moment. (An eureka moment?) I played it for my youngest step-son Brett, and he approved.

Less than a week later, I went out to my friend Will Baker's basement home studio and recorded a demo to send to Jim and Katy. They also approved, and suggested we three do another demo, which we did, again at Will's, this time with banjo and 12-string, and K & J singing background vocals. (Will played bass, drums, lead guitar and harmonica.) I was hoping we could just add to that recording in the studio at Barton, but compatibility issues prevented that, so we re-recorded the whole thing. It took a couple of takes, and a lot of editing, but I'm happy with the result.

Shortly thereafter, I posted the MP3 of FMO on my favorite website, www.democraticunderground.com and got a request from an internet radio disc jockey, "revRecluse" of www.radioenigma.com, for permission to play it on his show. I agreed, and heard it for the first time (on the radio) on the day before my 50th birthday. He's been playing it, plus several other Near Myths' songs ever since. Check him out, he plays lots of great indie music, including some by Will Baker.

By the way, on the excellent electric guitar lead, Teeper played "Nadine", my Dad's old Gibson ES-125T. I was hoping I could get it on the CD somewhere!

The band debated the advisability of including a song of such political nature on the CD, not wanting to alienate half of our potential audience. Thankfully, the song prevailed. I should note that the opinions expressed in FMO are one hundred percent mine, and not necessarily those of every member of The Near Myths. Your mileage may vary.