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A Note From Don Bruns
As co-producer of the A Merry Band of Murderers CD, I was astounded at the quality of the recorded music. We assumed that there would be some good music, since all of the authors are musicians as well. We didn't expect to get the unbelievable performances that you'll hear on the CD. It's hard to pick a favorite song, but I do like Val's version of "Long Black Veil," Rupert's song about losing your mind, Nathan's very strange piece about a girl and her dogs, and ... oh, heck, I like every one of them! I think you will too.
The Indoorfins
Although the recorded songs for A Merry Band of Murderers came in from Great Britain, Canada, New York, Florida, California, and various other locations around the United States, they were finally put together at a studio in Lima, Ohio. With the help of Doug Druckemiller (producer, musician, arranger), Rob Layton (singer) and Dave Robinson (studio drummer) we were able to polish the songs that needed extra care. These guys are three members of a rock band called the Indoorfins. Wonderful band, wonderful studio (The Room Studio), and great guys. Visit them at indoorfins.com.
The writer/musicians comment on their work ...
Bill Moody on "Moody's Mystery Blues"
"Moody's Mystery Blues" appears on a CD called Intuition, recorded a couple of years ago for Bob Joslin, the violinist and composer. It was originally titled "D Minor Hues," but when we listened to the playback, Bob thought it sounded like a mystery show theme, so he changed it. I've worked with this band every Sunday for nearly five years.
John Lescroart on "Something Out There"
With "Something Out There" I'm delving for the first time into the genre of scary power pop. My musical guru and producer Richard Montgomery and I spent a night of careless drinking working out the arrangement, arguing as usual about arcane musical topics such as the inclusion of a 1-4-5 structure, the unusual instrumental figure between the first and second verses, and a weird F# that I wanted coming out of nowhere, but eventually peace and consensus prevailed. read more ...
Jim Fusilli on "It's Too Late to Cry"
I wrote the song—a 12-bar blues in Cm7 that modulates to Ebm7 at the coda—and asked the Emmy-winning filmmaker George Motz to produce the session. We figured we'd cut the song live in the studio. I'd tossed around the names of a lot of notable musicians I knew, but in the end, we decided to use people we were comfortable with to keep the stress level low.
read more ...
Nathan Walpow on "Be My Poodle"
I like to describe "Be My Poodle" as Sonny and Cher meets The Sir Douglas Quintet. The female singer is Andrea Cohen, my wife. I "sang" the male part and played all the instruments. Recording was done in my garage. I created some of the organ music with my '80s Ibanez MIDI guitar controller, which has otherwise sat in a closet for twenty years. The drums were recorded one piece at a time on a digital drum system—but one that you hit with drumsticks, as drum machines have no soul.
Tom Corcoran on "Bone Island Mambo"
The voice on "Bone Island Mambo" is that of Jim Hoehn, the song's composer and co-lyricist (along with Tom Corcoran). He, too, is a writer of books as well as songs and he peddles his wonderful CDs from his own site, jimhoehn.com. The song appears on two CDs in addition to the one included with the hardcover A Merry Band of Murderers. One is called Deadline Penitentiary—a title with which all mystery writers will identify—and the other is a compilation of various performers' beach-side tunes called Thongs in the Key of Life, Vol. 3.
Don Bruns on "Stories"
"Stories" is a song that I wrote and sang at the Edgar Awards in 2004. The theme of the song revolves around living a rich, full life ... the good and the bad, and passing on the stories. That's pretty much what the old man in the story "Courage" does. He's had good times, bad times, but he's learned a lot about himself in the process, and he'll have stories to pass on to the next generation. "Stories" appears on my CD Last Flight Out (which Nathan and his wife found in a discount bin for a quarter). [Your webmaster notes: Actually, it was three bucks, but still a crime. We artists don't get no respect.]
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