Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
$1USD or more
about
In 1974, young J Oscar Bittinger took a cross-country road trip with a fellow church camp counselor to contemplate his future in ministry. The path for the adventure included many places mentioned in "On The Road" and "The Dharma Bums".
Upon return, a long journal song - originally called "Two Days Behind Kerouac" became the first "real" song J Oscar had ever written.
But, when it became apparent no-one was going to sit-though 22 verses, despite a fierce harmonica part, the classic struggle began of carving out a "true story" (for the listener) from the literal tale the teller insisted be told, no matter how rambling. Thus began a 40+ year balancing act between NOT-GIVING-the-f-UP, and learning what to let go...
In one version the teller attempt to cast the trip as "the hero's journey", in another it becomes a Dante-esque epic of faith lost and direction reclaimed, still another version attempts to make real and redeem every possible road trip cliche. Each were exhausting to work on, hard to hear, and not terribly fun to sing.
Then a happy accident happened. The lines "Forget the map - let's just drive" were improvised to fit in when chords got reversed. Recognizing the chorus was easier to sing, more lines were cut out or cleaned up.
But it wasn't till the song was brought to a band rehearsal, where Mark Hugger and Chris Ranney brought further electricity to the monster and we realized "it lives!" No doubt gang singing, tambourine swinging, hand claps and a trombone part (by Chris) in this recording also help to bring things to life. (And the harmonica survives as well.)
May "Kerouac" go with you on, or inspire, your next road trip.
This little town
I’ve got to blow, man
Wanna know what’s down the road
Comes a time
You’ve let go and
Gotta take your shot
Drop your nickel in the slot
CHORUS
. Call me Jack! Like Kerouac
. Forget the map
. Let’s just drive
. Windows down
. Music loud
. Ain’t it good to be alive
I ordered porter
You got a bourbon
The band was swingin'
Like a crazy parade
Here’s to the mad ones
That burn like Roman Candles
Feelin’ the lust of love…
…and revolution being made
CHORUS
BRIDGE 1
| When your wonder
| Turns to hunger
| Starts eating you up inside
| With desire
| Kiss me deep
| No time to sleep
| We’re gotta burn, burn, burn
| Like the clock’s on fire!
BRIDGE 2
Grab this a sad old world
In a mad embrace
Belly to belly
Face to face
CHORUS
VOX HORNS
...Bah-dah-dah-dap...
credits
released June 29, 2019
Chris Ranney - keys, vocals, drums & horn programing, trombone
Mark Hugger - bass, vocals
J Oscar Bittinger - song, vocals, guitars
Engineered by Chris Ranney @ Verbville, Greenville, MI
Mixed by Chris Ranney, Mark Hugger, J Oscar Bittinger
"Love all the sensory images that place me directly in the world of your songs & the compelling and singable choruses." -
Dan Hazlett
J Oscar Bittinger writes, produces, streams (www.facebook.com/Freewheelin.JOscar), plays live with musical friends & inventive acquaintances. SOUNDS LIKE: modern folk-rock, indie-pop, w/Americana ambiences, rock roots, + grooves with natural elements....more
Tom Heyman documents life in San Francisco circa 2023, refusing to succumb to easy characterization & instead capturing the city’s nuance. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 22, 2023
Jody Stephens of Big Star and Luther Russell of the Freewheelers team for a radiant LP packed full of slide guitar and pop smarts. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 11, 2019
Soulful guitar interplay form the heart of this lovely Americana collaboration from Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 2, 2018
Epic, folksy psych-pop, diligently crafted from sessions recorded in a beach studio and an old San Francisco mansion. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 9, 2015