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A Set of Steak Knives

by Man's Body

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    THE BAND
    Greg Franco: voice
    J. Niimi: guitars, vocals, organ
    Marco Obaya: guitars, vocals

    ~with~

    Dante Pascuzzo: guitars, bass, synth
    Kaitlin Wolfberg: violin, vocals, synth, theremin
    Fredo Ortiz: drums, Simmons drums, percussion, vocals
    Marc Doten: bass, piano
    Derek Crawford: drums, percussion
    Gerald Dowd: drums, percussion
    Probyn Gregory: trumpet, French horn, flugelhorn, trombone
    Jeff McElroy: bass, vocals
    Gordon Bash: mandolin

    RECORDED AT
    * Andrew Bush at Grandma’s Warehouse in LA/Chatsworth
    * Mike Hagler at Kingsize Sound Labs in Chicago
    * Matt Graff at the KooP in Queens

    Additional recording on “The Natural Host,” “Classically Mine” & “40 Oz. Kid” by Kaitlin Wolfberg and Gordon Bash at Wolfbash Studios, Burbank, CA.

    MIXED BY
    Mike Hagler

    MASTERED BY
    Bernie Grundman Mastering

    VINYL PRESSING BY
    Solid Merch

    COVER ARTWORK BY
    Derek Erdman

    VINYL DESIGN BY
    Melanie Sanchez

    PUBLISHED BY
    Sofa Hablando Music, admin by Heyday Media Group (ASCAP)
    Regal Platypus Publishing, admin by Songs of Heyday (BMI)

    THANK YOU VERY MUCH
    Dante Pascuzzo, Fredo Ortiz, Kaitlin Wolfberg, Derek Crawford, Gerald Dowd, Marc Doten, Probyn Gregory, Art McConnell, Jeff McElroy, Mike Hagler, Andrew Bush, Matt Graff, Gordon Bash, Derek Erdman, Renee Travis, Dayna Feldman, Melanie Sanchez, James Holland, Harvey Kubernik, Ben McLane (legal), Andrew Maitai, Wes Tabayoyong, James VanOsdol, Richard Milne, John Kenzie, Jim Crombie, Rich Foreman, Michael Workman, Steve Hanft, Tamra Wysocki-Niimi, Hamish Kilgour, Bernie Grundman, John Swamy, Matt Bloomquist, Laine Petersen, Eric Chial and the staff of Montrose Saloon, Infinity Hall Norfolk, Joshua Tree Saloon. Most special thanks to Rose Ann Hall and Michelle Davis for their total support of our band.

    CONTACT
    facebook.com/mansbodychicago
    instagram.com/mansbodychicago
    mansbody.bandcamp.com
    marketing: speedbmp@earthlink.net
    booking/merch: jniimi@gmail.com
    licensing: hey@heydaymediagroup.com


    NocturnalSol Recordings NOSO-024

    (c) 2021 Sofa Hablando Music/Heyday Media Group
    (p) 2021 NocturnalSol, a division of Heyday Media Group

    Includes unlimited streaming of A Set of Steak Knives via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.     ... more
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 300 

      $20 USD or more 

     

1.
Contact Sigh 03:27
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"CONTACT SIGH" LYRICS I am real Tonight I am alive again Why did you leave me holding on and on to him? Oh, but does he linger Within you does he share His boat that’s meant for one Meandering downstream? If love completely dies then I will die Contact sigh from you and I to rise Come back again If love completely fades away don’t say Contact sigh from you to I tonight Come back again I am large I live inside a cactus flower I’m not that different But traveling these desperate hours again Oh, but I keep singing, they say it’s something rare The melting rainbow snow, arresting hibernation chorus Stay close to my heart Stay close to my heart
2.
40 Oz. Kid 04:01
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"40 OZ. KID" LYRICS He’s lonely just 21 At the Gold Line All the way from Jackson Do you understand? Came here to be a new MC Show your skills to me Says it kills when it flows but it comes and goes 40 oz. kid, 40 oz. kid 40 oz. kids can go down hard Drink at 10 am, no home no job It gets rough and scace Going hard at a pace Like a kite on a cable They go down hard Hope your friends come soon To your rescue It’s not right but it is life You can work it through He’s lonely just 21 At the Gold Line All the way from Jackson Do you understand? chorus You can work it out, you can, you can You can work it out, you can, you can You can work it out, you can, you can You can work it out, can you work it out? Chorus 40 oz. kids, 40 oz. kids 40 oz. kids, 40 oz. kids 40 oz. kids, 40 oz. 40 oz. 40 oz. kids Find your way home
3.
The Natural Host 03:46
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"THE NATURAL HOST" LYRICS You are trusting, unassuming Openhearted, not cut off from this world You have nothing to hide Your doors and windows are unlocked You have no fear of thieves You are a natural host Spontaneous host You are natural A natural host You are a natural host You are a natural You celebrate life more than achieving Everyone is welcome in your aura of trust No need for attention on your vast accomplishments You are actualized chorus
4.
Handler 02:58
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"HANDLER" LYRICS I’ve had friends I’ve had sponsors I’ve had shrinks I need a handler I’ve had spouses I’ve had lawyers I’ve had it with free advice I need a handler I need to be handled, with care, Because like something fragile I might shatter Then everyone gets cut And ends up bloody and sad I’ve had college I’ve had powders I’ve had it in for myself I need a handler chorus I need a handler Don’t worry if I can afford it I need a handler I think it’s the time for it chorus I need a handler Don’t worry if I can afford it I need a handler I think it’s the time for it
5.
Hit the Bricks! 02:46
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"HIT THE BRICKS!" LYRICS Pound the pavement or hit the bricks! Pound the pavement or hit the bricks! Pound the pavement or hit the bricks! Unrolled paper clip of a man I don’t know what the fuck, can’t understand What does it matter? Hit the bricks! Macedonia Blackpool Manchester Lungs like six red snakes Break out pug-faced punk Heart sunk, heart stunk, heart sunk Hit the bricks! Peel slowly and see Cue the brackish keys Getting screen sick green sick Punch you in the face Steam rising, heat seeking Hit the bricks! Peel slowly and see Cue the brackish keys Blackpool black lung Die dead With all due respect Hit the Bricks! Hit the Bricks! Hit the Bricks!
6.
Bed of Nails (Trying) 05:14
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"BED OF NAILS (TRYING)" LYRICS Who got the number of that truck? It hit me hard and I got crushed Now I’m desperate for a nurse Tell me how can it get worse? No goals scored, no diamonds deep Caving now just makes me weep Winds of change pushing me around Transformers exploding in my brain I'm fucked I’m trying, uh-huh I’m trying, I’m trying, on this jacked up, f’d up Trying It's not a normal day I have to push through I got so much work to do I’m going to flip like I just saw a ghost Tails wagging on this dog day afternoon Hold on hold on hold on hold on Hold on hold on Hold on – hold on chorus Bed of nails, bed of nails Bed of nails, bed of nails I’m on a bed of nails, bed of nails A bed of nails, swerving toward the rails Grind my patience to the ground Why I am still lost and not found It’s a never-ending shit-ass day Has me breaking I’m not faking This sun is baking chorus Bed of nails, bed of nails Bed of nails, bed of nails I’m on a bed of nails, bed of nails A bed of nails, swerving toward the rails Grind my patience to the ground. Why do I stay lost and not found? Drive my patience to the ground I'm trying Grind my patience to the ground Trying Trying
7.
Last Day on Earth 03:43
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"LAST DAY ON EARTH" LYRICS Pour a shot Call your ma Dump the goldfish down the drain Crush your phone Dim the lights Leave a checklist on the fridge I wouldn’t know a friend from a man from the IRS Nothing keeps you safe that keeps you sane Turn your back On your God Sell your sports car for a song Have a bath Smoke a fag Wipe the widest smile away I didn’t know that I could ever feel this way again Nothing gets you high that leaves you sane Turn your back on… Turn your back On the sky Start to float out to the night Bring yourself to… Turn your back To the sky Start to float out to the night Bring yourself to… Turn your back On the sky Start to float out to the night
8.
Blue Ruin 03:40
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"BLUE RUIN" LYRICS I guess it’s just me Toasting and roasting to our ex-happiness Barkeep shakes her head, laughing Oh, you’re blowing off steam Hey, cheers to me! I'll get that warm feeling for myself What’s brewin’ I guess it’s just me tonight Alone at the Blue Ruin Why tell the world, I know I’m an ass I can’t deal with the past I'll take all my gory glories I made all these stories Most of ‘em I don't come out so good Guess no one can really do it for me except me I can’t be a good boy I can’t stop being hot So I’ll do these shots As long as love doesn’t get in the way of my perfect solitary life It's just me tonight making this wrong so right Oh come on! I took her to a few Red Lobster meals Santa Barbara weekend steals, once or twice Hell, she took three years of my life A toast to failure But tonight just one I guess it’s just me I’ll cheers to no one
9.
Classically Mine 05:03
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"CLASSICALLY MINE" LYRICS A bell is ringing off an ice cream truck Speed your love to my old crumbling block Heart pulses still races A long time from that day Baby it amazes me Skinny Cow is a crime I'm fat so I get that all the time It's vanilla peanut butter chunky chocolate time If you mean it to be it will be Ah ah ah ah Ah ah ah ah ah ah If you mean it to be it will be Ah ah ah ah Ah ah ah ah ah ah Because you are classically mine Our old love is served warm and light Long way from first sight, first flight Now these years reel on fine and free You’re my button, pretty heartbreak queen chorus We are keeping this promise We are keeping this promise We are keeping this promise We are keeping this promise chorus If you mean it to be it will be If you mean it to be it will be Because you are classically You are classically You are classically mine
10.
Shower and a Cigarette 03:54
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"SHOWER AND A CIGARETTE" LYRICS The bombs stopped for a while Just enough time to leave the bunker And see if our house is still standing Who is dead in the street? Death is just above a whisper Shower and a cigarette Death is just above a whisper Shower and a cigarette A shower and a cigarette I need a shower and a cigarette A shower and a cigarette I need a shower and a cigarette Do I recognize their marred faces? Yes, I see my dead neighbors The old man who owns a store A young mother and her child I must remember all their faces Carry them as my brain races The young boy who kicked a can Now piled on his family’s land chorus And for now the house is still standing The pipes give water I brought a towel, I need a shower Grab a few more things Clothing, an axe, some matches too My old camera died, I need a new Burned the butt to the end, sucked it in Blow out this life The next round of hell Starts to rain down Chorus Does anybody have a cigarette? Death is just a whisper away, death is just a whisper away Death is just a whisper away, death is just a whisper away....
11.
I Left the Set of My Own TV Show 04:21
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"I LEFT THE SET OF MY OWN TV SHOW" LYRICS The final script of a well-built ship Hit hard by an iceberg This heartache seems endless Near the back door, light myself a cigarette My coffee is cold again The script is not bold at all I left the set of my own TV show I left the set of my own TV, TV show The crowd is buzzing to the hype man I won’t go back there Spotlights and regret, take off your headsets It’s time to wrap it up The coffee is cold again The script is not bold at all chorus They’re coming out to stop my think Hold my nose and take a drink Perform like a circus act Now comes the electric prod Make me bow and take a nod Remind me of my contract It’s time to go home Please let me go home chorus Never going back never going back Never going back never going back

about

This record represents the last time we wild musicians were let out of our cages. We were out there, breaking hearts up ‘til March 2020. We were playing ping-pong and kissing babies! The politics were most terrible, but we kept on musing, and playing our Man's Body music for the people.

After this inauspicious year off, are we now flabby and defeated? No way! The good thing is that we had this one in the can. Made it pre-pandemic, and it packs a wallop!

Man's Body, ‘A Set of Steak Knives’. It is oddly timed for this moment. What is this moment? Not sure, but actually it could be really good. Stay tuned – we are all hoping for the best outcome.

Sigh, 2020 was about no "contact," but when it’s safe to do so, we shall return to the stage. And when we impart our musical contact high it will be no second prize.

So sneak in with us to 2021, put this on your playlist or on your turntable and have some fun. We have all been in this together.

Greg Franco
Los Angeles, March 2021

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The body is not sedentary. The ‘bod was already in motion when we began tracking for this record in July 2018, having just released our debut album, Put Your Family In It. The inaugural session was at Kingsize in Chicago with new drumming recruit Derek Crawford and our LA cohort Marc Doten on bass and piano. Mark E. Smith had just passed away a few months earlier, so we wrote a nod to his memory called “Hit the Bricks!”, in which Greg playfully channels MES’s diction/friction and the accompanying music I wrote pays close tribute to the sound of Smith’s band The Fall, a group we’ve long adored. We traveled a lot in the coming months for shows, and landed in NYC in October 2018, tracking at the KooP studio in Queens, with Doten again on bass and Gerald Dowd on drums. That short but fruitful session begat “Last Day on Earth” and “The Natural Host”.

The 2019 new year found us back at Kingsize in freezing January, recording what would become “Blue Ruin” with Dowd on drums again and LA stalwart Jeff McElroy on bass and backing vocals. Beyond an acoustic mini-tour Greg and I did in the Northeast in April, most of 2019 was spent in LA at Grandma’s Warehouse studio, tracking a slew of Greg songs: “Contact Sigh,” “40 Oz. Kid,” “Bed of Nails (Trying),” “Classically Mine,” “Shower and a Cigarette,” and “I Left the Set of My Own TV Show”. We had a great core of studio musician friends for these grueling sessions, among them Kaitlin Wolfberg, Dante Pascuzzo and Fredo Ortiz. My song “Handler” was also recorded in LA around this time with the same crew. Marco and I filled in some parts later from our home base in Chicago. We mixed the record on Halloween back at Kingsize with engineer Mike Hagler at the helm.

However, our journey wasn’t over. During the course of Winter 2019/2020, we ended up retooling the album dramatically, switching songs out and changing the running order. The album finally felt complete after we mastered it with Bernie Grundman in LA in March 2020 – just in time for the Coronavirus, and a subsequent year of cancelled tours and production delays. But we persevered, and now you are holding A Set of Steak Knives in your hands. The title comes from Glengarry Glen Ross – first prize is a Cadillac. Second prize, a set of steak knives. Third prize, hit the bricks!

J. Niimi
Chicago, August 2020

credits

released March 26, 2021

THE BAND
Greg Franco: voice
J. Niimi: guitars, vocals, organ
Marco Obaya: guitars, vocals

~with~

Dante Pascuzzo: guitars, bass, synth
Kaitlin Wolfberg: violin, vocals, synth, theremin
Fredo Ortiz: drums, Simmons drums, percussion, vocals
Marc Doten: bass, piano
Derek Crawford: drums, percussion
Gerald Dowd: drums, percussion
Probyn Gregory: trumpet, French horn, flugelhorn, trombone
Jeff McElroy: bass, vocals
Gordon Bash: mandolin

RECORDED AT
* Andrew Bush at Grandma’s Warehouse in LA/Chatsworth
* Mike Hagler at Kingsize Sound Labs in Chicago
* Matt Graff at the KooP in Queens

Additional recording on “The Natural Host,” “Classically Mine” & “40 Oz. Kid” by Kaitlin Wolfberg and Gordon Bash at Wolfbash Studios, Burbank, CA.

MIXED BY
Mike Hagler

MASTERED BY
Bernie Grundman Mastering

VINYL PRESSING BY
Solid Merch

COVER ARTWORK BY
Derek Erdman

PUBLISHED BY
Sofa Hablando Music, admin by Heyday Media Group (ASCAP) and Regal Platypus Publishing, admin by Songs of Heyday (BMI)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH
Dante Pascuzzo, Fredo Ortiz, Kaitlin Wolfberg, Derek Crawford, Gerald Dowd, Marc Doten, Probyn Gregory, Art McConnell, Jeff McElroy, Mike Hagler, Andrew Bush, Matt Graff, Gordon Bash, Derek Erdman, Renee Travis, Dayna Feldman, Melanie Sanchez, James Holland, Harvey Kubernik, Ben McLane (legal), Andrew Maitai, Wes Tabayoyong, James VanOsdol, Richard Milne, John Kenzie, Jim Crombie, Rich Foreman, Michael Workman, Steve Hanft, Tamra Wysocki-Niimi, Hamish Kilgour, Bernie Grundman, John Swamy, Matt Bloomquist, Laine Petersen, Eric Chial and the staff of Montrose Saloon, Infinity Hall Norfolk, Joshua Tree Saloon. Most special thanks to Rose Ann Hall and Michelle Davis for their total support of our band.

CONTACT
facebook.com/mansbodychicago
instagram.com/mansbodychicago
mansbody.bandcamp.com
marketing: speedbmp@earthlink.net
booking/merch: jniimi@gmail.com
licensing: hey@heydaymediagroup.com


NocturnalSol Recordings NOSO-024

(c) 2021 Sofa Hablando Music/Heyday Media Group
(p) 2021 NocturnalSol, a division of Heyday Media Group

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Man's Body Chicago, Illinois

Five piece Chicago/LA collab. Formed in 2016. Released debut CD EP, 'Found', in 2017. 'Put Your Family In It' is our debut album. Man's Body is: Greg Franco, J. Niimi, Marco Obaya. (Plus friends.) Studioesque soft-punk. Stay Found.

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