I’m excited to announce the release of this new song from Russ Ellis. Russ told me a few weeks ago he wanted this to come out on May 1, International Workers’ Day, to which I said, “right on, let’s do it.” It’s May 1, here it is! Please share this far and wide. This is track 9 (wow!) for Russ’s album-in-progress live, Songs From The Garden. I also thought this was a good moment to share the lovely portrait of Russ by the great Judy Dater, which will be part of the CD package, fairly soon, I think! Without further ado, I invite you to have a read and a listen, to “Chicka Ding.” Thank you.
-Eric Din
UPDATE: Check out the video for this song, here!
Liner notes from Russ:
Al Marshall was another of those Bay Area kids that went to Berkeley’s Cazadero Music Camp. He and his talented family came to family camp, kids’ camp, jazz camp. As he dove into his teen years, he spent a lot of time up in Dave’s room “crankin’ jams.” So I was told.
His musicality was beyond doubt. Thinking about collaborations for this album, he was yet another of Dave’s friends that, early, came to mind. We bounced ideas around online for a while. Highly motivated, I sent Al many, many borderline-absurd Voice Memo’s trying to capture my idea for the piece. (It is only recently that I learned from Al the amount of time he spent cracking-up at these e-sillies, until —he says— he saw how they advanced his understanding of my idea for the enterprise).
Then I spent a couple of long sessions at the big, funky studio in the basement of his Oakland home. I left him with the chicka ding chant, some squawks, burps, shouts, pronouncements and the responsibility of finding a groove that matched my political intentions for the song.
When he successfully put it all together, he handed it off to David for tweaking & mixing. Happily, my daughter Zoe decided she wanted to play and included her daughter, Lily.
If, somehow, one young person is moved to vote in November in the direction this suggests, I will rest in peace.
Chicka Ding.
Lyrics
Rich man with your appetites,
Gonna bite you. Gonna bite
Poor man eatin’ race for lunch
You’re starvin’. You’re wasted.
You need to eat some real food.
Listen fool.
Divide and rule.
That’s what they do.
Let’s change that.
Russ Ellis: Voice
Al Marshall: Music
Zoe and Lily Ellis: Voice
Mixed by Dave Ellis @ Ellis Island Studio
References
“Eleven/Twenty Twenty” – The presidential election.
“MacVout” – Slim Gaillard
“Rope-a-dope” – Muhammad Ali
“So, How’s This Set Up?” – Robert Reich
“Alreet” – Cab Calloway (via Geordie slang?).
“Oo, She tee-nincie” – Greta Thunberg.
“Bubba Shoop Shoop” – “Get ready.” Neologism created for this tune.
© 2020, Russ Ellis and Alcide Marshall
Zadell Music, ASCAP
