THE NORM (circa 1985-91)

"Fighting" written by The Norm I remember writing and recording this song in a practice space we had in Little Italy. I believe it was either during the later Initiatives period or shortly after, and I can't remember who was in the hybrid at the time. Very reminiscent of past reggae roots.

"Here To Stay" written by The Norm One of my attempts at creating a socially-conscious song that would hopefully mean something to somebody. I wrote this one with images of riots and police brutality, as there was an awful lot of that going on at the time.

"Doctor Prosser" written by The Norm I wrote this little ditty because I had a melody that I couldn't get out of my head. The words were an afterthought really, something to sing along to the tune. I never knew a doctor by the name of Prosser, and by the sounds of it, that's a good thing.

"Raphille" written by The Norm This one was written when I lived on Meadowlands Drive, famed in Ottawa for it's low-rental, no-frills, slightly-less-than-safe neighbourhood appeal. I recall trying a few different things in the mix with this one, which is why I like it.

"Right To The End" written by The Norm This song was typical of my tongue-in-cheek style of writing. I sometimes liked to poke fun at things, and I wrote this one about hypocrites in general. I don't think it was aimed at anyone in particular, but I can't say for sure!

"Plastic World" written by The Norm I wrote this song after having a bite to eat with a friend of mine in a fast-food restaurant. I was remarking how they had recently renovated and removed all the cushioned seats for molded plastic ones. In fact, the whole place was now plasticized.

"She's The Only One" written by The Norm This one was a tongue-in-cheek stab at a 50's ballad. Purely fictional at the time, I recorded this one to see if I could do a 50's ballad. As it turns out, the story more or less came true twenty years later. Life imitating art again.

"Don't Walk Away" written by The Norm This was an attempt at a top-40 tune, and one that I hoped would have been pretty big at some point. I think it's time has pretty much passed, but if the sappy, poppy ballads ever come back, I might try this one out again.

"Something I Must Do" written by The Norm I wrote this song at a time when I felt very insecure about the music business, but at the same time, justified that I was doing the right thing by being a musician. I think all artists feel that way sometimes. Me? I still feel the same way today.

"Ask Me When It's Over" written by The Norm This song was simply a fun song, and not much else. I loved the tune, the instrumentation, the whacky vocals and the beat. It was a treasure to find this one on tape. I wish I had recorded more like this one. Maybe I'll find more!

"Time Is Money" written by The Norm This song, for me, represents the dark-side of the fast-paced 9-5 lifestyle which I have tried to avoid as much as possible in my own life. I have nothing against the lifestyle itself, or the people who chase it, it's just never been of interest to me.

"Nobody Takes Me Any Higher" written by Silent Q When Silent Q played live, this song always got everybody up and dancing. Probably the most requested song we ever wrote. My attempt here to re-create the energy of the original failed miserably I think, but I'm sure you get the picture.

"Nothing Is Alright" written by The Norm This song was a cool departure from what I usually wrote, in that I made some interesting choices with the drum-machine and percussion tracks. I also like the background melody and the organ riffs. One of my personal favourites.

"Mystery" written by Silent Q Another Silent Q original, I think I did a better job re-creating this one, although it has less of a ska feel and more of a rock feel. It works both ways in my opinion, and this was one of my favourite Silent Q songs. The fans loved it too.

"All In A Nutshell" written by The Norm One of my first jobs was working at a general store in Manotick. My boss there was a woman who often used a lot of quaint sayings, one of which "in a nutshell." I took it upon myself to write a song, and this was it.

"You Got Me Where You Want Me" written by The Norm I'm sure this song was an attempt to release some good 'ole angst into the world. I can't recall why I wrote it exactly, but to me it sounds like I was in a place between not happy and quite disturbed. Ahhh, the good old days indeed.

"I Fought The Law" written by Sonny Curtis At some point, after The Initiatives, Fred Hackett and myself decided to record this cover of the infamous song. Personally, I think it's a pretty good cover, and I think it has a raw energy that you can hear and feel.

"Time" written by The Norm I had forgotten all about recording this song, until the memories associated with it came flooding back. This is one of many tunes I wrote years ago when I couldn't handle the emotions of not being with this one girl I was crazy about.

"S-O-L" written by The Norm Unfortunately, the tape this was lifted from has severe audio stretch marks, but I thought the song was good enough to post. This one was written around the bass line, as I had bought a new Ibanez bass guitar at the time.

"I'm On Top Of The World" written by The Norm This was one of a few songs that I recorded in a practice space where I had access to a real drum kit. I would come in with my 4-track on the off days and record everything including the drums. It was a rarity, as I usually relied on synthetic drums.

"That Doesn't Surprise Me" written by The Norm This was another of those songs in which I played actual drums. I was a little surprised at the overall tone of this one, and to be quite honest, I'm not sure why I wrote it. It's quite possible I was writing songs that would offer me good drum parts.

"He Don't Waste Anything" written by The Norm This was yet another of those songs in which I played actual drums. Originally, this melody was written for a rejected Roto-Rooter jingle. So I did the only reasonable thing and used it for myself. It's a fun, little number I think.

"Train People" written by The Norm This song was written about visiting my father in Toronto. Back then, trains were important to me, as they signified a trip to see my dad. I wrote another "train" song about my father on an album called "Life" that I recorded in 1991.

"Things Won't Change" written by The Norm One of my songs that signifies for me the experimental nature of my music. The cymbal I used was from my first drum set and had a huge crack in it. Other percussion included bottles, mic stands and a hard-shell briefcase.

"I Am Youth" written by The Norm I wrote this song as a contest entry for the Ottawa Board of Education back in the early 80's. They were looking for a song to bridge youth and environmental awareness. I received a certificate, but they cancelled the contest due to lack of interest.

"Clowns And You" written by The Norm I wrote this one for that girl I was crazy about so many years ago. I was convinced that she and I could have been a perfect match, but unfortunately, her boyfriend (my best friend at the time) didn't agree. Ahh... teenage life indeed.

"Takin' The Initiative" written by The Initiatives This song was The Initiatives' theme song, and one that we enjoyed playing. To be honest, I can't recall if we ever played outside the warehouse. Incidentally, The Initiatives shared a warehouse at one point with heavy-metal band Exciter.

"Somebody Took A Shot At Elmo" written by The Norm I recorded this song while in another band that had a drum kit, which I borrowed. I can't remember who the guy was who owned the drums, but the gal's name was Amy, and she had been in an Ottawa recording band in the 80's, Screaming Bamboo.

"Don't Look Again" written by The Norm This is probably one of the most "commercial" songs I have written to date, in terms of the hook-like chorus and overall instrumentation. It has always been one of my favourites. This one was recorded in 1990.

"Don't Wash Our Minds Away" written by The Norm This song was originally called, "Don't Wash Our World Away", and was originally written for the Ottawa Board of Education song contest. I decided to enter another song instead, and re-wrote the lyrics for this one.

"Tender To My Heart" written by The Norm This song was typical of my sappy love ballads, which were few and far between, thank goodness. I like this one because of the arrangement and the chorus. I think there were some pretty interesting parts in this tune.

"Easystreet" written by The Norm Other than the synthesized bass, this song has always been one of my favourites. I think it says a lot about me as a musician, and as a person. I remember having a set of roto-toms that I used in this song, which drove my mother crazy.

"By My Side" written by The Norm This song probably reveals my "J. Geils Band" side, as I think I was heavily influenced by them when writing it. In fact, I even used the word "centerfold". It's the only song I've ever recorded that has a bell solo. Wonder why.

"Psycho Together" written by The Norm I wrote and recorded this song in one night because a buddy I worked with didn't believe that I wrote and recorded my own music. His name was Scott, and a lot of the phrases in the song were ones he used on a daily basis. He was surprised.

"Daddy, Can I Have The Keys To The Car?" written by The Norm These four songs are all from the 1991 collection called "Life", which was recorded while on holiday, and released on cassette tape to only a handful of people. You can hear the obvious Pink Floyd influence in this one.

"Get More Out Of Life" written by The Norm I like this song because it has a nice rhythm that, I feel, flows through the whole song and carries you along peacefully, right to the end. I am especially fond of the drums and percussion that were actually straight off the keyboard I had at the time.

"That's Life" written by The Norm This song was my tongue-in-cheek track for this album, and it's pretty obvious. Some time after this was recorded, I joined a band by the name of Audio Army and we played this song live a number of times. It was always a crowd pleaser.

"Carnival Of Life" written by S. Scott Parton This song was a collaboration with an old friend, Sandy Parton. We attended a writing club together for a bit, and I was inspired with this poem of hers, so we agreed I would put music to it. You can also hear the Pink Floyd influence in this one, and heavily at that!