“Chasin’ Chickens” is my first “new” track of 2022. “New” with quotes because the song has been in my head and on my hard drive in various states of undress for quite some time.
Y’see, the thing is, I currently have something like 30 or more songs “in progress” (more quotes – some of the songs in question haven’t been touched in years).
My current process is to work here and there on each song as I feel like it. Some songs grab my attention and I burn the candle at both ends to complete them. Others sit patiently, waiting for Dr. Frankenstein to slowly attach their parts. Here an eye, later on a leg, and so forth.
My only rule is that I have to record at least one thing every session so that my mucking about qualifies as progress (rather than just masturbation). Not the most efficient workflow plan, I admit but it keeps me going. Nobody is clamoring to hear this shit, anyway.
Like so many of my projects, “Chasin’ Chickens” (real, non-sarcastic quotes, that time) sat on my hard drive, basically finished, for months. One day I cued the file up to work on it and – say! I think we’re done. let’s master this goofy thing.
Chasin’ Chickens
For years we kept three or four chickens for their eggs. I specify that so you won’t think they were pets. I know folks who’ve kept chickens as pets but all of ours chickens quite properly treated us like the oppressive egg-stealers we were.
We kept them in a coop for at nights but I liked to let them out during the day for yard pest control. I also hated seeing them in a cage. I don’t like cages. The chickens certainly appreciated this approach. Like all living creatures, they liked their freedom. It became a major issue for us, however.
Not only would they shit all over our porches, railings, deck chairs, and cars but they’d also destroy our plantings. Flowers and various plants in the garden that they were supposed to be protecting via insect predation. Hah, I say: hah!
Even more frustrating (for me) was trying to round them up into the coop at night. Initially, it was easy. I’d go over to the coop and shake the tin feed cup with some feed in it and they’d come running, wobbly bodies comically a-bobble, as always.
This changed after a few occasions of having to leave them in the coop for a day or two. They clearly disliked this and became harder to round up at night. Eventually, it turned into a nightly ritual of me chasing them around the yard. I’d get one or two in the coop but there was always one last chicken way up in a tree somewhere, all puffed up and squawking.
I can’t say as I blamed them. Who wants to be a prisoner? But the nightly cooping was for their own safety. Case in point, I eventually threw in the towel as our chickens chose roosting in a tree overnight to sleeping in the safety of their coop, a situation that delighted the local raccoons. I knew what would happen but I was not about to bust my neck climbing a tree at dusk to try and catch a goofy chicken. In less than a week, it was over. No more chickens.
On the plus side, the main riff for “Chasin’ Chickens” would come into my head during these chicken chasing sessions. It’s a short, sprightly tune that makes a perfect soundtrack for frustrating endeavors such as herding cats, coaching children’s soccer – or chasing chickens.
“Chasin’ Chickens” and my other songs can be found on the CAE bandcamp page.
Concept, programming, bass, and guitar: CAE
