Song Demo: "Michelle Owes Me Twenty Bucks"
You don't stiff the band.
My last demo, “I’ll Be Gone,” was deemed “Beautiful…and sad.”
This one is different.
I decided to demo “Michelle Owes Me Twenty Bucks” after a conversation with Paul Rizzo, booker for the Bitter End in New York City. The club is mentioned in the song, and as I was setting up for a show, he asked, “Hey, do you still play that one about the singer you played with here who never paid you for the gig?” I was amazed that someone who hears so many songs every night would have remembered it, and took it as a sign. So here’s to you, Paul.
And Michelle: My Venmo is @tallboy7 .
Michelle Owes Me Twenty Bucks
© Mike Errico, Sky Blue Coupe De Ville Music, ASCAP
Michelle
Owes me twenty bucks
She used to sing the lead, we used to play the songs
Another tone deaf queen, it didn’t take too long
‘Til we were out of gas
‘Til we were out of luck
She took the cash
She stiffed the band
Michelle
Owes me twenty bucks
We used to play the Bitter End about once a month
After a while even her mother stopped showing up
We were out of gas
We were out of luck
She took the cash
She stiffed the band
She stiffed the band she stiffed the band she stiffed the band you don’t stiff the band
Stiffed the band she stiffed the band she stiffed the band you don’t stiff the band
The band
Karma left her rolling joints on a Frisbee
She skipped town to start it up again in Tennessee
The land of guitars, guns, and Bibles
Well, I got friends in the land of guitars, guns, and Bibles
And Michelle
Owes me twenty bucks
Serious Q: Are you digging these demos? I hope so. I feel pretty vulnerable sharing them, but it’s also fun. Unfinished work is exciting even though it’s not, you know, finished.
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Or you could just buy me a coffee.
Love it! It rocked me, made me laugh. Almost made me jump around but it is too hot outside.
Love everything about this track. I personally think initial rough song recordings or "unfinished" tracks can often capture the true energy and character of the song (and songwriter) better than a finished track. But I may be a little biased because I suck at finishing songs. I say keep sharing these work in progress tunes. I grew up on the Replacements and as Paul Westerberg & Co. attest to, sometimes the magic is in the imperfections or unfinished state.