The cover image for the Booze Monkey album, 4th St.
The cover image for the Booze Monkey album, 4th St.
Blue returned to the Booze Monkey project in 2008 with 4th St.
The album completely discards the bare-bones arrangements of the first three records and features guest appearances from a number of musicians.
4th St. opens with the sound of a crowd chanting “Let’s go Monkey! Let’s go!” The crowd was recorded live in Winchester Virginia in 2004 at the last show Joel and Blue performed together.
4th St. then proceeds to weave its way through a myriad of musical styles with varying instrumentation before resolving with a single voice and a single guitar.
It even offers flourishes of electronica and industrial music, as previously explored in Blue’s Church Of Chaos and Metal Machine projects.
With 4th St., Booze Monkey shifts from it's formation as an acoustic-duo with Joel Ludwig on bass guitars, to the primary musical project for Blue Ajay.
The last three BMo albums are essentially Blue Ajay solo albums.
See Blue's Professional Biography for context.
Listen to 4th St. online:
Music and audio composition by Blue Ajay
Music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Listenin’ to Nick Cave & Tom Waits
& Drinkin’ Yukon Jack
Playin’ solitaire the old way
by shufflin’ the stack
My fingers are too sore to play guitar
but my mind keeps casting back
It’s nearly dawn & dark as hell
my insomnia is back
Nostalgia is like Drambuie
it’s sweet but it packs a whallup
when memories break through the haze
they do so at a gallop
I thought I had them tethered down
by the old pass just outside of town
but they’ve been freed by a black-hat clown
& found their way right back around
Chorus:
Playin’ Solitaire the old way - alone & boxing time
Playin’ Solitaire the old way - just to occupy my mind
Playin’ Solitaire the old way - by the table on the floor
Playin’ Solitaire the old way - even diversion is a chore
Playin’ solitaire the old way
in fear of coming dawn
fighting to keep my thoughts at bay
like undead on the lawn
George Romero’s legacy
sometimes more a grin than others
another drink to dull my brain
I’d wipe it out if I had my druthers
Nothing like unfocused anger
to leave one a bit perplexed
like a teenage trip to New Orleans
debating credence to a hex
runnin’ low on lime juice
& I’ve lost another hand
the sun it stumbles by horizon’s edge
just before it floods the land
Like the too proverbial snake
consuming its’ own tail
my thoughts devour my mind
and I don depression’s veil
my thoughts are caught in a feedback loop
from speaker to pickup and back
the things I wish I’d never thought
they just stack upon the stack
I count through 52 cards again
and dwell on familiar patterns
It’s Yukon on the rocks this time
I’m outta lime in my private tavern
Words and music by Blue Ajay
Written 24 April, 2003 - 1:19PM
© 2003 ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
What goes around
it comes around
so reportedly they say
might not believe it
never really seen it
the sentiment it seems OK
In bed with hateful
assassin grateful
deceit repeat a brand new day
trust is slaughtered
the ethics altered
hit the reset and replay
hit the reset and replay
I hope it pains you
I hope it haunts you
I hope it keeps you up at night
The rules bended
once was befriended
legal yes but so not right
legal yes but so not right
Left us hanging
our compass banging
you seem to like when we’re afraid
you take advantage
subtract each adage
you’ve squandered everything we’ve paid
I hope it haunts you
teases and taunts you
I hope it leaves you in a fright
I hope it pains you
so hope it pains you
I hope it keeps you up at night
The rules bended
twisted and rended
I hope it blurs your very sight
Your face unblended
the sale has ended
legal yes but so not right
Featuring: Kahle Magalis on acoustic guitar
Harmony vocals by LB
Bass guitar performed by Leo J. Bailey
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
This song was written about Monty Haymes’ bachelor party. Preceding his marriage to the lovely Kerie Haymes. Every word in this song is true.
She said her name was Kevin and she
she stripped for Monty
Floyd spent an hour in the VIP Lounge
Seven hundred dollars
She took my Crown and clicked her tongue
you shoulda seen her jaw drop
when I took it back and did the same
I’m such a trollop
Handy Andy hit a train’track
a dozen bladders ‘bout burst
Sixteen men were in agreement
Greedo never shot first
In a twist around the waitress
found she’d got digits from Hobart
The earlobe bit, name-tags on tit
classic state of the art
In case you find you’re looking for
a moral to this story
It’s just a tale of scant-missed jail
one needn’t worry
The night of Big Dick Frankenstein
and his merry band of bandits
Spreading wealth about three months saved
‘cause a wedding gave ’em chance
Interact and questions asked
happy to oblige
Beneath the rain Izzy abstained
but the others they went inside
Not a word by Sunday heard about
Peter’s paramedics
By then the evening’s bail-bond cash
had long since switched to credit
Turgenson he showed the Artist
a trick for tippin’ up top
Peter asked for an anal insertion
from a Prince William County Cop
Everyone thought Fistibuns
was surely going to upchuck
But he held back so Frankenstein
owes Nipple a sawbuck
In case you find you’re looking for
a moral to this story
It’s just a tale of scant-missed jail
one needn’t worry
The night of Big Dick Frankenstein
and his merry band of bandits
Spreading wealth about three months saved
‘cause a wedding gave ’em chance
Monty got a hottie and his friends
they did benefit
Kerie honey we all love you
and don’t you forget it
To all of those that stayed behind
so the pets and kids were fed
the biggest smile was getting home
and curling into bed
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© 2004 ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
My knuckles are bloody but the wall didn’t budge
I knew at that moment that I’d had enough
My arms are rubber from carryin’ grudge
I’ll take a stroll with hate if this is my love
Solutions eluded only thought of escape
running away seemed my only fate
I’d already lost far more than I could take
my absence was sure to leave smiles in my wake
But the lines on the highway blur from dashes to dots
in a hypnotic manner they order my thoughts
Perhaps I can untangle this web that I’ve wrought
this net of frustration in which I was caught
I’m changin’ Lanes
Lookin’ for a turnabout
There are things
I’m prepared to figure out
I’ve rearranged
the things I used to be about
I know it’s strange
but truly you can trust me now
The fuse to my temper has been gone for ages
so many ideas have been filtered through rages
agitation gilds the bars to my cages
certainly these are not thoughts of the sages
But calm has settled as I cross the state line
the miles are eroding away at the time
perspective is clearer in that rear view mirror of mine
and road signs help to keep direction defined
Words & Music by Blue Ajay
© 2004 ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
Buddy met Sadie at the Fairgrounds
‘bout 9 years ago to this day
love at first sight was how Sadie described it
or so her sister Jane used to say
Buddy used to say that it was lust instead of love
but his friends they knew he meant the same thing
Either way you know that they were married
very nearly right away
Everybody came to the wedding
Sadie wore a gown of white
Sadie’s mom cried and her father kept smiling
everything it felt just right
Buddy’s friends tied a bunch of cans to his bumper
and they all wished them well with rice
Everyone was partying right through the afternoon
and well on into the night
Friends and family pitched in to send them to Atlantic City
for a weekend honeymoon
Sadie got a job cutting hair at the mall
and Buddy’s parents rented them a room
For the first few years you know that money was tight
but that’s not unusual
The couple worked hard and saved nearly every penny
and things were looking up real soon
Jane said she will not forget the yellow tape
that ran the border of the crime scene
or the K9 unit brought in to find the body
it was feeling like a real bad dream
Sadie’s mother said she felt her heart would come apart
she was tearing right at the seems
Buddy’s father had a far away look in his eyes
or so it appeared on TV
Buddy was captured the next state over
used a credit card to purchase gas
Nobody could figure out a motive
everybody thought the two would last
When Jane shot Buddy nobody could stop her
Everything it happened so fast
Jane is doing life and she’s working on a book
it’s expected to sell en masse
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
Mucked the last nine and my stacks are down
pockets ain’t droppin’ fair
Divorce just settled, mixed emotion celebration
but I still have a chip and a chair
Job situation changed the color of my collar
and I just flopped the bottom pair
Night out with the gang, well the ones that were available
I still have a chip and a chair
Sittin’ in the big blind with suited connectors
checked to me I take the dare
Turn it brought a gut-shot washed away by the river
but I still have a chip and a chair
Small blind flush draw, got ugly on fourth street
caved in to the other guy’s stare
Shoulda folded early, ‘bout time for a luck change
I still have a chip and a chair
Murdered on the turn but now I’m sittin’ on the button
just hopin’ for a pocket pair
A re-raise to me and I’m, I’m holdin’ cowboys
I still have a chip and a chair
Features Christov Ashton on bass guitar.
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
Been thinkin’ rhymes since I was sentient
I always had a penchant
for Booze as my preferred crutch
not uppers or god or such
don’t subscribe to the common truths
I think that maybe schools are in on the ruse
I’m tellin’ you I’ve got the blues.
Not a sheep-bone within my makeup
sometimes I wish I wouldn’t wake up
when asleep I’m not as agitated
I think the outside is overrated
you know I have a studio tan
I’d care a little less
but I don’t think I can
I’m outta cash from remitting my dues
If I don’t play why do I still lose?
I’m tellin’ you I’ve got the blues.
Good at this and maybe that
list of failures turned right into a stack
a couple of friends to watch my back
reciprocation is a guaranteed fact
to those in the loop you know that this isn’t news
an occasional choice is what I’d like to choose
I’m tellin’ you I’ve got the blues.
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
She wants her mysteries back
Because the shadows make things beautiful
She wants her mysteries back
Because without them she can never be whole
Once again she is an open book
Her heart and soul lie open
For anyone to take a look
Sharing is not the same as giving yourself away
They cannot take control if they don’t know your name
Or so they say
It had happened so many times before
It would not happen this time
Or anymore or so she swore
This time she would take and maintain control
She’d give her body but she would not give her soul
Or so I’m told
And then the open book
Turned to the last page
Like a spotlight
On the open stage
The fear and the shame
The pain and the rage
This was a war
She could no longer wage
She gave her last bow
She gave ‘em one more look
She turned the flowers ‘round
And closed the book
She got her mysteries back
You know the shadows make things beautiful
She got her mysteries back
And we will never know quite what the shadows hold.
Featuring harmony vocals by JRock & LB.
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© 1995 ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
My buddy found jesus, hell I didn’t even know he was lost
He says he gives him peace but he never ever mentions the cost
I said I have a similar affinity for Booze
We do with what we have it isn’t as if we get to choose
I have a Firewater Fetish
You can call me, Saucy Jack
Line ‘em up Joe
I’m gonna drink ‘em back to back
I’d like to have a dollar for every dollar stolen from me
For everything denied me in the name of stupid, evil or weak
Freedom isn’t freedom if they tell you how free you can be
There’s a traffic stop ahead
I guess they’re gonna check my papers “for me”?!
I want to bite the hand that steals
I want to bite the tongue that lies
I want to ignite brush fires
If only I could find the minds
I blame the son that squirted from the father’s loins
I’d join the resistance if only there were one to join
I’ll finish drinkin’ home alone I’m trying to stay out of the cage
Cynicism is substantiated every single day that I age
I have a Firewater Fetish
You know Booze has never ever let me down
I’d gladly kiss the ring
if only Booze could wear the crown
Featuring Superdance P. Rockstar on Spermosaur-squeek-toy.
Words and music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
I got home just the other night
thus far my job had been the day’s only blight
I checked my machine and saw the blinkin’ light
I heard my baby’s voice, you know my heart it got tight I
I really love that girl
My butterflies fluttered then they fluttered away
I started to hear what my baby she had to say
she’d found a new fella she was movin’ away
I rewound the message and I let it replay
I got a voice mail
from the blues
I tried to ring my baby but she won’t take my calls
my heart is brittle it won’t survive the fall
I tried to email her but the server kicked it back
I sent a text message pleadin’ “please take me back”
I really love that girl
A modern dear John you know that’s what I got
and what I’m left with it doesn’t feel like a lot
a hole in my chest that goes from cold to hot
I’m tryin’ to reach my baby by every means I got
you know -
I tried fax her fax you know
I tried to page her page
I tried to call her cell phone
but the number must’ve change
I’ll leave another message right after the beep
I’m tryin’ to stop my baby ‘fore she takes that leap.
Featuring bass guitar by Steve Floyd
Piano and organ by Rick Wilkins
Harmonica by Lee Blanton.
Words by Joel Ludwig and Blue Ajay
Music by Blue Ajay
© ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
The following cocktail recipes appeared in the 4th St. CD packaging.
Hurricane Monty
1 part Bacardi Superior Light Rum
1 part Bacardi Special Select Rum
1 part Orange Juice
1 part Grenadine
1 part Sour Mix
Mix all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice (preferably cracked). Shake, strain and pour into an ice filled hurricane glass. Garnish with an orange widge on the rim of the glass and a Marashino Cherry sunk to the bottom of the drink.
This is my buddy Monty’s recipe. Yeah… he’s the same Monty whose bachelor party inspired Dick Frankenstein’s Night Out.
Pomegranate Janis
.75 oz Pama Liqueur
3 oz Southern Comfort
Serve on the rocks in an Old Fashioned glass.
Naked Acre Compound House Manhattan
2 oz Crown Royal
.75 oz Sweet Vermouth
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 Marashino Cherry
Place ingredients into a shaker half-filled with ice. Stir well and strain into a Cocktail glass. Garnish with Cherry.
Note: in an atypical divergence of tastes - Christina prefers hers with Gallo Sweet Vermouth but I prefer mine with the Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth. - Blue
Naked Acre Compound House Stinger
2 oz Brandy (if splurging, use Courvoisier)
.5 oz Creme de Menthe
This one can be served multiple ways, but at the Compound we like it in an Old Fashioned glass, on the rocks, and garnished with a twist of lemon.
This is Christina’s “winter Cocktail”.
Turn Card
.75 oz Captain Morgan Private Stock
.75 oz Anejo Rum
.75 oz Creme de Banana
.5 oz Nassau Royale
1 Marashino Cherry
Shake well with ice. May be strained into a Cocktail glass or served over ice.
American Werewolf
1.5 oz Chivas Regal .5 oz Frangelico .5 oz Creme de Bananas
Serve on the rocks in an Old Fashioned glass.
John Loman
1 oz Frangelico 1.5 oz Vanilla Stoli 1 oz Apricot Brandy 1 Orange Ring
Slice an orange and cut out the center of the slice leaving a ring of peel. Shake the ingredients with ice and strain into a Cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange ring.
Open Collar
1.5 oz Anejo Rum
1 oz Creme de Noyaux
.5 oz Lime Juice
This Cocktail is a quick and easy variation on a Mai Tai (which can be a cumbersome concoction at times).
Serve it in an Old Fashioned glass over ice.
Reprinted from the original CD packaging:
4th St.
All words, music & recording - written, arranged, engineered, produced, performed & mastered by Blue Ajay except as noted.
© ℗ 2008 Sanity Check Musec, Inc. ASCAP
Lyrics reprinted with permission
Cover photo, logos and graphic design by Blue Ajay.
The Poker table pictured on the cover is a handmade gift from my pal Monty. Thanks, Monty!
The photo of Blue on the CD's fold-out insert was taken by Stuart Swink. Its use in the graphic design was inspired by my buddy JRock.
The chanting from "Let's Go Monkey!" took place on 24 September 2004 at the Old Town Grill & Bar in Winchester, Va as last call approached. The bar owner, Bill Whitson, stood on the bar and led the crowd in the cheer. I recorded a handful of friends in my studio performing the chant to add an element of control to the mixing process, but for the most part that recording was made live that night. I added the extra percussion, resophonic guitar, upright bass and organ in the studio. The "noise" that segues into "Solitaire" is comprised of assorted live and ambient recordings I've made in recent years. The barking at the end of the song was performed by Lee Blanton.
Special thanks to my friend Stuart Swink who acted as a sounding board for me throughout the creation of this record.
Some amazing musicians lent their talent to this record. I am exceedingly proud of their contributions and cannot thank them enough. See the lyrics for their specific performance credits.
As always, if it weren't for Christina, none of it would happen.