Ed Maly - Middle Child Goes Wild! (2017)

Weee! It’s finally finished! This latest labor of love from Hot Texas Tunes, Middle Child Goes Wild, has 12 new original songs, and four copy tunes. Thank you, Billy Stull, for the concept, song arrangement, and mastering! I’ve always been fascinated by birth order and the things we let control us as seen in the opening track, “Middle Child”.

There are two drummers on this cut. Greg Partyka played acoustic drums on the analog tracks, and then Mike Snelling added a layer over that using his electric kit when the tracks were moved over to Pro Tools.
Eric Demmer’s saxophone playing sets the mood for “Honky Tonk” as we pay tribute to all the bars and clubs and wonderful people who go every weekend to help keep this music alive!
At heart, every man has a little boy in him just dying to “Do Something Crazy” and then explain it away with something like this!
“Rocket Ball” is dedicated to the idea that someday, someway, Houston will finally have a winning team again, and as of right now, it’s looking pretty good for the Houston Rockets! Those 3-point shots are falling right every night!
“Death Rattler Growl” pushes the lyrical envelop a little, but I like the attitude of the old man in the last verse, “Don’t cry at my grave – it’s just nature’s way – for me to meet the angel – who watched me by day.”
Keith Cannon’s version of “Can’t Always Get What You Want” always goes over well at the live shows. Keith recreates it here with help from Eric Demmer on saxophone, Larry Scott on slide, and Scott Graham on piano.
“Mo Money” is a (sort of) true story. I had a dream that the guys in the band and I drove to Vegas to see about playing a few gigs, and while there, we won $7,000, then doubled the bet, but lost it all! I suppose the dream was just a subliminal reminder that gambling in Vegas would bring better odds for us than playing music. However, in the dream, as in real life, we’re having way too much fun to care, either way! Keyboard-man, John Blau, provides the perfect opening voice and keys for this one!
The idea for the song, “Why Don’t You”, came after hearing a jealous man yell at his wife across the room at the bar one night, “Why Don’t You Love Me Like You Used To!” Wow, I thought…now, there’s a song!
“The Black Widow” is a fictitious tune written to warn all about the existence of these 2-legged creatures, who at the very least, deserve to be exposed in song!
On one of my many trips to Austin for their songwriters’ symposium a few years back, I heard a young fiddle prodigy named Ruby Jane Smith. She was only fifteen back then, but she played country fiddle like a seasoned pro. Her mom managed her, and she toured for years as “The Ruby Jane Show”. I wrote this song back then and forgot all about it until recently when I heard she had switched styles completely and started a new band called Ruby and the Reckless.
One of the happiest tunes we play live is “Jambalaya” with Don Irby on vocals. People always love that song. Don does a great job on it here, and John Blau adds his “squeeze-box” accordion keys for just the right Cajun touch to make it dance!
If money is the root of all evil, then misguided love runs a close second in this fictitious soap-opera called “Money and Love”.
Looking back over my life, it seems like music has always been my anchor, getting me through the highs and lows in life. For me, the definition of “lucky” is to have a tolerant wife, a strong live band, and a host of local guys who do killer overdubs in the studio as needed! As the song says, I am, indeed, a very “Lucky Guy”.
Made famous by Bo Diddley, “Can’t Judge a Book” is one of the many Willie Dixon tunes that is always a favorite to play live.
I’ve always loved the Jimmy Barnes’ version of “She’s Looking Good” (by Roger Collins), as well as Wilson Pickett’s, but I think our version here is unique, too, thanks to Eric Demmer, whose saxophone playing blew the lights out at the studio!
“Rock You Crazy” is the promise all good garage rock bands make to their audiences. That is, we just want the listener to “turn it up”, and dance with reckless abandonment! Or, if not that, then at least escape into the music and enjoy being lost to the world for a while because that’s how it was for us while recording it! - Ed Maly

Track List:
01 Middle Child 02:59
02 Honky Tonk 01:59
03 Do Something Crazy 02:10
04 Rocket Ball 02:31
05 Death Rattler Growl 03:29
06 Mo Money 02:40
07 Why Don't You 02:35
08 The Black Widow 02:22
09 Can't Always Get What You Want (Keith Cannon) 05:51
10 Miss Ruby Jane 02:18
11 Jambalaya 02:57
12 Money And Love 03:28
13 Lucky Guy 02:09
14 You Can't Judge A Book 02:36
15 She's Looking Good 03:00
16 Rock You Crazy 02:48

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