New album "Brighter Days" album available now
In August 2024, Michael Ward with Dogs and Fishes released their latest album ‘Brighter Days,’ featuring eight songs recorded at Hyde Street Studios. The politically-charged album contains nods to blues, classic rock, Memphis soul and above all, a hard to define but unmistakable West Coast Americana sound.
Brighter Days
Too much time looking over the edge
Keeping track of all the trouble lurking under my bed
Like many I know I’ve got my share
Like a story cooked up by the devil on drugs
And he’s given the lead to some party down thugs
And they’re swinging away
They’re trashing the set
Pushing and pulling putting hearts in play
And they’re not done yet
But they don’t know like I know like I know
The dark don’t banish the light
For all the high and low
And the wrong and right
I’m holding out for brighter days
Big red glow on the blue horizon
For now, I think I’m calling it the rising sun
It’s coming on up and spreading light to spare
Some times like these are too much to bear
Doesn’t matter if you just don’t care
Like a story you’ll hear that’ll break your heart
Can the horse find a way to the head of the cart?
‘Cause he knows the way and he can’t forget
Pushing and pulling putting hearts in play
And they’re not done yet
‘Cause now he knows like I know
The dark don’t banish the light For all the high and low
And the wrong and right
I’m holding out for brighter days
Wherever you go you’ve got big surprises
No matter what you know about sunrises
Nothing guarantees you’re gonna see the sun
Nothing says for sure you’re not a one and done
Even though you think you’ve just begun
Like a story written down on a rolling wheel
You have to stick around to get the big reveal
‘Cause it’s rollin’ away In spite of your get
Pushing and pulling and putting hearts in play
And they’re not done yet
But now I know like you know
The dark don’t banish the light
For all the high and low
And the wrong and right
I’m holding out for brighter days
Michael Ward – Vocals, Guitar
Jeff Cleland – Bass
Prarie Prince – Drums
Richard Howell – Saxophone, Vocals
Chris Von Sneidern – Guitar, Vocals
Drew Zingg – Guitar
Fernando DeSanjines – Percussion
Joshua Brody – Keyboards
Gabriel Harris – Steel Pan
Chris Marquez – Engineer
Will Chason – Engineer
Eric Glauser – Engineer
Mark Needham – Mix Engineer
Howie Weinberg – Mastering Engineer
Every Kinda People
(Andy Fraser)
Say the fight to makes ends meet
Keeps us all up on our feet
Holding down our jobs
Making sure we can’t be bought
It takes every kinda people
To make what life’s about
It takes every kinda people
To make the world go ‘round
Someone’s looking for a lead
As a duty to a cause or to a creed
Protecting what they feel is right
Fights against wrong with their lives
There’s no profit in deceit
Honest people know revenge does not taste sweet
Whether yellow black or white
Each and all of us the same inside
[Chorus]
You know love’s the only goal
That brings a peace to any soul
And all of us the same
We just want sunshine on our names
[Chorus]
Michael Ward – Vocals
Jeff Cleland – Bass
Chris Gamper – Drums
Drew Zingg – Guitar
Chris Von Sneidern – Guitar, Vocals
Richard Howell – Saxophone
Fenando DeSanjines – Percussion
Prarie Prince – Gong
Joshua Brody – Keyboards
Gabriel Harris – N’goni
Katie Guthorn - Vocals
Kathy Kennedy – Vocals
Keta Bill – Vocals
Chris Marquez – Engineer
Will Chason - Engineer
Case Newcomb – Engineer
Mark Needham – Mix Engineer
Howie Weinberg – Mastering Engineer
Big Bite
I’ve been watching on the evening shows
Just what we are deserving in this life
When every day’s another blow
To how it could have been without this strife
Thinking I could do something fast
But nothing seems to come too fast
I came upon a man who said he knew me
And he read me like a book
And he said it with such confidence
I knew he didn’t need a second look
Such opportunities don’t last
I thought I out to do something fast
Before it slips away
It was the big bite
He got a piece of my pie
The big bite Just a snack he got to try
The Big bite, big bite, big bite, big bite
You didn’t even spoil his appetite
And he’s thinking of you now
Big promises are all you need
When desperation offers you a ride
Gets you dreaming cattle dreams
That only happens in the slumber of your pride
Like you were sleeping under glass
And something’s waking you too fast
To get out of the way
[Chorus]
Hungry men in higher places
Keeping watch on all that passes by
They’ll be hide or holding all the aces
Nothing but the hungry rules apply
You’re just a gimme till the last
Unless you’re gonna do something fast
Before it slips away
‘Cause it’s the big bite
They got a piece of your pie
The big bite
They’ll bleed you till you’re dry
The big bite
‘Cause what you got won’t satisfy
Big bite, big bite, big bite, big bite
Michael Ward – Vocals, Guitar
Bobby Vega – Bass
Burleigh Drummond – Drums, Percussion
Larry Treadwell – Guitar
Keith Allen - Vocals
Susan Coburn - Vocals
Tim Hockenberry – Vocals
Tambre Bryant – Vocals
Richard Howell – Saxophone, Vocals
Ronnie Buttacavoli – Trumpet
Kraig Kilbey – Saxophone
Mark Needham – Engineer, Mix Engineer
Andy Murdock – Engineer
Chris Marquez – Engineer
Eric Glauser – Engineer
Howie Weinberg – Mastering Engineer
CGI
You got a problem with the way you look
A double chin and forehead fade away
Your big belly kinda got you shook
You see the evidence day by day
You need a way to work your will
To bend reality and eat your fill
You got permission to ignore the bill
CGI - Picture anything you want - CGI
You got a weatherman that brings you grief
He says “As bad as it is you know It’s gonna get worse” Heat waves, bad weather beyond belief
He’s got a daily forecast like a ready-made curse
But there’s a way to put things right
Keeping everything you want in sight
Keep the story fires burning bright
CGI – Picture anything you want – CGI
So many issues with the medical game
You’re not looking to buy what they’ve got to sell
You get the verdict, you get the pain T
hey get the feel-good story to tell
They’re talking up the latest cure
A fancy dangle like a fishing lure
But there’s a way to make your body pure
CGI – Picture anything you want – CGI
You’re thinking lately you can rule the world
Or maybe just the parts with the big-time money
You see the day your flag’s unfurled
It will be warm and dry and bright and sunny
Just the ticket for a rising star
Pleasant weather speaks to who you are
Spreading everywhere near and far
CGI – Picture anything you want – CGI
You got the money and you got the juice
You make reality a cheap excuse
Michael Ward – Vocals, Guitar
Jeff Cleland – Bass
Prarie Prince – Drums
Chris Von Sneidern – Guitar, Vocals
Drew Zingg – Guitar
Richard Howell – Saxophone, Vocals
Fernando DeSanjines – Percussion
Joshua Brody – Keyboards
Jody Calcara – Vocals
Chris Marquez – Engineer
Will Chason – Engineer
Eric Glauser - Engineer
Mark Needham – Mix Engineer
Highway 61
(Bob Dylan)
God said to Abraham, kill me a son
Abe said “Man, you must be putting me on”
God said “No” Abe said “What?”
God said “You can do what you want Abe
But the next time you see me coming You better run”
Abe said “Where you want this killing done?”
God said “Out on highway 61”
Georgia Sam he had a bloody nose
The junko partners wouldn’t give him no clothes
He asked poor Howard “Where can I go?”
Howard said “Only one place I know”
Sam said “Tell me quick man, I got to run”
Howard just pointed with his gun
He said “That way down highway 61”
The fifth daughter on the twelfth night
Told the first father that things weren’t right
“My complexation” she says “is much too white”
He says “Hmm, come here step into the light”
He says “you’re right”
“Let me tell the second mother this has been done”
But the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on highway 61
Now Mac the finger said to Luis the King
“I’ve got forty red white and blue shoestrings
and a thousand telephones that don’t ring
Do you know where I can get rid of these things?”
And Luis the King said, “Let me think for a minute son.”
He said “Yes I think it can be easily done,
We’ll put it out on highway 61”
TV Preacher
The roving gambler, he was very bored
Trying to create the next civil war
He found a promoter, nearly fell off the floor
He said “I’ve never engaged in this kind of thing before
But, yes. I think it can be very easily done
We’ll just put some bleachers in the sun
And put ‘em on highway 61”
Now the TV preacher Don Pompadour
Told the congregation he was keeping score
Everyone who wronged him or did him poor
Or brought him trouble that he couldn’t ignore
He said “I’ve got to wonder what Roy Cohn might have done
Maybe tie their ankles so they can’t run
And put ‘em on highway 61”
Michael Ward – Vocals, Guitar
Prairie Prince – Drums
Jeff Cleland – Bass
Chris Von Sneidern – Guitar, Vocals
Richard Howell – Saxophone, Vocals
Fernando De Sanjines – Percussion
Drew Zingg – Guitar
Joshua Brody – Organ
Nathan Winter – Engineer
Will Chason – Engineer
Mark Needham – Mix Engineer
Howie Weinberg – Mastering Engineer
Dress Up Day
I’m wearing blackface and a fat suit
I’ve got a shotgun that doesn’t shoot
I’ve got a Santa sack full of movie loot
And a bogus backstage pass to boot
I’ve got this feeling coming on
And before that moment’s gone
I think I’m ready for my close up
I’ve got an alibi you can’t refute
I’ve got the winning smile of the new recruit
I’m taking motivation from the root
To make my case to low hanging fruit
[Chorus]
‘Cos ohh every day is dress up day
Ohh every day you live in fear
You’ll give the game away
I’ve got confidence I’ve got attitude
And I can be brash, and I can be rude
‘Cos I’m justified like high grade crude
And I can make a mess and I can come unglued
[Chorus] x 2
Michael Ward – Vocals, Guitar
Prairie Prince – Drums
Jeff Cleland – Bass
Chris Von Sneidern – Guitar, Vocals
Richard Howell – Saxophone
Fernando De Sanjines – Percussion
Drew Zingg – Guitar
David Saenz – Engineer
Chris Marquez – Engineer
Will Chason – Engineer
Jerry Stuckner – Engineer
Mark Needham – Mix Engineer
Howie Weinberg – Mastering Engineer
Bad Guy Bullets
(A Lockdown Journal)
I played a shut in for a good long while
My high time was walking the dog at the end of the day
Then back again to my solitary domicile
I let the television light the room
I’ve just been letting it play
The scene is set for the rest of the night
A fat joint about as big as a log and a bottle of beer
Find the channel that reliably illuminates
All this mystery and gloom
It’s making many things clear
Like how bad guy bullets got misdirection
No worries for the leading man
Leading men don’t need protection
They’re written into the master plan
You got your stakeout on a dead-end street
Hunkered down for a week or two while the perps come and go Nobody wonders what the neighbors might be thinking
‘Cause you can see ‘em but they can’t see you
It’s something they don’t know
Like how bad guy bullets got misdirection
No worries for the leading man
Not a one of them needs correction
They’re written into the master plan
Cars chasing through the middle of town
On the sidewalk should be mowing ‘em down
But a quick cutaway
To a fruit stand in Technicolor harmony
Scattered everywhere and all around
While our boy gets away
Bad guy bullets got misdirection
No worries for the leading man
Leading men don’t need protection
They’re written into the master plan
Bad guy bullets got misdirection
No worries for the leading man
By natural selection
They’re written into the master plan
Michael Ward – Vocals, Guitar
Jeff Cleland – Bass
Drew Zingg – Guitar
Chris Von Sneidern – Guitar, Vocals
Richard Howell – Saxophone, Vocals
Fernando De Sanjines – Percussion
Prairie Prince – Drums
Katie Guthorn - Vocals
Kathy Kennedy – Vocals
Keta Bill – Vocals
Chris Marquez – Engineer
Will Chason – Engineer
Eric Glauser – Engineer
Mark Needham – Mix Engineer
Howie Weinberg – Mastering Engineer
A Walk in the Park
Now dust will blow, and hearts will break
From the news arriving daily
How love will fade and the ground will shake
With rising desert winds prevailing
Still you've got to keep on walking
I said you've got to keep on walking
Keep on walking after all it's just a walk in the park
Now friends will go and you'll learn too late
The deep downside of devotion
All at once the story turns to fate
And all the stars still stay in motion
Still you've got to keep on walking
Oh yeah you've got to keep on walking
Keep on walking after all it's just a walk in the park
You could set out on a sunny day
Light is shining all around you
You might be thinking that you know the way
You're gonna find out what you think amounts to
Paradise is on the tease
Beyond the stark realities
Now tears will fall
And salt will rise
And deserts bloom on the horizon
And all you know will cloud your eyes
With everything you've put a price on
Still you've got to keep on walking
I said you've got to keep on walking
Keep on walking after all it's just a walk in the park
Oh yeah you've got to keep on walking
I said you've got to keep on walking
Keep on walking after all it's just a walk in the park
Michael Ward – Vocals Guitar
Jeff Clelend – Bass
Prarie Prince – Drums
Chris Von Sneidern – Guitar, Vocals
Drew Zingg – Guitar
Richard Howell – Saxophone
Fernando DeSanjines – Percussion
David Saenz – Engineer
Chris Marquez – Engineer
Chris Von Sneidern – Engineer
Mark Needham – Mix Engineer
Howie Weinberg – Mastering Engineer
Produced by Michael Ward
Words and Music © Michael Ward 2024
except “Every Kind Of People” by Andy Fraser;
“Highway 61” by Bob Dylan
Recorded at Hyde Street Studios & Rancho Rivera, San Francisco
Mastered by Howie Weinberg
Photos by Michael Ward & John Vigran
Artwork by Jonathan Lancaster
Michael Ward, Art Director
