Fee Fi Fo Fum / Americana (Painting On A Car Hood By Keith Greco)

I have cobbled together the similitude of the live performance of Fee Fi Fo Fum for a benefit for 23 Press. 23 Press was an underground L.A. magazine that published vanguard poetry. Unfortunately nothing exists of that publication now.

Fee Fi Fo Fum was:
Donald Johnson / Keys and Vocals
Javier Hernandez-Miyares / Guitar and Vocals
Alberto Hernandez-Miyares / Bass
John Millspaugh / Drums

All songs were written by Donald Johnson and Javier Hernandez-Miyares

While your mother wears the jackboot,
You have no time to lose.
Slip away in your rat drawn shoes
To live to fight another day.

With the students in the streets,
you’ll rain petrol on their heads.
The iron fist wants to bust your balls,
and make your brother eat some lead.

Your lips are dry and your eyes are burning
as the crowd starts to disperse.

It was the summer of your first love,
until the curfew fell.
Backstabbing bastards were wearing the necklace,
and burning in the fields.

Riot police smoking lucky strikes,
as they flirted with the girls.
While the president of some foreign country
told you everything was well.

I bet you felt very macho
all the time you were raising hell!

Jackboot summer you will never forget.
The sound of rubber bullets
as they pass by your head.

It was a jackboot summer.

You spent time in a closet
discovering what you need.
Then like the bulls of Pamplona,
you chased it in the streets.

Electronic eyes of nations
were present at the scene.
Recording every moment
for the folks that watch tee vee.

You never thought for a moment that
you were winning anything.

Jackboot summer you will never forget.
The sound of rubber bullets
as they pass by your head.

It was a jackboot summer.

lyrics and music by Javier Hernandez-Miyares

I wrote this song in praise of the first intifada, and it is deliberately ironic, because we were watching it on our distorted tee vees.
The style of the tune is tropical blues.
Jackboot Summer

Live at Sun Jump Day 1989 (Backdrop by Keith Greco)

This song was written by Donald Johnson, and arranged by JHM and Donald. Donald dedicated the song to Matilda Hernandez-Miyares.

John Millspaugh: Drums
Alberto Hernandez-Miyares: Bass
Donald Johnson: Vox and Keys
Javier Hernandez-Miyares: Guitar and Vox

Sweet piano and some forlorn strings. Next week the vox will be recorded, and after that the sundries.

Where The Pieces Fall was written by Javier Hernandez-Miyares, and this arrangement in progress is by JHM, and Donald Johnson.

This is a sacred song about dialectical materialism. I invite you to follow it’s progress.

Where The Pieces Fall

I was a child of Rock and Roll, and i wrote a song about Rock and Roll.
Donald Johnson co-wrote the lyrics. This performance of the song took place in 1986 in Elmont. This is from our last gig in New York. You can hear the crowd chant “bullshit” shortly after we finished the song; i guess that they wanted us to keep playing.

Fee Fi Fo Fum was:
Alberto Hernandez-Miyares: Bass

Donald Johnson: Vocals

Mary K: Keyboards, Backing Vocals

John Easter Mills: Drums

Javier Hernandez-Miyares: Guitar, Backing Vocals

This performance was recorded at February’s in Elmont in 1986.

The drawing above is by jhm, and it is pencil on the back of an envelope.