MP3 Eacret and Ledeboer - Offspring

OFFSPRING--a CD of parental experiences.
Rhythmic, guitar-based alt pop bridges folk, pop and jazz, storying the feelings of parenthood in its lyrics.

10 MP3 Songs
POP: Folky Pop, KIDS/FAMILY: Children's Pop



Details:
Alan Eacret, born and raised in the Midwest, is a true original who has somehow managed to put into music what I and anyone else might be feeling. His music is influenced by his early interest in the Beatles and later other bands such as XTC. His poppy song structure is underscored by a range of chord changes more reminiscent of jazz, and a rootsy groove, perhaps due to the years he spent playing bass around the Midwest in various popular bands such as Boys Night Out.

Caroline Ledeboer was born and raised in the Netherlands. Her interest in American music is reflected in the somewhat folky bent of her writing. With an M.F.A. in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa, she is naturally more focused on the lyrics but has enjoyed the musical collaboration with Eacret, in which her words appear to move across a soundscape. Formerly with the folk-rock band The Bean Angels from Iowa City, she now teaches English as a Foreign Language and takes care of her two children.

Some of Eacret and Ledeboer's thoughts and life are most clearly presented in their lyrics of which follow two examples:

from Oh Willa
(A. Eacret)

Oh Willa will I ever see you
Will I meet the one I know I've known before
Oh Willa will I see your mother
Smile in that special way reserved for you

But don't hurry if you feel you just can't make it
And don't worry you know I'll understand
But if one morning I find you on my doorstep
I'll do the best I can

Oh Willa, are you talking to your mother
Are you listening to what she has to say
Oh honey I understand the problem
But I'm afraid I just can't intercede this time

But don't hurry if you feel you just can't make it
And don't worry you know I'll understand
But if one morning I find you on my doorstep
I'll do the best I can

Oh Willa, I don't want you to see me crying
But this time of year it's hard to not feel blue
Oh Willa, I try and hide it from your mother
But she's smart enough to read between the lines

But don't hurry if you feel you just can't make it
And don't worry you know I'll understand
But if one morning I find you on my doorstep
I'll do the best I can

Oh Willa, are you talking to your mother
Is she listening to what you have to say

from Your Father's House
(C. Ledeboer)

We found a seed in the ditch by the side of the road where the field stretches brown and cold

Gravel turns to dust
And an old car rusts
Near the house where
Your father grew old

And in your eyes I'm laughing
And I can see where you played
Your brothers and sisters
And the home you made

In the folds of a mohair blanket grow dim
In a hair shirt grow strong and feel the wind
The leather straps across my shoulders
Grow tight like a second skin

A wristband of gold or silver
Lies lost on the sunlit plain
I've worn bracelets of gold or steel
But they feel the same

Now that there's no more ties save one
He's got your smile,
But his eyes are like mine

I see the fields empty
And I see them full
The corn rises like a wave over time
I wish for him an Iowa dream
Like the one still in my mind

And in our eyes he's laughing
And I can see where he plays
Your brothers and sisters
And the home we make

We found a seed in the ditch by the side of the road where the field stretches brown and cold...