[Ball of Wax 31, as previously announced, will feature 15 local songwriters and bands all covering each other’s songs. Between now and the release show on March 9th, I will share the originals with you to provide a little background, and perhaps a deeper appreciation of the CD and show. (Which is March 9th. Did I mention that? March 9th. Columbia City Theater.) We’re posting the cover versions on Bandcamp, where you can pre-order the CD now.]
It’s fitting and cool that chance connected two of the centers of gravity of our little Ball of Wax world with Levi Fuller covering The Foghorns’ “80 Proof” for Ball of Wax 31. The Foghorns have ties to projects all over town and they’re a force both on stage and in the studio. Levi is the founder of this here Ball of Wax, man of many projects, and pretty much the patron saint/mayor of the Seattle off-the-radar DIY music scene. The Foghorns’ original version of “80 Proof” is a soft-white beautiful bummer. Like the best of their work, it oozes a confident, yet sleazy, wisdom earned from vice and human need. Levi’s version changes the lyric “please don’t look at me/the way I look at me” to “please don’t look at me/the way I look at you“. It could be an accidental switch or a merciful gesture to curb the song’s pervasive self-loathing – either way, that’s the kind of stuff that makes Ball of Wax 31 special. Lead Foghorn Bart Cameron:
About that tune. I wrote it to feature Kate Quigley’s voice. I also don’t like performing it because when I change it, people seem disappointed. I sing it to my kid sometimes . . . But he prefers more up tempo stuff.
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