Guitar Garden: Music

5 Miles to Uppsala

(Flora Majora)

2007-02-01

Pavlock (lyrics)/Prown (music)

FLORA MAJORA - “5 Miles to Uppsala”
(Lyrics by Jeff Pavlock. Music by Pete Prown)

Produced and mixed by Pete Prown at Guitar Garden Studio

Recorded “live… in cyberspace”
Mastered by Mark Crouter (Washington state)

Kenny “Grain Train” Wareham (Pennsylvania):
Vocals, rhythm guitar

Mike Flavin (PA):
Lead guitar [01:12 + 03:57]

Guy Best (Vermont):
Bass, lead guitar [04:45]

Pete Prown (PA):
Lead guitar [05:23], slide & harmony guitars, organ

Carl von Linné (Uppsala, perhaps):
Drums

Song Notes from Pete:
There seem to be a few ‘jam band’ followers among us TFK’ers, so we wanted to create a tune that captured that vibe, á la Allman Brothers, Umphrey’s McGee, Aquarium Rescue Unit, and Phish. There’s also a bit of old Southern-rock influences in here—a little Lynyrd Skynyrd and, my personal favorite, The Outlaws.

Initially, Jeff Pavlock (from upstate New York) and I emailed each other about writing a jam-band song featuring lyrics about the Flower Kings and, indeed—about the Flower King himself. Jeff then went off and wrote these catchy lyrics. They’re a heartfelt tribute to our favorite rocker.

Later, Mike Flavin emailed over a ripping guitar solo (which I edited into two separate parts—the short, Holdsworth-like break early on and the larger lead later), and Vermonter Guy Best contributed nice ‘old school’ bass lines. To me, Guy’s bass lines are the glue that hold this song together. He also added a spacey wah-guitar solo in the middle that I really like.

Finally, my neighbor Kenny sang the vocals and cut some of his typically funky rhythm-guitar parts. By trade, Ken is a successful grain trader, but at night turns into a killer funk/soul guitarist. (And in true jam-band style, we drank a bottle or two of wine before cutting his vocals to get into “the zone.” Most of them were first takes and perfectly suited to Jeff’s lyrics.)

And finally, a huge thanks to our fastidious and talented mastering engineer, Mark Crouter.

VERSE 1
We can’t sing,
We can’t play
We’ll have more fun than
You…anyway.

We can love
You can hate
We write the songs
From a clean slate.

Our hearts are
in the right place
We’re not looking at color or race.

Our hair is blonde
Our hair is brown
We may even wear a hairless crown.

CHORUS
Because it’s…5 Miles to Uppsala.
5 Miles to Uppsala, baby.
We just got 5 Miles to Uppsala.
I’m goin’ 5 Miles to Uppsala.

VERSE 2
Our timing may be off
Our vocals a bit stiff
But just listen to our mighty riff

He’s got the groove, from Sweden to the USA
He’s gonna light world
We do what Roine say.

CHORUS (repeat)

BRIDGE
All hail the Flower King
Bring us the song you sing.
Lyrics and music to heal the world,
All will be revealed.