Ohare Rodent Song
Johnny had interviewed TOMMY DeCARLO, a man who will be touring as lead vocalist for the classic rock group BOSTON. Tommy DeCarlo, a home depot employee, was discovered on-line by the band to replace the original lead vocalist Brad Delp, who died in March 2007 at age 55. DeCarlo has an amazing voice, and the manner in which he was discovered is equally amazing. And he sounds like a good guy and a very humble individual despite his obvious talent. He plans to return to Home Depot after the tour, but I hope he never has to! I fell in love with this man (as in I respect him) even before he inspired me to make my idea a song instead of a voice mail.
It seems there are quite a bit of rodents at Ohare International Airport. WGN TV investigated this, and despite denials from the airport, there is quite a bit of evidence of infestation. Johnny took calls from several people who reported that rodent feeding at Ohare is apparently a recreational activity. Then a guy who works there called in to report large cockroaches who actually chase down humans. He sounded serious. I believe him.
That was the inspiration. So at 9:30 PM I started recording the song. I had to do the vocals out in the garage to avoid disturbing the wife. I may have disturbed the neighbors. I recruited an ACTUAL RAT from the alley to sing harmony- he did a great job except on the word RAT.
I submitted the song about 11:50 PM 5/7/08.
I woke up at 6 am 5/8/08 and set up a recording of the Johnny B live stream from wlup.com. (The automatic recorder stopped working a few days ago). The audio levels looked okay so I returned to slumber. When I woke up again at 7:45 AM, I realized I had never started the recording. So I thought I'll never know if they aired my Rodent song.
Then at about 8:55 AM, Johnny started talking about Ohare and the Rats...pulse increase...and then this song, partly recorded in a darkened garage, was aired 9 hours after submission.
At the end Johnny mentioned my name and asked, "what's wrong with that guy?"
That was the same question I asked myself last night as I sang in my garage. What is wrong with me? I know the answer to that question, but it is up to you to figure it out!
