ben patton blog

Dear Uncle Sam,

I just returned from an ill-fated trip to Hong Kong, over the course of which i was attacked by cockroaches, robbed, unexpectedly separated from my travel-companions for much of the trip, and made ill by exotic foods like “Dried Sea Slug”, “Shark’s Fin” and “Ox stomach”. Glad to be back in Cebu, which seems comparatively homey. In 1964, the Beach Boys released a double single of “I Get Around” and “Don’t Worry Baby”. The former, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, was the West Coast teen band’s first number one hit. I’ve chosen “I Get Around” for this installment of “Songs I Wish I’d Written”.

Was there ever a more perfect two minutes and twelve seconds? It’s quintessential of the genius of Brian Wilson to create a work of art that, on the surface, appears almost proudly unsophisticated and adolescent, but, upon closer inspection, reveals extraordinary intricacies and innovations.

The thick three part harmonies on the chorus, lead by Brian Wilson’s famous falsetto vocal, are dense and complex, and could only have been arranged by someone with Wilson’s understanding of jazz theory.

The words were written by actual teenaged boys, and when they describe being popular and hip, you must remember that they were at the peak of their fame, in real life. –Not to mention that they were making more money than any kids their age. These lyrics speak for us. They state what we’ve always wished we could say. What adolescent boy doesn’t want to be top dog? And what grown man isn’t really an adolescent boy?

“I get around / From town to town I’m a real cool head / I’m making real good bread”

The mono 1964 recording still does the trick, after all these years, but I do wish I could find a stereo remix somewhere. My friend Jack Reiely, once the Beach Boys manager and co-lyricist, insists that such a mix does exist out there somewhere. There is an available stereo live recording from the Beach Boy’s first live album, “Beach Boys Concert”, which is great, if you can handle all the screaming girls.

I’ve heard my father name “I Get Around” as one of the key songs of his adolescence. He was just the right age for it, in 1964, and something of a surfer too, I understand, albeit on the opposite coast. I sometimes picture a young blond version of my Dad, when I hear that song.

Damn, I wish I’d written that song.

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Dear Uncle Sam, When Jaye Muller and I first came to the Philippine island of Cebu it was to rock an extravagant bash to christen the opening of the International Academy of Film and Television. That first, brief experience was a dizzying drug trip, in which we were whisked, jet-lagged and confused, from the Mactan airport to a private yacht filled with jet setter businessmen and renowned super-models, to an opulent Hollywood-style gala, complete with a fashion show, and finally to an unfinished dormitory, where we would have slept, had our internal clocks matched the external ones.

The second of our two full days in Cebu was just as bewildering. It ended at a Cebu City club, where Muller and Patton played a short impromptu set at the request of Thomas Osmena, Cebu City’s mayor. Afterward, the slightly inebriated Mr. Osmena got on stage, took the mic, and said to me, “Lemme show you how it’s done”. Then he broke into “My Way”. “….And now…. the end is near…. I’ve made my case…. of this I’m certain….”

Since then, Count Jaye and I have learned a lot about life in Cebu, which, unsurprisingly, is not usually about yachts, fashion shows, and Sinatra hits.

Our second trip, early last spring, was no less surreal, but longer, and more educational. During it, we not only began our musical affiliation with Bigfoot Entertainment, (A Euro-American film and television company with a headquarters here in Cebu) but also had another concert of our own, celebrating the upcoming release of our second duo album, “Jonathan and Bailey”. For this concert we wanted a stripped down band, and a small choir. We were fortunate enough to be referred to the University of San Carlos music department, in Cebu City. The six singers and two musicians we chose quickly became great friends.

Here I am with some of our San Carlos buddies. I’m the one who’s pale skin is over-exposing the camera lens.

The Count and I can’t wait to show y’all that concert on film. We hope to release it on DVD some time early next year.

One of the tenors in our little chamber choir was Rendel Lim. I called on Rendell to lend me his poppy voice for a theme song I wrote to Bigfoot’s new reality TV show “Hollywood Boot Camp”. The producers asked me to write a ditty reminiscent of the theme-song for “Pinoy Big Brother”, (the Philippine’s answer to the hit American show), AND the theme for “Friends”, by the Rembrandts.

I’m a big fan of the latter. The Rembrandts, Danny Wilde and Phil Solem, are two candidates for my “Academy of the Underrated”. They are gifted pop songwriters and I understand they are back together with a new album.

Enough rambling. Here is the theme song to “Hollywood Boot Camp”. It premiered a few weeks ago on the Philippine’s QTV, to a viewership of over 1.3 million.

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