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Pioneer Square Recordings

by Give It To Me Rusty

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  • Compact Disc (CD)

    High-Quality Full-Color Package and Replication from A to Z media. Includes 16-page booklet with lyrics, stories and artist bio.
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1.
Give it to me rusty, or don't give it to me at all, Give it to me rusty, or don't give it to me at all, the rustier the better. She comes to me in the middle of the night, she puts her arms around me and makes me feel alright. You know I can't complain cause she looks so good, like I knew she would. She give's it to me rusty or she don't give it to me at all, As she walks away, I remember what she says, As she walks away, I remember what she says, for the rest of my days. Give it to me rusty, or don't give it to me at all. Give it to me rusty, or don't give it to me at all.
2.
My name means early morning, let's go, let's take a journey. Tell you a story about Africa. My Great Grandfather was a holy man, born up in the mountains. Everything I know today he taught me. 15 years old I was very dangerous, nighttime guerillas they kidnapped me. They tell me about my country, they say this this this, told me to blow a train. I'm not going to do that, that's not the reason that I am here. Nothing worse than your brother kills you on the street. The spirit, the creator, they got me out. A jail kid, sentenced to death. Smuggled me thru Tanzania, England, then I am here. I'm triple happy, glad to meet you, I'm fine now. Noah, oh my God, can I get a space on your boat, sir?
3.
You just call on Granny in the middle of the storm. She points out the rainbows in the evening’s burly warmth. Between the rainbow sprites and the silly old elves there wasn’t much to hide and the love on the ranch grows deep and wide. Rainbow began in the back of our farming home and ended in our fields of golden grain. When that pot of gold just didn’t show at the end of the pouring rain we learned how to love and live with pain. Granny went and died of years of heartache and a stroke, left us a farm and a ranch and cellar that is broke. We sold the ranch to a neighbor who appreciates what we have, but we still call in Granny when things are bad. You just call on Granny in the middle of the storm she points out the rainbows in the evening’s burly warmth. Between the rainbow sprites and the silly old elves there wasn’t much to hide and the love on the ranch grows deep and wide. That love grows deep and wide.
4.
War Heroes (Kevin) (free) 04:53
I’m A homeless veteran, twelve years in the army. I was over in desert storm, purple hearted out in 91. Doing chemo at the VA, full blown cancer in this leg.  I ain’t going let this beat me down. Went on some missions that don’t make the newspaper. Stuff that make your head spin, stuff that make your head spin. Jumping out of the sky, supposed to be white, white, white. I seen red and black. Those oil fields they set on fire, parachutes burst into flames. I walked that highway to hell. Ain't going to be any baseball in bagdad.  We've spread ourselves way too thin. We’re back to the decadence, you know. Dad said “you don’t ask to be born, you don't ask to die, you’re just here for the ride.” Reserved me a spot in Arlington, I’ve already danced on my own grave. Four hundred twenty dollars a month for taking a bullet for this country. Two purple heart and a silver star, but that don't pay for parking in Seattle. Right here in this city. War heroes living under bridges.
5.
Oh, I've been thinking about drinking. I've been thinking about drinking because I'm thinking of you. Can you see me now?
6.
I'm a train tramp and I'll tell you a story if you all just give me a minute to sit down. I was born in New York City, lost my family, been 14 years. Fiancee got hooked on crystal ran off with the hotel manager I've risen and I've fallen I've been up and down the line Phoenix, Mesa, Apache Junctin, San Perdu. Oh Las Vegas, underneath the Bonanza Bridge, I learned how to jump the freight. Riding on the Uncle Paul, they call it the Dirty Face. Cause what you got when you got off? You got yourself a dirty face. Whiskey bottle's empty, gotta do something now. Stopped off in Sydney, the train graveyard. Salvation Army helped me out with a little money and a little food. Then they called the sheriff on me. Ran me outta town in Ford 250 t-bird, he didn't want me there. We're back on that train, that power unit started flaming. The brakeman he come on back, this is what he said. "I know you ain't doin' no harm but we're gonna have to stop in Laramie for repairs and for you, well, that means releasing on the fly". I jumped off that train at 85 miles an hour. You hope and you pray you land on your pack. My knee hit a broken railroad knuckle. I broke my knee and I broke my back. Yeah, I'm a train tramp. I'll tell you a story if you all give me a minute to sit down.
7.
I got teardrops in my shoes, cause i’m looking for you. I lost my finger, now it’s all I can do. I got friends in wheelchairs. You know why I’m alive? Someone upstairs is looking’ down on me. Now my brother, he says Ramon, you piss like a puppy. If you can’t hang with the big dog get under the porch. Portate bien, no llores, just remember. You put the monkey on the ball, you got ten more on the bottom. Gotta have five hands, ten hands. No tengo cola, change a la pelota. You ate corn with tamales in the morning. Mama said you dare sneeze or cough at the table, I’ll slap you outta your chair. Well, I did so she did, she says to me. Portate bien, no llores, just remember. You put the monkey on the ball, you got ten more on the bottom. Gotta have five hands, ten hands. No tengo cola, change a la pelota. Do you know why I'm alive? Someone upstairs is looking' down on me.
8.
Kick it like you mean, knock it out. Kick it like you mean it, knock it out. I was just seventeen, digging ditches, trimming trees. Running jack hammer. First time I hit the stage, the whole crowd was looking down on me. I sang to the wall. What the hell, you gotta start somewhere. We're rocking and we're rolling, but we don't know where we're going. Kick it like you mean it.
9.
Lighting matches in the back of the car, that's my very first memory. I killed my sister when i was four years old. Couldn't kick it out, i ran away, turned around, the car exploded like a mega-bomb. Can’t blame a four year old, but I was still the one. I was beat down every single day. My family spit in my face, I started living on the streets. The kids out here, they’re like family. Even if you had to go hungry to give someone something to eat. You see how the wind moves? Don’t know where it comes from, don’t know where it’s going, but you see it’s power. That’s how God moves. My wife died in my bed, bomb of heroin and alcohol, I gave up everything. I’ve been shanked in jail more times than I can count. When i say the streets are killing me, I mean the streets are fucking killing me. I lie a whole heck of a lot, but god he knows my heart, from the time I was born. He judges me by every single thing I've ever done. At least I'll be able to see jesus before anyone. You see how the wind moves? Don’t know where it comes from, don’t know where it’s going, but you see it’s power. That’s how God moves.
10.
How do you lose a train on the track? You're always thinking about going to something you left back home, something you left back home. I'm on the road again, looking for a destination to save my life, in that country of heaven. I shot a man and went to prison for 16 years. What did I learn? I really can't say. How do you lose a train on the track? You're always thinking about going to something you left back home, something you left back home. What do you have after death? Life.

about

www.giveittomrusty.com

Give It To Me Rusty is a musical collaboration between Seattle’s downtown homeless population and musicians Aaron Zig and Noah Dassel. Often compared to Simon & Garfunkel and Johnny Cash, with a cultural equity aim akin to folklorist Alan Lomax, their lyrics are constructed word-for-word from face-to-face conversations with those living on the streets of downtown Seattle. To quote Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn: “Give It To Me Rusty’s songs capture the strength, resilience and heart of Seattle's homeless population. Their mission reminds us of the importance of sharing our stories and the belief that we can pull each other up, one person at a time, through the simple act of listening."

Pioneer Square Recordings is the culmination of a project that happened spontaneously while busking in 2008. Dean, a traveling Vietnam War veteran, began improvising words over Zig and Dassel’s music. They sang along, turned on Noah’s handheld recorder, and created their first song: “Give It To Me Rusty”. This phrase was chosen to be the band's namesake because it embodies the artists' belief in sharing one's truth in all it's real, raw, "rustiness". As they continued to speak with the homeless, they recognized the need to share these stories with a larger audience. They found music to be the common language they could use to make this possible. The mission of Give It To Me Rusty is to break down the stigma of homelessness by personalizing the people behind the stereotype. These are tales of family and love, of addiction and loss, of hardship and redemption. The stories speak to the endurance of the human spirit despite tremendous odds. Out of respect for their participants' privacy, Zig and Dassel always ask permission before adapting their words to song. No words or phrases are altered during the song editing process.

Pioneer Square Recordings, the studio album, was born in late 2010 when Give It To Me Rusty launched a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign that underwrote the costs of recording at Avast Studios. What began as a guitar and vocal duo expanded into a six-piece band. With the intention of capturing a live, “band-in-the-room” feel, the basic tracks were recorded in two marathon days. The result is a journey through the streets of Seattle; and thus the American experience at large. Montana farm girls, Mexican handball players, South African child soldiers and New York train tramps traveling through the Southwest are among the people represented. Their diverse stories are poignant, heart-breaking, often humorous, and ultimately, very human.

Music was the equalizing force that allowed Give It To Me Rusty to connect with a group of people they had scarcely encountered before. They hope Pioneer Square Recordings allows the listener to do the same.

credits

released January 31, 2012

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Give It To Me Rusty Seattle, Washington

Give It To Me Rusty is a musical collaboration between Seattle’s downtown homeless and musicians Aaron Zig and Noah Dassel.  All of our lyrics are constructed word-for-word from direct conversations with those living on the streets. Our mission is to break down the stigma of homelessness by personalizing the people behind the words. ... more

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