SOUND
Chapter 7 of Senses
A.J. CHRISTOPHER/JIM CHRISTOPHER
"The R & R Project"
SIDE ONE
"Praseodymium" A.J. - bass, guitar
Jim - Keyboards, drums
"Miracles" A.J. - vocals, bass, lead guitar
Jim - rhythm guitar, keyboards, drums
"The Blame" A.J. - fretless bass, drums
Jim - Vocals, keyboards
"She Needs Your Love" A.J. - bass, drums, backing vocals
Jim - lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
"Stranger" A.J. - vocals, keyboards
Jim - piano, guitars, vocals
"The War Suite" A.J. - keyboards, bass, drums
Jim - piano, guitars, vocals
"Short Time Love" A.J. - bass, drums, backing vocals
Jim - keyboards, guitars, lead vocals
SIDE TWO
"Razor's Edge" A.J. - lead vocals, guitars, keyboards
Jim - bass, drums, backing vocals
"Hitchhiker" A.J. - lead vocals, bass, drums
Jim - backing vocals, keyboards, guitars
"Oh Michelle" A.J. - bass, guitar
Jim - vocals, keyboards, drums, woodwinds
"Cross-examination" A.J. - Keyboards, drums, bass
Jim - vocals, guitar
"Illusion" A.J. - vocals, guitar, drums
Jim - bass, keyboards
"Diane" A.J. - guitar, drums
Jim - vocals, keyboards, bass
"Felecia" A.J. - bass, drums, backing vocals
Jim - lead vocals, keyboards, guitars
SIDE THREE
"Confirmation" A.J. - lead vocals, guitar, bass
Jim - backing vocals, drums, keyboards
"Won't Give You Up" A.J. - vocals, bass, drums
Jim - keyboards, guitar
"Somebody's Mind" A.J. - guitar, bass, backing vocals
Jim - lead vocals, keyboards, drums
"Why Don't We" A.J. - vocals, guitar, bass
Jim - keyboards, drums
"I Love Her/I Need Her" A.J. - vocals, keyboards, guitar
Jim - bass, drums
"Reunion" A.J. - bass, drums
Jim - vocals, guitars, keyboards
"Maybe I Love You" A.J. - guitar, drums
Jim - vocals, keyboards, bass
SIDE FOUR
"Close Your Eyes" A.J. - vocals, guitar, bass, drums
Jim - vocals, keyboards, percussion, acoustic guitar
All songs written by A.J. Christopher and Jim Christopher
Produced by Jim Christopher
Engineered by A.J. Christopher (what a love feast)
Recorded at CRASH PAD THREE, Brentwood, CA
Special thanks to Larry Christopher, Corwin, Mike, Lee, Jason, Rex, Scott, Wainright, Leah and Mac Christopher, Kathryn H, Microfiche, The Los Angeles Lakers (STILL!!!!!! Even without Kurt Rambis or Magic Johnson), Paul, and of course, Karen.
Basses by Fender. Drums by Tama. Cymbals by Paiste. Attitude by ours truly. Jim plays Les Paul and Yamaha guitars. A.J. plays Fender Stratocasters. Keyboards by New England Digital, Yamaha, Roland, and Steinway and Sons.
If we forgot to mention you, our apologies. Buy you a beer?
Practice safe sex
Never be afraid to sweat
Fight the good fight
SIDE FIVE
"All I Ask Of You" A.J. - bass, guitar, drums
Jim - vocals, keyboards
"Here We Go Again" A.J. - vocals, guitar, drums, spoken word
Jim - vocals, bass, keyboards
"Ghosts" A.J. - Keyboards
Jim - piano, vocals
"Cry To Me" A.J. - bass, drums, vocals
Jim - vocals, keyboards, guitar
"Apostrophes and Answers" A.J. - keyboards, drums, bass
Jim - vocals, piano
"Critic's Choice" A.J. - keyboards, drums
Jim - vocals, piano
"Before Tomorrow Comes" A.J. - bass, guitar, backing vocals
Jim - keyboards, drums, lead vocals
SIDE SIX
"Focus" A.J. - vocals, guitar, bass
Jim - keyboards, drums
"Complete Control" A.J. - lead vocals, keyboards, drums
Jim - backing vocals, guitars, bass
"Segovia" A.J. - guitar
"Jasmine" Jim - piano
"The Cynic" A.J. - vocals, guitar, drums
Jim - keyboards, bass
"Mystery To Me" A.J. - vocals, guitar, drums
Jim - keyboards, bass
"Runaway/Thought" A.J. - drums, guitar
Jim - vocals, keyboards, bass
From the liner notes to The R & & Project (Vinyl Edition). Reprinted with permission.
The first single from the album was "Oh Michelle", because it sounded like a single. Adult radio picked up "Won't Give You Up", "Reunion", and "Before Tomorrow Comes". Album rock radio picked up "Razor's Edge", "Cry To Me", "Felecia", "All I Ask Of You", "Complete Control", and "Mystery To Me". Within two weeks of it's release 33% of the album was getting regular air play. It was virtually unprecedented.
A video was shot of "Oh Michelle" using a live audience in a nightclub on the Sunset Strip. Mtv picked it up for its rotation, and the song shot up the top forty. A concert swing was announced: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Seattle, Cincinnati, Detroit, Montreal, New York City, The Meadowlands, Memphis, Orlando, New Orleans, Dallas, Boulder, San Diego, and Los Angeles again. Sixteen shows in nine weeks.
Jim Christopher was never busier in his life. On a Monday, auditions for the "R & R Project Tour" were held. A drummer (Phil Gondanson), a guitarist/keyboardist (Carrie Fallon), a bassist (John Kilinger), a horn section (Gil Kidder, Norm Miller, Lorraine James, and Nazz Gleason), and a keyboardist/percussionist (Billy McCall) were all hired over the course of the day. All could sing.
On Tuesday the "R & R Project" contracted with road show technician and good friend Scott David to set up a full road show. Rehearsals began for the tour in A.J.'s gym. After rehearsal Jim and A.J. dragged the entire band to the bar on Montana avenue.
On Wednesday Jim met with Jason, Lee, Rex, and Paul to discuss Blue Shift's seventh album, "Ask Us Again". The arguments lasted several hours over what material to record, but this was nothing unusual. Paul acted as mediator of course, while Jason rejected some of Lee's material as being out of his vocal range, while some of Jim's was rejected as being too much in the vein of the work he did with A.J. Rex never entered the discussion, simply opting to play whatever music was placed in front of him.
At about four p.m. the argument over material ended and twelve songs were picked out. Four more were selected as reserves for the B-sides of singles. Everyone drove to Jim's home studio to begin work on the first song, with Paul engineering and Jim producing. The first song was a Lee Emanuel composition called "Wake Up Amy"; it was rehearsed and recorded in four hours, with Lee on keyboards and backing vocals, Jason on bass and lead vocals, Jim on guitar, and Rex on drums.
At ten p.m. Jim met Karen at the bar. They played darts; Karen throwing normally while Jim threw left-handed. As Jim was not ambidextrous the match was quite close, although Jim finally won, four games to three, an hour later. When they left, they drove to Karen's home in Redondo Beach. Although both were tired, Jim from his schedule and Karen from a hard work week and a recent lack of sleep, they had sex three times during the course of the night. Jim had trouble sleeping in the unfamiliar house, and Karen couldn't sleep with another body in the house; not even someone as familiar and as welcome as Jim. Karen got a total of three hours sleep, Jim a bit less.
On Thursday the "R & R Project" band worked in the morning on the first half-hour of the show they were putting together, with staging and lighting. After breaking for lunch they worked on the second half-hour, finally breaking at seven p.m. with the first hour of the show passable but not good enough for either Jim or A.J. A.J. cleared out his gym to experiment, and Jim went home to lay down guitar tracks for the next Blue Shift song. He fell asleep in his studio at one a.m.
The ensuing days continued in the same fashion - the "R & R Project", Blue Shift, drinking, seeing Karen, and occasional sleep. Both music projects came to full realization in eight weeks; the "R & R Project's" show was refined and polished to a length of 2 3/4 hours, and the Blue Shift album contained thirteen tracks upon completion.
Two days before the first show in the "R & R Project" tour, Jim invited Karen to his home for dinner. Jim was about to go on a two month tour with A.J., and although Karen was coming along for the first week, they wouldn't see each other for the next eight. As the band was having a pre-show party the next night, this would be their last night together alone for some time.
Jim answered the door with a flourish and a bow. "Good evening, my loverly," he said.
"Hello lover," Karen responded, kissing Jim lightly on the cheek. "Might I come in?"
"Isn't that my line?" Jim responded, escorting Karen into the house. Karen slapped his ass in passing.
"You're vulgar, you know that?" she said.
"Yes, I know that. It's one of the qualities in me that you adore."
"True. What's for dinner?"
"Teriyaki steak, with baked potatoes."
Karen sat her purse down on the living room couch. "Is that it?"
"Do you realize the effort involved in making teriyaki sauce from scratch?"
Karen frowned. "No salad?"
Jim looked back in fake shock. "I disapprove of food being green," he replied.
"Do you have any lettuce in the house?"
Jim nodded.
"I'll make a salad," Karen said, heading into the kitchen.
"You'll ruin my reputation!" Jim called after her.
Karen spun around, blew a kiss to him, and then shook her fist at him with a "shove it" gesture. She smiled and spun back, walking into the kitchen without a sound.
Jim shook his head slowly and headed to the bar. "You want a drink?" he called out.
"Of course!" Karen shouted back.
Jim poured two Bushmill's, drank his own, then refilled it. He brought the two drinks into the kitchen, setting one down on either side of Karen as she prepared the salad and reaching around to grab her breasts. As usual she wore no bra, and her nipples were erect. Karen shrieked playfully and turned around.
"Jesus!" she said. "Cold hands!"
"Cold hands, warm heart," Jim replied, smiling his ironic smile.
"Fuck off." She kissed him.
"Not exactly what I had in mind, but we can negotiate."
"Later, dear." She turned back to the counter to continue cutting vegetables. She sipped her drink after cutting the tomatoes, then moved to the celery and carrots.
Jim picked up his drink and walked to the living room piano, putting his drink on a coaster. He played for a moment, experimenting, then sang the chorus to the song he was playing.
I give the credit where credit is due
And though this may come as a surprise to you
I won't give you up but I will let you fly
Can you understand why
It may London the next time we meet
And although you'll run away I won't admit defeat
I won't give you up but I'll see you by and by
Whenever you have the time
He stopped playing, and Karen, who had been humming the tune, called out, "Don't stop! That's my favorite song on the album!"
Jim smiled. "Good! It's getting enough air play."
"You doing it in the show?"
"Yes. A.J. sings it though, so I'll just be on piano."
"You're a good piano player," Karen said, bringing the now fully prepared and tossed salad into the dining room.
"Your confidence is overwhelming," Jim replied. "You know Carrie?"
"She's one of the tour musicians, right?"
"Exactly. She's a better pianist than I am. I have never seen faster hands."
Karen walked to the piano bench and wrapped her arms around Jim's shoulders. "Scary thought," she said.
"True." Jim began playing a ragtime piece he had recently written, and Karen released him to walk back to the table.
"You realize," Karen said, "How boring my life will be wile you're gone."
"Yes, I do." Jim stopped playing and turned around. "I've never had a stable relationship in my life because I'm on the road so much. If I've got one going while I'm on tour it's usually over when I get back."
Karen looked back at Jim. "You're getting pretty heavy, lover," she said.
"I know. Touring is such a farce and I enjoy it to death. Performing for people is one of the most euphoric feelings I've ever experienced, next to sex with you."
Karen smiled, blushing a bit. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. The traveling isn't all that much fun though." Jim sipped away half of his drink. "Necessary evil, I suppose."
"You're not becoming one of those rock stars who bitches about stardom, are you?"
"Everyone has the right to bitch about their job."
"Yeah, I suppose. What's the road like?"
"It's a different kind of life," Jim replied, standing to walk into the kitchen. "The day starts out with breakfast, a free hour or so to wake yourself up, then being driven to the concert hall for the sound check."
"Isn't sound check just before the show?"
"Yes, I'll get to that." Jim walked to his oven to pull out the steaks. "Medium rare good?" he asked.
"Just fine," Karen replied.
"Good. They're ready." He pulled them from the oven to begin carving.
"At any rate," he continued, "once sound check is over you have dinner and do a bit of sitting around before the show. Then there's the show itself, which for me is 2 3/4 hours long. After the show you're drenched in sweat, tired, and hungry, so you shower, eat, shower again, then get driven to your hotel. You have to get past the autograph hounds too.
"Once at the hotel there's always a few fans who find out where you're staying, and follow you around for autographs, clothing, sex, you name it. The roadies party every night, in spite of the very hard work, because their association with the band gets them laid. If we're traveling to another city we wait a few hours then fly out, avoiding the crowd hassles. We're also expected to show up to every party we're invited to, and there are a lot of those. By the time we've had any sleep, it's time for sound check again."
Jim brought the steaks to the table. "Dinner is served," he said.
"Don't you think we should set the table first?" Karen asked.
"Oh! Yes, we should."
Karen walked to the bar. "You have any good red wines?"
"No. I don't drink wine."
Karen sighed and smiled. "Bushmill's it is, then."
About eleven p.m. Jim and Karen found themselves in a familiar place; several feet above the bed. Jim's hair was drenched with sweat, and there was a small pool formed on his back. Karen was sweat-covered as well, and in the moonlit room she appeared to shine in the light. Jim held her tight to his body, feeling her breasts against his chest and her pubic hair meshed with his. Not only did Jim not want to drop her, he also did not want to let her go.
After both partners had climaxed and were able to think again, Jim flipped their bodies over, so that Karen was on top. She stayed close for a moment, tonguing Jim's ear and keeping his cock hard. She finally stopped after several moments and released her hold on him, sitting up on his lap. Jim no longer needed to hold her, and simply carried her in the air. Karen let her legs dangle down below Jim's body.
Jim slowly looked up and down Karen's nude form, running his hands down her sides in a tender caress. He licked his fingers and massaged her nipples, saying, "How did you ever get such perfect tits?"
"I discovered a wonder drug at the age of twelve," Karen responded. "Puberty."
Jim smiled and laughed quietly. "Ah, just look at you," he said.
"In case you haven't noticed, that is precisely what you're doing."
"I noticed! I noticed!" Jim laughed. "And this," he stuck a finger into Karen's vagina and tickled her softly, "is a custom job, right?" He removed the finger and Karen shuddered, with a soft moan.
"Don't do that," she playfully said. "I already need a shower."
Jim laughed louder. "Shower? Hell girl, I need a swim!"
Now it was Karen's turn to laugh. "All right then, take us there."
During the previous eight weeks little experimentation had been done. Although Jim could fly more gracefully now, the problem of losing speech remained. To compromise, Jim and Karen had worked out a series of hand signals; one to say "let go" and a few others to change formulae that were predetermined.
Jim and Karen floated to the window above the back yard. Once there Jim asked for full control back, and floated them down to the handles on the window to open it up. Once open, Jim turned gravity back over to Karen and floated the two of them over the deep end of the pool, fourteen feet above the water's surface.
Karen looked into Jim's eyes. "Look, daredevil," she said, "you can dive from here, but I'd like to be a little lower."
Jim asked for control back. "Hey lover," he replied, "you've got to learn how to dive!" He did, however, float down to six feet above the surface. Once there he turned over, with no warning, dumping Karen into the pool.
Karen surfaced quickly and shouted up at Jim. "You bastard! That was hardly fair!"
"I know," Jim replied, "but I wanted to test the water first!" He laughed. "How is it?"
Karen laughed aloud. "Not bad, actually, you son of a bitch."
"Good, but my parentage is legit." Jim climbed to twenty feet above the pool surface. "Geronimo!" He released gravity and dove into the pool. The water was ice cold.
When he surfaced, he swam over to Karen. "You want to repeat that comment about fairness?" he asked.
"Serves you right." Karen dove beneath the surface of the water and swam below Jim. She pinched his ass, then surfaced. "You've got a cute little butt, you know that?"
"I think yours is cuter, but my bias lies along different lines."
"Grant you that. Follow me." Karen swam to the shallow end of the pool.
Jim obediently followed, and once he caught up to her he brought her into a loose embrace. Karen kissed him passionately, and Jim tickled the nipple of her left breast. "Breast stroke," he said.
Karen smiled and said, "Just shut up and kiss me."
Jim did so, and found his cock going hard. Karen noticed this and raised an eyebrow, then wrapped her legs around Jim's waist and brought his cock into her. Jim looked surprised.
"But we're outside," he noted.
Karen smiled the ironic smile. "Listen lover," she replied between kisses, "you pull out now and you'll never have sex again."
Jim sighed. "Let's at least get out of the pool. It's cold and pool water makes a lousy lubricant."
Jim picked Karen up, penis still in her vagina, and carried her up the steps of the pool and onto the lawn beside it. Both Jim and Karen worked up a sweat quickly and their rhythm and animalistic urges built up. As both lovers thought about this, possibly their last sexual encounter for some time, both lost control, and after orgasm they found themselves eight feet in the air.
Karen recovered first. "Well!" she said. "Look at us."
Jim stifled a laugh. "Familiar territory, sort of."
"Welcome to the realm of outdoor sex."
"Fairly similar to indoor sex, actually. We seem to be up at about the same height we would be if we were indoors. A.J. would love this."
"You're going to tell him about this?"
"Probably. You know how he gets about his research."
"True." Karen sighed. "What do you think of his idea to watch us?"
"I think I could do it, but I won't. Not without your permission first. What about you?"
"Not sure, really. I've been involved in triangles before, but this kind of voyeurism is something new."
Jim was intrigues. "Two men and you, or you and a couple?"
"Another couple. Don't look so surprised. Everybody has some homosexual tendencies, especially those who deny it most. I explored mine once. Although it was pleasurable, it's not an experience I will repeat."
Jim raised an eyebrow. "Understandable. I've been in some odd-numbered experiences, and a couple of orgies, and I agree with the sentiment. Maybe I've calmed down."
"Could be." Karen shuddered. "I really need a shower."
"So float us back."
As they floated back to the bedroom window, they floated over the pool. Seeing the wild look in Jim's eyes, Karen readied to hit the water and released control over Jim, saying "Oh, no."
"That's right," Jim said, dropping her into the pool. He followed her in, diving.