From the Pink Room • Grover Anderson

There is an awful lot of flexibility available to singer-songwriters. Playing a gig can mean bringing the whole band, a duo, or just setting up alone with a guitar. On Grover Anderson’s 2014 album, The Optimist, he brought together musicians to create fully fleshed-out songs, but at some of his solo shows in the time since, people have asked how they can take home the intimate, stripped-down music they had been hearing. With this in mind, Grover holed up in the back room of his house, the walls still bearing the pink stripes painted by the previous owner, and started recording.

The idea behind “Parallel” came to Grover shortly after meeting someone who had been in a relationship for seven years, with no idea whether this person was “the one.” When she expressed hope that she might eventually “talk herself into him,” the idea stuck in Grover’s mind until he sat down with his guitar a few days later.

“Natural Bridges” is both a tribute to a landmark in Grover’s native Calaveras County and a good-natured eye-roll towards bro-country songs about “cruising in your Chevy truck down to the river with a pretty little thing in painted on jeans.”

Emotionally exhausted from tragedies in both national news and his hometown, Grover found himself unable to sleep after an exchange with a mother who had lost her son in a car accident a few days earlier. Inspired by her remembrance of his joyous spirit, Grover wrote “For Goose” in an attempt at catharsis, hoping to mourn one less time.

Grover finished “Old Songs” in tribute to his hometown as the Butte Fire ravaged Calaveras County, while “Holes” tells of a love overcoming the struggles of addiction. “Evergreen” reimagines the search for a partner as a hike, “Willie Nelson” is the story of exes struggling through a breakup, and “Little Yellow Bus” was inspired by a random photo on Instagram. Along with rearranged versions of a song from each of Grover’s previous albums, From the Pink Room is rounded out by an acoustic cover of The Smiths’ classic, a foray into electronic music with a Bon Iver cover, and a remixed version of Grover’s original Christmas song, “The Best You Can”.

Album Artwork by Alexis Wagner • Produced by Grover Anderson • Mixed by Michael Clebanoff and Grover Anderson

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Review from Independent Clauses

by Lisa Whealy

Love can be a fickle mistress, filled with hope and expectation, fear and anticipation. Grover Anderson has found a way to tap into the journey almost everyone experiences in his new album From the Pink Room. This new acoustic album, released March 3, 2017, is a simple, sweet expression of how a skilled songwriter shares his perceptions acoustically with incredible ease.

As the story goes, the musician holed up in the back room of his house that is covered with pink striped walls. The concept of this album was born out of a meeting with a woman. She had been in a relationship for seven years; the house’s previous owner had painted the room with the vibrant color. It is also known as the healing color for the heart chakra, making this album all the more special.

Anderson opens the album with “Evergreen” as an intentional hope for the future. The growth of something special is like the organic path of life. With exceptional talent, Anderson’s fingerpicking guitar fits the content. When telling a story like this, it could be easy to get lost, but Anderson paints a masterpiece landscape with the songs. Harry Nilsson comes to mind in “Parallel,” challenging listeners to come along for the ride, soulful and real. The lyrical landscape here is full of imagery, and the sensory exploration of “Natural Bridges” is no exception. Raw and unapologetic, it is a challenge to get real. It is also a tribute to the landmark that graces Calaveras County, where Anderson grew up–undoubtedly a hangout for the locals.

The great thing about music that fits into the Great American Songbook is that there is depth and substance in telling the American experience. This album is no exception, painting a picture through the color spectrum. “Holes” hits the dark places between relationships, often painful and uncertain. Part of the experience with this auditory picture book is the cover art design and artwork by Alexis Wagner; the color spectrum is the left to right vision that parallels the album. “Little Spoon” is the uptempo romp that square dances its way through the middle of the album–a heartbeat of hope and joy.

It is not strange how art is shaped by real life. “Willie Nelson” and “For Goose” both touch on grief and the power it has over a life left to live. Haunting and hopeful, the two songs contrast each other like complimentary colors in a garden of flowers. What lessons are learned is the message, but the memory is the real foundation. “Boulder” is one of the absolute standouts on an exceptional indie acoustic guitar release. In covering The Smiths’ classic “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out,” Anderson shows off a stellar mix of simplicity and power. Haunting and painful, the song resonates with every and any broken heart. Emotions bleed through the vocal delivery from Anderson.

A full fourteen songs includes “Old Songs” as a mash-up of other music, creative and fresh. Taking it back into the breakup of love, “Ember” is a rip-to-shreds appraisal of a she-devil mankiller. A lyrical masterclass, it is a joy to feel the burn. “The Best You Can” has also found its way onto From The Pink Room, taking everything full circle. Its acoustic elegance is wrapped in a neat package. A fourteen-song journey through the spectrum of emotions as well as color, this album is Americana Country at its finest.

Lyrics

Evergreen

I’ve crawled hands and knees through brush and bramble
I’ve scaled the rocks on the vast barren hills
The thorns of the desert, such a pain to handle
I’ve cut up the oaks that have lost their wills

Prospering fickly through insecure seasons
Running from strife when the skies are no good

But you, you’re evergreen, and standing right beside me
Through the good days and the cold, quiet night
Aw you, you’re evergreen, til the mountain it crumbles
You’ll be up there reaching for the light
But you’re already shining so bright

I’ve lost love to snakes and to lions and to other climbers
Sometimes the path went to places they won’t
Some I chased down the hill then I pushed on higher
Cause up past that tree line’s a loving home

With you, you’re evergreen, and standing right beside me
Through the good days and the cold, quiet night
Aw you, you’re evergreen, til the mountain it crumbles
You’ll be up there reaching for the light
But you’re already shining so bright

I’ll sit in your shelter, your arms are my eaves
I’ll nourish your body and play in your leaves
I can’t stop the fires but I’ll plant our seeds
And we’ll build our home in the shade of this tree

You’re evergreen, and standing right beside me
Through the good days and the cold, quiet night
Aw you, you’re evergreen, til the mountain it crumbles
You’ll be up there reaching for the light
But you’re already shining so bright
You’re evergreen

Parallel

It feels a little late to still be, trying on
If I were shoes you long would have returned me
The day’s too long of tooth to still be dreaming of the dawn
So if you would, I’d like to have a word please

I won’t waste no more of your time
I always saw your path running parallel to mine
But though they go together, they never intertwine
No use trying making you believe
I guess I’ll leave you, cause I don’t need you
Talking yourself into me

In seven years I shoulda seen it coming
But I still ain’t sure what there was to see
We ran out of clever ways to say “we’re doing nothing”
And we ran out of fear of being free

So I won’t waste no more of your time
I always saw your path running parallel to mine
But though they go together, they never intertwine
No use trying making you believe
I guess I’ll leave you, cause I don’t need you
Talking yourself into me

Now you’re browsing the departures
And I can’t help but believe
If I tried a little harder
We could find a way to be
But I’m gonna leave you, cause I don’t need you
Talking yourself into me

Natural Bridges

Down by the limestone cavern
Is a place where we can swim
On a branch for to hang our skivvies
Follow me, dive on in

Cause summer’s been a killer and the reservoir’s a puddle
Mudflat’s cookin and the crop’s in trouble
Don’t bring nothin but a towel and your britches and
Meet me down by the Natural Bridges

Past the grove and the heady
Past the water tower
Past the the night we went headfirst
Past the midnight hour
Pass the water, pass the whiskey
Pass the guitar, share a song
Leave the past at the grove and the heady
Til the morning callin’, our trouble gone

Back by the trailhead notice
Said watch for rattlers and poison oak
Shine your light in the hot dark water
Those monster crawdads, oh they’ll midnight snack on your toes

When every song they play’s about riversides and truckin’
Cold beer, moonshine, and backwoods lovin’
You sure can’t beat ‘em, the next best thing is
To meet me down at the Natural Bridges

For Goose

Let’s do this one less time
I’d rather be there tonight
I’d rather be singing with you by my side
Let’s do this one less time

Feel free to cry for yourself
Or go cry for everyone else
But I’m smiling and laughing in your memories as well
So please save the tears for yourself

Let’s do this one less time
Cause this sad party surely ain’t mine
But if we must stay then I’ll be at your side, so
Let’s do this one less time

I got what I needed from here
I could have got more, but I loved hard and dear
My only regret is in leaving you here
But I got what I needed, don’t fear

Let’s do this one less time
I’d rather be there tonight
I never had the chance to get good at goodbyes
So let’s do this one less time

If I miss out on some things
Live them all double for me
Raise your voice twice as loud so they hear us both sing
If I miss out on some things

Let’s do this one last time
A memory can never can die
Every breath, every tear, every ray of sunshine
I’m reaching out one more time

Holes

I was pacing the halls, waiting for your call
I couldn’t believe when it finally came through
I would walk to your home, miles back and forth alone
Eventually you’d walk with me too

With holes in the carpet, holes in my shoes
Holes in my brain that I’ve worn through
Holes in my memory, holes in my blues
Hole in my heart for you

Then together we’d walk, the oft tread road
With signs invisible til we’d passed by
And I started to notice you falling in love
You started to notice me getting high

With holes in the carpet, holes in my shoes
Holes in my brain that I’ve worn through
Holes in my memory, holes in my blues
Hole in my heart for you

And I like to pretend that those times are lost
But still the ghost lingers inside
It was your voice singing those gospel melodies
That kept me from losing my mind

And I can’t find the words to thank you
But know til the day you die
I earned these holes as you saved my soul
And I’ll explain to the good lord why

I got holes in the carpet, holes in my shoes
Holes in my brain that I’ve worn through
Holes in my memory, holes in my blues
Hole in my heart for you

Little Spoon

Well… Hey pretty lady won’t you come my way
We got nothing going on today
I got two arms and you belong in the middle
I’ll be the big spoon if you’ll be the little

We can stay out til we see the stars
Or we can drink Blue Moon in a dive bar
If you wanna go shopping you can drag me around
I’ll check out the new record store downtown
If you got the money, I got the time
You put me in the best frame of mind
Lately I’ve been telling anybody who’ll hear
That you’re the only song playing in my ear, so

Hey pretty lady won’t you come my way
We got nothing going on today
I got two arms and you belong in the middle
I’ll be the big spoon if you’ll be the little

I sold a record but I ain’t sold two
So I only got a little bit to spend on you
I’d sure like to buy you an ice cream cone
And pretend we don’t have to act like all grown
Up men and women worried bout the banks
Youth and the protest and corporate ranks
The burdens and afflictions and the stress are all gone
When I’m walking down the street with you on my arm, so

Hey pretty lady won’t you come my way
We got nothing going on today
I got two arms and you belong in the middle
I’ll be the big spoon if you’ll be the little

Hey pretty lady won’t you come my way
We got nothing going on today
You keep doing what it is you do
Cause I’m always gonna be a fool for you
You be the crazy and I’ll be the sane
I’ll keep up with you and I won’t complain
From Oakland to Austin to Tennessee,
I just wanna hold you next to me
I’ll be the big spoon and you’ll be the little
I got two arms, and you belong in the middle
Oh you belong in the middle

Willie Nelson (Shame)

I’m moving on, but I’ll still think about you
When I hear Willie Nelson sing of embers in the rain
And I was wrong, but what good are convictions when you’re
Grasping at the fire pretending you don’t feel the pain?
It’s such a shame, shame

I’ve got a cup. I fill it up with whiskey
In the hopes of drowning out your memory
And oh it works, especially in the morning
When the bright lights and the headaches and your face are all I see
I tell my friends, they oughta set me up
And when I stumble into church I lie, pretend I’m finding peace
I got a line. I practice it in private
So when people ask about me I’ll somehow make them believe

I take it slow, cause sympathy’s a virtue
That I ain’t got the energy to fake
I know in time, I’ll feel awful stupid
For this hopeless psyche I can’t seem to break
I tell my friends, that they should just be patient
Let me get over my grief, I know my heart’ll heal this ache
I’ve heard your line, and I know that it’s bullshit
But I’m happy that you’re tryin’ cause Lord knows I can relate

I’ll hit rock bottom soon enough then come back better than before
And when I’m finally tired of being tough the next love will be so much more…but for now

Little Yellow Bus

A little yellow bus
On a yellow striped road
Can take two willing travelers
Anywhere they’d like to go
So we drove that little bus
All the way til we saw Half Dome
Then you kissed me and you held my hand to home

All the colors
Reflect the sunshine true
Off the life
That I paint with you

A little green backyard
With a chicken wire fence
Can grow a garden for to make our meals
So we save a little for the rent
Plant some peaches, some tomatoes
We got the dog for critter defense
Then come on in my kitchen, supper’s hence

All the colors
Reflect the sunshine true
Off the life
That I paint with you

A little red couch
On a hardwood floor
A little wine drunk after dinner
Then we had another pour
A little rolling of your eyes
When I put on Teddy singing “Close the Door”
Then you kiss me, and you come on back for more

All the colors
Reflect the sunshine true
Off the life
That I paint with you
All my wishes
Baby all my dreams come true When I get a little kiss, oh, from you
When I break off a little kiss, oh, from you
When I look at my life I’ve made with you

Boulder

It’s much warmer these days, don’t know what happened to spring
We’re all perspiring, but there’s something chilly in my veins
But here I am in California, thinking of Boulder again

She left Sacramento in ’52, her daddy got a job back at CU
And he bought a house on Fifth and Arapahoe
I was 18, such a reckless child, and those hazel eyes just drove me wild
So I kept my promise to follow her where she’d go
I got a job down in the mine, worked my fingers trying to make hers shine
On New Years Eve I held her tight, asked her to be my heart and life
On the first of ’53 her daddy said no
He sent her off to Massachusetts, some women’s school
Later that year the coal mine blew  So I went back to family in Sacramento

The night before we said goodbye, I swore I’ll wait, she swore to try
And we made love on the old Chautauqua Green
I got her letters and she got mine, twice a week, then one at a time
There was nothing longer than the days between
She wrote of professors, friends, the Harvard mixer ball
Summer came and I needed work, couldn’t visit her at all
Then I got a letter in ’55, it killed me to read
Said “He’ll never take your place in my heart, but this can never be
Sending love from coast to coast is only fantasy  But we’ll always have Boulder, September ’53.”

She got married, had a kid and died, between June ’57 and May ’65
And I still got that ring in my billfold
I never wed, though I had the chance, but I learned guitar, and I learned to dance
And a fella gets enough to satisfy his soul
But here in Angels City, summertime lasts half the year
And it’s never more than 60 in the memories I hold dear
She used to tell me she’d hate getting old
So each summer night I close my eyes
Pray when I go my soul survives  And we’ll together face the cold

It’s much warmer these days, don’t know what happened to spring
We’re all perspiring, but there’s something chilly in my veins

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

Music & Lyrics by Johnny Marr & Morrissey

Old Songs

We were born of the ocean, though our blood has hardened since
From the carbon and the quartz we crossed as we moved to the east
As we hit upon the mountains, we planted in this town
The abundance of the earth was all we’d need
All our old songs seemed so foreign as we sang them in the square
But in time more far-flung families joined our own
Tales of Natives and the Northmen and the Kansans whence they came
Sang our quiet little town into a home

Singing,
Tie a ribbon round the old oak tree
Make me down a pallet somewhere in a field
Drop a line into the creek in moonlit darkness I believe
We could be cowboys if our mothers would yield
That country road’ll take us where we’d like to go
But this land was made to be our home

Now the snowfall can get heavy, and the summers hot and dry
But we celebrate the hearty ground in hand
Through the cattle and the vineyards where the hilltops meet the sky
You can hear us sing their praises once again

We carve our names in stone and we plant our roots in bone
When the flames have gone we come back strong

Singin
Tie a ribbon round the old oak tree
Make me down a pallet somewhere in a field
Drop a line into the creek in moonlit darkness I believe
We could be cowboys, of if Mama would yield
That country road’ll take us where we’d like to go
But this land was made to be our
this land was made to be our
this land was made to be our home

Ember

She’s got you walking ‘round in circles
And breaking rules trying to catch her eye
But if you’d just listen to someone sensible
You know she’d only make you live another of her lies
Oh, another of her lies

Time will forgive her indiscretion
Eventually she’ll settle down
But you want to enter the battlefield with no protection
Before you know it you’ll be wishing she could just leave town

And I wonder what a girl like this would do to someone like you
I wonder what a girl like this would do to someone like you

No one’s disrespecting your sense of adventure
And there’s no evidence to flat-out prove you’re wrong
But when you’re crying all alone, drinking to forget her
Who will you turn to to help pull you along?
Oh, who’s gonna pull you along?

And I wonder what a girl like this would do to someone like you
I wonder what a girl like this would do to someone like you

She’s like an ember, she’s the queen of the dark
Never surrender, never giving up that spark
When the sun goes down safeguard your heart
She’ll be right the ready for the fire to start

Blood Bank

Music & Lyrics by Justin Vernon

The Best You Can (A Christmas Song)

On a quiet night, two weary folks
Rode into Bethlehem, but couldn’t find a host
So they made their stay among the cows and sheep
The babe was on its way, and neither one of them could sleep
The prophets told of a simple child given gold
Who’d come to save their souls

He was born to die,
To give his love and to give his life
He brought hope for every woman and man
He left with a promise to come back again
Until then love each other the best you can

Mary kept her grace through the joy and pain
She knew in that one moment the world had been changed
While Joseph wept, he wiped his woman’s brow
The son of God was his to raise but no one had told him how
But he loved that child like it was his own
To teach him man cannot survive on bread along

He was born to die,
To give his love and to give his life
He brought hope for every woman and man
He left with a promise to come back again
Until then love each other the best you can

One day I’ll have children too
And when that day comes, who knows how I’ll do?
But I’ll try my best to show
In this short time, there’s just one thing you need to know

We were born to die
Then live again in the glory of His light
Learn to forgive your fellow man
Even if you don’t know the Lord
It ain’t hard to live like him
Above all, love each other
The best you can