Bob Kanefsky interview cont'd

Tapeworm

Perfect name, huh? Given that the songbooks were called Songworm, after my muse. The "Tapeworm" name was suggested by Cindy McQuillin at a time I found it hard to imagine that anyone would ever be interested in putting out a tape of my parodies, let alone the producer behind all the best filk studio tapes I'd been enjoying for years. But it did happen shortly thereafter; either Cindy was prescient or she had some inside knowledge.

The name will have to be changed when it's released on CD, of course. It's going to be called Flatworm.

Teri told me about the project when Tapeworm 1 was already halfway recorded. She gave me a chance to listen to the recordings before it was published, and I did ask for two songs to be rerecorded due to major problems. “Rampage” , the video-game-inspired one, had a slip in the lyrics on my favorite line, as well as being sung in a higher key than any Godzilla-like creature should be able to sing in. And in “The Saucy Programmer” I thought it was obvious who was supposed to sing the last verse (the man). Teri turned it into a duet as a compromise.

It was sort of a better-faster-cheaper project, using only songs that didn't require any licensing, and with minimal arrangements. Her theory, which seemed reasonable, was that you don't buy a parody album to enjoy the impressive musical arrangements, but to hear the new lyrics.

It was quite an honor to have Leslie Fish, Heather Alexander, Frank Hayes, and Cecilia Eng performing my parodies of their own songs (and a few traditional ones). I was especially pleased that Frank Hayes appears on it, because I liked his own parodies so much -- although he's much better as a live performer than as a studio performer. Somehow, he needs an audience in order to perform; when it's just him and his wife alone in the privacy of the studio, well...