Don Gerard for Mayor

April 2, 2011 Ryan Jerving 2 Comments

Just finished recording this plug for all and sundry to vote on April 5, 2011 for Don Gerard, running for mayor of Champaign, Illinois. Better late than never!

Don Gerard for Mayor

click here to download the mp3

This was recorded at home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on a perfectly clear day. The thunder comes from the open source Community Audio project of the Internet Archive, and is made available for free use and free modification for any purpose under a Creative Commons attribution license (the author is given as Gaia), at http://www.archive.org/details/Sounds_of_Nature_Collection.

Don Gerard, a fixture of the Champaign-Urbana music scene (The Farmboys, Steve Pride & His Blood Kin, Moon Seven Times, Greedy Loves), has appeared on stage with The Viper & His Famous Orchestra at least once, in the year 2000.

those that from a long way off look like flies

Feliz Meriton

January 4, 2011 Ryan Jerving Leave a comment

New video footage, courtesy of my sister Kristin Jerving-Bernard, who filmed me leading the audience through a round of “Feliz Meriton” at my performance during a Christmas luncheon of the American Association of Retired Persons, Sheboygan (Chapter 338), on December 21, 2010.

“Feliz Meriton” is an orginal composition by my daughter, Irene (as you can read about here), who will be turning 7 in a week. Many, many meritons to her.

Full set list below. “Feliz Meriton,” “The Yodeler’s Christmas,” and “Make a World Brand New” were all new songs premiered at this show, much to the delight and/or dismay of the AARP:

Nino’s Steak & Seafood, December 21, 2010

Winter Wonderland
Mele Kalikimaka
Winnebago Bay
The Yodeler’s Christmas
Christmas Time Is Here
Stopper in My Hand
Feliz Meriton
My Seafaring Lassie
You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
White Christmas
Blue Christmas
Make a World Brand New

embalmed ones

Linus and Lucy

December 21, 2010 Ryan Jerving Leave a comment

More from The Viper plays the Peanuts songbook, here’s Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy” played on a very small thumb piano.

If you’re keeping score at home, the instrument is tuned to C, but I’ve flattened the 7th to a Bb. This is the only song I’m capable of playing on this instrument so far (and as you’ll see, my rhythm is pretty wobbly), though I’m also working on a rendition of “Our Lips Are Sealed.” Should be ready by Christmas 2013.

embalmed ones

A Christmas Message from the Viper

December 20, 2010 Ryan Jerving 1 Comment

…And the message is: “Christmas Time Is Here,” as per the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s theme music from A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which you can have Viperized in either stereo-chorus-y peppermint, or in pure unvarnished location sound vanilla.

“Christmas Time is Here” — all fancy

download the mp3 | download the wav file

“Christmas Time is Here” — nice and plain

embalmed ones, fabulous ones

Feliz Meriton

December 18, 2010 Ryan Jerving 1 Comment

Just in time for the season, Irene Vipersdottir Jerving has, once again, struck holiday gold. You may remember last year’s “Christmasy Blues” (and if you don’t, see below). This year’s offering is titled “Feliz Meriton,” and it goes like this:

Feliz Meriton
download the mp3 | download the uncompressed wav file

The song is faux French with some Spanish influence (don’t bother to look up the meaning of “meriton” — it doesn’t exist). Irene sings all three vocal tracks. And as she tells you in the pages of her own online IRENE Magazine, “This is a song in D minor, so don’t cry!”

And now, think back to 2009, when you and I were young. “The Christmasy Blues”: