Fine By Me by Daniel Gannaway

Understated, as always, we should've realized the gravity of what we were about to experience.

Inexplicably, you feel so much whilst seeing Daniel play. So much of his usually quiet, eccentric genius is revealed - a bold, and no doubt very difficult thing for him to do.

The first song he sang us was a wandering tale from New York, called 'Avenues.' The tune quietly blew us away and remains a personal favorite to this day. We all sat in silence, mouths agape, with no awareness of anything else, just our friend, each note, each raw emotion, each lyric - unambiguous yet ethereal prose that any one of us could relate to. Daniel blended his own torment and success together with a passionately overwhelming delivery.

Simple huh? Well, in believing that life is about simple pleasures, whether it be surfing or music, it became a regular thing. A meal would get cooked for a few friends, and Daniel - being broke - would play for his dinner. Our guests would sit back, mellowed out after eating, and enjoy the show. It was on these kind of nights, with everybody singing along to a chorus with smiles and laughs, that someone would notice a new guest silent, completely stunned, as we had once been ourselves. Everyone would fall apart laughing because we'd neglected to even mention Daniel was going to perform. Needless to say, the dinners grew larger and the sets got longer.

'Fine By Me' is an album that contains songs we heard come to light over a Sydney summer. It's one of those albums you can put on and not think about, yet you might find yourself realizing the myriad of different aspects to each track throughout the album's course.

It's a great late-night-after-party album for those who appreciate stripped-down singer/songwriter stuff - hooky in a weird way, with great little stories that pull you in slowly until you know all the words. They're lyrically intense personal political tracks like 'Fine By Me', the sad harmonica-inflected 'Radio songs,' or upbeat love and lost-love songs like 'Daisy' and 'When I Was A Schoolboy.' They're silly, humorous songs like 'Jetwash,' and then there's a song like 'Fireescapes' which seems to read as a straight-up confession of Daniel being scared to step-up and play his songs to people - to be himself - his fear taunting him through the chorus.

The album as a whole reads like a flat-out representation of Daniel facing exactly that fear. He made it for the people encouraging him and freely admits that playing "a few simple tunes" that fateful night was the best thing anyone could have done for him. It's a privilege to have witnessed the start of what is proving to be a humble and prodigious musical journey. His freedom in expressing what all of us are afraid to say is both refreshing and compelling.

On a final note, it should be added that one the quirky and coolest things about 'FINE BY ME' is that you really feel like he's somewhere in the room, strumming away a bunch of songs for you. Then, finally, as the album draws to a close, he yawns and says "Goodnight," and you go off to sleepyland 'with a crash and a boom....'

Rich Freeman

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Albums by kiwi [NZ] indie singer/songwriter Daniel Gannaway:

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2006 - OP-ED: Environmental / Social / Political

2005 - SUMMER STORM | A collection of ukulele ditties

2004 - darling one year

2002 - BOOTLEGGED AT THE 12 BAR CLUB [released 2006]

2001 - Bound and Suburban

2000 - Bootlegged at the Temple

1999 - flashback*

1998 - FINE BY ME

http://www.cdbaby.com/all/danielgannaway

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More truly independent releases:

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2006 - ELECPHONIC

2004 - kidameln - the kidameln lo-fi

http://www.cdbaby.com/group/trulyindependent

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truly independent has kidameln's debut & Daniel's first 3 albums in the CD Baby $5 Specials!

This means that if you buy these four albums [the kidameln lo-fi, FINE BY ME, flashback* & Bootlegged at the Temple] together in one purchase, the price per album will drop to $5. You'll get all 4 for only $20!!!

These albums contain classic Daniel Gannaway songs like Sarah, Daisy, Zebra Crossing, Rest, Midnight's Gone, Avenues, Your Winning Way, A French Girl, and kidameln classics like 'I'm in', 'See me smiling' Hey ho' & Circles, just to name a few...

As always, thank you for supporting truly independent music.

http://www.cdbaby.com/group/trulyindependent

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truly independent recommends a newly recovered live gem of Daniel:

BOOTLEGGED AT THE 12 BAR CLUB

[11 Songs - Solo Acoustic - London - April 2002]

@ http://www.cdbaby.com/danielgannaway8

Recorded live in an intimate little venue in the centre of London – the 12 Bar Club – Daniel’s vocal range and delicate guitar, sometimes complimented by harmonica, are collected surprisingly well and make for a beautifully meandering compilation.

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Daniel's latest album:

OP-ED: Environmental / Social / Political

@ http://www.cdbaby.com/danielgannaway7

"Documenting many of Daniel's previously unrecorded songs of environmental, social and political importance, OP-ED is an inspired compilation of acoustic material on guitar and ukulele - all recorded in Hawaii during February of 2006."

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truly independent recommends Daniels popular ukulele album:

SUMMER STORM | A collection of ukulele ditties

@ http://www.cdbaby.com/danielgannaway6

"Written and recorded in Hawaii and New Zealand, Summer Storm - Daniel's sixth solo outing - references laidback island life with the ukulele's nylon strings, while wrapping it up in the kind of dynamic folk/indie-rock/electronic feel..."

"...like Gannaway's home country, this music [SUMMER STORM] is an exotic, faraway place in relationship to the rest of the overall modern musical landscape. Nevertheless, these unique Gannaway sounds offer a pleasant getaway" - Indie-Music.

"...The great aspect of the album [SUMMER STORM] is that each song's arrangement maintains a minimalistic nature, which shows a discipline and a depth of understanding on Gannaway's part. Underneath the ukelele, the cruising drums and harmonic supporting bass grooves provide an all around easy and easily recommendable listen..." - NZ Musician Magazine

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Also highly recommended: darling one year

@ http://www.cdbaby.com/danielgannaway5

"...A perfect blend of lyrics, emotion and rhythm...If your looking for some refreshing new music for the soul, I whole-heartedly recommend darling one year as a must have for your collection." - AllAboutSurf.com

"...Down to earth and laid back, it has none of the musical tension of trying too hard or the injection of false emotions. Suburban folky and bohemian chic, it [darling one year] ties up agreeably layered and distorted vocals into an angst-ridden, quirky pop as catchy as The Strokes but easily as mysteriously engaging as James Keenan Maynard..." - Indie-Music.com

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Daniel's music is available from such online digital providers as:

http://www.Mp3tunes.com/DanielGannaway

AudioLunchbox; Apple iTunes Music Store; Rhapsody; Napster; BuyMusic; Emusic; Sony Connect...

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CafePress Stores Now Open!

http://www.cafepress.com/danielgannaway

http://www.cafepress.com/kidameln

http://www.cafepress.com/trulyindie

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Lyrics to songs below.

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01

Are you a free man? (letter to you friend)

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

i'm sending a present of someone i like music you should hear in the dark or lying on your back in a spacious place like the desert or a park i thought you might like a wrist-watch but why remind you of time? we've talked enough of it running out you of yours and me of mine quarter century quarter century i try not to look and count but i check the scoreboard it's a quarter century hope you're near to knowing what you want i'm out of here soon maybe days i've seen a little and i've lived a lot they've cut my contract they cannot sell me they don't want to hear what i've got so i won't play for them i won't play for them i will not play for them i won't play for them but i'll play for you my flatmate left his steak on the floor lost himself in the night he drags me into all manner of things but i can't blame him for my part well i'm gonna take a break now from microscopes and fakes i'm gonna lock myself up in a room gonna sweat it out and listen to what i won't play for them i won't play for them i will not play for them i won't play and maybe you'll hear me sometime if i see you again but don't ask for surprises because i'm empty of them i'm empty of them

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02

Avenues (NY NY)

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

avenues they speak my name as i wander my merry way and i don't know just where it is i'm walking to getting there maybe all i ever know this man he said to me boy you better find a direction soon well now show me your mind point it's knowledge in a line and i'll follow it straight and true but just allow me a little room to waver along the way only then sir can i follow you i've given myself to the wind with wind i will fly lady standing on a street corner there's a plastic bag in her hand she says i need this to carry my family jewels and at night i see her hail a taxi cab a taxi cab to the stars i can see i can see we've shared similar scars she's given herself to the wind with wind she will fly and Benny down at the drugstore tells me of all his memories tells me of snow this high and goosebumps on his neck i say hey Benny i'm too young man too young to have remembered that he says son you're so much older than you look he says old soul my young man now don't you forget just where you've been i'm an old soul i'm still a young man i cannot forget just where it is i been been did i tell you about my friend that died? i watched him should have been the one that washed him clean spirit left his body and floated up in the sky he waved goodbye last breath left his body with a sigh he's given himself to the wind with wind he will fly these avenues they speak my name as i wander my merry way sunlight reflects off mirrored windows i can see i can see blue around the grey [i love these avenues]

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03

When i was a schoolboy

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

met her in australia she hailed from america a native of the four cornered state of arizona she was sixteen going on twenty-five in the mind and if distance equalled street sense she'd have clocked a million miles well it was so typical of my life at the time i gave her my heart but i did not say it was mine sixteen and blowing out my mind oh she did not ask me to act like all these other boys in line but i cried out i was just a schoolboy i reached out like there was candy in store i found out the hard way the store did not sell that candy anymore to me to me to me blue green and yellow eyes if a cat could talk then you would know her voice once on heat we made love in a park on a jungle gym and on the beach after dark she was sixteen and matching anything in my mind and if fate had loved me better there would have been no good-byes sixteen and blowing out my mind if fate had loved me better there would have been no good-byes oh but i cried out i was just a schoolboy i reached out like there was candy in store i found out the hard way the store did not sell that candy anymore to me to me to me

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04

Fireescapes

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

since i met you i've been standing in fireescapes i've been screaming at the top of my lungs just to get it out but all it does is bounce up ten floors and back down stops in front of me says hey! daniel hey what is wrong? are you are you too scared to wear your face? are you too scared to use your voice? are you too scared to be yourself? are you too scared to be yourself? be myself be myself now when i walk out my door since i first had that little talk with you it's been following me like another in my head and upon my shoulder asking are you too scared to wear your face? are you too scared to use your voice? are you too scared to be yourself? are you too scared? are you too scared? well yes i'm scared are you gonna laugh and break my balls? yes i'm scared but this corner's getting too small yes i'm scared 'cause i don't want to be your window shopping you don't have to buy me no you can leave me hanging hanging hanging hanging hanging in fire escapes well yes i'm scared are you gonna laugh and break my balls? yes i'm scared but this corners getting too small yes i'm scared 'cause i don't want to be your window shopping you don't have to buy me no you can leave me hanging

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05

Fine by me

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

jessie had the baby just last week she's so overwhelmed and we can't hear ourselves speak she says screaming's just another way to talk well i'm not one for babies and this noise makes me want to walk but i've been saddled up like a substitute dad i feel like an old man when i'm merely post-grad we all know it takes two to make a party but i can't find that guy so he can step outside with me mama says we're doing fine dad says we're doing fine jessie says we're fine and i got to complete this mama says we're doing fine dad says we're doing fine jessie says we're fine and i got to complete this so why is it everyone here is so uptight? like a pack of angry dogs we're ready to fight if we're so fine why are we chewing on each others shoes? we're snapping at each others heels provoking abuse you know i can't talk to my father he can't talk to his wife i can't talk to my mother jessie is all that she talks of she tells me i'm so lucky to be this young man god made it so easy now you understand you understand you understand why mama says we're doing fine dad says we're fine jessie says we're fine and i got to complete this rhyme mama says we're doing fine dad says we're doing fine jessie says we're fine and i got to complete this i got to complete this rhyme my life is a rhyme it's a fucking rhyme it's just a rhyme my life is a rhyme it's a fucking rhyme it's a fucking rhyme it's a fucking rhyme beauty of life is you can live undercover seeming to be one way when you're really the other everything is covert like an old cold war policy but i'm one step ahead got no big brother watching me my eyes are so bloodshot from smoking up behind their backs they'd kill me knowing full well we are all hypocrites i'm doing everything that they have done i'm doing it sooner doing it better 'cause i'm their prodigious son mama says we're doing fine dad says we're doing fine jessie says we're fine and i got to complete this rhyme mama says we're doing fine dad says we're doing fine jessie says we're fine and i got to complete this i got to complete this rhyme my life is a rhyme it's a fucking rhyme it's just a rhyme my life is a rhyme it's just a fucking rhyme it's a fucking rhyme it's a fucking rhyme

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06

Daisy

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

hey daisy you're my daisy chain wrap yourself around my neck again buttercup yellow you're so clean sheet white won't you roll on the grass with me tonight? hey daisy do you care? i'm just a normal man with fear i get scared that you'll fall free but i'm not scared for you no i'm scared for me see i love you daisy i love you daisy i love you daisy you drive me crazy daisy you're my daisy chain yourself to me daisy you're my daisy chain yourself to me yourself to me yourself to me yourself to me hey daisy why do you laugh at my jokes am i funny? or am i just a dope? another simple insecurity should i believe you when you say you love me? love me daisy love me daisy love me daisy you drive me so crazy daisy you're my daisy chain yourself to me daisy you're my daisy chain yourself to me yourself to me yourself to me yourself to me to me to me to me hey daisy you wrap me up so cushion me from the world's blows when things don't work out i run through fields of white and yellow to be with you

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07

Jetwash

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

i drive bus or train out to these jet aeroplanes because practise makes perfect perfect for my day i browse the magazine racks think about duty free i shoulder my carry packed with inflight necessities 'cause anywhere from here is such a long way from home anywhere from here is such a long way to go i never get through the gate 'cause i've not yet bought my ticket security guard checks me out for all the sleeping pills in my pocket he asks hey what are these good for? you know you're not flying anywhere i say hey! practise makes perfect i don't want nerves or pre-flight fear anywhere from here is such a long way from home anywhere from here is such a long way to go anywhere from here is such a long way from home anywhere from here is such a long way to go long way long way long way long way landing and departing i've got my observers view i love the shimmer of jetwash and the smell of burnt jet fuel maybe i'll become a steward then i could have my home in the air maybe one day i'll be a captain wear a cap with dash and dare anywhere from here is such a long way from home anywhere from here is such a long way to go anywhere from here is such a long way from home anywhere from here is such a long way to go

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08

Cloak & dagger

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

i've run out of ideas i'm escape free i've got nothing left with which to feed my smoke screen you're gonna find out the truth about me fact is i'm not at all what you think you have seen so far yeah so far yeah have you got a dollar? have you got some spare change? i could not find any in your secret place of hiding you've been so kind nothing but charity but these questions must be lurking in your mind about me so far so far so far so far the truth is you see the truth is i am not what you've seen i am not what you've seen i am not what you've seen i am not what you've seen so far so far yeah i've run out i'm escape free got nothing left with which to feed my smoke screen you've found out the truth about me yeah fact is i'm not at all what you thought you had seen so far

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09

Radio songs

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

mom and dad have come home singing radio songs i'm five and my sisters are six they sit play pick up sticks and i always lose i've got hand me down shoes anything my cousin has got has got my name written on it because i'm a hand me down boy with hand me down toys i'm a hand me down boy hand me down boy i don't think that they know or have the faintest clue because everything's perfect when the radio is on come on let's all smile let's sing along these secrets are not hard to keep but this one runs too deep i want to tell them just what they do but they would hit me for telling untruths i'm a hand me down boy with hand me down toys i'm a hand me down boy hand me down boy my bike is 2 years old it's been bashed around repaired and resold but i can still pull one good wheelie i bunny-hop my neighbours dog every morning it's funny all of life's parallels gives you these mirrors and stories as well you know i've only got hand me down clothes and toys i get treated like a hand me down boy

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10

We'll speak soon

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

black as night you are your body's cold now tar and concrete these motors ran beside you and i cry i cry as you fall winters day you took me in from the ice and snow i was so not there i was so not there but you brought me back to where i should be and when i fell you picked me up when i fell now my tears fall like you fall you fall down my tears fall like you fall falling down i wrote you this year but you wrote nothing back to me now i have the answers now i have the answers but the newspaper is not where i wanted them to be i ask why? do you fall like you fall now my tears fall like you fall you fall down my tears fall like you fall they fall down down they fall down they fall down when i come back i can see such empty days when i sit down in that favourite bar third avenue cafe conversations lost who knows what dimension we might have crossed remember them as you fall for in the future we will speak of them all

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11

Zebra crossing

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

eddie's old album's on the stereo my friend is at the stove food in the making we have returned in from parisian cold the sting in my hands feels like needles of joy warmth is telling me it's tale over a red bottle of wine candles in the corner won't you bare your flicker here? my bread lies half eaten accompanied by my vacant stare here i am stumbling over my thoughts of you my mind is elsewhere stumbling over my thoughts of you my mind is elsewhere my life in between one place and the other soon i return to finish replace it with another i will sort through documents i will file away the hurt i'll sign over ownership and i will leave without my heart a period of my life is at end you know i'm a zebra crossing standing on the street edge i am ready to start walking i'm stumbling over my thoughts of you my mind is elsewhere stumbling over my thoughts of you my mind is elsewhere my mind is elsewhere my mind is elsewhere cats and their colors leopards and their spots and all the changes we don't think we're capable of well i was a boy in the pacific yeah inside i think i still am i'm speaking to the seagulls i am standing in the sand then there was no confusion with an ocean god as my sun the whales passing in the night on their migratory run here i am stumbling over my thoughts of you my mind is elsewhere stumbling over my thoughts of you my mind is elsewhere my mind is elsewhere my mind is elsewhere

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12

Midnights gone

music & lyrics by Daniel Gannaway © 1998

midnight's gone and i'm still awake i've a feeling this has happened to me before midnight's gone and left me behind my duty seems to be to bring up the dawn i'm losing sleep to a chemical watching the man swim in the moon trees trip up while lamposts walk gutters cluttered with the know of street talk midnight's gone and i'm still awake and i'm still awake midnight's gone and i'm still awake and i'm still awake a word to steven at 74 lets me in on the premise i'll take the floor so i spin a few with disordered pleasure yeah then i hit the lounge to play mr undercover on steven's break we get on and off and out the rooftop is the only place we can talk he says he knows a girl who's perfect for me then we both laugh loud and hard 'cause it ain't that easy midnight's gone and i'm still awake and i'm still awake midnight's gone and i'm still awake and i'm still awake midnight's gone midnight's gone so i slide off down the fireescape feeling like i got on me a mask and cape i want to fly this last floor but instead i decide i don't need a grave for a bed just yet skipping along the boulevard my destination's become that tall tower i climb up and watch the beginning of light you know the sun is gonna chase away the night next stop five and dimes lined up in a row there's time for a snack before i head on my way home last stop before the sun is fully up last stop before my eyes seal shut last stop before the sun is fully up last stop before my eyes seal shut midnight's gone and i'm still awake and i'm still awake midnight's gone and i'm still awake and i'm still awake midnight's gone midnight's gone my mouth is heavy with these tastes i bought my mind in chain letters and unchained thought seems like too much to give up so soon but sleep comes on with a crash and a boom

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