The Making of Miss Nomer’s Number

Miss Nomer’s Number, my newest record, came out on September 18th, 2015 — and it’s been WILD. I wanted to share with you some of the behind-the-scenes, makings-of, and lyrics that went into this project, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. There are eight tracks on the record, and with the help of several amazing guest contributors, we were able to put together a unique jazz-influenced pop album — something we’re very proud of. Without further ado…

Track One: Dancing Shoes

We made “Dancing Shoes” (the official video) with the help of our friend Derek Muller in Seattle, WA. Written in Los Angeles with Bradley Kohn in January of 2014, “Dancing Shoes” is about finding the pathways to happiness in life, especially through dance.

This song is a white-knuckled grip on our intention to achieve material goals can strangle life’s joy. The verses were inspired by writings of the Dali Lama and John Lennon. Although they had the music for this song for months, co-writers Bradley Kohn and Peter Evans remained unsatisfied as they began and set aside one lyric set after another. Then, one sun-filled afternoon at New West Records, Peter and Brad tapped an undiscovered spring of common wisdom and the right lyrics finally poured forth. Smile. Love. Dance. It wasn’t so hard, after all!

Lyrics

As a young boy my mum would tell me, that in life, happiness is the key

So when at school they asked me, when I grew up what did I want to be

I wrote “happy” on the paper, they told me that I wasn’t right

I’d misunderstood their question, I told them they’d misunderstood life

Put on your dancing shoes, (Dance like no one’s watching you)

Where are your dancing shoes?, (Dance like no one’s watching you)

We sacrifice health to make money, we spend money regaining our health

A cancerous message is broadcast, happiness = wealth

I left behind this logic, unconcerned with boom or bust

I’m tuned to a different station, when the music starts playing you must…

Put on your dancing shoes, (Dance like no one’s watching you)

Where are your dancing shoes?, (Dance like no one’s watching you) x2

So anxious about the future, so guilty about the past

Afraid of getting nowhere, while life passes by so fast

All that you have is this moment, it’s all that there’s ever been

Everything else is beyond your control, so enjoy the moment you’re in

Put on your dancing shoes!, (Dance like no one’s watching you)

Where are your dancing shoes?, go on and dance like no one is watching

Track Two: That’s When You Know Something’s Up
The theme of the cheating lover is a well-travelled road for songwriters, but this blues with bollocks sojourn contains the “A” list of danger signs. The insecurities of a soon-to-be-dumped guy paint an “oh yeah” montage. You’ll say “been there, done that” as he runs through every red signal moment of his lover’s behavior. Bradley and Peter crowd-sourced the lyrics using a post on Facebook. The responses to their post confirmed, clarified and enhanced their original list of bad relationship omens. By the end (spoiler alert!), our duped guy, portrayed in Peter’s vocal, is able to turn the tables on his deceiver.

Lyrics

I’ve been going round in circles, pulling on a thread of doubt

And now I’m almost naked, sleepless and strung out

I tell myself its better, to let suspicion run on by

It’s hard to know for sure, when she won’t look me in the eye

But the rest of her’s alluring, and I’m afraid of her reply

If I should come right out accusing, will she tell another lie?

She’s being non-committal, but girls’ night ends at dawn

She’s out 4 times a week, at least twice a month she’s on

If I ask is there a problem, she denies it with a grin

But cuts off her conversations, every time that I walk in

It sucks to say I’m certain, she’s had someone else in the sack

When I told her we need to talk, it was four days till she came back

That’s when you know that something’s up

She’s wearing different clothing, at work and on the town

Her kiss has grown peculiar, in a way I can’t pin down

We had dreams for our vacation, but they never came around

And at times her conversation, has a puzzling foreign sound

I think I heard her make a slip, last week when she got pissed

There’s only one conclusion, I can draw from all of this

She showers when she comes home, she’s on edge and can’t relax

My woman has been cheating, and covering her tracks

I didn’t want to see it coming, or be the victim of deceit

I haven’t lost, no, I’ve recovered, it’s just a setback, not defeat

’Cause now I know that something’s up

It pains me to admit it, but our love has been disgraced

Next time she comes home lagging, she’ll find the locks replaced

She’ll know I know that something’s up

Track Three: Lie, Cheat, and Steal

This song addresses the age-old question: who will wear the Pinocchio nose first in a relationship built on power and deceit? The title for the song was written when Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong were in the news. Is deception and dishonesty the only path to success anymore? When Bradley and Peter put their heads together, they agreed that a love relationship could provide megawatts of dramatic energy for a song bearing this title. Who will come out on top? Will she find out his secrets before he gains an exit strategy? This is a very dangerous game!

Lyrics

He was short on talent long on schmooze, she was easy on the eye and hard to refuse

A material girl who hated to lose, and money grabbing was her favorite pursuit

She was all he needed to be led astray, a heady interest with the promise of play

But little did he realize the perils at bay, to be deeply invested and she walk away

Lie, cheat and steal, eat or be eaten, a poisonous deal

Lie, cheat and steal, they’re rolling high stakes, all in for the win, no

appeal

She would ask him for favors and play on his doubt, she expected the best and would not be without

Whether shopping at Christies or just hanging out, how long could he stand in before she found out?

A matter of months and he started to slip, a telling inflection, a tightening grip

He was big on the talk but too small on the tip, who was he fooling that he was legit?

Lie, cheat and steal, eat or be eaten, a poisonous deal

Lie, cheat and steal, they’re rolling high stakes, all in for the win, no

appeal

Lie, cheat and steal, if you’re swimming with sharks don’t end up a meal

Track Four: I Have to Stop Drinking Martinis

In “I Have to Stop Drinking Martinis”, A drinker with a singing problem locates blame at the bottom of his martini glass. Peter Evans staggers through his vocal while a horn-filled high-energy party whirls around him. Perhaps he’s too drunk to care, but he has crashed his car, fallen out of love, and can’t even trust his psychiatrist any more. His preferred solution to these woes is to have another drink while reciting the vodka dictionary. Fortunately, the song ends before the hangover begins.

Lyrics

One. Then there’r two, maybe three vodka martinis

Go on, only two, ok three vodka martinis (one, two, three, floor)

Daily, I’ve been savoring the taste, I’m down to one less bottle in the case

It turned my wife into a bitch, and drove my car (beep, bop) into a ditch

But I still think that one more drink would put things in their place

Same as before only more liquor gets poured.

Cheers!

Daily, I’ve been savoring the taste, I’m down to one less bottle in the case

I lost my grip on perfect pitch

It turned my shrink (beep, bop) into a snitch

But I still think that one more drink would put things in their place

Mix it with Stoly and I’ll sip it slowl, I’m flying high when drinking Skyy

Pickle me neat with wheat and rye, I’ll scoff Smirnoff till my ass falls off

Hanger One is a ton of fun, but it’s a helluva hoot to drink Absolut

Grab the Grey Goose and turn me loose

Daily, I’ve been savoring the taste, I’m down to just one bottle in the case

Dunk that olive, I’ll slobber and stab it, call me a drinker with a singing habit

I keep on thinking that all my drinking will put things in their place

I love the olive

I love the olive

I love to mix it dry

Mix it dry

Track Five: The Edges (feat. Leah Zeger)

In “The Edges”, magnetic attraction and pure satisfaction are preserved forever in a “selfie” for two. Do you have a picture of yourself when you remember smiling on the inside while you were smiling on the outside? Have you ever felt a magnetic energy between you and your lover? The warm amber tones of Leah Zeger’s sultry voice overlays an easy Bossa Nova beat to paint a portrait of comfort and satisfaction in a love relationship. It all begins with two smiles for the camera from a couple who are drawn together at the edges.

Lyrics

I take a picture, you’re in the frame

You start to smile, I point and aim

You know I like the smile I see

I lean toward you when you look at me

Woah — Woah

I trace the edges of your sweet face, look at the picture, you’re in the picture

I want this love of ours to last a while, you and me and that smile

You want an Eden, I’ll plant the trees

It’s only you I want to please

Let’s watch the sunset, I’ll show you where

Two silhouettes in yellow-purple glare

I feel the edges of your sweet face, look at the picture, you’re in the picture

I trace the edges of your sweet face, you stir my passion & my feelings start to race

Look at the edges inside this frame, my point of reference will never be the same

Look at the spaces between our faces, it’s just perfection. You delight me, baby!

Track Six: Pre-Fab

“Pre-Fab” is a reminder that our bodies. Our homes are vessels that hold our possessions. Pre-Fab takes this parallel to an extreme. Getting to know someone means looking in the windows, raising the roof, smelling what’s cooking for dinner, and not merely making a judgement from the curb. A very simple song on the surface develops a wonderful complexity of character, descended from two distinctive parents.

Lyrics:

I bought a pre-fab house and I made it my own

I’ve got this pre-fab house, hung up my television, hooked up my telephone

Cooked up a steak with the champignons, now my house smells like it should

Stunk up my space with the champignons, I cooked it good

Outside these boxes all look the same, on the street, they’re just a number

Inside the walls (it’s all different), behind the blinds (they’re not the same)

Raise the roof (it’s all different), open the windows (they’re not the same)

Inside, inside, inside.

Track Seven: “Ziplining Tunisia” feat. Richard Hardy and Hani Nasser

Follow the gypsy caravan from an ancient oud played in desert of the Arabian Peninsula to a modern Selmer guitar in cafes of Paris to timeless horns across the Mediterranean Sea. Bradley extended an invitation to Hani Nasser (oud) and Richard Hardy (flute, horns) to join us for a jam session at the Gibson Showroom in Beverly Hills. The collaboration was recorded, enabling Bradley to edit a 20-minute ramble into a much shorter composition, which was then improvised and overdubbed at Fonogenic Studios in Van Nuys.

Track Eight: Cruel Geometry (feat. Leah Zeger)

Sometimes our lovers exceed our wildest dreams and sometimes it is the other way around. Sadly, this ballad involves the latter. Her love life is adequate, but it is no match for her imagination. Leah Zeger sings with intimate pain about the emptiness of her reality. Sharing her situation with her friends brings sympathy, but no solution. Her only escape is in the passionate energy she receives through her dreams at night.

Lyrics:

Bedroom kiss in the morning, makes me yearn for more

You tell me that you love me, but you’re walking out the door

The sunlight hits the mirror, though the shapes are undefined

I blink at the reflections, visions fading in my mind

When you sleep tonight I’ll dream in shades of grey that rescue me

From this cruel geometry

Relief

So sad

So sweet

I tell my friends about it, it comes as no surprise

It’s not hard for girls to add this up, when they’ve been measuring their guys

It’s not that I’m impatient, it’s not that you’re unkind

In my fantasies you’re edgy, will you ever read my mind?

When you sleep tonight I’ll dream in shades of grey that rescue me

From this cruel geometry

Relief

So sad

So sweet

What do you think of Miss Nomer’s Number?

For more information on Peter Evans, please see: www.evanssongs.com

To purchase a copy of Miss Nomer’s Number, please do so at: www.evanssongs.com/store