m o o s e b u t t e r

Lyrics

Originals:
*Bryant W. "W" Smith
*Josh "Power to the Penguins" Slagowski
Brian "flagrant onematapea" Shirts
Jake "but my doctor said I could" Swensen
Ryan Gosling*
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Timpview High School All-Stars pt. 1:
(July 4 2000 at Orem City July 4th celebration)
Rachel "don't rent 'er -- " Beier
Andrew "sorta a loose" Cannon
Mark "Ice is Nice" Stringham
Jerry "biceps like sea urchins" Gish

BYU Jam Fall 2000:
Adam "yo-yo's have that tingly flavor" Taggart
Ben "all men are created equal -- they're all inferior to me" Griffith

Caucasian Persuasion:
Rich "I can sing higher than you can" Smith

Interim singers:
Peter "Stoic 'cuz I wanna be" Steenblik
Kris "gidoudamyface" Goss
Coray "lamb chop party" McClellin
Keith "pastry lover" McCauley

The Jones Incarnation:
Travis "I wanna watermelon" Richins
Kevin "rich men don't tell me to do the cha cha" Walker

Da Plaid Guys:
BYU Jam Fall 2001:
Andy "Saturday's Lawyer" Leger
Bart "cry me a river" Olsen
Darryl "Mr. Clean" Olchewski

Blue guys into modern era:
Kevin "Sackbut" Bailey
Russ "Jolly Green Giant" Adams
Daniel "world champion snail tosser" Wells
Brandon "drive in the snowstorm" Stanford

Timpview High School All-Stars pt. 2:
(January 2004, at Timpview HS)
Chris
Mike
Sarah
The Fourth

Colorado Dudes:
Forrest "ducks got nothin' on me" Whitaker (Summer 2004)
Mark "stubble stubble" Megibow (Summer 2004, FDGD 2007)
Ryan "Driver" Driver (FDGD 2007)

2002-2008
Glen "sock addict" Sawyer
Chris "rock attic" Harris
Weston "wwwwwwww" Wride
Tim "not so fast, jelly-girl!" Jones

Subs:
Andy "I am Iron Man" Yorgason
Jared "searing gaze" Allen
Jeremiah "hey, I'm floating!" Jackson
Jimmy "over-" Dunn yuk yuk
Ricky "curls-a-lot" bass guy
Cole "my tattoo says hello" Sherratt

The other:
Jorge "don't call me George, just pronounce me George" Jones - tour bass in 2006!!!! We love you platonically, Jorge!

Plumbers, 2007:
Richard "your heart is my snack" Steighner
Peter "more blanket!" Driscoll

AGT 2009
Jason Guffey

2006 5th guy for Chicago Harmony Sweepstakes photos:
*whutsizname

2006 Chicago Harmony Sweepstakes 5th guy who just stood there:
Mike

Honorary Members:
Bob Ahlander (producer, 'see dee,' mentor for all our beginning shenanigans)
Wes "there's a party in my mouth" Carroll (percussion on Harry Potter, guest appearance at Feb 2004 show)
Deke "offended by cake" Sharon (voice featured on 'Squirrels,' artistic direction on 'udder won')
Bill "carpet belly" Hare (artistic studio guru for 'udder won,' voice in the background in 'Sarah,' clapping on 'Uncle Earl')
Ben "bulging octagon" Wilson (played some gee-tarr in the early days; frequent collaborator with Tim; wrote 'Roni Mor')

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Lyrics

We're often asked about where our song ideas come from. Tim replies, adapted from a reply given to Eric McDonald for the Daily Universe, Provo, UT.

"I hate to say it, but most songs develop in a really pedestrian matter. I'm a
writer of lots of things, music and otherwise, and I just write down ideas for
songs, books, symphonies, educational programs, paintings or whatever as they
come. The good ones usually stick with me, and I just work them out in a
fairly straight-forward manner. For moosebutter songs, I hope they're funny,
and singable. If they're not, they go away. Some songs, ala Harry Potter,
have been written very delibrately to tap into a cultural / commercial success.
Most are just ideas. The inspiration usually comes in the finishing process -
I have dozens and dozens of song ideas hanging about in notebooks, on scraps of
paper on my desk, in my head, or inked on my hand. Every once-in-a-while I'll
have a new piece of a song, or the one element that was missing, or a key rhyme
that completes a verse and makes the completion of the song possible, pop into
my head, and then from there it's a matter of strapping a saddle onto the crazy
muse and trying to get everything written down or recorded before I lose it. I
finish songs in gushes like that, and my wife and kids know to just get out of
the way and wait until the floodgates close. My wife's a writer, of novels,
and the same thing happens to her sometimes, so we take turns.

That's how I'd describe the writing process for me - riding on the back of The
Muse, who I imagine as a great, angry bucking flea, me with my pencil in one hand and
the saddle horn and a wad of staff paper in the other, trying to scribble
everything down before I'm flung off and wake up dusty and sweaty with no
recollection of how I came to be under this rack of discount pants at Wal*Mart.
All the finishing work - filling in the lyrics, filling out chords, making sure
everyone's parts work, finishing all the words for lyrics - is just busy work.
Any song that I'm sure is going to work will have some period when The Muse
strikes. Sometimes that strike doesn't happen until the studio, sometimes it's right when the song comes, but it always come (*the preceding statement is unverifiable and may be retracted).

And in case you think the image of The Muse as a flea is weird, trust me, The
Muse is UGLY. And takes no prisoners, and shows no mercy. And I'm usually
sore, and exhausted, after we wrestle.

Lyrics

Astrological Signs:
Chris - Neon
Glen - pi
Tim - Don't Walk
Weston - Mel Gibson and / or Juaquin Phoenix

Humor:
Chris - Phlegm
Glen - Black Phlegm
Tim - Lard
Weston - Bree

Joined moosebutter:
Chris - March 2002 first show: hosting the 2001 ICCA Western Regional, Provo Tabernacle
Glen - August 2001 first show: dancing barely-clad in front of his neighbor's house... oh, wait, that was something else...
Tim - June 1977 first show: first moosebutter show
Weston - March 2001 first show: Utah State University "Acappalooza"
Jorge - July 2006 first show: Lehi, UT, July 11 2006