The Retrofits Official Website :: Portland Oregon Based Independent Piano Pop Rock Band

AWAY FROM HERE

The Debut Album: Away From Here

1.	Anything You Like (Clip)	Play	Anything You Like (Clip) Anything You Like Written by George McCleary Love is changing And unfolding now It’s broken, buried Under the table now Tell me who I am tonight And I will go Lay me down inside this place That only we know Get over nothing, I say Chorus: She’s wanting nothing more Than what I cannot give I know there’s something missing Don’t know what it is So I search for that something It’s never ending We can’t find it tonight So I lay my heart down at your feet As anything you like tonight A friend or lover Someone at your door A face familiar Seen just once before Tell me who I am tonight And I will go Lay me down inside this place That only we know Get over nothing, I say I’ll take my time Chorus Tonight, tonight I’m anything you like Tonight, tonight I’m anything you like Just leave the door unlocked this time And don’t say if it’s right We lay entwined this one last time As anything you like Tonight, tonight I’m anything you like Tonight, tonight I’m anything you like Lyrics
2.	Away From Here (Clip)	Play	Away From Here (Clip) Away From Here Written by Jake Oken-Berg Curiosity struck today It came to me so fast Don’t think too much you say I hope this thing will last Chorus: And I won’t walk Away from here And I won’t talk To keep things clear And I won’t be The only one To keep things straight To not be young And you’re going my way But I’ve been here before But this is going to be my day Because I want something more Chorus I want to escape, I want to move, I want to run But you’ll show, and I’ll grow, and I know Today will be the one Curiosity struck today It came to me so fast Don’t think too much you say I hope this thing will last And I won’t walk Away from here And I won’t talk To keep things clear And I won’t be The only one To keep things straight To not be— Chorus Lyrics
3.	Love Letter (Clip)	Play	Love Letter (Clip) Love Letter Written by Jake Oken-Berg You lie down On your bed Pick up the phone But then hang it up instead And I lie down On my couch Draft a letter But then throw the paper out And when I’m with you I try to be just a friend But when you’re with me It’s a different message that you send Chorus: I wish I knew the same as you What’s going on inside your head I look to the sky and wonder why You make me feel as if I’m dead There’s only one thing That my heart will ever know I need the truth, good or bad Or just let me go Let me go And when I’m with you You’re looking right back at me But when you’re with me It must be something different That you see Because every day we’re hanging out It feels just like the same As the day before, and nothing more I think I’m going to go insane Chorus Chorus Let me go— Let me go— There's only one thing That my heart will ever know I need the truth, good or bad Or just let me go Let me go Lyrics
4.	The Women Glow (Clip)	Play	The Women Glow (Clip) The Women Glow Written by George McCleary Livin’ with the ocean next to me Finally it seems I'm free Hair has turned blond And long and rusted Yeah A friend and I went out drinking He told me he'd found himself a girl After about five more shots of Bundy I don't think I'll ever leave this world Chorus: The days are long here ‘Cause the women glow here Wonder why Now I guess now I know I've turned the corner ‘Cause now I'm lost here Thinking that life won’t Pass me by It's time to run around And think about Going nowhere for awhile Around here people Aren't so preoccupied Yeah Chorus Hard to think I'd ever like the feeling Of sand and salt in my bed For some reason it just feels right Yeah Chorus I'm hanging on To this feeling I’ve got Until the end I'm hanging on To this feeling I’ve got Until the end ‘Til the end Lyrics
5.	Caught Up In The Mix (Clip)	Play	Caught Up In The Mix (Clip) Caught Up In The Mix Written by George McCleary The cards go around the table Is this gonna be the hand That lets me make it I’m gonna make it, yeah It’s the same old rock and roll fable So let’s see just how far I’m gonna take it I’m gonna take it Indie season is gone for a reason Chorus: I think all you should know I’m betting all I have on this and I can’t add up to much But getting caught up in the mix Is such a rush There’s only so much I can do I’m running blind and wondering If anything I’m thinking Will come true I’ll give it everything I’ve got So mind and inspiration Fail me not Fail me not Pick me, play me, overrate me Chorus Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah— The cards go around the table Chorus All you should know Oh, all you should know Lyrics
6.	Something Less (Clip)	Play	Something Less (Clip) Something Less Written by Jake Oken-Berg And where you’re going It ain’t no better than here And who are you fooling I see you looking In the rear view mirror And elections become dissections Of the best and worst of us And fake technicians Call it a correction As the market The market heads to bust Chorus: What’s your heart for If it’s nothing more Than a beating chore And what’s your mind for If it’s something less Than your best guess of all the rest Why do we wait for the day When the rain’s going to wash Wash our cares away I’m not going to wait For some cliché to save me From what I had yesterday Oh yesterday, yesterday Minute by minute, day by day I just keep on wasting this time away This time away Chorus Why do we wait for the day Why do we wait for yesterday Chorus What’s your heart for And what’s your mind for What’s your heart for, mind for If it’s something less Than your best guess of all the rest Lyrics
7.	When There's Nothing (Clip)	Play	When There's Nothing (Clip) When There's Nothing Written by Jake Oken-Berg When the night has fallen And the world's gone to bed When no one else is calling Is it better left unsaid Chorus: I will run with you to the finish And I will stand with you in the end It gets easier, so much easier When there's nothing around the bend When there's nothing When there's nothing When there's nothing When those thoughts won't go away No matter how hard you try And nothing in your life seems to pay And I know you start to cry Chorus I know I’m just one man In this infinite town But I’ll be there to take your hand When the world’s turned upside down When the night has fallen And the world's gone to bed When no one else is calling Is it better left unsaid Chorus When there's nothing When there's nothing When there's nothing When there's nothing Lyrics
8.	Circle (Clip)	Play	Circle (Clip) Circle Written by Jake Oken-Berg Half open windows and stuffy rooms Posters of races thrown away too soon Courtyards and smokers Lying in the sun Today's memories have already begun I spend too much time Watching the clock I left the door open So why did you knock For a day I wanted you But I was wrong I'd rather be confused And write this song Chorus: Things never turn out The way they should I don't like candy But it tastes so good Just when I thought That my heart would never mend I could see us standing In that circle again Bored of time with nothing to do L.A. has so many stations to listen to I thought I'd like Not hearing the same band If I can make it three days I'll be back in Portland Chorus All along the riverside Puddles splashing Crashing through my mind Someday I will find How to make you smile We all might die For just a little while To see your smile To see your smile Things never turn out The way they should I don't like candy But it tastes so good Just when I thought That my heart would never mend I could see us standing I could see you standing I could see us standing In that circle again Circle— Again, again— Again, again— Lyrics
9.	While I Still Can (Clip)	Play	While I Still Can (Clip) While I Still Can Written by George McCleary Sitting around and trying to figure out How I went wrong Because now the only thing That gets me high now is a song Went across the world And found, baby, something funny There ain’t nothing That I like to do at all now That makes the money It seems to me that life has begun now There’s nothing to do now but run Chorus: Until I’m free again ‘Cause baby I don’t understand I’ve got to be me again And take it easy while I still can While I still can Now I know why the promises That I wanted were not there When everything comes easy And then it gets hard Then you get scared This is the freedom I asked for Baby I know I never thought that I’d get it Much less live to regret it It seems to me that life has begun now There’s nothing to do now but run Chorus Chorus I can— Ooh— Ooh— Lyrics
10.	The Fourth Day (Clip)	Play	The Fourth Day (Clip) The Fourth Day Written by Jake Oken-Berg You look around on the fourth day It's even worse than before Friends come by, not much to say You don't want this anymore But you make it to bed tonight And your head is clear Whoever said it would be all right They've never been here And I'll reach for anything That’ll make it end There's nothing That's going to lessen the sting Why's it happening again Chorus: You say there's nothing in life I know that you're wrong You think he can't be right I say let me play you a song Let me play you a song You go to sleep on the fourth day At three a.m. you awake For innocence is this price we pay Is there anything left to take And I'll look for anything That’ll make it end There's nothing That's going to lessen the sting Why's it happening again Chorus Let me play you a song Let me play you a song Yeah— Lyrics
11.	One True Thing (Clip)	Play	One True Thing (Clip) One True Thing Written by George McCleary One true thing I know It’s easy to age, not to grow We stand here in the silence once again Am I everything That you ever thought I could be Looking back I knew I’d never know Chorus: ‘Cause it’s easy to believe Through other people’s eyes There’s a fire in my hand The fear is my surprise It’s gone again That’s one true thing I know One true thing I see What I’ve been given has not been free I try to justify it every day Is this the thing I love Is this the life I’ve been dreaming of Either way I try and try again Chorus I see— I see— Chorus It’s gone again That’s one true thing I know Lyrics
12.	Lightning (Clip)	Play	Lightning (Clip) Lightning Written by Jake Oken-Berg Running the race That can’t be run Singing the songs That can’t be sung Doing the things That can’t be done Striving to win What can’t be won Chorus: You’re like lightning coming over me Oh it’s frightening There’s nothing else to see I’d better act fast While you’re still being nice ‘Cause everyone knows lightning won’t Hit the same place twice Driving my head against this wall Trying my best to do it all Waiting in vain for you to call Going insane, I’m about to fall Keep the secrets inside your head Spend the night in another’s bed Try to move with feet of lead Cry when you think of the words I said I love you now, I’ll love you then Forget about those other men Don’t say if but only when So I can use my heart again Chorus These things I think They’re bad for my health I’m putting my heart back on the shelf The rest of the world Has got the wealth You’ve got to save me from myself You’re like lightning coming over me Oh it’s frightening There’s nothing else to see I’d better act fast While you’re still being nice ‘Cause everyone knows lightning won’t I said everyone knows lightning won’t Hit the same place twice The same place twice— The same place twice— Same place twice— Same place twice— Lyrics

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All the tight hooks needed for a successful first recording. – The Oregonian

The Retrofits' debut album, Away From Here, will surely take this band wherever it wants to go. – West Coast Performer Magazine

The entire album has enough surprises to keep it from being compartmentalized...The result is a sound that no one can touch - purely The Retrofits' own. – West Coast Performer Magazine

The Retrofits debut album "Away From Here" (2007) features 12 original tracks recorded at Portland, Oregon's legendary Kung Fu Bakery Studios.

The album was engineered by Dave Friedlander (Prince, George Clinton, Pink Martini), mixed by Friedlander and Nick Moon (Gino Vannelli. Liv Warfield), and mastered by Bernie Grundman (Michael Jackson, Alanis Morissette, Jamie Cullum) in Hollywood, California.

Away From Here includes special guests Stephanie Schneiderman (backing vocals), Brian Davis (congas) from Pink Martini, and Jean-Pierre Garau (organ).

Buy it at: iTunes - CD Baby - Amazon

Recording Bloopers

1.	Brud Interrupts George's Singing	Play	Brud Interrupts George's Singing Notes Brud (our intrepid engineer and drummer) leaves the talk-back microphone on and interrupts George's vocal take... Info
2.	Pianist On Strike	Play	Pianist On Strike Notes Jake messes up the first few piano notes of the song... And then really makes sure the band knows it. Info
3.	Surprise George with Trumpet	Play	Surprise George with Trumpet Notes 1. Have George concentrate on vocal harmony in the recording booth. 2. Enter Darin behind him with trumpet. 3. Blow on trumpet and listen to George freak out! Info
4.	Jake Gets Creative With His Vocals	Play	Jake Gets Creative With His Vocals Notes Wrong note... let's make it worse. Info
5.	George Messes Up	Play	George Messes Up Notes George doesn't seem to happy with this take. Info
6.	Try That Guitar Chord Again!	Play	Try That Guitar Chord Again! Notes George, playing with the metronome in the background, explores new chord ideas on his guitar. Info
7.	Cello Gone Bad?	Play	Cello Gone Bad? Notes Cellist Elizabeth Moreno thinks she messed up... Jake disagrees. Info
8.	New Drum Ending?!	Play	New Drum Ending?! Notes I don't think 'Caught Up In The Mix' is supposed to end with a drum solo... Info
9.	Long Day for Darin	Play	Long Day for Darin Notes What do you really think about this song Darin? Info
10.	Good Work George	Play	Good Work George Notes Hmmm. Try that again George. Info
11.	Fun With Auto Tuner	Play	Fun With Auto Tuner Notes Our engineer, Brud, is having a little too much fun with the vocal auto-tuner. Info

For your listening pleasure, The Retrofits offer some of their mess-ups from their hours of recordings.