On the final day of May, Ironing Board Sam recorded new tracks in the former Music Maker studios. Just a few days before Music Maker had me bring a handful of pens to Ironing Board Sam.  Sam said he had never bought a pen in his life and for the first time ever, it caught up to him.  He was sitting in his car pulling on a cigarette when I arrived.  He found the whole situation of pens to be so funny that he shook my hand three times.

The room was bare, except for rolled up rugs, stray guitars, and packed bags.  Sam said he wasn’t dressed up, but he still had that music star thing about him being dressed in all black with a fedora on top.  It takes two large steps to get into the now old studio.  Sam groaned as he made his first step up and then with his second groan; I swear he sung it.  Tim Duffy, Aaron Greenhood, and myself were present for this recording session in the early afternoon.

Ironing Board Sam brought in a recording device that he uses to record his rehearsals on, along with other bouts of musical inspiration.  Sam listened to himself with headphones, everyone in the room quieted down to hear the faint sound of his recordings.  We all smiled waiting for what came next.

He performed new songs one after another. The first was titled Country Boy, and the second was Chill Bumps.  Sam wore black boots that shuffled round for the ground as he played.  After a while Tim laid out on the ground soaking it all in.

He performed two more songs after that: Penny Lane (an ode to the street where he currently resides) and Beautiful Woman.  He was going to do a song called Bicycle but he instead explained that he wasn’t ready to do it yet, as the song slows down and accelerates like a bike does.  After we finished recording the five new tracks, Sam said:

“They come to me everyday.”

That’s why it’s great that he has his recording device, so that every musical twinge he has is on record.  Sam said jokes come to him the same way music does.  He said he was sitting in his car outside at night and he came up with a joke that had him laughing to himself so loud he was afraid he might have woken somebody up.  I asked what the joke was, but Sam said he couldn’t remember it, we still  laughed.

He started to talk about the topic of women and he said “Women is the most precious thing on earth.”

“More than piano?” asked Aaron.

“Hmm, yes, no wait, they’re equal.”

“You can’t play a woman,” I said.

“You can’t play a woman, but they’ll play you.” Said Sam.

Sam’s monologue ended a few minutes later, he just stopped talking and began playing again.  “Man this piano plays good,” he said.  “Oh this piano plays good.”

-Michael Capodiferro