the Music

Let’s ‘Start the Show’

This is the “brains” of the site. Here you can find every song I wrote, in roughly chronological sequence in case you might want to examine my artistic arc. (except For the album and its crude demo, because of its importance to the band’s history.)

I thought I wrote maybe 200 songs but see now that it was considerably less than that. Some songs never made it to tape, e.g. At the Movies, The Savior, Paradise Parade, and a few more lost in the dust of time. So who knows, maybe it was 200 or so when the final tally is made. I’ll miss those songs. Still, considering these existing tunes sat on analog recording tape in a garage in Van Nuys, CA, where temperatures frequently reached 115°, I’m lucky we have any damn thing at all.

And of course, it goes without saying, all of the enclosed material is protected under international fair-use copyright statutes.

How to Listen

Click on the arrow in the SoundCloud player beside each title.

Tape 00 - The McAllister Album

Craig Capps – Guitar / backing vocals
Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitar / Lead vocals
Terry Phegley – Bass / backing vocals
Steve Sexton – Drums / backing vocals

Released in 1980, in some ways this represents our apotheosis moment for the band. We’d been performing in venues all across Indiana for a while, we’d assembled what we felt was a worthy collection of radio-friendly yet still artistically viable tunes, and we decided to go for it. Self-produced, which of course means self-financed, we were either going to take it to the next level or go back to our day jobs cleaning elephant poop off the streets of traveling circus parades.

The producer Michel Ebert, Steve Sexton and myself drove to New York with this magnum opus under our arms, and achieved … nothing. Comme si, comme ça. Shortly thereafter I evolved into doing more solo performing, and the band eventually just sort of fizzled out. It had run its course. Still, I’m proud of the record, and if given the choice I’d do it all again. There’s something to be said for the excitement, the unbridled hope and promise of youth.

liner

Album/Tape	Song	Player
McAllister Album - Side one (yes kids, records had "sides")	Start the Show
	Be My Baby
	Get Up
	Cheap Sex
	Playing the Game

McAllister Album - Side two	I'm the One
	Cindy Indiana
	(I Was) Happy Where I Was
	Cruisin'
	I'm Sorry

Tape 00a - McAllister Album Demo

Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitars / Lead vocals

NOBODY SHOULD LISTEN TO THIS … is it music?? … unless (a) they’ve got a permission slip from their parents, or (b) they’re clinically insane. This is a demo I made for the album, envisioning some of the tracks I thought could or should appear. Obviously, they didn’t take my recommendations too seriously, since five of the seven tracks never appeared on the album. It’s very crude. I play all the instruments to a click track, and there’s (again) obviously no editing.

Still, it’s the only place to hear (ICDW) Rock and Roll, my slow interpretation of Johnny B. Goode, Medallion, Highway To Experience, and What Did I Do To Deserve This?

Album/Tape	Song	Player
McAllister Album Demo	Start the Show
	(I Can Do Without) Rock and Roll
	Johnny B. Goode
	(I Was) Happy Where I Was
	Medallion
	Highway to Experience

Tape 00b - McAllister Live Originals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 00b - McAllister Live	Got To Get To The Highway
	Wet Dream
	Wet Dream (instrumental/karaoke version)
	Look At Me, Ma
	Cindy Indiana
	Cindy Indiana (instrumental/karaoke version)
	Cheap Sex

Tape 01 (Mar-May 1978)

Michael Bannon – Backing vocals
Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitars / Lead vocals
Steve Sexton – Drums / backing vocals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 01	Fraternity Guy
	Another Funny Silly Kind of Clown
	Susan Like A Symphony
	Rockin' Robin Inn
	Baby Got A Kind Of Way
	It's A World Of Delight
	Tell Him
	Just Like Being In Love
	Holding/Missing

Tape 02 (June 1978)

Michael Bannon – Backing vocals
Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitars / Lead vocals
Steve Sexton – Drums / backing vocals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 02	Girl, I Want You To Know
	Girls, Girls
	I Wanna Dance With You
	Playing the Game
	I Want A Girl
	Springtime In The Country

Tape 03 (Sep-Oct 1978)

Michael Bannon – Backing vocals
Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitars / Lead vocals
Steve Sexton – Drums / backing vocals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 03	Spending the Night With You
	Give Me Your Touch
	The Beggar
	Gonna Sail Upon the Waters
	I Don't Wanna Spoil the Party
	Go On and Leave Me
	Look At Me, Ma (WNAP selection)
	Lonely Kind Of Blue Day

Tape 04 (Nov-Dec 1978)

Michael Bannon – Backing vocals
Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitars / Lead vocals
Steve Sexton – Drums / backing vocals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 04	Girl With The Lavender Eyes
	All Of God's Children
	Lucy
	I Just Wanna Be Loved
	The Gambler
	Cindy Indiana
	Nothing Left To Say
	Seasons Of The Storm

Tape 05 (Jan-Feb 1979)

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 05	Teenage Wonder
	County Jail
	Beautiful Girls
	Big Time
	China Bird
	Appaloosa
	What The F--k
	Take A Stand
	Lollipop Rings
	Redneckin' Illinois American Boy

Tape 06 (June 1979)

Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitar / Lead vocals
Steve Sexton – Drums / backing vocals
Michael Bannon – backing vocals (?)

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 06	Mary Marcella
	(Someday I'm Gonna Meet) John Travolta
	Warm Summer Nights (Indianapolis)
	Slip Into Emotion

Tape 07 (June 1982)

Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitar / Lead vocals
Steve Sexton – Drums / backing vocals
Michael Bannon – backing vocals (?)
Wayne Hall – saxaphone

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 07	Crazy (sax)
	Rio
	The Word
	From Like to Love
	Stranger Love
	Lease On Life
	Equilibrium

Tape 08 (July - August 1983)

Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitar / Lead vocals

In 1983 I moved from Indianapolis to Los Angeles, seeking fame, fortune, and the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the city’s burgeoning homelessness and crime cavalcade. Sadly, the city didn’t disappoint.

As a result, all subsequent songs were written and recorded by myself, without collaboration.

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 08	You Got A Lotta Nerve
	Day And Night
	Happy Endings
	Did She Ask About Me?
	Tropical Mambo
	Did You Like It?
	Give

Tape 09 (Oct - Nov 1983)

Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitar / Lead vocals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 09	Hot Shot Mama
	Suicide Hearts On Parade
	Hollywood Hustle L.A.
	County Fair
	I Don't Like To Party
	The Failures, The Fighters, The Free
	Cowboy Of Love
	Shoulda Known Better

Tape 10 (Jan - Feb 1984)

Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitar / Lead vocals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 10	Can I Believe My Heart?
	Here And Now
	In Amy's Eyes
	The Great Explorer
	Blood And Desire
	Mean Streets
	Great Expectations
	Can I Get My Heart On The Line?

Tape 11 (May - June 1984)

Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitar / Lead vocals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 11	I Leave It Up To You
	What Do You Want To Feel?
	No Room
	God, Can You Hear Me?
	In My Life
	Who Is The Lady?
	Small Town People
	Got A Feeling

Tape 12 (Aug - Sep 1984)

Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitar / Lead vocals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 12	Jamie Say
	Begging For More
	Ridin' The Fault Line
	It's Not Unusual
	Lots Of Toys For Christmas
	Jamaican Holiday (instrumental)
	Time

Tape 13 (Nov - Dec 1984)

Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitar / Lead vocals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 13	Going On
	Miss America
	The Joke's On You
	Angelina
	Tonight
	Jack

Tape 14 (Feb - Apr 1985)

Roger McAllister (me) – Keyboards / Guitar / Lead vocals

Album/Tape	Song	Player
Tape 14	Did She Ask About Me?
	A Better Man Than I
	Oh Sweet Mary
	Season Of Light
	We Should Be
	Don't Fight The Feeling
	I Don't Wan' Complain
	How Can You Be So Certain?