In 1976 I was living in Memphis, having a great time playing music and hanging out
with a bunch of other musicians. Eight of us lived in a massive 1904 mansion we
called the Big House. Once the home of a wealthy family, it hadn't been maintained
meticulously for 20 years or so. But it was a solid and magnificent house, and an
awesome place for eight musicians to have a great time living the single life. There
was this girl...let's call her Paula...who I had known for a time as a friend of a friend.
One night we ended up together at Solomon Alfred's on Overton Square, and the
warm sparks flew. We said goodnight around midnight and I went back to the Big
House floating on a cloud. I sat down in my bedroom with my Yamaha FG-160 guitar
(which I still have today) and an uplifted attitude. My fingers started playing the
song's signature lick and words soon followed. I've never really been depressed, but
at times I've been discouraged. But as I sat there in the early morning singing...after
a nice evening with a soon-to-be very close friend...I'd say I was encouraged! And
New Way tells the story. This version was recorded live by Pluto Jones one
afternoon in June 1980 at the Brass Monkey Lounge in Marathon in the Florida
Keys. I hung two Shure SM-57 microphones from the ceiling and pressed 'record' on
an $80 Sanyo cassette deck. Somehow, I kept track of that old cassette, and I still
have it. There's also a newer version, from 2008 during the session celebrating
Michael's 50th birthday and Pluto Jones' 30th anniversary. And there's an earlier
version on the site recorded by the Memphis Rockers around 1978.
New Way © 2024 - Joey Arata