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Ice Eaters

by Matt Oleksa

supported by
Erik Roget
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Shea Oleksa
Shea Oleksa thumbnail
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  • Full Digital Discography

    9
    releases

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Bella-Bella Mystic, Clutch, Dig, Gotcha, Nodding Flowers, Ice Eaters, Honeymoon After a Rain, Every Bug Wants To Live, and 1 more. , and , .

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1.
London, Tennessee 02:37
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Born stuck, in the muck—cigarette in my mouth Buds—dead, or in my head, or on a boat back south Could be the end, always could’ve been, and anyway it’s gettin' late Pretty soon if not moon then noon through the gate I'm going East bound—London, Tennessee Everyone around know nothin’ about me East bound—London, Tennessee Everyone around know nothin’ about me Names change, rearrange in patterns on the page Praised, puffed canaries stuff canaries in a cage Life fulfilled if filled with things like a finger through a ring Pretty nice, comes with ice, don’t mean a thing I'm going East bound—London, Tennessee Everyone around know nothin’ ‘bout me East bound—London, Tennessee Everyone around know nothin’ ‘bout me By the rule, to the school—fools rushing in Stumbling out—half about—where endings begin Tally ho! What do you know! It’s the Vice President Back from bender, returnin' sender and the sender was what was sent I'm going East bound—London, Tennessee Everyone around know nothin’ ‘bout me East bound—London, Tennessee Everyone around know nothin’ ‘bout me East bound—London, Tennessee Everyone around know nothin’ ‘bout me East bound—London, Tennessee Everyone around know nothin’ ‘bout me
2.
Vanka 03:24
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Vanka got a boat out on Greasy Lake He smokes cheroots and the moon is an ice cream cake And in the wish it takes to blow it out Splish-splash goes a rainbow trout Here where—forming slow Claws of current grow Up to pull you below Scream a lot Scream a lot Go Go Vanka got a boat out on Greasy Lake He drinks blood orange juice and the moon is a second take Action cuts the anchor rope And fog rolls in on a flying Dutch-boat Here where—forming slow Claws of current grow Up to pull you below Scream a lot Scream a lot Go Go With every tick tock of the cuckoo clock An angel, they say, drops a rock Silver and gold between his toes Cold, but that’s how it goes Here where—forming slow Claws of current grow Up to pull you below Go on, scream a lot Go on, scream a lot Go Go
3.
Upstate Girl 03:41
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Her skin, it ain’t ivory It’s off-white wonder bread Her breath, it ain’t summer rain, boys It’s mint julep soaked in red Upstate girl Upstate girl Upstate girl Silk-cut cigarettes And her deck of tarot-dreams Tickets to Russian roulettes Hot coins and shavin’ creams Her hair, it ain’t auburn flowing It’s jagged metal grass Her eyes, they ain’t emerald They’re hazel hue caught in glass Upstate girl Upstate girl Upstate girl Silk-cut cigarettes And her deck of tarot-dreams Tickets to Russian roulettes Hot coins and shavin’ creams
4.
Coyote 03:51
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I wake you up when everyone’s sleepin' I’m the spider in your bed. I’m the hole in your wall I’m all around Chestatooga County I’m everywhere and nowhere at all The closer you get to where you think you’re going The further you’re out of range The lights are fading and the trees are growing In ways infinite and strange There’s a little place I know Ain’t no one can tell Some call it heaven Some call it hell That spot—frost-bit—open but broken Sellin’ witch hazel by the bouquet If for salvation is what you happen to be cravin’ I’ll take your night and make your day There’s a little place I know Ain’t no one can tell Some call it heaven Some call it hell There's a little saying down in Chestatooga County Some things go without saying
5.
Buzz 03:11
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Blue caboose... Plumes of pigeons on bell’s bark – holy! Slice of milk balanced in the dark – cow! And I know so because I’m so Low side of the road So lo and beholding A cathedral in a grain of pepper Hunting down The edge of town For scrap and crown For to construct a castle If for flag Not tar-soaked rag Well, then plastic bag Or theorem nailed to whirlwind All in all And according to Carl Candle in skull Equals dance of the hanged shadow Blue caboose... Sparked shadows in a spooked night – holy! Pupils slurpin' jumpin' light – mackerel! And I know so because I’m so Low side of the road So lo and beholding A rust-resilient tulip If a lie then Walk a lie Until you die Make a cross on breath when yawning Best laid schemes Dust-dreams Slipstreams Silver coins hot from holdin' Step right up Get it in the cup Win a stuffed pup Or googley-eyed perch thingy We so dumb we So numb we Chew chewed gum we Pop the bubble Yea!
6.
Strange Bloom 02:56
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Ever seen a slice of black currant pie in the avocado eye on a black cat passing by? Meet me at that place Half-past the rat race A little late is on time Bring a bottle of Italian booze Are you unquenched? Do you have the blues so bad they thirst in the dark? The streets emptyin’ in Walls suckin’ in Wives, kids, dogs, husbands And lockin’ 'em in Through opened moon Comes the groom Pale-faced and soon Such a strange bloom Ever seen the air so thick, you could balance a peanut shell on it? Think about it Put down your crucifix Won’t do you no good Your ma and her favorite son wouldn’t take yah back Though they could Through opened moon Comes the groom Pale-faced and soon Such a strange bloom Bet you a couple garlic cloves and a rabbit’s foot you can’t find my nose
7.
Black Frost 03:34
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Oh, like kickin' off a train Smoke, jasmine, perfume, misty rain Followin' the train track back to where the road Splintered and cracked And up there on the hill Between the sycamore on the sill Soaking in their plenty-fill—green eyes on the maiden Oh, where you goin'? Where you been? Bruises ‘cross your skin Breath—faint, hint of gin Brambles in your hair up in tangles Not here, over there Anyway, I could use a bed A place to unload my lead if not a shed then master bedroom Missy, missy, please Missy, missy, please Missy, missy, please Well, I offered up my red hand She grabbed me by the belt Next thing I felt smelt like when roses start meltin’ Oh, must’ve been out awhile I woke up in a pile Of pistachio shells, a book of spells, and I could smell somethin' cookin' Oh, if my eyes weren’t so sticky Like they were all smeared up with honey I’d put my money that’s a hummingbird in the oven Oh, she squeezes the moon like a grape Prefers pancakes to crepes Collects salt figurines, fetches bait as far north as Siberia Missy, missy, please Missy, missy, please Missy, missy, please Kick open up the door Back on before Oh, I said it before, marble floor, take the tour to the master bedroom Where you’re goin' is where you’ve been Oh, bruises ‘cross your skin Breath—faint, hint of gin Brambles in your hair up in tangles Oh now, if I could be anything Oh, and missy if you would forgive it I’d be a big ol' beetle in a dew drop slippin' away I'd burst upon ground, then I'd turn around, take it back Take it back to where the road splintered and cracked Missy, missy, please Missy, missy, please Missy, missy, please
8.
Balcony 06:30
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Home Where the water takes you Where the wave breaks you Home, home, home Home Washin’ up in the evenin’ Between dreams heavin’ Home, home, home Blue road Seventh hill Moonlight Windowsill Tin soldiers In a row Catch one by his bayonet Woken, broken already soaked in Colors preferred, words spoken Struck, hung—brushes stirred Framin' wind, catchin' word A view and it’s blue Out through and into you Mount Mouth sittin’ on plains Chewin’ trains, spittin’ planes Born under an over-bored sign A dodo in crow country They’re hanging fish on the line Ran out of hooks in the pantry A woman ain’t a woman here unless she can gut a deer Swine, wolverine Scouts gatherin’ around the up and comin’ crumblin’ down Red to black by way of mean She so cold, bundled in a sheepskin coat She so cold, bundled in a sheepskin coat On a carriage returning away Returning away Returning away Returning away Forget the one ‘bout the priest’s son Who fell in love with his father’s nun Quotas made, statistics staged Plain and pretty upon the page Quite constant constellations Exotic details on foreign nations For a crown—a sturgeon’s head Somethin' kickin' in the shed Memory is easy to forget A stone’s throw into your fourth quart of oak sap The irony's hard to get I smoked two cigarettes in the time it took you to take a nap Red-eyed Nikolai Gogol burnin’ Dead Souls down the hall Trade ya a muskrat’s foot for a thimble Cicadas crawlin’ back in their exoskeletons I don’t know, I think it’s a symbol She so cold, bundled in a sheepskin coat She so cold, bundled in a sheepskin coat On a carriage returning away Returning away Returning away Returning away Burst, scattered, back in all The time it took the axe to fall Delivered by an abridged version By a blue-haired, blonde-eyed, pawned-off Persian Bed of worms, full of roses Maybe poises – got your noses Take a pill to kill the thrill Tin soldiers on the windowsill Catch one by the bayonet
9.
Spiced Vodka 03:19
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Sportin’ crushed velvet Brass buttons, boutonniere, and a cane Sippin’ spiced vodka Struttin’ down the lane (our hero) Under skies – bruised violet Nymphs kickin’ candles out Among the ten billion The only one about When oh, like that feeling you think you know When a raindrop—no, wait—a snow Flake dissolves in slow Slow emotion In the ocean What’s that approachin'? Could it be—oh, no—well, I guess Entropic cascadin’ failure Of which our hero be best (hero) Slouchin’ toward Atlantis Gettin' low on drugs The moral of his stumble In the formlessness above (the cuckoo in the cherry tree) When oh, like that feeling you think you know When a raindrop—no, wait—a snow Flake dissolves in slow Slow emotion In the ocean
10.
Sheepskin Coat 06:11
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Yalta, June Bruised-up dusk Hanged man and EAT CROW In caps, in dust On a hood inching over a ravine Fog— Mixed with smoke White as milk Peeling off the blackening sea in heaves Soaking in setting sunlight Cooling just right Pressing against that distant night Yalta, June, britzka, hay-smell, leather satchel and in it A bat—no bigger than a copper Nursing adjacent to a spider In a pickle jar—spinning And Vanka—rolling tobacco In a recipe for cold cucumber soup Struck match—burst of darkening blue shadow Soaking in smoke Mixed with lavender Hung in vanilla Stirred by coattails Then breath like oranges Peeled then squeezed then pressed against that distant night Yalta, June, oak—on it—a platter In it—a rook cracking into a crow And what goes up also goes Down, down, down, down again What goes up also goes Down, down, down, down again Every time I’m in my prime She spills wine On my cards stacked just right “Hunger’s a sauce,” she says “For the mostly lost,” she says “But found enough To grieve up an appetite” But she can wear a sheepskin coat Ties me tight ‘tween the black and white With moonlight Ice-bright with a hint of silk Leaves me there Goes and combs her hair Goes and cuts a pear into cubes And pours herself a glass of milk But she can wear a sheepskin coat Lone medallion Struttin’ stallion Etched in silver Tugged then torn from my case Gypsum nails Cat-o’nine-tails Man, she never fails She's so hard, she makes me feel my second place But she can wear a sheepskin coat Hold your tongue, pitiful one Don’t pretend you ain’t drawn to me Song’s been sung, rag’s been wrung, flung, hung Song's been sung (Hold your tongue), pitiful one Don’t pretend you ain’t the one drawn to me A little so the saints don’t know Where I go Saints don’t know Where I go Been here before Marble floor Cherry oak door And all that familiar musk Blue notes on a red guitar Beluga caviar Served in a hollowed-out Diamond-studded rhinoceros tusk But she can wear a sheepskin coat She so there She so everywhere She got tucked behind her ear A half-chewed jimson weed Look out, Bart Man, she’ll barbecue your heart All in the name of art She eats where angels feed But she can wear a sheepskin coat To relate to What you hate’s to Become great through All less than nothin’ much Did I mention Her sole intention Beyond antique invention Is to destroy me with a touch? But she can wear a sheepskin coat Hold your tongue, pitiful one Don’t pretend you ain’t drawn to me Song’s been sung, rag wrung, flung, hung Hold your tongue, pitiful one Don’t pretend you ain’t the one drawn to me A little so the saints don't know Where I go The saints don't know Where I go
11.
Stone Keep 03:37
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I’m a stone seeker Lost and alone I’m a stone seeker Far from my home I’m a stone seeker I wake when the bones are sleepin' I seize the other way On the chance you’re castin’ I got the play I’m a stone keeper I’m a stone keep Forsake the apprentice of brick And if you see me comin' Best hold your tricks I’m a stone keeper
12.
Born In Line 03:57
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Judgment day— And all over a bowl of molten honey Picking his teeth with a hen axe Stops, as if to say Don’t bug the bugs Toeing their way down Fourth then fifth Left knuckle Left knuckle Left knuckle Left knuckle Born in line Born real slow Born in line Born real slow Born blind Blind Born Born Born Tick tock Tick tock The little tin man kicks in the clock Push, pull Push, pull You can’t get the milk out of the bull Tick tock Tick tock The little tin man kicks in the clock Kicks in the clock

credits

released June 21, 2015

1. London, Tennessee

Matt Oleksa: vocals, guitars, percussion
Kevin Bass: bass, vibraphone
Erik Roget: drums
Bridget Brennan: vocals

2. Vanka

Matt Oleksa: vocals, piano, guitar, percussion, gin bottle
Kevin Bass: bass, backup vocals
Bridget Brennan: backup vocals
Erik Roget: backup vocals

3. Upstate Girl

Matt Oleksa: vocals, guitar, bass, percussion
Kevin Bass: guitar, organ
Erik Roget: drums

4. Coyote

Matt Oleksa: vocals, guitar, percussion, forks and knives
Kevin Bass: bass, guitar, organ
Nate Cleveland: mandolin

5. Buzz

Matt Oleksa: vocals, guitar, bass, percussion
Kevin Bass: bass, guitar, vocals, piano, percussion
Erik Roget: drums

6. Strange Bloom

Matt Oleksa: vocals, guitars, percussion
Kevin Bass: bass
Erik Roget: brushes, shaker, backup vocals
Bridget Brennan: backup vocals

7. Black Frost

Matt Oleksa: vocals, guitars, slide whistle
Kevin Bass: basses
Erik Roget: drums

8. Balcony

Matt Oleksa: vocals, guitars, organ, percussion, bass, harmonica, wind chimes
Kevin Bass: bass, backup vocals
Erik Roget: drums, organ, backup vocals

9. Spiced Vodka

Matt Oleksa: vocals, guitars, percussion
Erik Roget: vocals
Kevin Bass: bass

10. Sheepskin Coat

Matt Oleksa: vocals, guitars, harmonica, percussion
Kevin Bass: bass
Erik Roget: drums. backup vocals
Bridget Brennan: vocals

11. Stone Keep

Matt Oleksa: vocals, guitars, percussion
Kevin Bass: bass
Erik Roget: backup vocals

12. Born In Line

Matt Oleksa: vocals, percussion, bells
Kevin Bass: clarinet
Erik Roget: satellite

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Matt Oleksa Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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