Nancy Levinson – Back up Vocal, Percussion, Production Assistant
This is one cool song! I just love the everything about it, so playing the school bell and singing some lines was such a thrill! Michael wanted me and Nikki who came to the studio with Shawn to do some lovely harmonies on “Nobody’s Girl”, to sing as high as we could ‘funk 62’…so we just kept “singing” it in all different pitches. It was a blast and hearing us (Vinnie used the best ones) on the finished cut is so awesome 😊. And the musicians coming into play their part was incredible – especially the three that Michael mentioned John and Mike…then Draper on the drums…wow…. I can hear the song in my head now and it’s not only cool it’s sexy too 😉. The lyrics blow my mind as well. The first line “Born in a magical time in a mythical place” (that’s 1960s Brooklyn BTW); Wow! And “What was now retro was once cutting edge”, “trying to remember things I just don’t know”. Love it!
The guitar riffs are so cool too! It’s just a mind-blowing song! It makes me want to get up and dance!
Joe Pisano – Bass, Assistant Junior Producer
Funk 62…that bass line! Started as a point of controversy because Vinnie said Pooch’s original bass line clashed with the melody. Vinnie charted it out in 12/4 time, had me play it on bass, then improvise a bit, but couldn’t get it to sync with the melody. Then he brought in Freddie Prinze on keyboard. Freddie used his own groove to play along with the melody. Finally, the bass line became a hybrid of all three. The production was filled out with kind of a jungle beat interlude including screams and hollers, Mike Hutt and his blazing guitar riffs, John Satir’s inimitable sax chops, me on harmony vocals and the screaming girls, Nancy and Nikki ending out the song.
Michael J. Puccio – Composer, Vocalist, Rhythm Guitar, Producer
This one started with the funky bass riff. I played if for Joe and Vinnie and they were like what’s that song. I of course replied, “Funk 62”. Then the real work began; the song was a nightmare to complete…both the demo and the finished product. The lyrics and the melody were a snap…. but the music…. oy vey! On the demo is was literally impossible to get the drums to line up because while I wrote it in 4/4 time I played it in 7/8 on the demo (or vice versa…ask Vinnie; he knows these things).
Well the bass line drove everyone crazy during recording…. Joe, Vinnie, Freddie (who played it on the keys) …. I was very close to scrapping it. At one-point Vinnie put in a totally new bass line…. ARRRRRRGH! The bass line is the whole song….at some point I am sure that version will end up on the bootleg page.
Just before I was going to scrap it it got fixed…. don’t ask me how and it did fall into place. The rest of it was a hoot…. Mike Hutt played a stinging lead guitar and John added his growling tenor to the mix. The drum interlude is ably performed by Mike Draper and it is one of my fave parts of the album; I just love it. Vinnie came across a school bell and you can hear Nancy’s pounding away on it through the song. I just love the whole feel of the finished tune.
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