I SAW THEM EVERYWHERE
Written & Produced by Andras Jones
Andras Jones – Vocals & Guitar
Fernando Perdomo – Bass Guitar & Mellotron Vibraphone
Ross Garren – Bass Harmonica
Vikram Devasthali – Trombone
Jordan Katz – Trumpet
Pete Thomas – Drums
Engineered by Fernando Perdomo
Mixed by R. Walt Vincent
Mastered by JJ Golden
Cover Art by Alan Abbadessa
LYRICS:
I probably did not know what I was doing
but that’s alright (That’s alright)
I mean, how smart do you have to be to screw in
a stupid light? (Stupid light)
But then, just like that
I knew I’d been elected
No one else in the room
seemed to be affected
‘Til the TV sputtered and sparked and I fell
but before I hit the ground
I saw them everywhere I saw…
I saw them everywhere I saw…
I saw them everywhere (I saw)
I saw them everywhere (I saw)
I saw
Well I got no idea what I was thinkin’ or sayin’ on that fateful night
but it musta felt alright
’cause I’m told it sounded like a cross between makin’ love and prayin
and that sounds about right (Sounds about right)
because I knew
right then
I’d never be the same
I also knew that this experience must have some esoteric name
but all that I could say for sure is that
I felt free of
Hunger
Fear and
Shame
and…
I saw them everywhere I saw…
I saw them everywhere I saw…
I saw them everywhere (I saw)
I saw them everywhere (I saw)
I saw
——————————–
“I Saw Them Everywhere” is intentionally ambiguous so don’t ask me what I saw, or what the character in the song saw. Val Lewton would understand. Most of my songs are little movies or scenes in movies that will never get made.
I wrote “I Saw Them Everywhere” in 2003. I think I was going for something Rickie Lee Jones might like. I’d been working with her doing some archival projects and the record I was putting out at the time (A Curmudgeon For All Seasons) wasn’t really the side of my songwriting I wanted to show her. I only performed it a few times before forgetting it. One of these performances was recorded at a live event in Seattle. Otherwise, we would not be hearing it. I’ve written and forgotten a lot of songs in the years before recording was so easy. Lucky for me (and those who like my songs) a lot of them were recorded before they vanished into the slipstream.
The musicians on this track are some of the best at what they do, beginning with PETE THOMAS of The Attractions. Pete’s one of my favorite drummers. His rhythm has driven or craftily supported some of my favorite tracks over the last 5 decades, and his willingness to contribute to my songs is a dream come true.
ROSS GARREN, who plays the bass harmonica is a member of Ben Folds’ band but I got to know him from his work with VIKRAM DEVASTHALI (who plays trombone on this track). I’ve played a couple of shows with them over the last several years and have come to appreciate what a virtuoso Ross is on all manner of harmonica. Vikram, who I met when he was backing up Alex Lilly for her appearance on Radio8Ball back in 2019, plays the trombone here. As well as being a good friend, Vikram has been my most loyal onstage ally over the last half decade when I play shows in LA. He’s also an excellent songwriter under his own name.
JORDAN KATZ, who plays trumpet on this track, is someone I first met when, as a member of Common Rotation, he was playing with my old pal Dan Bern. Later, it seemed like whenever a songwriter I liked played in LA, Jordan was in the band. I remember seeing both he and Vikram backing up The Bird & The Bee at their last LA show as well as playing with the F.O.C.K.R’s Tuesday night band in The Kibitz Room at Canter’s when they did a Philly soul night.
FERNANDO PERDOMO played the bass and Mellotron vibraphone. He was the one who singled this song out of the first batch of old demos and live tracks I wanted to work on. Fern said it sounded like something Colin Blunstone would do. I knew exactly what he meant and was inspired by his astute reflection on my almost lost “jazz” song. Most of the tracks were recorded by the players in their respective home studios but Ross Garren came into Fern’s place to record his parts, and I recorded my vocals and acoustic guitars there.
R. WALT VINCENT, who longtime followers of my music will know as the original bass player in Mr. Jones and The Previous, mixed the track and really brought out the ghosts. It went so well I already having him working on the mix for my next release, a pickle-ball anthem called, “Dink You In The Face”.
Here’s a live video from the International Pop Overthrow festival in Vancouver, BC at Lana Lou’s on August 29th, 2025