Living On Bread & Circus

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		Raw Dog	3:22	Play
2		Summer Always Comes	4:42	Play
3		Dear Jane	4:20	Play
4		Living on Bread & Circus	3:45	Play
5		Infinitely Inseperable	4:57	Play
6		No One Suspected	2:14	Play
7		Come To Me	4:37	Play
8		She Comes From An Ordinary Family	4:57	Play
9		As Real As The Breath	3:21	Play
10		La Pucelle	4:50	Play
11		As We Are	4:48	Play

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Description

INCLUDES "She Comes From An Ordinary Family" and "As We Are" heard on 48hrs news program in the newly released film, "Searching For Angela Shelton."

"Living on Bread & Circus" is the debut and first solo flight production from Cara. Here, Tower's lyrics articulate the cry of the heart through a beautiful, funny and poignant sojourn of the human experience with a collection of social chronicles that sing in and of our time. Though the atmosphere is at times gritty, the CD is moving, thought provoking and fun to listen too. Home made organic electronic instruments, both modern and mid-evil create for a special listening experience.


FOR LYRICS SEE BOTTOM

BIOgraphy

Cara Tower
Singer/Songwriter/Composer/Producer

History:
Cara Tower is a native of Santa Barbara, California where music found a way into her heart as a small child. Cara's first touring experience was a series of convalescent homes throughout the greater Los Angeles area with a small ensemble of 2nd graders known as the Pied Pipers. By grade 4, Tower took up an esoteric, self-taught study of the classical guitar (privy only to 10 year olds). In High School Cara was awarded a coveted vocal scholarship with noted opera star Madame Bobonia of The Music Academy of the West. After developing chronic laryngitis, Cara began a quest to find her own voice. Bored with learning material already written, Cara started to explore the mystical world of original music composition, where she began a life long journey down the expressway of her own unique vision.

Weird Historical Excursions:
While vacationing in Britain, Cara's then dance oriented recordings, received airplay on underground radio stations throughout England and France. As a result in 1989, Tower signed a 3 year publishing contract with Virgin Music (London). Tower recorded in studios throughout London, completing her Virgin audio sojourn in Scotland, where she worked on her recordings with producer Terry Adams.

In 1992 Cara took off for Germany where she found herself unexpectedly stranded for cash with no real command of the German language. Cara began busking in the streets of Frieburg, inadvertently returning to her roots as a singer songwriter with an acoustic guitar. Alongside Peruvian quintets, classical conservatory students and Irish rovers, Tower was swiftly plucked off the streets and invited to play local spots lights including the famous Blaus Band nightclub located in the heart of the Black Forest.

In 1993, upon returning to the United States, Cara continued to perform as a solo artist where she quickly caught the attention of famed music producer Mike Clink; Guns and Roses, Heart, White Snake, Sammy Hagar etc. Together they formed an unusual musical team, producing demos and eventually recordings for Hollywood Records from 1994 to 1996.

During the fall of 1999, Cara matured into the exciting realm of independent production and recording, founded Raw Dog Records, and brought her debut street wise CD "living on bread & circus" into fruition by the spring of 2001.

Materials:
Living on Bread & Circus is the debut and first solo flight production from Cara. Here, Tower's lyrics articulate the cry of the heart through a beautiful, funny and poignant sojourn of the human experience with a collection of social chronicles that sing in and of our time. Though the atmosphere is at times gritty, the CD is moving, thought provoking and fun to listen too. Home made organic electronic instruments, both modern and mid-evil create for a special listening experience.

Cara's sumptuous 2nd CD, And Then...There is a Bridge, followed Bread & Circus two years later. Through this body of work, Cara stays focused on articulating and appreciating the generosity and kindness of life itself. Honesty, hope, true freedom and gratitude for this existence, all serve as reminders of what is of value to the human heart. This CD takes on the nuances of world beat rhythms and melodies, as well as classical influences such as Debussy, Schubert, Brahms and Mozart. Sweeping orchestral arrangements, tables, guitars, bass and space accompany Cara's soulful vocals. This CD is elegant and understated in delivery, delicate yet powerful, gentle yet strong within a timeless message of hope.

Tours:
Since the release of, And Then...There is a Bridge, Cara has been the invited guest and performer of 10 countries including, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Canary Islands, Wales, England, Ireland, France and the USA. This year alone she has shared her music and the source of her inspiration in 25 cities throughout Europe, the United Kingdom and the USA.

Fruits of Labor
Two tracks from the debut CD, Living on Bread & Circus, have been placed, by request, in the recently completed film, Searching for Angela Shelton. "Searching" was currently previewed on national news program 48 Hours and included both of Cara's songs. Writer and Director Angela Shelton was the winner of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival with her previous film, Tumbleweeds, which was also nominated for an Oscar the following year upon the film's release.

Work in progress:
Today, Cara is writing her debut soundtrack Blue Kentucky Girl, a feature film by writer and director, Spike Stewart. This will highlight many original songs that weave an intimate and symbiotic tale with the script. BKG is a haunting tale about the Blue people of Kentucky. Almost forgotten, their story weaves together a lost thread of American history. Set in the romantic Appalachian Mountains, a struggle between love verses hate ensues, which as it unfolds, reveals the on-going and fragile human ability to choose between the two.


Lyrics to "Living on Bread & Circus"

1
Raw Dog

I feel like a master
Living like a slave
I'm just an angry lizard,
Looking for some shade
Snakes on my ladder
Coveting the grass
monkey on the top, rung won't last.

Raw dog, that's life... it's a beautiful world
raw dog, beautiful loser, it's a glamorous world.

While the fountain of youth spits forth saline
I'm crammed in the corner like a dry sardine
my foot never fit into that tiny glass shoe
but no Cinderella can do what I can.

Raw dog, that's life... it's a beautiful world
raw dog, ugly girl... it's a glamorous world.

But I feel like the mythical rose of troy
I feel like the solid hum of joy
I feel like the fire singing in the trees
feel this blue blood under my chemise
Feel like a master, living like a slave
Just an angry lizard looking for some...

Raw dog, beautiful loser, it's a glamorous world.

Her beauty is red maddening the bull
so drunk on her color you can hardly stand the pull
'til the harsh light of truth comes crashing in
and you spy that birthmark on her skin
wipe the egg up off the floor
your dreams reduced to a mangy little...
Raw dog...


2
Summer Always Comes

When life is like a grainy photograph of mars
when dreams are stuck like shinny gems, in a gridlock of stars
when the fog that rolls in, sets up house inside your brain
when your heart's gone camping too far out in the rain

Summer always comes
summer always comes
summer will find you again

When your world is stuck like re-runs on a black and white TV
when talk show hosts at midnight are intimate company
when love is just a puddle splashing at your feet
with its' hopeful hallelujahs thrown out on the street

Summer always comes
even if she's what you've been hiding from
summer will find you again
through a winter blinding plight
there always comes a light
if you don't give up
through heart breaking strain
there's a flip side to pain
if you don't give up


When the future's like a voodoo doll
dressed up like Charlie Manson
and the past is like a boomerang
striking back without compassion
when faith is like a trial
cross examining your soul
and you feel just like a puppet
who's never been in control


Summer will find you again
summer always comes
she doesn't care what you've been hiding from
summer always comes again.



3
Dear Jane

You've been worried about the weather
and worried about your life
you burnt all the blue magazines
you've kept hidden from your wife
the chains that you wear to sleep in
are more than you can bar
since you lost sight of the reasons
that ever held you there.

Dear Jane,
"I can't learn to swim when I'm already drowning
and it's been raining for years
no I can't learn to fly when I'm already falling
and the sky never seems to clear.

So you packed your bags and your sorrow
all the memories have been tossed
you changed your name back to high school
to recapture the youth that's lost
you left a note in a shoe box
behind the shirt tails and sleeves
one day she'll find it
dried with the mothballs and leaves.

Dear Jane,
"I can't learn to swim when I'm already drowning
and it's been raining for years
no I can't learn to fly when I'm already falling
and the sky never seems to clear
so I'm looking for a way out of here."

Now you've gone to find a girl
with a little less history
you've exchanged the old you
for a brand new plan
all the rules that you used to swear by
are as meaningless as dust
the hand that you keep in your pocket
is the only thing you trust.

Dear Jane...



4
Living on Bread & Circus

Like a shadow in the limelight
just about to crack
like a circus monkey
who suddenly attacks
for a nickel and a peanut
or a strong pelt of beer
like a freak in a sideshow
how the hell did I get here?

Living on bread and circus
as the ponies go round and round
I'm just an angry monster
painted up like a clown.
Heroes are invincible
heroines are thin
he worships the gods of silicon
she, a little bottle of fen phen
my face is still hiding
beneath the kiss of a thousand screams
I need a stronger cup of coffee
to wake me from this dream.

Living on bread and circus
as the ponies go round and round
I'm just an angry monster
painted up like a clown.

On the top of the pop you made millions
with your super sonic bubble gum
now the paparazzi's in your bedroom
rifling through the hum drum
but stranger than their photographs
queerer than the queer is
I'm caught looking in you window
what the hell am I doing here?

Living on bread and circus
wallowing in the mire
straddling a tightrope
swallowing the fire
living on bread and circus
watch 'em twist and turn
it's somehow exciting
filming while they burn
living on bread and circus
as the ponies go round and round
I'm just an angry woman
painted up like a clown.



5
Infinitely Inseparable

We've got a nice house with a piece of the rock, (the rock)
we've got privileges,
we've got a trip planned out for the summer.
How do we gauge our wealth?
why do I feel so squeezed?
if everything's O.K.
why do you feel so ill at ease?

We are ecstatically miserable
we are dying to connect
we are infinitely inseparable
we are one.

We've got everything under lock and key,
we've got principles
we've got someone to walk the dog, raise our kids
and pull the weeds.
How do we value time?
why do you feel so squeezed?
if everything's O.K.
why do I feel so ill at ease?

We are ecstatically miserable
we are dying to connect
we are infinitely inseparable
we are one.

If everything we say is covertly spoken
then every word we mend is already broken
and we are miles a way
if everything we do is for a case of grandeur
humility aside,
how will the heart endure?
miles away, so many miles...

We are ecstatically miserable
we are dying to connect
we are infinitely inseparable
we are
infinitely inseparable, infinitely inseparable...



6
No One Suspected

He never measures up to the glamour and glitz
small town boy with sweaty pits
like a yo-yo swinging on a string
in a world where life doesn't mean anything.
No one suspected
over the blaring television set
no one suspected
his needs were never met.
He's hiding in the bush at the promenade mall
as the shots ring out and his class mates fall
he runs to the counter to order Sloppy Joes
and spits at the waiter with the ethnic nose.

No one suspected
no one suspected
the youngest family cadet
no one suspected
he'd kill his own pet.

When the police came he ran in the front door
purring like a lion that forgot to roar
the family was shocked when he cocked his mane
saying somehow no one ever saw the depth of his pain.

No one suspected, no one suspected, no one suspected
over the blaring television set
No one suspected
his needs were never met
he'd kill his own pet
No one suspected
he was that upset.



7
Come to Me

Take the first step,
take the risk,
take the fall.
take your first drink,
take a sip,
take it all.

Quench the howling chaos
that stirs within the heart
overcome the differences
keeping us apart...

Come to me,
will you wander this desert of mine?
come to me,
I've got bread and I've got wine,
come to me,
I'll come to you,
crossing over,
crossing over.

Take your first stroke,
take the waves,
and the rocky shore.
break my thunder clouds,
breath them in,
let them pour.
Soothe the screaming midnight moon,
cruelest ruler of the heart,
bridge the gap of differences
keeping us apart.

Come to me,
you who have traveled so far,
though we're lovers,
I scarcely know who you are,
come to me,
I'll come to you,
crossing over,
crossing over.
will you wander this desert of mine?
I've got bread and I've got wine,
come to me,
I'll come to you,
crossing over,
crossing over.



8
She Comes From An Ordinary Family

She's got a 10 foot neon Jesus.
she can communicate with her dead dog.
she's got enough dreams to fill heaven,
but she can show you what it's like in hell.

She comes from an ordinary family.

She's got a black dove for a sister.
she's got a killer for a brother.
they say she never really knew her father,
and you know they say it's just as well.

She comes from an ordinary family.

Now she's got diets and addictions
she's been packing guns inside her Flintstone lunch box
she's been saved by the garbage man
on her holy trash she stands.
She comes from the system,
she comes from the street,
she comes from the ordinary places,
she comes from the darkness to resurrect the light,
she cuts like a dagger through the quiet of our night,
she speaks to us all through the shadows of this land,
in the spirit of mans' inhumanity to himself.

She comes from the country,
she comes from the church,
she comes from all the right places,
she comes from the ghetto,
she comes from the cracks.

She comes from an ordinary family.
She comes from an ordinary family.




9
As Real As The Breath

Do you think it's really real?
this love I dare to feel,
I'm surrendering to it without doubt
It's as real as the breath that comes in and goes out.

Do you think the timing strange?
I can't stop my heart has changed
I'm surrendering to it without doubt
It's as real as the breath that comes in and goes out.
I'm shaking like a leaf as the winds begin to whirl
catch me with your breathing, let me slowly unfurl
thunderclouds are breaking in waves across you lips
how long must I wait to taste just a sip?

Yes, I'm juggling which way to go
impatiently waiting this much I know
I'm surrendering without doubt
It's as real as the breath that comes in and goes out.



10
La Pucelle

It's been raining
since half past five
the light is growing dim
but my men are still alive,
the storm clouds are circling
like vultures round our graves
flirting with our freedom
like bells on broken slaves.

It's been so long through the mud and sleet
I won't hang my head down in defeat.

If we fall before dawn
if the river is too wide and too strong
if we fall before dawn
freedom won't be long.

I ride my men to battle
still a child beneath this steel
daughter of the homeland
who's been cursed with a gift to heal.

Oh my love, where did you go?
down in the trench where dead winds blow.

If we fall before dawn
if the river is too wide and too strong
if we fall before dawn
freedom won't be long.

Should fire eat my body and the rain drink my soul
remember it was just the kings' servant
the knights of England stole
remember my love
remember my love....
When church bells are ringing
by torch and stake all witches tame
I'll lay down my virtue
to kiss their bed of flame
if I die
by fiery lake
I won't bend
and I won't break
If I fall before dawn
if the river is too wide and too strong
if I die before dawn
freedom won't be long.



11
As We Are

Come whole hearted
Serenity,
Come as simplistic
as you are.
Come sincerity,
Come willingness
Come with the mask less face of your love.
Come vulnerability,
Come courageous one
Come as radiant
as you are.
Come to me now
leave our past behind
come my love, my love, my love
come my love, my love, my love.
Come clarity
with your nakedness in sight
Come exactly
as you are.
Come humility
ground me in your grace
Come with the mask less face of your love.
Come to me now
leave our past behind
Come my love, my love, my love
Come my love, my love, my love.