Tall Poppies - Turn In Your Circle

One of my favourite Tall Poppies tunes that we never played with Julia's Rain (some songs transitioned from one band to the other, and some didn't). I co-wrote this in my parent's basement one night in 1990 with drummer Glenn MacCulloch - I wrote the words, and we collaborated on the music.

It seems like just yesterday.

Paul Kimball

Julia's Rain - Be There Always

Of all the songs I wrote with Tall Poppies or Julia's Rain, this was one of my two or three favourites. Besides being a lot of fun to play, it pretty much summed me up - a shy, self-doubting but always hopeful 19th century romantic who believes in true love.

"You can have my heart
and you can have my body,
as long as you promise me
that you'll be there always,
to hold me tight
all through the night
and don't let go
in the morning.

I cannot be conquered
by all of this world's great armies,
but I can be won over
as long as you promise
to be there always,
to hold me tight
all through the night
and don't let go
in the morning.

Say that you will always be
waiting here for me,
say that you love me so
I need for you to let me know.

I cover my eyes
I'm yours if you want me,
and all that I need
is for you
to be there always,
to hold me tight
all through the night
and don't let go
in the morning."

Paul Kimball

Shooting Stars

Playing with the guitar late at night, much to the chagrin of the neighbours... I still have an album to record by the end of 2007. This might be the foundation for one of the songs.

Its dark outside
the way I feel inside,
I see a shooting star
I close my eyes and wish
that everything will be all right,
that I'll be with you tonight,
but with my luck
I'm just wishing on a satellite
falling back to Earth
like I fell for you,
and what's that worth?

- Paul Kimball

Tall Poppies - Never Satisfied

"Never Satsfied" (Savoury / Rumsey), live from Cafe Ole, 1993.

Mark Savoury - lead vocals
Yours truly - guitar, backing vocals
Adam Rumsey - guitar
Mike Riley - bass
Glenn MacCulloch - drums

We rocked!

- Paul Kimball

Tall Poppies - Medley, 1993

A medley of three songs from a live gig by my first band, Tall Poppies, at Halifax's Cafe Ole in 1993 - "Crow", "Dead Flowers", and "The Other Side of Truth". The first two were written by other band members (Mark Savoury for "Crow" and Savoury and Adam Rumsey for "Dead Flowers") - "The Other Side of Truth" was mine.



The band was:

Yours truly - guitar and backing vocals
Mark Savoury - lead singer
Glenn MacCulloch - drums, backing vocals
Adam Rumsey - guitar
Mike Riley - bass

And a good time was had by all.

Julia's Rain - Bathurst

"Bathurst" was one of the half-dozen songs singer Kelly McKeigan and I wrote together in Julia's Rain. What I did was take some of her poems, which always contained some great imagery but lacked the required structure for a pop song, and "edited" them down into a song, then added music and my own words, usually the chorus, as is the case here.



Kelly sort of fulfilled the "Lennon" role, in that her poems were always dark, full of angst and melancholy. I would pop in as the "McCartney" figure, adding a hint of hope in the midst of the despair. "Bathurst" is my favourite of the songs we wrote together, because it's about someone whose either lost their love, or loves someone from afar in an unrequited love, but then in the chorus he / she manages to express... well, some hope that true love could win out, or at the very least a longing that it will.

"Take my hand
and cross your heart,
and say to me
that we'll never be apart,
'cause I want to cross
that line and be with you
here tonight,
oh, I wish i may,
I wish I might."

Even if it's only a wish / fantasy, one must always have hope. That was me back then... still is - a guy who was always happiest writing what McCartney called "silly love songs".

And I presume Kelly is still darkness personified! :-)

Also in the band - drummer Dave Croft, bassist Mark Winkelman, and guitarist Chris MacKenzie. This clip is from a demo recording session back in 1997 that we videotaped as well.

- Paul Kimball

Oddfellows Local 151

My first band, Tall Poppies, covering the REM song "Oddfellows Local 151" at Halifax's Cafe Ole, sometime in 1993.



That's me playing guitar in the front. Also in the band were singer Mark Savoury, drummer Glenn MacCulloch, bassist Mike Riley, and Adam Rumsey on guitar.

- Paul Kimball