Your Sweet Action, by RL Heyer (2024)

1.

Back in the time when pain was not something ignoredNations still rose up and engaged in brutal warsThat didn't make it rightNow so desensitizedLocked into a cycle and the out we may not findThe gradual pace in which morals deteriorateHas made it unnoticeable, now are we too late?I'd like to think that weAs a societyCould eventually agree that we must love away the hateEnough is enoughEnd fear with loveGiven the chance, would human kindness overcomeAll of the cruelty that exists under the sun?We must make a choiceSolutions must be voicedSurely, we are poised to bring this planet back to oneEnough is enoughEnough is enoughEnough is enoughEnd fearWith loveWith loveWith loveWith loveWith love

2.

Does this red that you seeLook more like green to meYa know, I wonderDoes the glow of city lightMake the moon shine less brightI wish that you could see the world through my eyesIf you're feeling uninspiredShould your craft be retiredYa know, I wonderIf your life at its bestIs just half of a Rorschach testI wish that I could see the world through your eyesWould truth be liesFrogs be fliesSwarming 'round road-apple piesWould dark be brightWrong be rightAs seen through your eyesIf the whole looks like a halfIs there a hole inside your glassYa know I wonderIf you're feeling oppressedJust have a seat, enjoy the restI wish that you could see the world though my eyesWould truth be liesFrogs be fliesAnd would you realize everything diesWould dark be brightWrong be rightAs seen through your eyesI wish that I could see the world through your eyesThrough your eyesThrough your eyesThrough your eyesThrough your eyesThrough your eyesThrough your eyes

3.

My ego got the best of meSelf-awareness sprouted roots and grew into a treeIts fruit is sometimes very sweetBut not completeSome connection was lostMy beginnings have been forgottenAnd at what costI-I-I-I-I-I am on my ownBut not aloneTo find the link that I've misplacedI must enter a dimension void of logic, time, and spaceI am the whole human raceAnd I've lost the traceDo I dream to forgetLive out fantasies of things I might regretI-I-I-I-I-I wanna knowHow can I relate to many or to one?So much time I waste like rabbits on the runWho am I to say where consciousness is from?Another day erased, another rising sunHow can I relate to many or to one?So much time I waste like rabbits on the runNow I must make haste before the game is doneWho am I to say where consciousness is from?Lost inside a haze, life can lose its funAnother day erased, another setting sunAnother setting sunAnother setting sunAnother setting sunAnother setting sunAnother setting sunAnother setting sunAnother setting sun

4.

Our lifeIs it by design?The connections we've madeWere they simply waiting for us to arriveLike a lonely room in the nightOr is it allJust dumb luck we're here?The Earth and atmosphereTurned themselves into a loving Mother, nurturing usI feel you breatheThe wind rustling leavesSense the releaseOf tensions running deepSynchronous dreamsInner peaceOh ohCollective memoryOur livesMean more togetherThe storms we weatherWash away our weaknesses and leave us betterI feel you breatheRise and fall so deepKelsey Christine, you mean the world to meSynchronous dreamsInner peaceOh ohCollective memory

5.

Woke up all aloneSoul was frozen to the boneWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayUninspired todayAnd much to my dismayI can't sleep this feeling awaySleep for twenty yearsThat just multiplied your fearsYou can't sleep this feeling awayThought I'd try once moreTo get my foot inside the doorThat didn't help this feeling todayI can't sleep this feeling awayTurn off your mindSlip back insideWarm place to hideThe emptiness blindsWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayI can't sleep this feeling awayThough I triedHead to hideWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayAnymoreSlam the doorWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayThough I triedHead to hideWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayAnymoreSlam the doorWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayThough I triedHead to hideWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayAnymoreSlam the doorWhy can't I sleep this feeling awayAwayAwayAway

6.

When I was youngI saw the sunI had to feel the heatSunburnt, with blistering shouldersI felt no shame in my retreatA wiser manDid extend his handSaid, "I can help you seeIt doesn't take all this runningAnd sunburns just to feel free""Just slow your rollAllow to growAll the abundant treesPut your nose to the grindstoneAnd from your elbow obtain the grease""It's not a raceJust keep your paceYou've got to keep your headIf you run like a riverYou're face-down in a riverbed"Run like a riverBefore you knowYou're face down in a riverbedRun like a riverBefore you knowYou're face down in a riverbedJust slow your rollAllow to growAll these abundant treesKeep your nose to the grindstoneAnd from your elbow obtain the greaseIt's not a raceJust keep your paceYou've got to keep your headIf you run like a riverYou're face-down in a riverbedRun like a riverBefore you knowYou're face down in a riverbedRun like a riverBefore you knowYou're face down in a riverbedRun like a riverBefore you knowYou're face down in a riverbedRun like a riverBefore you knowYou're face down in a riverbedWoo-oo-woo-oo-woo-ooRiverbedWoo-oo-woo-oo-woo-ooWoo-oo-woo-oo-woo-ooRiverbedWoo-oo-woo-oo-woo-ooWoo-oo-woo-oo-woo-oo

7.

I've got a questionI've got a questionI've got a questionI've got a questionIs it hard to look yourself in the mirrorAfter all the silly stunts you pulled last nightI'd like to know just what keeps you from doingWhat you know is rightI've got a questionI've got a questionI've got a questionI've got a questionI thought I had exhausted all my optionsYeah, but you and I both know that's not the truthIs it hard to keep your mind dead-set on winningWhen all you do is loseI've got a questionI've got a questionI've got a questionI've got a question

8.

Sway your hips when you know that it's your rightDon't mean you've got to give it up tonightJust let me say you're giving me stage frightYou're outta sightGot the look that lets me know that it's for realSteaming hot is the way you make me feelBetween us, babe - you know my lips are sealedMmm mmmBut I'm telling you I've gotta have itTelling you I've gotta have itTelling you I've got to touch your body tonightTouch your body tonightTouch your body tonightSay the word 'cause you know it sets you freeWithout love, the world's a catastropheI'm telling you the way it has to beBut you can seeAnd I'm telling you I've gotta have itTelling you I've gotta have itTelling you I've got toTouch your body tonightBathe in your flawless lightOh baby got to touch your body tonightYou know I'll do you rightOooh touchOooh touchOooh touchSay the word 'cause you know it sets you freeWithout love, the world's a catastropheI'm telling you the way it has to beBut you can seeAnd I'm telling you I've gotta have itTelling you I've gotta have itTelling you I've got toTouch your body tonightBathe in your flawless lightOh baby got to touch your body tonightYou know I'll do you rightTouch your body tonightTouch your body tonightTouch your body tonightStay 'til the morning light

9.

Now that it's much too late to sayI noticed before we'd lost our wayNow that it's such a waste of timeWe commiserate what's far behindAnd these road signsAre only relevant to those not blindIt can be such a simple factTry not to think, just to reactFor want of a sober state of mindWe can blame in on all of mankindBut these road signsAre clear enough if only we can findSomething to shineWe can see it if only we have something to shineWe can feel it if only we have something to shineWhoa oh oh oooooooooooohOn the search for enlightenmentSo bright, it must be heaven-sentSomething inside of everyone

Your Sweet Action. Is it a band? Is it a solo album? Is it a silly thing that my wife used to say all the time? Well, the answer to all 3 questions is a resounding YES. Maybe I should start from the beginning…

An 8-year-old RL discovers his mom’s electric guitar while playing at Grandma Heyer’s house; oh wait, not that far back!

It was 2012. The True Spokes had released our “debut” album, changing our name from Flowmotion. We were in the midst of realizing that some naysayers were right about a name change being certain death for a band, yet we still had the resolve to keep this fire burning. Josh Clauson, Scott Goodwin, Bob Rees, Eric Bryson, and myself had been off to a bit of a
rocky start for this new chapter, and Eric actually was calling it quits. He and his wife were expecting a new baby and he didn’t really see himself spending weeks in the van with 4 other guys as a part of early fatherhood - understandably. We started toying with the idea of just being a 4-piece, with Josh and I trading off on bass duties, and Bob jumping in on synth bass if we wanted to guitar out. We were all writing and I was recording demos in my basem*nt, which was also our rehearsal spot. We already had a good nest-egg of songs that didn’t get put on the first record and I was pushing us to keep it going, perhaps even just recording the album at
my house. This may have partly been due to the $30,000 price tag the album rang up, but I also felt empowered after watching David Simon-Baker (DSB) engineer the first record at Mission Bells in San Francisco with Tim Bluhm producing. DSB is a master and I learned a TON watching him work, and Tim had such a wonderful sensibility that it was hard not to think every album we put out from here on out would be a smash hit. Lol

At some point, Josh began to back-pedal on the True Spokes and that resistance made me decide to just put out a solo album, using the demos I had been recording. I had 8 songs ready to go and was feeling pretty good about them, then I watched Sound City, a documentary about the studio of the same name. Around the same time, I watched Runnin’ Down A Dream, the Tom Petty doc. I started to become obsessed with taking a band into the studio and cutting the right take live off the floor. When I listened back to my solo album, most of which was performed by me, multi-tracked to death, it just didn’t sound good anymore. I was about
to scrap it and take the songs into a studio with a band (I tried starting a band called Sweet Action around this time). Then, we moved.

My wife, Kelsey was pregnant with our son, Simon so I packed up the studio and the grow scene (a story for another time), and moved into a house owned by some friends (Noah and Jenna) we knew through the Bruces (Ben and Erin). That’s the point I sold the grow gear and went full-bore into music performance for all further income. Needless to say, I was a little too busy to care about that collection of songs, plus I had another band, Cracker Factory that released our 3rd album (kind of a reboot of the band) and we were working on our 4th.

The bliss (and stress) of parenting took over and before we knew it, Simon was 3 months old and Kelsey was going back to work. We figured childcare would be a breeze with me taking daytime duty and her at night while I played (non-stop) gigs. During one of Simon’s afternoon naps, I thought about that lost solo album and went into the studio to pull it up. With a fresh set of ears, I actually though it had potential without rerecording everything with a live band. I called my friend Kevin Jenkins to have him master it and ended up releasing it in December of 2014, just before Simon turned 1!

The album was called Sweet Action. For the release show, I put a band together with some of my favorite players and people to play my songs. Kathy Moore shredding guitar, Norman Baker grooving that bass with Daniel Nash on the drums, Steve Scalfati on keys, and Bob Rees on vibraphone and percussion made for a crazy super group and a very special night.

At that show, Adam Williams asked if The True Spokes would play a show with his band at the Triple Door in a few months. That band had called it quits earlier in the year, but I offered to put something else together. He asked if this band would do it and we said yes, as RL Heyer’s Sweet Action. Steve had just got the gig with Reggie Watts on the James Corden show, so he was in LA, but I had been playing quite a bit with Joe Doria, so he was the perfect fit. Bob had a teaching gig and was unavailable and I asked Jacques Willis to play all the notes. He kindly obliged. Shortly after that show, Daniel moved to Colorado and Scott jumped in. This band was
really too good to be true. We played several shows in Seattle, and eventually I figured we could fulfill the original idea of taking the band into the studio and cutting the album live off the floor!

I started a crowdfunding campaign, asking for enough to cover the cost of the studio, pressing copies, promotion (including a video or two), and paying the players - this would be a full week in the studio and everyone has to pay bills. Well, I’m not very good at asking for money, and pretty terrible at self-promotion, so we ended up with about 15% of what we needed. My pivot was 3 days in Studio Litho with Floyd Reitsma engineering, paying the musicians out of pocket, and doing the rest myself at my home studio. I did end up tracking some vocals over at Blash Studios as trade for some guitar/bass work I had done, and Joe recorded the keys at his studio. Everything was coming together nicely, albeit slowly.

There was a point at which I realized this band WAS too good to be true. Every single member was a top-call musician and therefore supremely busy, so it became more and more rare to play shows with all 6 of us, and eventually at all. Still, I kept on with the album, finished the vocals, asked Ian Sheridan to mix it, and started trying to conceptualize a release strategy. I also started a new band called Bigtooth with Tim Kennedy (who played on a couple tracks on this record), so time was getting more and more valuable. Then it was 2020…

Well, no rush anymore. Ian mixed it again, after I did another take of vocals on a couple things. He mastered it. He knocked it out of the park! I released a record at the end of 2021 of all the remote recordings and home recordings I had done during the “dark times.” I didn’t know how to build the momentum back up with Your Sweet Action enough to release this album and toiled over it for a couple years. Then I started thinking about the criteria for this being an album released under my own name. Did I write all the songs? Yes. Did I produce this album? Yes. Am I the one paying for everything (well, 85% of everything)? Yes. It seems to me like this was my band, and while I dreamed of it becoming a collective and incorporating all the amazing songwriters and vocalists into the music, it never got there. Now I present to you, with the help of so many, Your Sweet Action, the album.

This is by no means a "solo" record! It features some of the best musicians in Seattle, and some of my closest friends!