Recollection: 2010-2020 (Released 8/28/20)

EXCLUSIVE: 2 CD Set

ONLY AVAILABLE ON DEVINTAIT.COM

$20 – inc. shipping (via Venmo or Paypal – Include shipping address)

This special edition physical package includes 2 CDs. The first, “Disc 1 – The Singles,” is also available for digital download or streaming from all major platforms. Exclusive to the physical package is “Disc 2 – The Rarities” which includes b-sides, demos, and unreleased tracks. Each disc contains 13 tracks.

DISC 1: Now I Know What I Want, To Be Young & On Downers, Sleepytown [feat. Hoagie Hill], By My Side [feat. Niki Svara], Anyone Can Break Somebody’s Heart, Could This Be Heaven (Frankreich Remix) [Sphat-90 feat. Devin Tait], Meathooks (Single Mix) [feat. Rayssa], Until the Break of Dawn, You Leave Me, Tape (Single Edit), Stomping Ground, Winnipeg Beach (Single Edit), Anyone Can Break Somebody’s Heart [feat. Wendy Ho & Jordan von Haslow] 

DISC 2: WHTVR HAPPENED 2 BB JANE?, February 29 (Crush Mix), If You Were A Ghost, Bad Friends, General Delivery [as Mannifred LaCroix], Alien Nation (Dub), Tantric Damage, Man vs. Nature, Imaginary Greenland, Recurring Dreams / Nightmare Symbols [Two Poems by Irene Hendershott], Do You Remember, Quickie (Demo)

Devin will be donating $5 for each CD set sold to The Center in Hollywood. Devin has known the folks at The Center and worked with them over many years. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the staff of The Center has worked tirelessly to provide relief, basic necessities, and assistance, including Covid-19 testing, to our neighbors experiencing homelessness. The current public health crisis has had a dramatic impact on the unhoused community in Hollywood, which was already a crisis before the pandemic. 

To purchase digital download or 2-CD package via Bandcamp, click the “Buy” button below:

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COMPLETE LINER NOTES

Devin Tait: Vocals, keyboards, piano, & programming.

Now I Know What I Want  Written by Devin Tait. Mixed by Little Pioneer. Bass by Brandon Strecker. Guitar by Ryan Canestro. I am happy to present this old favorite in a new format. During the 7 or so years that I had my band, The Traitors, this was what we considered to be our big “hit.” It is the song most people seemed to request or enjoy, many of our friends participated in the filming of the video, and we almost always closed our sets with it. Little Pioneer helped me update it with new vocals, including a revamped pre-chorus and tighter harmonies on the chorus. Originally, Liana Hernandez sang the bridge, and she was amazing on it. I tried to capture her spirit here with my solo performance take on it. People have heard this story before, but I wrote this song on at trip to England and Germany by myself, leaving my fiance Dylan at home. Dancing to cheesy pop songs at GAY Late in London, I was missing my guy and thinking I’d like to write a catchy little ear worm dedicated to him. LYRICS | ORIGINAL VERSION

To Be Young & On Downers Written by Devin Tait. Mixed by Little Pioneer. Guitar and Bass by Brandon Strecker. Additional vocals by Liana Hernandez and Jarod Millsap. Maybe my favorite song to perform live, I wrote this shortly after the release of my first album and started performing it with the Traitors. It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve written so I wanted to spruce it up a bit and give it some new life. When we initially recorded this for “Mixed Signals,” Brandon recorded me playing an acoustic grand piano, up in a loft in the historic Broadway building at Hollywood & Vine. Unfortunately, it didn’t really fit in the mix and we cut it, but I was able to rescue it for the intro on this new version mixed by Little Pioneer. Brandon also recorded new guitar and bass. I’m very happy with it now, and there is still a bit of Jarod and Liana in the “heys!” LYRICS | ORIGINAL VERSION

Sleepytown Feat. Hoagie Hill Written by Devin Tait. Mixed by Hoagie Hill. Guitar by Hoagie Hill. One of the first two solo songs I ever wrote and recorded professionally, Sleepytown ended up on my first album in a completely new recording, which was then radically remixed by my brother Brandon. I really liked it at first, but later I decided I wished I had kept it closer to the original version I had recorded with Mary White at QP Sound in North Hollywood. It’s one of my favorite songs that I’ve written and it seems to be special to my family and some of my friends, so I always wanted to have it sound a little more radio-friendly, if you will. I started to re-record it in 2015, as I needed a new backing track to perform at Kansas City Pridefest. I didn’t complete it at the time (I had intended to include it as a b-side on the “You Leave Me” CD single) but I dug it back out and sent what I had done to Hoagie Hill. He added all the lovely guitar arrangements and gave textures and dimensions to the synth parts I had recorded. Then, he directed me through numerous remote vocal recording sessions until we finally had a take we were both happy with. This is now finally the definitive version! LYRICS |ORIGINAL ALBUM VERSION

By My Side Feat. Niki Svara Written by Devin Tait, with rap by Niki Svara.  Mixed by Hoagie Hill. Vocals by Niki Svara. Bass by Christopher Freeman. Vocals recorded by Redah at WAX Ltd. Although this was the most recent single release, off my last solo album, I include it here because I am so proud of it. Bradley Jacobson helped me produce this album, so he was there for all the recording sessions. We had such an amazingly talented team of people working on this track, from Niki’s ethereal harmony vocals and the rap that she came up with and perfected in the studio; to Christopher Freeman’s awesome bass. Hoagie ultimately mixed it all together, adding his own unique style and flair to the song, while still allowing it to fit in with the sound of that early 80s genre that I so dearly love. The song took on an entirely new dimension with the retro-themed video by Ravensview Films. Director Danial J. Smith and producer Kendra Ruczak were so easy to work with, and they assembled an amazing cast of young actors who made the long day of filming such a joy. LYRICS

Anyone Can Break Somebody’s Heart Written by Devin Tait. Mixed by Little Pioneer. I know that there are already so many versions and remixes of this song, which is another one from my most recent solo album. The version that most people have heard – Mr. Anderson’s remix – was the collaboration of many super people including Wendy Ho and Jordan von Haslow who sang on the original album track and accompanying remixes, including a brand new version featured later here. But since I have been performing the song on my own for quite some time now, I wanted to have a record of my own take on the song. LYRICS

Could This Be Heaven (Frankreich Remix) Sphat-90 Feat. Devin Tait Written by Mike Spencer. Originally produced by Mike Spencer. Remix by Franchreich. New vocals mixed by Little Pioneer. I have worked with Mike Spencer, of the Sphatika project and it’s offshoot, Sphat-90, over the years and when I heard this track I knew I wanted to be involved. I had hastily recorded my vocals and sent them off as Mike works super fast; if I blink I miss him, so I wanted to get him before he had moved on. Later, he worked with Frankreich, who did this great remix. I loved his take on it so much, that I wanted to build on it with a better vocal performance and recording, so I recorded new vocals to Frankreich’s instrumental of his remix, and then Little Pioneer mixed my vocals in. Another group project that turned out amazingly with everyone’s involvement. ORIGINAL VERSION

Meathooks Feat. Rayssa Written by Devin Tait. Mixed by Little Pioneer. Vocals by Rayssa. Vocals recorded by Redah at WAX Ltd. Additional vocals by Bradley Jacobson. Additional remixing by Devin Tait. This was one of my favorite songs off my last album but it never got to the level that I had hoped it would. I had planned or hoped to release it as a single. When we were recording, Rayssa came in the studio to add harmonies on “End of an Era” but then she banged this out so quickly, professionally, and she sounded amazing! Later, Bradley and I recorded my vocals at The Room on Melrose and I had him sing some of the backup parts too. I tried to add a little more beat and structure to it in this new single mix, so hopefully I can continue to work this song. LYRICS

Until the Break of Dawn Written by Devin Tait. Mixed by Little Pioneer. Guitar & Bass by Brandon Strecker. Vocals by Liana Hernandez and Jarod Millsap. Drums by Myles Matisse. A song from the “Spectres” EP released by The Traitors back in 2014. I was mainly inspired by the first season of “American Horror Story” which established that the dead can come back for 24 hours on Halloween, so that’s what the lyrics are about. This EP was written and recorded very quickly and was the first time I tried to record and mix live drums which was not an easy task for me. Brandon helped out and recorded Myles playing the drums, but I did not know how to properly process or mix them but we were pretty happy with the finished version, and especially the music video that we shot with Marky Make-Up doing us all up to look like movie monsters. I had Little Pioneer remix this to really make it shine. LYRICS | ORIGINAL VERSION

You Leave Me Written by Devin Tait with Liana Hernandez. Mixed by Little Pioneer. Bass by Brandon Strecker. Vocals by Liana Hernandez and Jarod Millsap. Drums by Myles Matisse. This was the second single from The Traitors album which was released in advance and featured a music video directed by Jarod Millsap which utilized the footage my husband had shot prior. Initially this song was going to be the first single from my second solo album, but then The Traitors had become such a big part of my music that we decided to do a band album, so the song was retooled with contributions from the band members. This new mix retains some of the band contributions including Liana’s wonderful bridge, but has been cleaned and polished up a bit. LYRICS | ORIGINAL VERSION

Tape (Single Edit) Written by Devin Tait with Hoagie Hill. Mixed by Hoagie Hill. Guitar by Hoagie Hill. This song is presented in almost it’s original format, with just one little “radio-friendly” edit. I was always very happy with this song and what Hoagie did to bring out the grittiness. LYRICS

Stomping Ground Written by Devin Tait . Mixed by Little Pioneer. Guitar by Little Pioneer. This song was almost forgotten, as it was released primarily as an entrance in a contest sponsored by the City of West Hollywood. Unfortunately, it was not chosen as the winner, so it kind of languished after that. I had rushed to finish it before the contest deadline, so it was great to go back and finish it properly with help and a great new guitar line from Little Pioneer. ORIGINAL VERSION

Winnipeg Beach (Single Edit) Written by Devin Tait. Mixed by Devin Tait. This was the second single off my debut album and this version is just a slight edit from the single mix, shortening the instrumental “elevator music” intro which was featured in the music video. LYRICS

Anyone Can Break Somebody’s Heart (Poolside Mix) Feat. Wendy Ho & Jordan Von Haslow Written by Devin Tait. Mixed by Little Pioneer. Vocals by Wendy Ho and Jordan Von Haslow. Vocals recorded by Wendy Ho and by Redah at WAX Ltd. Remixed by Devin Tait. This new poolside remix has a more chill vibe, so hopefully you can add it to your summer playlists. LYRICS | ORIGINAL VERSION

WHTVR HAPPENED 2 BB JANE? Written by Devin Tait with interpolations of “She’s Not There” by Rod Argent; “See Those Eyes” by Clare Grogan, Michael “Tich” Anderson, Tony McDaid, Johnny McElhone, Jim McKinven; and “Bette Davis Eyes” by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon. Mixed by Devin Tait. I had no intentions of recording this song as it was just composed specifically to be the opening number for my live shows in support of the “Art Damage” album. I wanted something fun to open my shows that wasn’t from the album or an older track, so I came up with this very quickly and it proved to be an audience favorite. For this collection I just decided to record my vocals and the keyboard parts that I play live and finish it up. 

February 29 (Crush Mix) Written by Devin Tait and Amy Crosby. Lyrics by Amy Crosby. Mixed by Danny MacArthur-Kemp, with additional mixing by Devin Tait. This was a song that we had intended for what would have been the fourth Shitting Glitter album. We played it live and recorded a demo of it, but sadly that fourth album never materialized. I left the band, and they released the “Ladies Things” EP which I had almost nothing to do with. So years later we pulled it back out and were going to finish it in time to release for Leap Day that year, but again it remained unfinished, but I loved what Danny from the band Crush did to the instrumental. I finally decided to make my own version, using Danny’s instrumental track, which I released on Leap Day 2020 with a lyric video.

If You Were A Ghost Written by Devin Tait. Mixed by Devin Tait. Vocals by Liana Hernandez and Jarod Millsap. Another track from the “Spectres” EP, I revived this one on my Art Damage tour so this is a revamped version. LYRICS + ORIGINAL VERSION

Bad Friends Written and mixed by Devin Tait. A b-side to the “Winnipeg Beach” single that I always loved and have performed live many times. I would have loved to remix this and include it on Disc one of this collection, but unfortunately the original files have been lost. LYRICS + ORIGINAL VERSION

General Delivery as Mannifred LaCroix Written and mixed by Devin Tait. My evil twin, Mannifred LaCroix, dabbles in music, but as he is a grifter who hustles his way around the globe, he’s never been focused enough to complete any of his projects. He did finish this song and recorded a music video for it back when he was staying in Hollywood. I’ve heard he recorded a second EP but it hasn’t seen the light of day yet…

Alien Nation (Dub) Written and mixed by Devin Tait. Guitar by Brandon Strecker. “Alien Nation” was my first single release, and it was originally the song I would close my live shows with. Later, I rearranged the live version to be more like this dub version, which had been a b-side on the single. Because I played the song live so many times, I kind of got “over it,” but I wanted to include this alternate version of it here. LYRICS + ORIGINAL VERSION

Tantric Damage Written by Devin Tait with an interpolation of “Like A Prayer” by Madonna and Patrick Leonard. Vocals by Liana Hernandez. This was a b-side to The Traitors “You Leave Me” single. Liana and I banged it out really quickly and it’s the closest we ever got to dub-step. LYRICS

Man vs. Nature Written and mixed by Devin Tait. This was a song I had originally written, in my head, my first year in Los Angeles. I think I even recorded a primitive version of it on the cheap PC I had at that time, so it would have been one of my first forays into producing my own music, back before Shitting Glitter. I dug out the lyrics and recorded this version as a b-side to my first single, “Alien Nation,” back in 2010. LYRICS

Strange Season (TurboMoonshine Mix) Written by Devin Tait. Remixed by Brandon Strecker. Additional vocals by Dolly Dagger. “Strange Season” was included on my debut album, and this was remixed as a b-side for “Alien Nation.” Eventually, we revamped the album version with a new piano part and Liana’s vocals for the “Spectres” EP, but this remix has always remained a favorite of mine. LYRICS

Imaginary Greenland Written and mixed by Devin Tait. This was also a b-side for the “Alien Nation” single as it had remained unfinished from the sessions for my first album. I like the visuals and the icy soundscape, I think it turned out just the way I had intended. LYRICS

Recurring Dreams / Nightmare Symbols (Two Poems by Irene Hendershott) Written by Devin Tait with lyrics by Irene Hendershott-Tregellas. Before recording my first album, I was working on setting some of my grandma Irene’s poems to music right around the time of her death. One song, “Daydreams of Youth,” she had written music for and I had previously recorded myself singing and playing it when I was in high school. My aunt Sharon had found the tape and played it for her when she was in assisted living. Even towards the end of her life, she would light up when Sharon played the song for her, so we ended up visiting her there and I performed this song for her on the piano in the assisted living facility. After she passed away, I put more of her songs to music, including this one, which I posted on my SoundCloud.

Do You Remember Written and mixed by Devin Tait. This was another b-side to the “Winnipeg Beach” single and it was written and recorded all on Memorial Day 2011. Having kind of forgotten about it for many years, I picked it back up and performed it live on Instagram on Memorial Day 2020. I had thought about recording the new version of it, but I was quite partial to the original recording so I left it as is. LYRICS

Quickie (Demo) Written by Devin Tait. Guitar, keyboards and programming by Taylor Carroll. Produced and mixed by Taylor Carroll. Sometimes collaborations just don’t really work out. This was the first recording I did for what would have been my second solo album, shortly after I had released my debut. I somehow became acquainted with Taylor Carroll, who played with a band from my hometown who I had seen several times when I was in college (he wasn’t in the band at that time). He put the backing track together and had me record my vocals at a rather strange recording session. This was supposed to be a final version but it was never completed, so I ended up completely re-recording it with The Traitors for “Mixed Signals.” Little Pioneer tried to clean it up as best as he could from the original MP3 file, for inclusion here. LYRICS | ALBUM VERSION