We released a new song called “Across the Kill” in honor of Ludwig Day, a townwide celebration in New Paltz.
Ludwig used to open for us. If you attended a Los show from ’09–11, you were guaranteed a Ludwig opener; it was the cherry on the front of the cake. He was playing most weekday nights on the Karaoke circuit for decades, so it wasn’t exactly a unique thing, and I’m not really sure how the details were negotiated. I believe he just showed up one day, ready to open, as if he walked off the pages of our local folklore. Like most folks, we became friends with Mr. Montesa on Main Street, after seeing this fabulous specimen careening quaquaversally upon high heels, handbag over his shoulder, and a measurable amount of sass in his pants. He used to visit me at Earthgoods multiple times throughout the day, and show me manuscripts of the local choir he sang for. The song was always “Oh Shenandoah”, a word that I can’t bring myself to pronounce. It was this mighty word, a mellifluous meme, referencing an entirely different river, that ultimately carries the blame for this song’s birthing.
I heard a story at Ludwig’s funeral, about how he used to sneak out of his room every night, out on the roof of Gourmet Pizza, after his parents went to sleep. Even if it’s not true, I like thinking they had no idea they were living with an absolute Karaoke legend. So I dedicate this to you, my sweet boy, my Shenandoherty, my Gloria.
“Across the Kill” is available free for stream and download.
How and when did the Drum Beat Song arise? Well, some centuries ago, a pianist in an orchestra accidentally got the timpani parts, and the theater was treated to a fantastic musical joke. Later on, there was this Jazz band that mixed up its score sheets, and again the pianist got the drum parts, now swinging ting ting ting-ting like Jazz cymbals, and dropping dominant seventh bombs on the bass. Then after that, there was an electronic musician with a live MIDI trigger that he forgot to set to the drum channel; the audience laughed their faces off when they heard sine waves blooping a familiar beat.
The Snake Charmer melody comes from a song called “The Streets of Cairo” written by showman and congressman Sol Bloom. Bloom was the entertainment director of the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, and improvised the tune based on an old folk melody. Ever since, the first twelve notes have been used in countless songs, cartoons, and on the streets and in the schools, as a shorthand for snake charmers and camel rides, right up there with 
The arpeggios make up the first five chords of the C Major scale—C major, D minor, E minor, F major, and G major, just like “Doe, a Dear”. It has a pedagogical quality, though it is very musical, like this blog. An extended version of the Continue sound found its way into the Los Doggies song 
