"MODERN FAIRYTALE" (2008)

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Hi! Thank you for reading this!!

   My co-writer Nick Baker, our engineer Jared Brown and I recorded most of the album at

2. The Strength I Need
Life is crazy (and so is this music business!). Some days are great, and some are not as much. But I always hope that I will have it within me to deal with whatever life brings.

3. Sunshine Guaranteed
I wanted this song to sound like a straight-out-of-the-60s happy tune – and I think we succeeded (especially thanks to my guitarist Cole who used Graham Nash’s old Gretch guitar to get that cool sound). This is one of the few songs I wrote in less than 10 minutes – right before my first tour in the UK in April 2007.

4. Fool
People, especially in the American culture, often feel like they’re supposed to show the world their happy face, no matter what might be going on deep down inside. A fake smile, a phony “hi, how are you” are the little things that mask the real feelings. I think it’s okay not to be happy 100% of the time – it’s part of life, isn’t it?

5. Fate
”so here’s the inside story, this is a modern fairytale”…   We tried to record this song in a fun way, kind of like obladi-oblada by the Beatles. We recorded 4 other versions with 2 different producers prior to this version! Our guitar player was a trooper for bearing with us on all the versions!

6. I’ll Stand Up For You
This is a song for all parents – including our beautiful mother Earth.

7. Alone
I wrote this song when I was 17 and I had just returned to America, only to find out that I couldn’t get a visa to go to college or a visa to legally work here. It took me a year and a half to straighten things out, but during that time I couldn’t go back to Russia to visit my family, and I also found out that my mother was moving to Australia. I was very lonely and scared, and very down for a long time. But writing songs really saved me, and this was one of the first ones I wrote in America.
I didn’t think this song would fit on “Modern Fairytale”, but I realized that this song is the “overcoming the obstacle” part of the fairytale.

8. Love Me Back
One of the worst feelings in the world is to love and not have your love returned…
P.S. My co-writer Nick always jokes and calls this song “Love Me Front” (with a fake Liverpool accent, a la Paul McCartney). When I play this song live, I use a distortion pedal (meant for guitars) on my keyboard. It’s really fun!

9. Wilhelmina
Last year we went on tour to the Czech Republic and played in an incredibly beautiful and a very old town called Cesky Krumlov. The venue was a 700 year-old puppet museum (with some really, and I mean really creepy puppets), called “Fairytale House”. The owner gave us a tour and told us about Wilhelmina, the ghost that’s been living in the attic for many centuries.

10. Rain On The Butterfly
We were recording “The Strength I Need” at my friend’s studio, and he had a drawing by his friend’s child, it was called “Rain on the Butterfly”.  It was really cute and my co-writer Nick said that it would be great to write a song about a butterfly that flies around protecting children from the rain, a guardian angel of sorts.

11. Бабушка (Babushka/Grandmother - in Russian)
I wrote this song for my grandmother, who used to put me on her lap, brush my hair and sing to me. She called me her little princess with golden locks of hair and she made me feel like the most special child in the world. She was also the very first person who would listen to me play the piano and record me on her little cassette player, like a real concert. She died of cancer when I was very young. Now, all grown up, in this crazy world we live in, I am just wondering if she’s looking down at me from heaven, if heaven even exists.  It would be beautiful to re-live the past, even for just one moment.

12. Moonlight Lullaby
Very much inspired by Golden Slumbers, the song kind of wrote itself. It’s a sweet, peaceful & a hopeful end to the Fairytale.

All songs written & produced by Marina Verenikina & Nick Baker.
Album recorded, engineered & mixed by Jared Brown, except:
2 - recorded, co-produced & mixed by Alex Kharlamov;
4 - recorded, produced & mixed by Steven Leavitt; 6 & 7 - recorded & mixed by Nick Baker. Mastered by Dave Collins.

Published by Somo Music (SESAC) & Crazy Apples Worldwide (ASCAP), except: 2, 5, 7 published by Crazy Apples Worldwide (ASCAP).
(c) 2007 Marina V & Nick Baker

Marina V – all piano, keys & vocals, except: B3 organ on track 4 played by Steven Leavitt. Shannon Hurley - additional backing vocals (track 3) & additional keys/strings (track 1, 3, 10). Nick Baker – all drums, guitar on track 7, additional guitars on tracks 1 & 2, & all bass, except: track 4 bass by Nick Albert, tracks 1 & 10 bass by Andy Catt. Cole Coleman – all guitars. Handclaps on track 5: Marina, Nick, Cole & Jared.

All graphical design, fairytale land concept, goatbird & blue dress creation, artwork & left picture on the insert: Jim Aiken.
Front cover photography/makeup/hair: Amarie Darvai. Back cover & traycard photography by Jim Hayek; makeup/hair: Courtney Naber & Courtney Reinsel for The Glamour Crew. Original green dress design: Marina Toybina for Glaza Clothing. Original white dress design: Barb Boyd. Fairy pictures: M. F. Dinan; fairy makeup: Vanessa Eckels. Right picture on the insert: Nick Baker.


HOPE
You and I come from different worlds
But living under one big sky
We’re not so different, you and I

Don’t you think it’s quite absurd
That we keep fighting over nothing
Always pushing, always shoving

But you see, together we’ll be
Stronger than you, stronger than me
Cause we’ll always be
The hope we’re losing
The hope we’ll always need
The hope for you and me

And you know, it’s not too late
Life is only what we make it
Sometimes fate can use some help

THE STRENGTH I NEED
So I tried, didn't win
Everything that could’ve gone wrong
surely did
Take me home, lay me down
Give me time to get my feet back on the ground

And when I feel I'm breaking down
When my soul loses feeling
When there's no one else around
and there's no one to heal me
Will I be the strength I need

So I cried, took it hard
Found my dreams are still alive
But torn apart…
Let me search, let me find
Let me mend it all together in my mind

And the time stands still
And the time stands still
And I'm feeling things I thought I'd never feel
And the time stands still
And my days are long
But I'll be strong, I'll be strong, I'll be strong..

And when all I see is doubt
When words lose all meaning
When my screams have lost their sound
And there's no one…
Will I be the strength I need
Hope I'll be the strength I need
I will be
The strength I need

SUNSHINE GUARANTEED
When I’m with you
I don’t need no umbrella
I don’t need no coat
Cause every time, every time we’re together
I know I won’t get cold
When you’re with me, there’s
Sunshine guaranteed

When I’m with you
I don’t think about the weather
I know it never rains
Cause every time, every time we’re together
It’s the opposite of pain
When you’re with me, there’s
Sunshine guaranteed

When you’re with me
Clouds disappear
The sky is always clear
And I know, I know, I know, I know there’s
Sunshine guaranteed

FOOL
I'm standing on my head again
Don't know which way I'll fall
I feel a little dead again, I'm trapped again
Within these walls
But I'll keep it all inside

Oh, well it's alright
Nobody needs to see the things
I'm going through, I'll fool them day and night
Yeah, it's alright
Just as long as I come through and give a smile
And make them feel alright
Feel alright, feel alright

So people say it must be fun
To go where your heart goes
But they don't see it torn apart
It's torn apart to make them whole
But again I go, it's always time to go

Well I won't hold back anymore
Unless I feel like lying
I'll always be behind this door
And if you knock, you know you’ll find me…

FATE
So here’s the inside story
This is a modern fairytale
I shouldn’t tell it but I will

They sort of met on Sunday
He said he’d call on Monday
And call he did, but she faked ill, yes, ill

But she wondered deep inside
If she made a mistake
Try as she might, there’s no escaping

Fate, that’s something we don’t know, cause it’s just
Fate, don’t ever let it go
Cause it might fade away
Just the way it came

Another winter month went by
Her guilty conscience made her find
His number so she could explain

He asked if they could meet again
She said OKAY inviting him
To brave a night out in the rain

So they talked some wine
With time, confessions flying high
When night turned day, they knew that it was Fate.

So why do we try to make things so complicated
Just open your eyes and see cards laid out on the table
Learn to trust your heart

I’LL STAND UP FOR YOU
You’ve always been my friend
You’ve always given more than you could spend
Not caring for the cost of what you’ve lost

You’ve kept me so inspired
Your love for life has grown and never tired
And so I find I’m here because of you
And I will fight always by your side

When you’re low and beaten down
When you’re slow to get up off the ground
When you need a hand to hold on to
I’ll stand up for you
I’ll stand up for you

You’ve always challenged me
To climb above and see the forest for the trees
To hear the songs of life sung by wind
Just for me

I will be, I will be, I will always be beside you
I will be, I will be there

ALONE
I 'm tired of all the people
I 'm tired of every day
Lost my faith believing
Always struggling for my way

I know I 'm not like others
Different in this world
And I don’t want to be like others
I just want to be alone

Alone, alone, alone
I want to be alone tonight

I 'm tired of always smiling
Pretending I 'm someone else
And every day I 'm finding
That I could not care less

Seems like everywhere I settle
I don’t feel I belong
So I keep keeping it all to myself
Play my guitar and stay alone

Alone, alone, alone
I want to be alone tonight
Alone, tonight
I feel I'll never see the light
In the end of my lonely tunnel

LOVE ME BACK
I 'm trying, I am trying my best
I 'm running my fastest
I'm fighting, I am pushing so hard
Cause I don't know how long I will last in here

And I can't understand
I don't know
Why what I always give - you always lack
Yet you don't love me, you don’t love me back

Oh I hate you, I love you so much
I can't stand you, but I need you
I wanna hurt you, I wanna give you my heart
If you only looked, you would see my art

Ты меня не любишь…

So tell me, what's it gonna take?

WILHELMINA
In the fairytale house
Where things go wrong
There is a ghost of a soul
Who’s still at home

She sits in the attic
Too scared to leave
Alone with her memories
Alone with her grief

She sits up straight as she hears her name

Speak to me, speak to me
Let me know
The things you’ve learned from long ago
Speak to me, speak to me
Let me feel
Who you were, to help you heal
Who you are, to help you heal

In the fairytale house
You and I both
Are very much here
But still alone

You sit in the attic
Still playing your games
You don’t like guests
Or so they say

I wonder can you hear me sing

Walk through walls
Walk through time
Make your puppets come to live
Stomp down as you guard your home
Let them know they’re not alone

In the fairytale house
Where things go wrong
Six hundred years
Have come and gone
Tell me, are you still at home?

RAIN ON THE BUTTERFLY
Cloudy day in an autumn sky
High above flies a little butterfly
Down below is a little child
All alone, she’s cold and tired

And the girl looks on
As the rain flies by
She wonders why, she wonders why
She is still dry

And the rain on the butterfly
Is keeping someone dry tonight
And the rain on the butterfly
Is keeping someone dry tonight

Worried mom and a day gone by
Been too long since she’s seen her child
It’s getting dark and it’s getting late
Each minute’s like an hour as she has to wait

And as mom looks on
As the rain flies by
She starts to cry, she starts to cry
Is her girl alright

With every step the girl takes home
She doesn’t know she’s not alone
Her mother’s arms they wonder why
Her little girl is warm and dry

Cloudy day in an autumn sky
High above flies a little butterfly
Down below is a boy who’s lost
The butterfly feels the cold raindrop

БАБУШКА/GRANDMOTHER
Бабушка, бабушка
Где ты сейчас
Смотришь ли ты на меня с неба?
Бабушка милая
Поделись силой своею со мной в трудный час

Заплети мои в косу волосы
Успокой меня своим голосом

Бабушка, бабушка
Где ты сейчас
Смотришь ли ты на меня с неба?
Бабушка милая
Поделись силой со внучкой своей в трудный час

Посади меня на колени
Угости меня своим пением

И улыбнись с небес
Если они там есть
И унеси меня туда, где жизни брезжит свет
Туда, где боли нет
Туда, где мы вместе все
Хоть на мгновенье меня унеси
Унеси, унеси

(APPROXIMATE TRANSLATION: :)
Grandmother, grandmother
I wonder where you are these days
Are you looking down at me from the sky?
My dear grandmother,
give me some of your strength & wisdom in my darkest hour

Braid my hair like you used to
Calm me down with your voice, and make everything alright again

Grandmother, grandmother
I wonder where you are these days
Are you looking down at me from the sky?
My dear grandmother,
share your strength & wisdom with your granddaughter in her darkest hour

Sit me down on your lap like you used to
And calm me down with your singing, and make everything alright again

And if heaven exists, would you please smile at me from up there,
And carry me away to a place where life is always at dawn
Where we are never apart
Please take me there,
even for just one moment.



MOONLIGHT LULLABY
It’s gonna be alright
Just close your eyes and dream away the night
It’s gonna be alright
Let your worries fly by candlelight

All this love that you feel
It’s in you, it’s in me
It’s in the moonlight on your pillowcase
In the starlight on the sea…

Let love surround you while you sleep
Go to sleep, go to sleep

It’s gonna be alright
Just close your eyes and dream away the night
****


 

I would like to give my eternal gratitude to:
- Nick Baker for everything, everything, everything;
- Jared “cranky pants” & “climactic sounds of pleasure” Brown for making recording so much fun & level & for putting in so many hours, days and months;
- my incredibly-talented band: Cole “captain Patch” Coleman, Shannon “peanutbutter&jelly” Hurley, & Andy “Rush riffs at rehearsals” Catt, &, of course, Cowboy Don Montana;
- everyone who has worked on this CD, including the very talented Jim Aiken for your fantastic job on the design/look of the CD & for the goatbird; Marina Toybina for the incredible one-of-a-kind fairytale dress & staying up all night to make it; Steven Leavitt & Alex Kharlamov for your musical magic; Amarie Darvai, Jim Hayek, the Glamour Crew, Stan Schutze for your exquisite skills;
- all of the friends & family we severely neglected while recording this album, if we listed you all here we’d have to kill a tree the size of a sequoia, and we can’t do that, can we?! - the Marina V crew (David Krebs, Ben McLane, Jeff Glieberman, Ari & Joe @ Degy & the V team).


Very very & Very, with a capital V (get it?) big thanks to every sweet person who made this record possible:

Frank "Doc" Bettag, Dwaine Maggart, Arlene Regos, Alan Claypool, Stephen Shubin, Richard Ropes, Bill Adler, Matsuda Mio, Jeff Richter, John Wu, Alan Roche, Raymond Steiner, John Schahfer, Joelle Petit & Don Adkins, Stuart Terry, Tom Wolan, Keiichi Wako, Robert Redditt, Eddy Foster, Michael Boldrick, Alex & Julie Dubovoy, Doug Hansen, Yefim & Natalya Toybin, Eric Pang, Dima Leonov, Elliot Harvey, Elizaveta Dubinina, Laurent & Aura, Dan Carroll, Richard Hawkins, Barry DeWitt, Mathew Edwardsen & Tawnee Lillo, Brian, Becky & Brooke Huckeba, Dan & Donna VonLanken, Elbee, Elliot & Keri Gee Semmelman, Raymond McDermott, Edwin Lau, Scott Wright, Doug Graham, Mariya Veremeychuk, Eric Meacham, David Willet, Tony Polino, Scot Kleinman, Todd Mitchell, Bryan & Kathy Stoltenberg, Cecilia Pattison-Levi, Glenn Bakke, Beverly Benton, Bryan Bump, Anita & Joseph Sanchez, Jim Hunt, Chris Krahn, Norma Cruz, Serafina Smith, Ray Ballard, Mike & Emily Hanley, Michael & Gina Woodrum, Gina Smith, Elaine Deuel, Victor Dorodny, Leo Lutz, Vickii Gervais, Wim Jannes, Milton Lai, Barb Espe, John Worden & Heidi Huser, Bud Buckley, Mikhael Brown, Gustavo Lovato - Abrazos, Steve Clancy, Peter Knight, Ron Sandvick, Randy Bullock, Angela Call, Tom Krich, Cyndie James, Jeff Axelrod, Kriste Matrisch, Roy & Tifa Rodriguez, the Fowlers, The 3 Fores, Deanna Mellott, Chris Norris, Courtney Villhauer, Jerry Lin, Eddie Roosenmaallen, Barry Madore, Jamie & Karie Fitzgerald, David Bower, JoAnn Arnold, Kim White, Billy Sims, Carolyn Hunt, Vu Pham, Joanne Becker, Jason Bouzane, Andy Sweeney & Fiona Morton, Tobias Brandt, David Girdlestone, Thomas Bakken, Andy Shaw, Jeanine Leib, Kyle Borcz, Hal Dalton, David Ellefson, Jaime Ryan, Mark Stolworthy & the House of Pugs, James Washington, Rich Hanson, Dave Yeager, Leslie Davidson, Nancy Hsieh, Mark Wightman, Maarten Avontuur, Hollie Satterfield, Ray Settle, Matt Bashaw, Luke McQuillan, Jim Bertrand, Alain Samokhafalof, George Goodall, Joe Flint, Teresa Enos, Taura O'Lariscy, Cheyenne Manske & Alleda Harrison, Jan Haase, Brandon Bombarda, Betina Loudermilk, Francisco Castro, the Nash family, the Beatles.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. See you at shows & at MarinaVKomrades.com! Hugs, Marina:)