“SHAKEDOWN”

“SHAKEDOWN”

March 18, 2023

“Shakedown” is a song about the corruption in our political and financial system. I first conceived of this in 2011 as part of a project during the financial crises and Occupy Wall Street. Before I really got going on it, I was laid off from my day job working in a print shop and then the Bank foreclosed on my house and recording studio. In order to save what I had built I declared a Chapter 13 to prevent the bank from taking my house. Every penny I had went to paying bills and sustaining my bankruptcy, so the project was delayed. During those very difficult and stressful years I wrote over twenty songs reflecting my experiences while we recorded all the drums and basic tracks in 2014 and 2015.

After a long six year battle I finally actually beat the bank in Court. That was not an easy thing to do with the system and bankruptcy laws being totally rigged against the homeowner and widespread corruption of the process at all levels. The banks typically, about every 18 months, challenge a Chapter 13 in an attempt to get it dismissed and to then take the house. I will tell the story about how I beat that system if there is enough interest shown to read about it. I still had to sell my house and studio to pay everyone off, but I kept the Equity.

I had to move three times over the next four years but managed to record vocals and overdubs whenever I could. I am currently in a good stable location and have now built a new recording studio where I am finishing, mixing and mastering all these songs for the project. I finished the vocals and guitar here in 2022 and Will keep working on the project to finish and release all the other songs. I plan to release a full album in 2024.

words and music: Curt Houle

the players: Curt Houle – organ, guitars, harmonica, lead vocals – Mark Houle – bass/vocals – Adam Jones – drums/vocals

the gear: 1959 Hammond B3 Organ/122 Leslie speaker, Marine Band harmonica, 2018 Gibson SG (drop D tuning), 1984 Fender Squire Stratocaster (standard E tuning), 2001 Taylor 414 acoustic guitar, Yamaha 4 string bass, Tama Rockstar drums