"Show Me What You Workin' With!" was the cool catch-phrase my late friend and musical mentor Stanley Dural, Jr. (aka Buckwheat Zydeco) was using onstage at what turned out to be the last time we would see each other and play together. For years, I had dreamed of coming up with the perfect song for him and the band to record. During a long drive from Portland to CA one summer, Buck's voice popped into my head saying that line, and I ran with it as a jumping off point for a healthy take on relationships. We had just survived building a house, so the metaphor was right in front of me, and the lyrics were finished by the time I hit SF.
The song was intended from the get-go as a full-on zydeco tune, so I assembled some friends hip to that sound and cut a passable accordion-driven demo. With the song right in Buck's wheelhouse and key, I sent a disc to him at home in Carencro, LA. Unfortunately, it was about the same time that his cancer came back, and I never got to find out if he got the disc or manage to listen to the song before he died. Always going to regret that one. Obviously, the zydeco version wasn't quite the right fit for our band, so guitar player Larry McCoy and I took it to the woodshed where he came up with a slinky, swampadelic groove that never fails to pack the dance floor.
While Terry Wilson and I were recording my vocals for the album at his studio in LA, I had an "aha moment" – what about trying this song as a male/female duet? It just so happened that an incredible Texas-born rocking blues female singer was "in the house" – literally 'cause she's married to Terry – Teresa James!. I was floored when she agreed, and we had an absolute ball singing this one as two wary lovers trading notes on what it takes to build a relationship that lasts. Teresa kicks my ass on this track, and I don't mind at all.
If you got the right tools, pretty baby, I'm here to work with you... show me what you're workin' with. | Listen to Show Me What You're Workin' With
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