A Synopsis by Gordon Clay
This scintillating mini-opera is presented in 4 acts. Please, don the headphones, press play, and listen.

Act I: DISCOVERY ( 0 - :42) Our protagonist, Tillie the Dog Artist, approaches her canvas and begins to feel it out. She searches for the hidden truths beneath the transfer paper. Tillie uses all her senses to assess the scope of the challenge before her. And then she begins.

Act II: CREATION (:42 Ð 1:42) Tillie works to her own inner rhythms. She circles the curious square, marking it with her unique shorthand. As her artistic vision begins to crystallize, Tillie is interrupted by her meddling assistant, Bowman. Tillie reacts defensively, and she protects her unborn artwork with a maternal fury. After this disturbance, Tillie takes a moment to re-connect with the work sheÕs already started. Once she has ascertained that she is free to continue in peace, she plunges headlong into the creative abyss, not knowing what the final outcome will be. She only knows that she must seek out the elusive treasures that remain unseen.

Act III: METAMORPHOSIS (1:42 Ð 3:06) Now Tillie enters the wormhole of psychic abandon, as she relinquishes conscious thought and fuses her spirit into the canvas. The canvas is not always compliant, however, and resists TillieÕs single-minded efforts to shape it. They battle and struggle; they tangle and tussle. Animal energy vs. objective immutability. But for the canvas, it is to no avail. In this ActÕs climactic scene, Tillie triumphs over her own inner demons and summons all her canine fortitude to finally conquer the canvas. Tillie savors victory, but she is mortified and angered when Bowman reaches in to remove the fallen canvas from her grasp. She briefly battles Bowman, but then concedes that her work is done.

Act IV: REFLECTION (3:06 Ð 3:43) After the heat of artistic battle, TillieÕs concentrated hyper-awareness simmers down into a more thoughtful mood. As Bowman unwraps her latest masterpiece, Tillie regards it fondly and recalls a few heart-wrenching moments from the struggle she just shared with the canvas. As the song ends, Tillie is calm, but her mind is still reverberating with the echolalia of genius.

THE PROCESS (“Classical Music”)

This song was composed through the combined efforts of Tillamook Cheddar, Gordon Clay, George Clinton, William Collins, and Bernard Worrell.

Using a hand-held microphone that fed into a mini-disc recorder, Mr. Clay recorded Ms. Cheddar as she crafted an original artwork. Then Mr. Clay took portions of Ms. Cheddar’s audio, and edited them into a rhythmic cycle, using the computer software, “FruityLoops”.  Mr. Clay then merged Ms. Cheddar’s audio “samples” into a different rhythmic composition that he had composed using “FruityLoops”.  At this point, Mr. Clay contracted the services of Mr.’s Clinton, Collins, and Worrell by “sampling” various portions (mostly Mr. Collins’ basslines) of their  previously unreleased recorded instrumental tracks. They so graciously donated their music via the CD, “Sample Some of Disc-Sample Some of D.A.T., Vol.2”.   After all the legalities were sorted out, Mr. Clay then selected and placed portions of these samples throughout the existing rhythmic audio tracks of Ms. Cheddar.  Mr. Clay utilized the computer program “Cubase” for this final placement of all samples and rhythms.  At various points throughout this process, Mr. Clay also utilized the computer programs “Sound Forge” and “Acid” for additional auditory augmentation.  With the exception of Ms. Cheddar, all parties involved ingested large amounts of  cannabis indica to enhance their cognitive and sensory abilities.

PUBLISHING CREDITS:

Lyrics: Tillamook Cheddar (Warp 9/ASCAP)

Music: Gordon Clay (Warp 9/ASCAP)
George Clinton*
William Collins*
Bernard Worrell * (* Disc and D.A.T. Music/BMI)

(T. Cheddar, G.Clay, G.Clinton, W. Collins, B. Worrell)