The Ocean Blue, formed in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1986, is an American indie pop band that combines melodic guitars and synthesizers. Its core original members included David Schelzel on lead vocals/guitar, Steve Lau on keyboards/saxophone, Bobby Mittan on bass guitar and Rob Minnig on drums and vocals.
Its current line-up includes David Schelzel on lead vocals/guitar, Oed Ronne on keyboards/guitar/vocals, Bobby Mittan on bass guitar and Peter Anderson on drums.
The band's sound may be best described as jangly guitar-based modern rock. Influences include such bands as The Smiths, Cocteau Twins, The Chameleons, Echo & the Bunnymen and New Order. The Ocean Blue's earliest shows always consisted of a healthy dose of covers by these bands. To this day, The Smiths and New Order covers still punctuate concert encores.
The Ocean Blue are practically masters of sweet, gentle, vaguely British pop, combining sparkling, jangly guitars with crisp, sweet vocals and thoroughly melodic songwriting. Their self-titled debut lays down the blueprint for this sound, which remained largely unchanged through releases like Cerulean (which sported slightly dreamier production and songwriting) and Beneath the Rhythm & Sound (the band's most polished and pop-oriented effort), falling somewhere between the squeaky-clean pop of the Housemartins and the gorgeous melodic elements of the Cocteau Twins. While its songwriting occasionally falters, and it lacks the sonic cohesion of its two successors, The Ocean Blue delivers on what makes all of the band's work so appealing: simple, beautiful hooks and melodies.
1989
THE OCEAN BLUE
David Schelzel (v/g), Steve lau (k/s/v), Bobby Mittan (b), Rob Minnig (d)
Track Listing
1. Between Something And Nothing
2. Vanity Fair
3. Drifting, Falling
4. The Circus Animals
5. Frigid Winter Days
6. Just Let Me Know
7. Love Song
8. Ask Me Jon
9. Awaking To A Dream
10. The Office Of A Busy Man*
11. Myron
12. A Familiar Face
THE OCEAN BLUE LYRICS
BETWEEN SOMETHING AND NOTHING Words that form a sentence Words that form a phrase In a poem or a letter Could not convey the meaning Of what this man has done In a painting On canvas As the colors fading They dictate my mood Can you see me Are you near me I find myself on canvas I find myself on stage Can you see me Are you near me And I long to know you're real And I long for you to be part of me I long to know you're real And I long for you to be a part of me In the fading twilight I sit and stare at her In all her beauty Her beauty You know I have to wonder Why all great men must die And leave their treasure They leave their treasure VANITY FAIR Walking strolling down Down the gallery of memory Pictures painted there And it hangs on the wall Calling out to me Down the corridor to the left Pilgrim walk away Just walk away Pilgrim beware of Vanity Fair Pilgrim beware Window shopping now Window shopping down at Vanity Fair Shall we go inside Go inside and look around Would you like to buy The Red Man kindly asks me Pilgrim walk away Just walk away Pilgrim beware of Vanity Fair Pilgrim beware Singing, calling out Echoes of the truth somewhere A sea of sinking souls They can't really understand Vain, it's calling vain Watch them take another drink again Pilgrim walk away Just walk away Pilgrim beware of Vanity Fair Pilgrim beware DRIFTING, FALLING You may find you're all alone All around you not a sound Drifting, falling on your own again The walls of cold and grey surround They surround You may find you're by yourself Friends have all grown up and gone away Drifting, falling you can't stop yourself The walls of cold and grey surround They surround Drifting, falling Watching all your dreams roll by They roll by Somewhere out there She sees you and she sighs My, my, my, my, my You may find you're all alone All around you not a sound Drifting, falling on your own again The walls of cold and grey surround They surround Drifting, falling Watching all your dreams roll by They roll by Somewhere out there She sees you and she sighs My, my, my, my, my THE CIRCUS ANIMALS You, the writer, knew You, the writer cared Sold, are things once told Old, are things once bold The diamonds and the gold They are for real Depending on the way they make you feel We can touch the sky You, oh you and I I can count to two But we can count to three I line them up and they stare back at me Creations in the mind and soul of me Drift Fall Blue Call You, the writer, knew You, the writer, cared The diamonds and the gold They are for real Depending on the way they make you feel Frigid Winter Days Mr. Jones lives down the lane He lives alone with his wife Jane You know his car won't start on frigid winter days He shovels snow so high on frigid winter days blow by the, blow by the snow Professor John gives an exam Try to pass it if you can You know he'll send you out to frigid winter days Out with an 'F' you go to frigid winter days blow by the, blow by the snow Ba ba e ya um ba ba bae ya um ba a Mrs. Smith has gotten old Her family's gone or so I'm told You know she stays inside on frigid winter days she turns her heat up high on frigid winter days twenty below So quietly I walk back home So glad that I am not alone I love the blue of night on frigid winter days I love the crystal light of frigid winter days blow by the blow by the snow Ba da da da da da da um ba da um ba e ya Ba da da da um ba da um ba a JUST LET ME KNOW First she came right into my life You know my life wasn't much of a life Couldn't believe this could happen to me Who, oh who, could ask for more Just let me know Just let me know What you want from me You were a friend when I hadn't a friend One on whom I could always depend Couldn't believe this could happen to me Who, oh who, could ask for more Just let me know Just let me know What you want from me Wish I knew what you were thinking deep inside Feel, those feelings that you hide Wish in you I could confide All my hopes, my fears, my love First she came right into my life You know my life wasn't much of a life Couldn't believe this could happen to me Who, oh who, could ask for more Just let me know Just let me know What you want from me > | LOVE SONG I'm in love My friend's in love We're both in love For real Singing ya oh oh Ya oh oh Ya oh oh Love is kind It does not boast It is not proud At all Singing ya oh oh Ya oh oh Ya oh oh And love always protects And love always hopes all things And love always trusts And love always is there Ya oh oh Ya oh oh Ya oh oh I'm in love My friend's in love We're both in love For real ASK ME JON Ask me, ask me Jon Ask me, ask me Jon How I got here How I got up here Jon How I got here I'm in the bright light now I'm in the bright light now Ask me, ask me Jon Ask me, ask me Jon How I got here How I got up here Jon How I got here If you don't come my way Then you don't come my way I'm in the bright light now I'm in the bright light now Ask me, ask me Jon Ask me, ask me Jon How I got here How I got up here Jon How I got here If you don't come my way Then you don't come my way AWAKING TO A DREAM No way in No way out I'm caught in this limbo-land Can't go on Can't go back I cannot get out of here Can't go on Can't go back I'm caught in this limbo-land Camera's on Camera's of I cannot get out of here No way in No way out I cannot get out of here Camera's on Camera's off It's out on the radio THE OFFICE OF A BUSY MAN This is the office of a busy man Can you hold the line? In pipes the music you can't understand Can you change the station? Is there a message, he's on with L.A. Big deal in L.A. You see his time is his money, and his money is time Can you hold the line? Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? This is the city of a busy man It's New York, New York There's millions of people and it's dog eat dog Can you taste the smog? You've got to rush here and you've got to rush there Don't ask me why It's the city of dreams, it's the right kind of place For a busy man Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? This is the office of a busy man Can you hold the line? He is the music you can't understand Can you change his station? Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am? MYRON As night was falling down His horse so swiftly flew The wind, it beat him down His outcried words they blew He cried Myron Where are you hiding He cried Myron Where are you hiding The rain, it beat him down The tears from heaven fell He had to wonder why But all he did was cry He cried Myron Where are you hiding He cried Myron Where are you hiding He went looking for the truth He went looking for his mom He went looking for his dad He went looking for himself He cried Myron Where are you hiding He cried Myron Where are you hiding A FAMILIAR FACE Back in the spring When I thought of those things I dodged the questions I ducked the clouds There were shadows in my heartland Back in the fall when I knew it all The wrong seemed right And the right seemed wrong There were shadows in the backyard Listen boy when he talks to you Listen to what he says He wore a familiar face I know Wake up and take a feel A familiar face I saw Wake up and take a feel Back in the fall when I knew it all I dodged the questions I ducked the clouds There were shadows in my homeland Back in the spring I thought of those things In my mind Listen boy when he talks to you Won't you listen to what he says He wore a familiar face I know Wake up and take a feel A familiar face I saw Wake up and take a feel |
DAVID SCHELZEL
Lyrics
DAVID SCHELZEL and THE OCEAN BLUE
Music
All songs © 1989 SBK/Blackwood, Inc./Flat World Music BMI
DAVID SCHELZEL
Vocals and Guitars
STEVE LAU
Keyboards, Saxophone and Vocals
BOBBY MITTAN
Bass guitar
ROB MINNIG
Drums
Produced by Mark Optiz except * produced by John Porter
Engineered by Mike Dignam
Additional Engineering, John David and David Leonard
Assistant Engineer, Derek Fischer
Mixed by Mark Optiz, Mike Dignam, and Rob Minnig
"Between Something And Nothing" and "The Office Of A Busy Man" remixed by Bob Rosa at Electric Lady Studios, NYC
*Engineered by Kenny Jones
Recorded at Eden Studios, London, England
*Recorded at Matrix, London, England
Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk, NYC
Management, Peter Freedman Entertainment, NYC
The Ocean Blue, P.O. Box 363, Hershey, PA 17033
Design, art direction T.O.B./T+CP Assoc.
London; Los Angeles
Photography Laura Levine
© 1989 Sire Records Company for the U.S.
THE OCEAN BLUE LINE UP
David Schelzel - Lead Vocals, Guitar (1986-Present)
Bobby Mittan - Bass Guitar (1986-Present)
Oed Ronne - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals (1993-Present)
Peter Anderson - Drums (2000-Present)
Rob Minnig - Drums, Vocals (1987-2001)
Steve Lau - Keyboards, Saxophone (1986-1994)
Scott Stouffer - Drums (1986-1987)
