Tracklist
Extra Innings
These days I’m both wistful for the past and excited for the future. This album reflects that, as it combines the old with the new.
I wrote the opening track, “Conversation in Coach,” for Mary Ellen Bernard for her 2000 album Bus Stop. Paul Rolnick and I co-wrote our get-away-from-it-all song, “South of the Coconut Line,” in 2002.
The others were written in the last two years. They were inspired by people I miss, by the passage of time, and by romance in all its complexities.
In the words of the great sports writer Roger Angell:
“Since baseball time is measured in outs,
all you have to do to succeed utterly is keep hitting.
Keep the rally alive and you have defeated time.
You remain forever young.”
So, let’s all keep hitting.
Extra Innings Credits
Produced by Paul Guzzone
Studios: Triple Z Music, Zevely Records, Brielle Music
Mastering: Butch Jones
Cover: Old Bat and Clove by Diana-Polekhina-Lo-aiGd7uKM-unsplash.
All instruments, programming and vocal by Paul, except where noted.
Drums: Frank Vilardi (2), 12 String guitar: Tom Chapin: (2), Lap steel: Pete Kennedy: (2), Acoustic lead guitar: Paul Rolnick (7).
Vocals: Janie Barnett (2, 5, 8), Mary Ellen Bernard (2), Tom Chapin (2), Vance Gilbert (2), Maura Kennedy (2), Brian Muni (2), Paul Rolnick (5), Martee LeBow (5)
Piano and organ: Ronnie Lawson (5) Electric guitars: Larry Saltzman (5), Paul Rolnick: (5)
Special thanks to Paul Rolnick, Janie Barnett for their creative collaborations and especially Butch Jones for his exceptional technical guidance in finishing this project.
Extra special thanks to my #1 creative partner in the biz and in life Ms. Mary Ellen Bernard.
Available From
Release Date
April 30, 2025Available Lyrics
Conversation in Coach
I know we’re not getting any younger
I know we got started too late
Love is blind and there is no justice
Yeah, baby ain’t life great
I know we’re not getting any younger
I know we got started too late
Look at us just a couple of misfits
Let’s you and me have a date
Some people got no opinion
Some people got no one to call
Some people can talk for hours
And pretty much say nothin’ at all
Some people are innocent tourists
Got lost in a cynical town
That’s why I’m glad I found you
And you let me hang around
Yeah, let’s just hang around
Chorus Repeat:
You could find true love in a truck stop
You could find true love on stage
Or you could find yourself in trouble
With a lover that’s half your age
Or you could have a midlife crisis
Turn in early and turn out the light
But I think we’re just getting’ started
Come on baby let’s rave all night
Let’s just rave all night…
Charlie By The Door
The wind blue cold on the Hudson that night down at flywheel park
So, i walked down Piermont avenue where all the shops were dark
I saw a ghostly figure duck into an ally and then just disappeared
As the sun came up it dawned on me…
What was happening here
When Charley died they buried his ashes and mixed them in a plot
With seeds and stems and roaches from some good California pot
That weed grew wild all over the marsh and word spread around the valley
About the mellow joy and potent blend
Of Sativa… Indica… and Charley
Charley’s gone but not forgotten
He’s just out back in the garden
Makin’ C.B.D. for eternity
Charley by the door
Charley by the door
Now in the wee hours after midnight, when no one is around
Charley walks these streets alone and he watches over the town
So, if you’re out and about ya got nothin’ to fear when that scent is in the air
‘cause Charley is an angel now…
So, there’s no need to dispair
Charley’s gone but not forgotten
he’s just out back in the garden
makin’ C.B.D. for eternity (that’s)
Charley by the door
brother gimme a toke of thet bespoke smoke for
Charley by the door
let’s roll a spliff and play a reggae riff for
Charley by the door
we’ll share a joint down at the turning point… for
Charley by the door
Charley by the door
Charley… by the door
Extra innings
My father taught me long ago
How to hit and catch and throw
We’d toss the hard ball back and forth
He’d hardly say a word of course
In a silent conversation
The only thing you heard was…
Cowhide and stitches whistling through the air
And the sound it made when it hit my glove
It stung, but I didn’t care
When a pitcher dares you from the mound
You learn to stare that pitcher down
He’ll get in your head ‘n’ rattle your nerves
Then fool you with a knuckle curve
Find your stance
And someday you will learn…
Not to fear the fastball whistling through the air
Or the sound it makes, yeah, the crack of the bat
Never stings when you hit it fair
Time passes slowly when you’re young
A game can last forever in the summer sun
A kid don’t mind if the score is tied
And neither side is winning
We’d stay all day if we could play extra innings
Just one more extra inning
Errors made and lessons learned
Kept your eyes wide open so you didn’t get burned
The older you are the younger you get
You’re still in the game with no regrets
You know nothing lasts forever
But as the days go by …
You discover your faith in family and friends
The love you give and the love you get
Takes you home again
Repeat Chorus
Coda: If we could today, i wish we could play …
Extra innings, just one more extra innings
Felipe's Guitar
Having full fever dreams of Havana
Somehow, I went back in time
To a hot summer day
On the road by the bay
In a country that’s no longer mine
I can still see your eyes as you’re laughing
In that fifty-four red Chevrolet
Wherever we’d roam
You swore you’d get home
If fate would start turning your way
The marimba, the quatro and congas will play
A montuno under the stars
As you dance to the band
And the women clap hands
I’ll be strumming Felipe’s guitar
When you crossed the straights to Miami
That’s when your new life began
Watching Lucy and Dezi
On American TV
You became an American man
With actors, and poets and ivy league girls
Sipping coffee all night in the bars
As the room starts to clear
In your mind you still hear
Someone strumming Felipe’s guitar
(SOLO)
Now you’re going back home to your brother
Your papa and dear mama too
‘cause you miss the delights
Of those buena vista nights
Ya got a bad case of Caribbean blues
Your heart is full of sweet memories
The rum and Cuban cigars
So farewell my friend
‘til i see you again
I’ll be strumming Felipe’s guitar
I am strumming Felipe’s guitar
South of the Coconut Line
Got a ticket for speeding
On that information highway
Caught by the stress police
And when I look at you
I know you feel it, too
We both need to get some relief
From the phone calls
Deadlines
Madness in the headlines
People can be so cold
But when the wind and chill
Go to twenty below
I got a place we can go
Chorus: South of the coconut line
We’ll be together and take our time
Follow the sun and let it shine
I'll be yours and you’ll be mine
South of the coconut line
We’ll make our escape and be hard to find
So when the coast is clear
Let’s disappear
South of the coconut line, baby
South of the coconut line...
There’s always too much to do
And not enough time
It just never seems to end
It feels like we both
Keep on running in circles
Again and again and again
Too much junk mail
Phone mail
urgent e-mail
In this twenty-four/seven life
So let’s power down
And don’t think twice
We’re heading for paradise
REPEAT CHORUS
Bridge: Oh little mama
When it looks like there’s nowhere to run
Oh mamacita
Pour us a pineapple juice and rum
REPEAT CHORUS & FADE
Camp Hill Road (Instrumental)
INSTRUMENTAL
Bergman and Bogie
The stars were like sirens calling
Singing a lover’s song
The night was filled with dancing demons
Luring two hearts to hold on
Flesh on flesh and filled with desire
Could something so good be so wrong?
They both knew this should never have happened
This wasn’t where they belonged
With tears in her eyes she looked back
Like Bergman to Bogie on the tarmac
Once last glance at what might have been
But never would come to be
She released him,
And she was set free
If this was only another time
And they were in another place
The scene playing out in her imagination
Was more than she could face
Breathing out, her mind made up
They would have no second act
Just a kiss good bye with no regrets
Credits roll and fade to black
(Repeat Chorus)
So, this journey ends
They can’t just be friends
There’s nothing left to say
She flies away
(Repeat Chorus)
Round and Round
Neither one of us knows what to say
So, we go round and round
Til the mercy of love appears to lift us up
And light the way
Neither one of us wants to cause any pain
So, we go round and round
Maybe we can find a place in our hearts
To forgive one another tonight
How did we get here
Holding our breath by day
Tip-toeing into the night
Keeping our distance
How have we lost sight?
We stumbled into something
It looked like love, a bit like love, but
Hasn’t that clock run down?
Chorus Repeat
Averting our eyes
Hoping the other will cover the cost
Of ending the game
Praying the door
Closes gently, gently, gently
Maybe tonight
Oh, what would it take?
What would it take to
Break the chains?
But we sit here silently