Happy Now
by Happy Hour Band
2003 album
Sky Saxon reunited, musically, with Source Family member Djin Aquarian in a project they called the Happy Hour Band, who released the album Happy Hour in 2003. The six tracks were evidently recorded in late 1999 and throughout 2000. It consists mostly of lengthy one-chord psychedelic jams; they also do the Christmas song "Silent Night".
The Happy Hour Band consisted of Djin Aquarian on guitar and vocals, Sky Sunlight Saxon on vocals, David Phillips on bass, and David Wallace on drums. Some tracks feature Gretchen Gerlitz on backing vocals and Alan Cooper on keyboards.
The CD was apparently printed in limited quantities — 500 copies, according to many sources — but it is available online in various guises. The music is not unlike the Yodship music recorded in the early 1970s, but with a more conventional musical backing and some pre-written lyrics here and there. Djin actually shares lead vocals with Sky more on this album.
The Happy Hour Band, from the CD booklet: David Phillips (bass), Djin Aquarian (guitar), Sky Sunlight Saxon, and David Wallace (drums)
The lengthier tracks include "Dog's Cruisin'/Wild Child", "City Pity", "Let's Be Lovers/YHVH All", and the magnificent "In The Cradle Of Love/Freeway", which climbs to great heights and closes the album.
The other tracks are the Djin-sung "Venus Here We Come" and a riotous run-through of "Silent Night", complete with toasty good vibes and jingling sleigh bells. Lyrically, as can be gleaned from the song titles alone, themes on Happy Now range from the usual Sky Saxon-esque subjects: dogs and other animals, travel to Venus, and YaHoWha.
Sky is credited on the front cover as Sky Sunlight Saxon, and on the back under a band photograph as simply Sky Sunlight. Never one to make his own nomenclature easy. The cover of the album is all black, with psychedelic lettering and a colorful drawing of a hookah and smoke spelling out the album title.
The liner notes thank a John Wilby for producing and mastering the album, although the sound quality is low-fi and the vocals are hard to hear most of the time. Also mentioned are “peace loving and harmless people of the Earth”, dogs, wolves, and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Happy Now is dedicated to “the eternal and infinite soul of mankind”.
Sky Saxon’s activity during much of the late 1990s and early 2000s is largely mysterious, as his level of musical output fell temporarily. But Happy Now, recorded during just that time, shows that he was as able and willing as ever to do his classic, beautiful thing. And his musical and cosmic connections with Djin Aquarian remained as tight as ever.
Track listing
1. "Dog's Cruisin'/Wild Child"
2. "Venus Here We Come" – [sung by Djin]
3. "City Pity"
4. "Let's Be Lovers/YHVH All"
5. "Silent Night" – [the Christmas classic]
6. "In The Cradle Of Love/Freeway"
Those who like Sky and Djin’s improvisational side may want to check out http://djinaquarian.bandcamp.com/, which has an unrealeased CD the two of them did called “Accelerate Yourself.”
Also, Djin and Sky recorded a bunch of stuff that’s never been released. Around 2004-6 I was a total Yahowha fanatic and would buy private CDR’s off Djin featuring their music. Album titles included “Take Up Thy Name,” “Anti-War Pro Talk Peace Band,” “Air Puppy,” “King Arthur’s Court” (later officially released), and one more that I forgot. The quality varied and Djin kept on raising the price, from $10 to $15 to $20 a pop, so I finally stopped. But “Air Puppy” was an absolute killer, like “Lover’s Cosmic Voyage” but on disscoiatives, one of my absolute favorite Sky Saxon releases. It deserves an official release some day!