Two beautiful new self-written songs and two covers, including a sensationally beautiful version of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s ‘Didn’t Want To Have To Do It’. ‘Summer of Lies’, The Junior League’s new EP is fantastic.

Sweet Sweet Musicblog spoke to Joe Adragna because we wanted to know where all that beauty came from.

4 new songs, 4 times a different sound. Was that an objective in itself or did it just happen?

Honestly, it just happened that way. I had the basic track for Summer of Flies–it wasn’t called that yet. I had some lyrics and a vocal melody, but they weren’t particularly good.  I sent it to my friend Scott (McCaughey) ,and he offered to write some lyrics for it. He wound up writing lyrics, singing, and adding keyboards and that fuzz guitar riff, all of which were so great!

I love his singing and lyrics–he really made it so much better, but he always does! I had Make Up Your Mind, which I wrote about a month ago. That came together really quickly. I sent Scott the two covers just to listen to, as I know he likes those songs as much as I do. I did them for fun, really–I wasn’t planning to do anything with them. Once Scott had started work on what became known as “Summer Of Flies”, he suggested taking those four songs and making an EP.

He then added additional keys, guitars and vocals to all the songs and mixed them as well. It was his encouragement that made the EP happen–and I really appreciated that encouragement. I always do. So the whole thing came together relatively quickly, and was a very pleasant surprise. 

‘Didn’t Want To Have To Do it’ is my favorite. It sounds so delicate. How did it come together?

“Didn’t Want to Have To Do it” is such a great song. One of my favorites, and I know Scott really likes it as well. I had recorded the song at my studio and sent it to Scott. He added keyboard parts at his studio that really make it–but that is one of his gifts.

He knows exactly what is needed for a song and fits it in and makes the whole thing complete. T

hose keyboard parts make the song for me. I think the sound is really good because he mixed it so well, and we played what was necessary for the song. 

Did you have to use a different way of working this time because of the COVID situation?

We generally work together this way, so the COVID situation really didn’t change that. I think we have only recorded, like, two or three songs together being in the same room! 

We live far away from one another, so everything we’ve done together has been at our own studios and sent via the internet to one another!