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ALBUM INSERTS:

Songs:
1. Valley of The Moon (5:42)
2. Swept Away (4:44)
3. Come Out (3:33)
4. Lonely Voyager (8:00)
5. The Age of Indifference (5:43)
6. Bums on 42nd Street (4:40)
7. Shadows of Your Heart (4:45)
8. Eyes of a Lonely Hunter (3:43)
9. Cantos (4:39)
10. Born in 1978 (5:03)
11. Out of the Cavern (4:13)

Total Time: 55:03

Item # CD 4001-2

Produced by ALDOUSH ALPANIAN

Executive Producers: X DOT 25 Music

Mastered at Rocket Lab by: Michael Romanowski
Producer: Aldoush Alpanian
Computer Graphics Support: Jayce Farahmand
Cover Design: Koorosh Angali
Inside Photo: Tina Campbell Hager

Cover Illustration: Morteza Katozian
               " The Beginning of the End " 1983, oil on canvas,
                28"x40" Courtesy of the artist.

There are so many people that we have to thank besides the wonderful musicians that made this labor of love and our dreams come true. Special thanks to: Tyson and Brennon for reminding us all that there is a next generation we need to nurture and care for, Tina and Michele, our loving partners, for their unyielding support and compassion, Don Surplus for his practice studio, Mark for his great sense of humor during our recording session, Christopher Ross and Mike Sanders who always inspired, our numerous friends for having the patience to stand by us through the dark days, Aldoush for asking to always do better than we thought we could and to X DOT 25 Music who had visions and didn't let adversity stop them.

We are all confronted constantly with the challenges of day to day existence and it would be very easy to ignore our loved ones and the world about us. But every look into our children's faces reflects our past, present and future. The past is our legacy both good and bad. The present is our opportunity to correct our current course and stop worrying about the so called "generation gap" or political differences. The future is determined by how successful we are in making our principles and commitments come to life, and thus create real change. This album is dedicated to everyone who can reach down into the soul of this music and save a homeless child from another cold night, or contribute their energy saving our fragile earth or nurture a friend through a broken heart. We want to thank you for taking the time to share our music and our lives. Sky Cafe (Johnny Smith & Michael Dane)

Vocals: Johnny Smith (1,3,4,8,11) - Michael Dane (2,5,6,7,9,10)
Harmony Vocals: Jim Featherstone (6,7) - Johnny Smith (8,9) Aldoush Alpanian (5,6,7,10)
Also featuring vocalists Tina Osinski and Lilli Oldfield of Screaming Divas (1,3,4,8)
Lead Guitars: Cedric Curtis (1,3,4,8,11) - Aldoush (5,6,7,10)
Guitars: Johnny Smith (1,3,4,8,11) - Michael Dane (2,6,7)
Bass: Scott Ross (1,3,4,8,11) - Jeff Obee (5,7,10)
Sax: Larry De Lacruz (1,3,7,10) - Scott Hill (5)
Drums: Daryll Borges (1,3,4,8,11) - Joe Brigandi (5,7) - Alphonse Meredith (10)
Harmonica: Steven Gurr (2)
Keyboards: Larry De Lacruz (1,3,4,7,8) - Jeff Obee (10)
Accordion: Steve Della-Magera (4)
Violin: Anthony (9)
Percussion: Art Cavagnaro (5,6)
Tabla: Brad Van Cleave (5)
Dumbak/Daf: Hooshmand Saki (5)
Arrangements: Aldoush (5,6,7,10) -
Sky Cafe (1,2,3,4,8,9,11)
Choir Arrangements. on "The Age of Indifference": Heros Minasian

"Valley of the Moon"
Words and Music by:
Johnny Tillman Smith and Michael Dane Hager

you can see it from a distance
with its neon signs that burn the sky
it's a city with no name
whose lies are hidden behind the walls
some are reaching for their hopes
some are reaching for the bright lights
they're all hiding from their fate
all hoping for a future that's lost in time
all the alley ways are filled
with the broken shards of last nights dreams
and the voices in the dark
cry out to the strangers in the light
hey mister, can you spare
just one lousy quarter or a dime
so I can fight off those demons
that are running through my mind

(Chorus)
in the valley of the moon
there is no place you can hide
and in the valley of the moon
all your hopes are sacrificed

so you take your heart and run
to a safer place in time
and leave the valley of the moon
to the prisoners of her light
well the day is like the dark
when you've lost the secrets to your past
and the answers to your future
are too vague for you to see the signs
you were hoping it was simple
when you came here to this sacred land
but now that you have been here
you can see that you never had the chance

(Chorus)

now you thought you found some friends
that could save you from these mission lines
so you reached into their hearts
with the stories of your tragic life
but they just turned away and said
"Did you hear the crazy words he raved?"
"Yes, I think it was a prayer
from a man whose soul has flown away"

"Swept Away"
Words and Music by:
Michael Dane Hager
well I was thinking about the day we left each other standing in the rain
and I was wondering how you are and how much you've really changed
and I remember the things we said and thought we both understood
and I tried to love you all the way, you know I did the best that I could

(Chorus)

now I've been swept away by the memories of you
and I'm crying for help is there anything you can do
I've been swept away by the memories of you
and I'm asking for love, is there anything you can do

well I look in the mirror and sometimes there ain't nobody there
and I'm waiting for the day all this confusion will clear
and I can't forget the look you had on your face when you went away
it haunts me everywhere I go and I try and try and try to forget

(Chorus)

well the pictures on my wall they tell me it was not a dream
and I know I'm not the fool, but sometimes that's just the way it seems
well I was thinking about the day we left each other standing in the rain
and I was wondering how you are and how much you've really changed

(Chorus)

"Come Out"
(dedicated to my mother: Carolyn Bergseid)
Words and Music by: Johnny Tillman Smith
you've always been a loner just happy with yourself
you don't know what you're missing with your life upon the shelf
come out, you'll be happy that you do
and I'll be happy too
I just want you to
come out

(Chorus)
come out here and see what you're missing
all you got to do is open the door
take a couple of steps and open your eyes
then you'll see the beauty
the beauty of the world
all your life you've been wondering about it
wondering about the outside
you don't have to worry I'll be by your side

the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing
why don't you come out of that lonely place
get up on your feet get out of that chair
come see the sunshine
and breathe the air, oh yeah
(Chorus)

"Lonely Voyager"
Words and Music by:
Johnny Tillman Smith and Michael Dane Hager
she was born down by the water
where the river meets the sea
they say it was a holy place
just made for raising southern girls
but for her it was a prison
that kept her from her dreams
lost behind those dark walls of old time tradition
she was looking for a reason
something to have faith in
now she gave away her innocence
to a blue-eyed boy in blue jeans
never asking for forgiveness
just looking for answer to her prayer
a destination from her boredom
that could free her from her fate
a quiet moment of distraction
that could carry, carry her heart away
she was looking for a reason
something to have faith in

(Chorus)
she's got secrets in her heart
that she doesn't want exposed
she's got memories in her past that
she'll never let you know
she's a lonely voyager
just chasing endless dreams
in a firestorm of pain
with nowhere left to hide
she's a lonely voyager
she's a lonely voyager

now she's headed for the bright lights
with her heartaches and her pride
caught in web of its confusion
with no savior by her side
she was blind to all its dangers
so she fell into a spell
and gave her grace to strangers
for a chance to paint the moon
she was looking for a reason
something to have faith in

(Chorus)

well her nights turned into cold days
with no love to warm her soul
never knowing what to look for
just wishing for a hero to hold her
tight but the jungle took its toll on her
and time stole all her youth
and left her just a broken angel
with no wings, no wings to fly away
she was looking for a reason
something to have faith in

(Chorus)

"The Age of Indifference"
Words and Music by:
Michael Dane Hager
there's a great forest burning to the south of our homeland
they say it's all in the name to promote the lives of man
but the night skies reflect their lies as we turn to close our eyes
too afraid to ask the cost
too scared to face what we have lost
to a world of a selfish sin
to a world of a selfish sin
in the townships they are crying to the sound of a distant drum
they say they've lost the answers to the voices of their sons
but the children lie in cold despair, no chance to save their lives
too weak to try and make a stand
too broken to hold onto a hand
from the arms of deliverance
from the arms of deliverance
we are on the brink, times when dreams are lost
and the frontiers are closing down, with every passing glance
it makes no sense, there is no defense
to the age of indifference
to the age of indifference
there's a dark storm that's coming to heart of our hometowns
and the gangs are fighting for control to try to take the rich men down
and in the wake of all these drug wars there's only one way to survive
too late to save their poor souls
too blind to stop what we have bought
from the hands of the innocent
from the hands of the innocent

(Chorus)
there are heroes that are captured behind the walls of distant shores
and they're calling out for freedom to try to open all the doors
but the politicians try and hide behind the laws of their disgrace
too tempted by their own greed
too trapped to let their prisoners free
from the chains of their bitterness
from the chains of their bitterness
(Chorus)

"Bums on 42nd Street"
Words and Music by:
Michael Dane Hager
I was talking to the bums on 42nd Street
I was listening to their sad lives
it was down at the depot they would meet
it was there they spoke of their strife
and some would drink their old red wine
just to help them pass the time
some would sing those lonesome blues
cause that's all they really knew

(Chorus)
it's a sad, sad story I've told about the men that stand in the cold
it's a mad, mad world they've known these men with the heavy load
well their ragged coats are made of tweed
stuffed with papers no one needs
they're called the sidewalk walkers
and they're foul mouth talkers
they wander through the night as stalkers of the light
well they're poets and dreamers
hiding from the past
disguising all their lonely fears
behind their laughter and their rags
they ramble through the streets like shadows in the night

(Chorus)
some get sick in the early dawn
as their world screams like thunder
they know their life's not long
so why save each other
well, I left them in the early day
down at the city park
I didn't know what to say to the lonely men of the dark

(Chorus)
I was talking to the bums on 42nd Street
I was listening to their sad lives
it was down at the depot that they would meet
it was there they spoke of their strife

"Shadows of Your Heart"
Words and Music by:
Michael Dane Hager
I can see you walking down the dark avenues past my lonely room
you're like the moonlight shining bright drowning all the stars
and every time I see you it's like you were never gone
and your know I'm lying here inside but you're too afraid to dance

(Chorus)
and I try to forget who you are
and I try to escape from these scars
but don't you know you're burning a hole in my life
tearing my world apart
oh girl, you're just a shadow in my heart
oh girl, you're just a shadow in my heart
I remember when we first met every night was like a dream
flying free like two angels high above a distant storm
making love like two crazy fools watching the world go by
but the memories of that love are quickly fading fast

(Chorus)
two castaways drifting far away from angry lives
searching for a harbor to soothe our ravaged hearts
and the voices they are fading from a time of quiet hope
but the silence of these empty nights just won't let me go
(Chorus)

"Eyes of a Lonely Hunter"
Music and Words by:
Michael Dane Hager
well the eyes of a lonely hunter whose love has gone asunder
the heart of a desperate man too weak to make a stand
now I feel like I'm falling into the arms of disillusion
down the road without no bends where the pain never ends
so the light has begun to fade from a love once so bright
that I feel like a blind man in the shadows of the night

(Chorus)
well I need you, I need you tonight
can't you see that I won't survive
I need you, I need you tonight, I need you

the anger that lingers in our hearts is like a stranger in our minds
I can hear your voice calling, it's getting stronger every time
but the tears keep on falling like the rain in my eyes
I can hear your heart pounding it's like a siren in my mind
but the memories of the bad times are burning down inside
like the wind before the storm
stealing away our love

(Chorus)
I thought I found the answer to the mystery of our plight
it's learning how to give, it's learning how to compromise
but that empty look upon your face tells me there's not a chance
gone are the hopes and dreams lost in the games we played

(Chorus)
well the eyes of a lonely hunter whose love has gone asunder
the heart of a desperate man too weak, too weak to make a stand

"Cantos"
Words and Music by:
Michael Dane Hager
oh the cantos on my bookshelf with the words of a crazy man
don't you know he lived by truth but died alone
and sometimes his words were lost in obscurity
but to some they made sense out of life

(Chorus)
but he was just a stranger in a foreign land
the voice of freedom for the common man
but they broke him like a child
and left him alone with his dreams
and on gray days when I'm feeling like the clouds pouring down
I reach out and take the words of a poet man
from one world to another I ride on his verses
soft colors and some passion he left behind

(Chorus)
and his friends they passed him by without seeing that look in his eyes
like mirrors they reflected all their lies
oh the cantos on my bookshelf with the words of a crazy man
don't you know he lived by truth but died alone
(Chorus)

"Born in the Year of 1978"
Words and Music By:
Michael Dane Hager
born in the year of ninety seventy-eight
a product of a war he never would appreciate
raised on heroes he never knew
in a fantasy land built on empty plans
poor child never knew the success he was supposed to be
his mother had all the social graces
the father he never knew worked too hard to pay his dues
forgotten people in forsaken places
holding onto lies with their empty faces
hidden from all the truth blinded by the masquerade

(Chorus)
but you don't care what you left astray
and you wonder why I cry for yesterday
sweet innocence won't you take, take me back again
sweet innocence won't you take, take me back again
generations of time they come and pass
but ours was supposed to be the golden age
expected to answer all your ancient questions
when all of your promises faded into false dreams
skeletons of your age still remain to haunt my soul
some say we lost our chance
that life is just a joke, a passing glance
but I'll keep on struggling to change the ways
and try and make you understand the pain
of what it feels like to lose what you sought to gain
(Chorus)

"Out of the Cavern"
Words and Music by:
Michael Dane Hager
out of the cavern into the light
just like the morning after the night
why do you make me feel this way
I can't solve the games you play
lost somewhere in my empty fear
(Chorus)

love's flying by so fast I know I'm losing you
life's rushing by so fast I don't know what to do
visions of faces hidden in the past
sweet memories that never last
searching for things we'll never find
trying to hold onto time
wishing for answers that aren't there
(Chorus)

there goes my mind away from me
just like a ship out on the sea
I can't feel with my eyes
how can I tell if you lie
why can't your emotions be more clear
(Chorus)

I feel the darkness it's all around
I know love's been lost, how is it found
there are no secrets to hide
feelings are just thoughts sacrificed
I just want someone to care
(Chorus)