← more from
Green Monkey Records
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
/

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    3 CD box set with 40 songs about Olympia WA plus a detailed 80 page book with the history behind the songs and a plethora of great photos. With over 100 Olympa musicians. Stunning!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Olympia - A True Story via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

about

My 91-year old, born-here mom, JoAnn Dyer, says she was told by her mom, Faith Bolender, about the county poor farm that existed when Faith was young. It was on Log Cabin Road, near the Bolender family farm on the Boulevard Road. It was gone by the time my mom lived on her grandfather’s farm.
I love what Peter Randlette did on this song. Former Olympian Steve Fisk told me Peter had acquired a fake Buchla synth (Peter’s long-time employer TESC has real Buchlas!), so I called him up and said put some weirdo stuff on this song. Peter did more – he went out and did field recordings, etc. and came up with a finished masterpiece. I did nothing to his tracks besides add them (he had already mixed them down) to the existing song. Wow!
This is a song that I felt had to be on this album. One of my activist pals, fiddle master Lisa Ornstein, told me the song needed to tell people what to do to make a difference right now – a call to action! I did not see the song having that role, I wanted to tell the story and get people to reflect a little, to see others’ humanity. Sadly, the fact is that this situation is not likely going away any time soon. Lisa recommends (and I agree) you should go to these places right now to find out how you can help.
SideWalk - www.walkthurston.org;
Olympia Mutual Aid Partners - olymap.org;
2828MartinWay (Interfaith Works) https: //www.2828martinway.org/

Crooks, Jennifer. (2019) A Turbulent Age. In Crowell, Sandra A. & Stirling, Shirly A. (Eds.) Thurston County Water, Woods & Prairies: Essays On The History Of Washington’s Capitol County. Olympia: Thurston County.
America’s 1% hasn’t had this much wealth since just before the Great Depression
Retrieved from www.marketwatch.com/story/its-been-almost-a-100-yearssince-the-americas-1-had-so-much-wealth-2019-02-11.
Verse 3 derived from a conversation with Tye Menser.

lyrics

Olympia has always had its poor
1892, County Poor Farm, Boulevard Road
Mostly elderly people in fragile health
Taking care of each other
No place else to go
In the late ’20s and ’30s,
Little Hollywood grew on the Deschutes shore
Hobo Point shacks were across the river
All were burned down by police

Everybody needs a home
Everybody needs a place to live
Everybody needs a home
Everybody needs a place to rest their head

In the 60s Olympia, homelessness was rare
Edge of town eccentrics with tin foil hats
Wolfman Bill out at the garbage dump
Tolerated with pity
Since 1981 that has got steadily worse
2021, there were 854 homeless people counted
Camps at The Jungle, Deschutes Park Way, Wheeler, and Ensign Roads

Everybody needs a home
Everybody needs a place to live
Everybody needs a home
Everybody needs a place to rest their head

In the 50s we had the biggest middle class the US has ever seen
We now have the biggest income inequality since the roaring ‘20s
Ten percent have seventy percent of the wealth
People are living in the streets

What will we do about it?
Half the people have real issues
Half the people are just poor
It’s a national problem being addressed at the local level
Some people want them to just go away
Some people want to lend a helping hand
Half are children, veterans, and the elderly
Living without my level of privilege

Everybody needs a home
Everybody needs a place to live
Everybody needs a home
Everybody needs a place to rest their head

credits

from Olympia - A True Story, released October 14, 2022
The True Olympians + Peter Randlette – Sample collage recorded at Salamander Labs

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Tom Dyer and The True Olympians image

Tom Dyer and The True Olympians Olympia, Washington

The True Olympians were formed shortly after Tom Dyer moved back to his hometown Olympia in 2006. Their focus is primarily recording, though they do play yer occasional live show. Current members: Tom - vox, guitar etc,, Gene Tveden- bass, b-vox, Joe Cason - keys, b-vox, Lisa Ceazan- vocals, and Jeff Parkhurst - drums, b-vox. Jeff is the band's 4th drummer. ... more

contact / help

Contact Tom Dyer and The True Olympians

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this track or account

Tom Dyer and The True Olympians recommends:

If you like Tom Dyer and The True Olympians, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring interviews with LA music scene pillar Kamasi Washington, and new London-based duo Mrcy.

listen now