The old-school-with-a-new-twist track is by Jim (James) Gardiner (composer, educator, producer, engineer, and friend), who runs Gardiner Music Mentoring and Pajama Recording Studios near Jack London Square in Oakland.
Oakland native Anna Lissa Patterson sang the background vocals, creating both downhome excitement and a luscious ambience (her contribution also put the sheen on "This Christmas," on the CD).
Go download it! Click on the links below to go to CDBaby or go to iTunes, which gives a nice long sample including the rap. (But on my iTunes page are some songs by the UK-based model-actress-singer Lisa B, who isn't me and is a lot more famous.)
Here are the lyrics:
Holiday in Oakland
lyrics © 2011 Lisa Bernstein
music © 2011 Lisa Bernstein and Jim (James) Gardiner
published by Lisa B Swingin’ Music, BMI, and Jawiz Music,
ASCAP
Let’s take a holiday in Oakland
Let’s take a walk around the lake
With the lovers and the runners
The kids of every color holding hands
In Oaktown
Let’s take a holiday in Oakland
Let’s take a break and eat some grits and greens
Potstickers and beef chow mein
Crabs we caught today in the bay
In Oaktown
In the winters we don’t freeze
In the summers it’s a breeze
Under redwoods in the park
Soul and salsa after dark
Drive down Christmas Lane
See the galaxies explained
At Chabot, watch the moon turn to gold
Let’s take a holiday in Oakland
Let’s hear the music that we made:
(rap)
Tower of Power, Y&T
Goapele and Michael Franti
Tony Toni, Del the Funky Homo Sapien
Digital Underground in Raider Nation
The Pointer Sisters and Pete Escovedo
Redwood Records, Oaktown Jazz, livin’ their credos
Kitka, Keak da Sneak, En Vogue, and Hammer
The Hawkins Singers and Pharoah Sanders
In the winters we don’t freeze
In the summers it’s a breeze
Under redwoods in the park
Soul and salsa after dark
Drive down Christmas Lane
See the galaxies explained
At Chabot, watch the moon turn to gold
Take a holiday, oh yeah
Throw all your worries away
You can slide under the bay to San Francisco
But you better come on home
Go deep in the east
And just settle in the west
Amble down Grand and strut your best on Broadway
Dip your finger in the water in Jack London Square
Run to the hills and inhale the air
Come to my house and just sway in the hammock with me
I’m in Oaktown
That’s where I’m gonna stay
That’s where I work and it’s where I play
In Oaktown
(Let’s take a holiday in Oakland!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~