Live Performances > “Party for the Planet” Benefit Concerts
“Party for the Planet” Benefit Concerts
A romping rock ‘n’ roll monster mash spotlighting the environmental challenges of the times
A Party for the Planet
with The Jim Ocean Band
“Party for the Planet” is an environmentally themed traveling dance party and benefit bash designed to entertain, educate, and motivate audiences while financially benefiting and spotlighting each event’s non-profit partner(s).
Because the Earth needs a good garage band.
A project of OceanWorks Productions and featuring live music by the Jim Ocean Band and others, each “Party for the Planet” is a unique experience depending on the needs, resources, and creative vision of that event’s non-profit partner. In addition to the live music, past events have included elements such as “Trashy Fashion” shows and costume contests, “Bring an Item, Take an Item” upcycling booths, silent auctions, and found-material craft projects for kids.
“…Some of the best satirical songs you’re likely to hear.”
“Jim Ocean consistently skewers modern life in the USA. The songs are smart, as well as clever, but avoid the novelty stance of going for cheap laughs. Instead, they get under the skin of contemporary facades and relationships. Music for our times.”
As much about the mission as the music, the Jim Ocean Band welcomes collaborations and is available to produce benefit concerts for social justice and environmental organizations.
About the Music
Over the decades, singer/songwriter Jim Ocean has written an impressive collection of thought-provoking, genre-bending songs that explore the nuances and quirks of the human animal.
With his new band, he has turned his eye toward the environmental challenges of the day.
With soulful harmonies and a tight, driving rhythm section, the Jim Ocean Band has come out swinging with its debut album, “FrankenClime”. Featuring concerned, smart lyrics set to a beat, the in-your-face energy and contagious hooks have audiences dancing, laughing, and thinking all at the same time.
Book The Party For The Planet and contact us for more information.
More Music Projects from the Ocean Front
The Jim Ocean Band
With in-your-face energy, soulful harmonies and contagious hooks, the Jim Ocean Band uses humor, a driving rhythm section, and concerned, smart lyrics to shine compassionate light onto the issues of the moment.
Jim Ocean Music
Thought-rockers Jim and Kathy Ocean use their lyric-driven original music to explore the world, spark curiosity, and inspire meaningful conversations. Their folk-rock sound takes listeners on a lively journey through the wonders and complexities of the human experience.
Live Performances
Featuring songs of science, satire and spirit, this program is a musical smorgasbord where the Ocean’s weave their trademark satire with their thoughtful ballads and their collection of “poetic science” songs.
Concert Production Services
As seasoned musicians and award-winning concert presenters with over 30 years experience, Jim and Kathy Ocean know the live music business from all sides.
Coming of Age in the Milky Way
By Jim Ocean
Playful as otters
Poisonous as snakes
We’re descended from things
That would make your heart ache
Fast as a falcon or
Slow as a snail
We’ve the instincts of insects
And the dreams of a whale
This is the age of recovery
From all that we’ve done
This is the age of discovery
As we stare at the sun
Embrace a bright heart
For the sake of our kind
And leave the mind of the reptile far behind
Leave the mind of the reptile far behind.
Coming of age in the Milky Way (2X)
(“I love you baby ‘cause you’re coming of age!”)
Graceful as spiders
Fragile as cells
We should be shedding our skins
And breaking free of our shells
Living our lives
Like a blue bottle fly
But we’ve learned how to love
And we’ve learned how to cry
We’re Earth’s adolescents
We’re about to be weaned
In a test of our species
In a test of our genes
Stay close to your love
Stay close to your dreams
Be more of a human
And less a machine
Be more of a human
And less a machine….
Coming of age in the Milky Way (2X)
Clever as virus we’re as
Strong as a horse
We’re descended from things
That go back to the source
Deep as the ocean and
High as a cloud
Keep asking the question
And say it out loud
Keep asking the question
What is life all about?
Coming of age in the Milky Way…
(Repeat fade…)
Fighting For Love
© 6/5/12 Jim Ocean
We’re fighting for oil
We’re fighting for water
We’re fighting for soil
We’re fighting each other
We’re fighting for money
We’re fighting for air to breathe
We’re fighting for power
We’re fighting everywhere it seems
(Chorus)
We should be fighting
We should be fighting for
We should be fighting for love
We’re fighting for stuff
We’re fighting for cheap plastic crap
We’re fighting for a lifestyle
But it’s just a trap
We’re fighting for an image
We’re fighting for a logo
We’re fighting for religion
And our egos
(Chorus)
We should be fighting
We should be fighting for
We should be fighting for love
We should be fighting for . . .
SOLO
We’re fighting to be liked
On facebook
We’re fighting for the mic
And how we look
We’re fighting to be number one
An American mythology
We’re fighting just for fun
It’s a flaw in our biology.
(Chorus)
We should be fighting
We should be fighting for
We should be fighting for love
(Chorus)
We should be fighting
We should be fighting for
We should be fighting for love
Sequoia Sempervirens: The Tree That Always Lives
© 9/13/13 Jim Ocean
The 'Stable' was a sight to see; Hollow at the ground and she
Rose three hundred feet or more; Her mouth was a cathedral door
Twelve horses fit inside; Upstairs ten men could hide
From the storms that swept the sea; On Sundays they held service in that tree
But even Jesus couldn't save that tree
Sequoia Sempervirens
The tree that always lives
You gave all you could give
Sequoia Sempervirens
When the stable hit the ground
She shook Big Bottom all the way to town.
The 'Beanpole' seemed to scrape the sky; Like a building in Manhatten
He held roost in all Big Bottom; though He had few branches on him
You could see him in the dark; On starry nights in Guernewood Park
His silhouette would give you tingles; They took him down for the shingles
Six hundred thousand roof shingles.
Sequoia Sempervirens
The tree that always lives
You gave all you could give
Sequoia Sempervirens
When they took the Beanpole down
They watched him falling all the way to town.
There are ghosts in old Big Bottom; Forests here are old and haunted
Phantom trees still hold their ground; Standing where they took 'em down
When you've held earth for so long; You don't leave this world so quickly
You'd haunt the woods and fairy rings; You'd haunt the ones who took you for those things
Like you haunt me now and this is why I sing
Sequoia Sempervirens
The tree that always lives
You gave all you could give
Sequoia Sempervirens
But like Ronald Reagan said:
"You've seen one redwood tree, you've seen em all."
Sequoia Sempervirens.
Macro to Micro
© 2011 Jim Ocean
We are small
The smallest thing
You’ve ever seen
We are small
Our reality may be fantasy
We are vast as space
Bigger than the Milky Way
We can grow so wide
There’s a universe inside
I know…
(chorus)
Macro to Micro
Micro to Macro and
Macro to Micro again
Small as the atom
Large as the universe
Macro to Micro again
We are young
Younger than a baby born yesterday
We are young
We can barely form words to say
We are old
We’ve been around a long, long time
Old as dirt
Older than the stars that shine…
(repeat chorus)
Feel your blood
Flowing through the rivers in your arms
Feel your love
Flowing on forever to the stars
We are tall
Taller than the tallest tale
You’d fabricate
We are tall
The stories in our DNA
Replicate
We are short
Our melodies don’t last that long
Short and sweet
Singing in an endless song
(repeat chorus)
FrankenClime
© 10/12 Jim and Kathy Ocean
Who’s knocking out the lights of the city
Flooding the condos down by the sea
Who’s making all the thunder and lightning
Everyone knows it’s…
It’s Alive…It’s Alive!!!
He’s a Hurricane
A Big Black Cloud
A Fire Tornado
Burnin’ up the ground
He’ll blow down your house
He’ll tear up the levee
He’s a real bad ass
He’s FrankenHeavy!
He’s the perfect storm
Doin’ crime…
His name is Frank
FrankenClime!
He’ll flood your town
Melt your ice
He’s got a real hot future for you
In his eyes.
(Chorus) FrankenClime…FrankenClime
He’s performin’… He’s Frankenstormin!
You filled your tank
You take the ride
But you can’t hide from Frank!
He’s a high, dry wind
A real low pressure
A 100 degrees goin’ on forever
I got meteorological phobias
I’m packin’ my bags for Canada…
FrankenClime…FrankenClime
You can’t deny it… it’s FrankenClimate
You say no way…you say no thanks
But don’t deny it’s Frank!
It’s FrankenCold!
It’s FrankenHot!
It’s FrankenWindy!
And we’re FrankenCaught!
When you hear the sound
Of poundin’ hail
You better buy some plywood and
Pound some nails!
FrankenClime…FrankenClime
What’s more frightenin than FrankenLightnin’!
Try to ride around his flank
But you can’t hide from …
FrankenClime… FrankenClime
We’re all bound to live underground
But you can’t run forever
From FrankenWeather!
No…. you can’t hide from Frank (x3)
The Invisible Obvious
© Jim Ocean 1/15/21
The Invisible Obvious
Is right in front of me and you
The Invisible Obvious
Is a herd of elephants in the room
The Invisible Obvious
We see what we wanna see
The Invisible Obvious
I judge you and you judge me
And all of the monsters
that prowl around in our minds
We could defeat em
We could release em
If we just looked them in the eye
The Invisible Obvious
Is something we don’t talk about
The Invisible Obvious
All we do is scream and shout
The Invisible Obvious
We don’t wanna look around
The Invisible Obvious
We stick our heads
into the ground
And all of the demons
that haunt your dreamin’ at night
We could depose them
We could expose them
If we just turned on the light
The Invisible obvious
Is sucking up the oxygen
The Invisible Obvious
Will we ever breathe again
Will we ever breathe again
The New Abnormal
© Sept. 2020 Steve Sauvain / Jim Ocean
I have run from fire
I am breathing smoke
This is not a joke
It’s the New Abnormal (x2)
I have watched this country
Tearing at the seams
This is not a dream
It’s the New Abnormal (x2)
Hail, tornados and hurricanes
The spreading deserts and the pouring rain
The ocean roarin’ at my door
And this is something that
you can’t ignore
I have lost my job
My old life is gone
I just don’t belong
In the New Abnormal (x2)
I hope someday
Things will all come back
I’m falling down the cracks
Of the New Abnormal (x2)
I’m worried for my children’s lives
With the future coming how will they survive
Dark clouds are forming and it’s overcast
And the planet’s changing way too fast
Solo -- It’s the New Abnormal (x2)
Solo -- It’s the New Abnormal (x2)
What’s normal once ain’t so normal now
We should come together ‘fore our time runs out
If we fight each other in the waves
The tide will sweep us all away
I have run from fire
I am breathing smoke
This is not a joke
It’s the New Abnormal
Livin’ in the Weeds
©1/21/20 Jim Ocean
I’m livin’ in the weeds
I’m livin’ in the weeds
I’m livin’ here right under your feet
I’m livin’ in the weeds
I’m livin’ in the grass
With the working class
Where the pill bugs breed
And all my friends
Live in insect splendor
Especially Steve
He’s a real night crawler
Eating leaves and fodder with me
Livin’ in a lawn
Where you can be stepped on
It’s not easy
Livin’ in the weeds
I’m livin’ in the weeds
With the ants and snails,
and the scary tails of centipedes
Come meet a friend of mine
She’s clingin’ on a vine
She’s a real grasshopper
She wants to grow some wings
And fly away to sing
At the Grand Old Opera
But when you’re working poor
It’s hard to find the door to leave
And when the lawnmower
Comes to manicure
your fondest dreams
You know you’re livin’ in the weeds
You know you’re livin’ in the weeds
Squirming in the mud
With all the other bugs so secretly
Shush! (Solo)
Livin’ in the weeds
It can make you bleed
But it’s unpretentious
Most of the time
All the moss and vines
Give you some protection
And I’m not complaining
Even when it’s rainin’ frogs
And someday when I die
This is how they’ll write my epilogue
He was livin’ in the weeds
He was livin’ in the weeds
Where the spiders bite
And the earwigs fight for turf
He was livin’ in the weeds
He was livin’ in the weeds
Where the fleas and flies
Try to suck you dry
It’s not easy…
I’m livin’ in the weeds
I’m livin’ in the weeds
And there’s nowhere else I would rather be
I love my life …
Livin’ in the weeds
Plastilla!
by Jim Ocean, © 2010
Plastilla coalesced
In a fierce electric storm
Over the North Pacific Gyre
He took a massive breath
It echoed off the clouds
And crackled ‘round the Earth like fire
The next thing that we knew
Were the ships floating like jellyfish
With suffocated passengers and crews
The satellite photos
Showed a wall of water coming
Heading for the North Pacific Coast
Oh No! Plastilla! (3X)
Corre, corre, corre por tu vida!
Better run for your life!
Plastilla hit the shore
He swallowed Anchorage first
Then took Seattle with a plastic roar
Before we could react
Portland was attacked
He spread his wax up the Columbia River Gorge
We sent the submarines
Who fired all their means
But he just kept roiling to the south
We knew that we were doomed
When he swallowed all our nukes
And just blew smoke rings from his mouth
Oh No! Plastilla! (3X)
Corre corre corre por tu vida!
Better run for your life!
We barely had time
To make it out alive
We headed east as fast as we could go
We stared down from a peak
And watched that plastic sheet
Cover the Bay and Mt. Diablo
Now we’re stranded here in Denver
Where the Rockies bitter winter
Has slowed his plasticene tide
We have time for one more song
As a way to say “So long…”
As he crests the Continental Divide…
Oh No! Plastilla (3X)
He wants to shrinkwrap the Earth
Juego, juego, juego terminado!
Game over man!
Plastilla
by Jim Ocean, copyright 2010
Plastilla coalesced
In a fierce electric storm
Over the North Pacific Gyre
He took a massive breath
It echoed off the clouds
And crackled ‘round the Earth like fire
The next thing that we knew
Were the ships floating like jellyfish
With suffocated passengers and crews
The satellite photos
Showed a wall of water coming
Heading for the North Pacific Coast
Oh No! Plastilla! (3X)
Corre, corre, corre por tu vida!
Better run for your life!
Plastilla hit the shore
He swallowed Anchorage first
Then took Seattle with a plastic roar
Before we could react
Portland was attacked
He spread his wax up the Columbia River Gorge
We sent the submarines
Who fired all their means
But he just kept roiling to the south
We knew that we were doomed
When he swallowed all our nukes
And just blew smoke rings from his mouth
Oh No! Plastilla! (3X)
Corre corre corre por tu vida!
Better run for your life!
We barely had time
To make it out alive
We headed east as fast as we could go
We stared down from a peak
And watched that plastic sheet
Cover the Bay and Mt. Diablo
Now we’re stranded here in Denver
Where the Rockies bitter winter
Has slowed his plasticene tide
We have time for one more song
As a way to say “So long…”
As he crests the Continental Divide…
Oh No! Plastilla (3X)
He wants to shrinkwrap the Earth
Juego, juego, juego terminado!
Game over man!
Plastilla
by Jim Ocean, copyright 2010
Plastilla coalesced
In a fierce electric storm
Over the North Pacific Gyre
He took a massive breath
It echoed off the clouds
And crackled ‘round the Earth like fire
The next thing that we knew
Were the ships floating like jellyfish
With suffocated passengers and crews
The satellite photos
Showed a wall of water coming
Heading for the North Pacific Coast
Oh No! Plastilla! (3X)
Corre, corre, corre por tu vida!
Better run for your life!
Plastilla hit the shore
He swallowed Anchorage first
Then took Seattle with a plastic roar
Before we could react
Portland was attacked
He spread his wax up the Columbia River Gorge
We sent the submarines
Who fired all their means
But he just kept roiling to the south
We knew that we were doomed
When he swallowed all our nukes
And just blew smoke rings from his mouth
Oh No! Plastilla! (3X)
Corre corre corre por tu vida!
Better run for your life!
We barely had time
To make it out alive
We headed east as fast as we could go
We stared down from a peak
And watched that plastic sheet
Cover the Bay and Mt. Diablo
Now we’re stranded here in Denver
Where the Rockies bitter winter
Has slowed his plasticene tide
We have time for one more song
As a way to say “So long…”
As he crests the Continental Divide…
Oh No! Plastilla (3X)
He wants to shrinkwrap the Earth
Juego, juego, juego terminado!
Game over man!
Road to Gridlock
© Jim Ocean
(radio clicks on…helicopter traffic report ensues)…”for the last three days…that unidentified white powder spilled on Monday still has things pretty well backed up on I 80, but CalTrans and the DEA assure us that there should be some substantial movement by Friday…and a warning to all travelers east bound on the Bay Bridge… Berkeley is now ‘FULL’ and all traffic is being re-routed to Marin, where we’re assured, plenty of parking is still available.”
“How’s tricks in Contra Costa, Chet?”
“Well, I can’t see it from here Dave, but according to the CHP all traffic south bound on the Benicia Bridge has been re-routed to the Dunbarton Bridge, sooo, pack a lunch!”
“Have you got any movement on that parking contest?”
“Well, we did find….” (music comes up)
The cars ahead seem fossilized
We’re hardly moving
I’m hypnotized
Stuck in motion on the tar
In my metal dinosaur
Kept from moving by these hunks of steel
Watch the man go crazy at the wheel
On the slow, slow Road to Gridlock
This used to be a country town
It wasn’t hard to get around
Now there’s a light at every block
We measure inches by the clock
And everybody’s got a fast new car
That doesn’t mean that you can get too far
On the slow, slow Road to Gridlock
Oh, I’ve got a dream of moving down the highway
Oh, I’ve got a dream of moving down the highway
Can you be certain your wheels are still turning around
Nothing is moving I seem to be glued to the ground
Oh, I’ve got a dream of moving down the highway
Oh, I’ve got a dream of moving down the highway
Type A behavior is not in my favor today
Stuck to the street while my heart’s beating madly away
Oh, down the highway…
On the slow, slow road to gridlock
Some chew their fingers
Some strike a pose
Some read the paper
Some pick their nose
Some use a mirror
To comb their hair
It’s such a ritual
You see it everywhere
I feel my mind begin degenerating
Half of my life you’ll find me hibernating
On the slow, slow Road to Gridlock
On the slow, slow Road to Gridlock
Yes it’s a slow, slow road…
“I’m outa gas…”
Singing in the Acid Rain
Copyright by Jim Ocean
(capo @ 2)
Singing in the acid rain
Singing in the acid rain
Singing in the acid rain
Brown water rafting to nowhere
Hup…Here we go!
It was a beautiful neighborhood
With a view of the sea
But the microwave towered over
Like a steel canopy
But for the condo he made the sacrifice
Just to be sure he put some sperm on ice
And now he’s singing in the acid rain
Singing in the acid rain
Singing in the acid rain
Brown water rafting to nowhere
She was a brilliant executive
With a nose for the top
And her posh LA office
Gave her such a view of the smog
She was oblivious to the yellow sky
She smiled at her future, and put drops in her eyes
And now she’s singing in the acid rain
Singing in the acid rain
Singing in the acid rain
Brown water rafting to nowhere
In the town that I live in
You can hear a fire roar
Cuz the Shell Oil Refinery
Is just a mile from my door
It’s our own unofficial rent control
Affordable housing by the steel volcano
And now we’re singing in the acid rain
Singing in the acid rain
Singing in the acid rain
Brown water rafting to nowhere
Singing in the acid rain
Singing in the acid rain
Singing in the acid rain
The First To Go Under
© Jim Ocean 2009
They’ll be the first to go under
The first ones displaced
The first to seek shelter
From the sea’s rising waves
It’ll make such strange history
They’ll be the first to go under the sea
Everything under
Under three feet
One hundred million people
All in retreat
It’ll make such sad history
They’ll be the first to go under the sea
Goodbye to the palm trees
Goodbye to the sands
Goodbye to the sunset
On low lying islands
And we’ll watch it all on TV
They’ll be the first to go under
The first to go under…
They’ll be the first to go under the sea
Ghost Towns in Ukraine
© Jim Ocean
I thought that I might find a place
To hide out from the human race
Before people like you
Drive me insane
So naturally I headed west
Til I met a man from Budapest
Who said, “Wait we’ve got a deal
In the Ukraine!”
He said there’s wide open spaces
Where you can feel all alone
Roam around some villages
Where no one is at home
And for very little money
You could ride out there tomorrow
Like a yankee Taras Bulba
I did go
Ghost towns in Ukraine
Where the air will make you sterile
Ghost towns in Ukraine
They’ll bring you vodka by the barrel
Ghost towns in Ukraine
Feel your skin begin to peel
You may never go home anymore (x2)
Before you can say Gorbachev
They drove me here
They dropped me off
My driver didn’t say much on the way
I guess they don’t like Yankees here
The worry on his face was clear
Cause he pushed me out the door
Then drove away
And there I sat with my potatoes
In the middle of the street
Listening to the wind blow
And the flies buzz in the heat
From the point of view of solitude
I guess it’s not so bad
You’ll find me sitting there
Just soaking up the rads
Ghost towns in Ukraine
Where the air will make you sterile
Ghost towns in Ukraine
They’ll bring you vodka by the barrel
Ghost towns in Ukraine
Feel your skin begin to peel
You may never go home anymore (x2)
Hey! (Lines spoken in Russian)
Someone get me outta here
This is such a strange vacation
Strange!
Someone get me outta here
This holiday has gone astray
I may be a mutation
My time is up
I’ve had no rest
I need to go back to the west
I’m tired, radiated and alone
My sunflower seeds are almost gone
Winter, it is coming on
My parka and my gloves
Are back at home
At night I dream the Cossack cavalry
Is coming by to rescue me
Won’t someone call the embassy
My visa has run out, you see
And there’s so many stories
That I could tell you all about
Like how every day more of my hair
Keeps falling out
Ghost towns in Ukraine
Where the air will make you sterile
Ghost towns in Ukraine
They’ll bring you vodka by the barrel
Ghost towns in Ukraine
Feel your skin begin to peel
You may never go home anymore (x2)
I said that you may never go home anymore. Hey!
She’s So Cold
By Jim Ocean
Forty Five million years
She has turned a cold shoulder to the sun
And her tears
Were the things that trapped old Shackleton
In the ice her embrace
Is a frozen kind of yearning
She’s a dangerous place
But she keeps this world from burning
She’s so cold…
She is not fond of changes
She has swallowed whole mountain ranges
Two miles deep
It’s best if you just let her sleep
She’s the kind of a woman
Better run for cover when she’s warmin’
Leave her alone
She is made of ice and stone
She’s so cold…
She’s a beast
She’s a demon
She’s the coldest kind of dreamin’
She is white
She is blue
She’s the fairy tale that scares you
Like the ice in your freezer
Don’t chip her off
Don’t even tease her
Look in her eyes
And she’ll turn your world to ice
She’s so cold…