1988 in the sleepy small town of tuscaloosa, alabama. 99 degrees. 98% humidity. shambie singer was hanging around his hometown for the summer, gainfully engaged by a variety of endeavors which yielded no income. one day a local blues band offered him five bucks to help them move some equipment. ten miles and twenty dusty minutes later his van arrived at the storage shack. sitting on the rickety wooden stairs that led up to a slanted front porch, strumming a battered old guitar, was none other than johnny shines. the legendary bluesman and former robert johnson travelling companion was just back from a particularly successful couple of months riding the rails. he was in a good mood. The others moved into the shack to collect their amps. shambie sat down next to johnny. "mr. shines, i play guitar too. will you show me something?"

"I tell you what you little cracker boy," johnny responded, "i'm in a good mood today so i'm gonna show you a move that'll change your life forever. this is a secret chord that robert johnson showed me back in 1934. use this secret chord when you play guitar and............watch out! heh, heh, heh"

"watch out for what?" shambie inquired, elated, of course, but also a little concerned.

"heh, heh, heh," johnny replied.

the other people showed up on the porch with their equipment in tow. shambie grabbed an amp, they threw everything in the van and roared off in a cloud of blue smoke and red dust.

shambie subsequently explored the power of the secret chord with the lonely moans (amphetamine reptile, sub pop, tupelo) in north america, and solo in east africa. perennially mystified by the power, he returned to tuscaloosa seeking answers from johnny shines. but johnny was dead. disoriented but steadfast, he stumbled into the los angeles basin in 1998 and formed palace of oranges. today palace of oranges is proud to release their debut album for rubric records, prepare to greet a guest. watch out, heh, heh, heh.