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in winter..
.. it's like drinking black coffee trying to stay warm and keeping the cold out. the rain falls, the wind blows. some of you even get to see snow.in autumn..
.. it's a backyard in the suburbs, and hundreds leaves covering the green grass.in summer..
.. it's a night-time thing. out on the balcony (porch) with some beers and your friends.in spring..
.. it's the hope for a brighter day.
Less Than Perfect Day
1. Town Where You Were Born
In many ways this song contains the feelings and themes that are expressed constantly throughout the album. Twenty four hours in the life of someone who feels like everything and everyone either has or is drifting away from them. This creates a loneliness of being and poses the question of wanting more from this world without necessarily losing those that are around them.
2. Lainie K.
A quick experiment in stretching the truth. This is a true story with an honest sentiment but it is also highly dramatized. As a songwriter I was allowed to step out of my life and go back in time to document someone that I remember as being very special.
3. Goofy
Very proud of how 'Goofy' sounds. The pressure was on because strangers, friends and even family have loved this song for years. A bittersweet look at relationships...from friendship to obsessive love.
4. Cold Winters Day
One of the first songs I ever wrote, composed at an old haunt whilst my friends were watching TV. Obviously about the beauty of Winter and reminscing but also how the hope of a new day or season can lift you when you are down. Elizabeth recorded her vocals in Tasmania and sent them through the post, which is how she sounds with her vocal just behind mine in the mix. She was one of the friends watching TV that day...
5. The Moon and the Stars
Written quickly with a strong emphasis on lyrics and vocal delivery. Essentially a happy tale about two people meeting, connecting then having it all turn rather sad. The bright instrumentation is clouded by the darker vocal.
6. You Better Stop Breaking My Heart
When the band I was in broke up and I realised I was on my own, I wrote a few really strong songs over a weekend including this and 'GP'. They were songs that I could specifically perform solo. This is about someone who is broken...
7. GP
Inspired by a biography I read about Gram Parsons, a very talented man who certainly lived a life but ultimately paid for it by dying at the age of 27. If you know his story you can virtually trace it through this song, but it's not necessarily entirely about him. Parts of it are about me, other lyrics are about a musician I love who loves Gram. Some lines are about us all. The meanings of songs can change over time but either way I was pretty pleased when I could call this my own.
8. House Near Bridge
This took me six months to write (unheard of) and I finished it in an Anthropology lecture at university. Extremely proud of both the song and recording. Anyone that calls this lo-fi hasn't got a clue... A few times in my life I have been on a path to nowhere...this was the case until I met a girl, illegally climbed a bridge and had a life altering moment fifty feet in the air. I am certainly not saying you need a job and degree to live...but I got both at the same time, for the first time and I wrote this song as a thankyou to the girl who changed my life. I also love bridges and promise that there will be more bridge references on further recordings.
9. 747
This also took a long time to complete (six months). Out of all the songs on the album this is probably the one that everyone can universally relate to. It was inspired by people I knew but now is a song for everyone that has wanted just a little bit more than they have...to follow a dream and see where it takes them. Even if you end up back where you started.... Is it an illusion or reality?
10. Moving Along
A song about individuality and learning to be strong mentally when others are being negative about you to make themselves look and feel better. Written very quickly about someone I never thought I'd have to speak badly of...turns out they were shallow and without a soul. The line about my friends and my tunes sums me up pretty accurately. Like many of my songs it also hints at the fact that i have a sleep deprivation problem.
11. Up and Over There
The recording and performance of this song perfectly captures the feeling of the lyrics. The first person who heard this cried his eyes out...Written in two parts, it is again full of themes constant on the album; seperation and the effect that it has on your life. The first half is about someone that upped and moved. The second half is about someone that has passed away. You can read the subtle differences in the lyrics. There are some images thrown in but you get to view the picture that I see in my eyes and feel in my heart...
12. Tiger's Tale
Written by my friend Brad Herdson, I first heard this as a four track recording. Imagine two speakers; one has pure white noise and the other has a short,fast acoustic song. I seperated it, slowed it down 80% and made it my own. Very proud of the recording. Done in an hour on an eight track in a loungeroom unrehearsed. I love how it sounds so beautiful but has this weird feeling as well...as if it is all going to collapse at any moment. Played the best solo of my life too... Brad will have to explain the meaning of the song...but for me it's about two friends going their seperate ways with the hope of meeting up sometime, somewhere...and carrying around that friendship for all to see.
