It all happened so fast, I’m not quite sure if this blog is going to be accurate at all at recounting the details of the writing process of this new song. I’m not even quite sure that there was, in fact, a process to speak of. The bottom line is that Kevin wrote (if you can even call it that) a new song, just in time to round our set list off at ten songs, before the summer shows start (updates to come about this when I decide to care again). What’s even more impressive is that the man did it accidentally.
What I do remember is that it was during a time of absolute musical mayhem in the Mellet basement – everyone was playing everything except what they were supposed to play. As a result, the cacophony drowned my voice right out (despite the fact that I was hooked up to a PA-system), and any order I was hoping to establish along with it. Picture the scene: Ed’s sitting on his huge-ass bass amp playing a bass line that was definitely not Soul Plane music, Aaron’s trying get everyone to shut the hell up so that he can hear his metronome to tap Kevin in for the next song, Kevin’s not having any of anybody’s anything as he hammers away some random riff on his Stratocaster, and Gideon’s off somewhere picking his nose. Great. If Melanie were there it wouldn’t have been so bad, because then we would know that we’d have to focus to get her learning the new material, but as fate would have it, she was busy playing hostess at her own birthday party. I almost wanted to call the police.
The thing with Kevin is that once he plays something off his guitar that catches his ear, he doesn’t tend to forget it. This probably has to do with the fact that he’ll play the same riff for half an hour (he has, many a time, just so I could write the lyrics) almost mechanically until it’s permanently etched in his brain. And if it means he has to turn his guitar up over everyone else’s noise to hear the riff, that’s exactly what he’ll do. That’s exactly what he did. Suddenly, it caught my ear as well.
Yui: Whoa, Kev, what’s that?
Kevin: What, this? I’m just fucking around. Hold on.
Yui: ...
Kevin: Alright, essentially it’s ‘No Worries’... it’s the same chord progression, just flipped rhythmically into double-time with a few extra notes here and there.
Yui: Would people be able to guess right off the bat that we’re being repetitive because we’re shitty?
Kevin: They’ll be able to guess we’re shitty.
Yui: So we can’t use this?
Kevin: Well, give me a second. Maybe I can change the key.
As he moved his fingers up a couple frets, everyone else seemed to be snapping back to reality from their respective musical journeys, and Gideon pulled his index finger from his nostril. The riff itself was smooth, very laid back, very mellow. Aaron clocked it at 90bpm, the slowest of our songs yet. Back when Paiken was with us, we had a song in our repertoire called “Band on the Run.” The lyrics were as follows:
I'm tryin' to find the greatest escape, delayin'
My fate, 'fore they find a new way to trap us in crates
Packagin' us and shippin' us on the interstate
Highways, oh, be there in less than five days
Sometimes I sit back, relax, and just think
Pour a glass, put on the jazz, chill and sip my drink
Wonderin' what I'm runnin' from, and then it hits me
That in this symphony, I'm my own worst enemy
Just playin' on the timpanis, oh, hold the sympathy
A minute, b, um, aight, lemme put this simply
I'm, tryin' to do my thing and so I'm singin' like
You wanna ruffle my feathers, whatever, I'm wingin' life
So quit bringin' this strife into my family
They can't understand me, I'm not livin' a fantasy
This chance could be...my one shot to get to somethin'
So with all due respect, get the cheque, cuz I'm runnin'
HOOK
I'm runnin' on my feet and I'm not looking back
I'm runnin' to the beat, followin' these train tracks
I'm runnin' through the street, even with the odds stacked, up
Against me, I'm tellin' you, I'm not lookin' back (x2)
My lyrics are like murals, pure, pictures that I draw
Raw, writings on the wall, ignited with alcohol
Flames brighter than all the lights glowin' in the city
Of dreams, which seems impossible, since we never sleep
The screams and sirens, obstacles in our environments
Wired up in hospitals, blocks riddled, they firin'
And crime is at an all-time high, I'm tryin' to
Rise above it, up in buildings that's scrapin' the sky
As I, look to the heavens, I see my grandfather
A young man, panning for gold, I can't be bothered
My soul, is not for sale, you choke, when you inhale
The smoke, without this flow, I'd be dead or in jail
Seein' shorty ride in the 745
Tryin' to make the story live, never let the glory die
'Stead of spittin' corny rhymes, and whisperin' sweet nothings
In ya ear for you to hear, so yeah, I keep runnin'//
HOOK
Since Paiken left, and since we knew better than to play material that had him as a source, we had filed this song away for future use. By that I mean it stayed on my laptop and got mouldy until Kevin ran this track. I usually keep all my lyrics just in case someone comes up with something worth using them on, even if the riff I had initially written them for was scrapped; after all, I did spend what little time I spent on writing them and, if they’re even half-decent, why waste them? Good thing I brought this back, too, because as I rapped these lyrics over the riff that was now being played by the entire band, in sync with each other and on time, I realized immediately that the original version paled feverishly in comparison.
Conceptually, we also stepped it up a notch: for this version of “Band on the Run,” the boys decided they would end the whole thing with a 2-to-3-minute-jam that would involve lots of subtle chord and rhythmic changes, and just fade out from there. The purpose of this would be to bring out the notion that at least instrumentally, we went on a musical journey and we’re not coming back. After all, we are a band on the run... what did you expect?
Speaking of running things, Conor Stief is most definitely back in the building. After a series of meetings that essentially set out Soul Plane’s game plan for the summer (more on that to come in the very near future) as far as shows and getting exposure goes, we’re all clear on what our individual roles and responsibilities are towards this cause. Now it’s all about the execution like China.
Next up: ...from the ashes we rise like a phoenix (but not until June 19th, which is when we kick off Soul Plane’s first show of maybe too many this summer. It is imperative that you join us – see “Upcoming Events” section for details).
