This song evolved over time, with parts added and removed, an extra verse added, etc.  Originally it was about a time when I came home after my girlfriend had had a surgery and the house was strangely quiet.  She was asleep and I could hear her breathing in the other room.  It felt eerie and I had this sense of what it felt like if I were alone and I didn't like it.  It was a precarious time and I was happy she was going to be ok.  Later I had a son and I liked to watch him sleep as a baby and know that I would keep him safe.  Much later my wife would sleep with a smile on her face and I enjoyed seeing that and knowing she was happy.  

Rest

Purely a song about getting drunk at a wap party!  Taking all the different booze, fruit, mixing it all together and having at it!  A long college party tradition, or a good/bad idea for a weekend get together!

Trashcan Wap

Basically, it's a breakup song.  But relationships are complicated and sometimes there are things going on under the surface that both people don't know.  And when it's brought to light, one person is going to be surprised.  Closure is needed, communication is needed, Sometimes things aren't as big as they are made out to be, sometimes they are.  Sometimes there are feelings that are exacerbated by something else.  Whatever the case, breakups can be a good thing so both people can move forward and be who they want to be and find what they are looking for. 

Surprise

A song about the peace of mind that is achieved when a big decision is made and you feel like you have a path to walk forward on.  A plan.  And when you have that, when doubts are removed and you can be free, then get out of the way because your true focus is now ready to propel you to your goal.

Once Your Mind Is Made

What is the best way to move past writer's block?  Write a song about having writer's block!  It's a short, fast rocker that helped me out through a phase where I was being unproductive creatively.  Accepting the challenge of a blank white page and winning each new battle with each new song.

I'm Gonna Write A Song If It Kills Me

This song was lying around for a long time.  It was written as a reaction to 9/11, when everyone was sedentary on the couch, numbly watching the ticker scrolling across the bottom of the news on TV.  There was constant anxiety, fear and change to navigate, and a barrage of news footage to mentally process.  Sometimes there was conflict in feeling like a proud American while also being open to the possibility that sometimes America doesn't always make the right move.  But what mattered to me was maintaining and appreciating the people around me in my "orbit", my friends and loved ones and being kind to others.  To build or rebuild my trust in people and to hold my circle of friends/family close to keep them standing forever and not falling like the twin towers.  

Build Your Own Buildings

Inspired by the schoolyard recess game we all used to play, it's a song about possibilities.  "The grass is always greener on the other side" is a common saying, and it's about being content with where you are and accepting that or continuing to fantasize about an alternate reality.  You need to decide because it's not good to live that way.  In the game Red Rover, sometimes a player goes to the other side and gets captured and needs to be rescued.  But what if they don't want to be and would rather stay on the other side?  Or maybe you don't want to explore the other side while outside pressures are making you feel like you should.

Red Rover

"Bluedark" is that time of night, around 3/4am when it's so dark outside that the black looks blue and vice versa.  It's kind of a post-party song, where a couple meets up in the kissing room and stays up late getting to know each other, then go home together and they experience the "morning after" together in a positive way. The song incorporates mood lighting and vibes via atmospheric sounds and heavy reverb on the instruments to set the context.  The cello line intertwines with the guitar line to represent the two people moving in various ways to discover each other.

Bluedark

I was driving by the hospital near my neighborhood and noticed a couple white swans floating in the pond on the hospital grounds.  They were very pretty and I had this thought--I wonder if there are black swans?  Cuz I'd never seen them.  Later that evening I was watching TV and saw a commercial for wine by a company called Black Swan wine.  In the commercial there were black swans swimming in water!  It was so serendipitous and I could barely believe it! Why don't black swans get any attention and why have I never seen them before? I thought up the chorus then, and found some chords I liked around it.  I began thinking about black swans being the underdogs of the swan community, and then thinking of underdogs in general.  This led to thoughts about minorities and POC and it became a song about hope and persistence and rising above adversity/challenges in life.

Black Swans

This song is for the vinyl listeners and musicians out there!  Heading out to a record store, buying a new vinyl album, and bringing it home to listen to it on headphones in the dark like it's supposed to be!  Then maybe heading down to the basement and rocking out with your band and stomping effects pedals!  YEAH!

The Only Way Out Is Through

There's No Place Like Home

Hi! We’re an atmospheric indie rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Our debut album, “The Only Way Out Is Through” will be released in November of 2024 on Emperor Penguin Records. We write songs, step on pedals, and get sweaty.  We make textures intertwine and sorta catchy melodies.  We’re usually a bit too loud.  We’ve been in (and in some cases are still in) other bands that have played all over the place.  We enjoy our beer fridge and multi-colored lights in our practice space.  Some of us have tattoos.  Some of us like to reference The Office.  One of us was in a marching band.  One of us has turtles.  One of us knows kung fu.  One of us still has a laserdisc player.  All of us like to rock.  Thanks for checking us out and we hope to see you out there!
Tyson Allison------vocals, guitars, percussion, bells, organ
Adrian Esguerra---bass, backing vocals, piano, guitar
Drew Calvetti------guitar
Mike Eaton---------drums, percussion

Cassini Echoes