Holy Lion is a track from the recently-released album Chrysalis. And it rocks heavily.

This is a silly song and I love it. I was purposefully trying to write something that would've been at home on 'Goat's Head Soup' or 'Physical Graffiti' --- this song is all open G chording, mock sexual posturing, and riffage. I also did something production-wise that I never figured out how to duplicate, which was to widen the stereo field and make the guitars sound BROAD. It actually sticks out a bit too much on the final album product, but that's okay.

Holy Lion

So this is the original version of My Hometown, the demo version from fall of 2004 that was recorded right as it was written. It's a lot poppier and spacier than the depressing and serious acoustic version that's elsewhere on this album. Yes, the production on this is a bit naive, but you have to remember, I recorded this entire thing into a stock PC sound card input --- two mono tracks at a time. I'm actually shocked it sounds as good as it does, all things considered.

This was originally supposed to be on "Edge of the Light" in 2005 but I stupidly decided it didn't fit. So it really belongs on the "Crooked Highway" compilation, with its acoustic sister as the opener and this as the closing bookend.

My Hometown (electric)

Another song from "Event Horizon", this one was similar to 'Lipgloss' in that it existed for a long time simply as a chord sequence and a drum pattern and that was it. Lyrics came later --- a wistful look back at some lost loves and lost friends, and the realization that age 30 was already in the rearview mirror.

Darvocet

Part of the emotional core of "Event Horizon". This is a song with a pretty long gestational period --- I have a demo of the chord sequence and melody dating all the way back to May of 2006, but it pretty much just existed as a vague demo for a long time. Ended up reviving it in the preliminary sessions for Event Horizon, which led to some updated lyrics (which didn't stray too far from the originals, although they changed subject). I've gone back and forth on the guitar solo in this one for a long time --- not sure if the acoustic guitar solo was the right move or not. It hits me just right sometimes, but other times it doesn't.

Lost Myself

Written and recorded very quickly in the spring of 2008. Very Neil Young-ish in the chord sequence, but the lyrics were all very personal at the time and reflected the huge changes that were going on in life at the time. I remember having to edit out a big section of the acoustic backing track because, unbeknownst to me, my cell phone had been ringing through an entire 30 or so seconds of the song.

I really did write and record this in 2008. But go listen to Ryan Adams "To Be Without You" off of Prisoner (released in 2017) --- some of the melodic and rhythmic similarities are spooky.

Catchphrases

Another song that came out of the pile of demos from May 2006. This was a song that I knew would work, and it was one of the first songs recorded for the aborted "Interstate 23" album --- which eventually (in different form) became "Against The Sun". This song entirely validated the purchase of my Alesis SR-16 drum machine. The guitars and guide vocal were recorded a good three years before the album came out! A final vocal and mix was finally created in 2009, and the album came out the next year.

Jilt

I Wandered Away

Pretty bleak. Pretty dark. Kind of the emotional low point of "Event Horizon". Original riff just existed as a disassociated guitar sequence on a demo taped in late 2007. Sprung to life in the 2010 sessions for "Against The Sun", but didn't settle on lyrics and musical accompaniment until 2012. Maybe the most unusual sound in my whole catalogue.

Right Over My Head

Old song --- the music for this one dates back to 2003, and the lyrics were written sometime between then and 2012, although I can't for the life of me remember when. These lyrics are sort of a strange bird --- written from the perspective of european colonial captains sailing across the Atlantic in the 15th century. Lots of obscure references to Christopher Columbus and the Santa Maria, if you know what you're looking for. I was never particularly happy with these production choices, although they do create a unique atmosphere.

Windward

I've always liked this one --- recorded way back in early 2007 for the aborted "I-23" album, then pretty much not touched for three years and finally released on "Against The Sun". Oblique lyrics that captured a lot of late 20s weirdness. Written when I had lost one person and was losing another --- ended up getting one back and losing the other one forever. Memories.

Burning Sugar

The electrified and somewhat samba-fied version of Apology, courtesy of the Jakob Best Outfit's re-imagination of the arrangement. The ending guitar solo never caught fire like it needed to...that's what I get for not having someone else do it. Recorded in 2008, but not released until 2011.

Galen Clavio

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