Mask Allure  
© Jeff Wessman

Friday night on a Cabo cruise
The masks are down and the Mescal’s so smooth
Last night you were shaping light
Dancing till we all took flight

Now the fog is rolling in
And they won’t play that song no more
The lighthouse has grown dim
As the sole survivor crashes on your shore
Such allure.
 
Gonna give it
Gonna give it up now
Gonna give it
Gonna give it up now (fade, day by day)

Well you take what’s given and you leave the rest
All the caballeros can see that you’ve been blessed
With the best
Yeah this is the moment, this is the night
A kiss to remember
For the rest of your life

Locked down neath a thunder moon
Summer leaving all too soon
Posting selfies, leaving clues
“Otra vez!” - and put on your dancing shoes

Gonna live it
Gonna live it up now 
Gonna live it
Gonna live it up now (fade, day by day)

CHORUS

Mask Allure

Dark Night

This started with the acoustic guitar track. I was determined to keep the character of the song along those lines, and tried to stay away from too many DAW bells and/or whistles. There are 2 acoustics, a steel string and nylon string that move the melodic and harmonic content along. I judiciously added minimal percussion, a fretless bass, and subtle electric piano. There are some brief solos later on that come from an acoustic 12-string and a softsynth.
The title is definitely something of a pun (active/act of). On one hand, it may deal with the basic creative process. Where do ideas come from? Once there, how do they develop? Is inspiration (the Muse?) an act of something higher that we're lucky to tap into now and then in a creative life?
Literalists can imagine the title referencing an active deity scanning their work, considering it, and tweaking it here or there before finally settling down to their day of rest, and feeling that it was good.
credits
released January 15, 2022
Steel string acoustic, nylon string acoustic, 12 string acoustic guitars; fretless electric bass; keyboards, drum and percussion programming by John Schwetje. He also wrote it and produced and engineered the recording. This was done at Swetchsongs Studios on Eastern Long Island, NY. Copyright 2022, Swetchsongs Publishing, ASCAP.

Under My Skin

Stephco