An Inside Look by SA Martinez & Nick Hexum
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SA: Title track. Great melody with a dope rhythm underneath.
Slightly skanky, but in a good way. Catchy, aggressive at times, and
never a dull moment. Classic 311.
NICK: The title track is about emotional volatility when you
feel like your freedom is being encroached upon. P-Nut wrote a sweet
dub breakdown for this one.
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SA: What
don't I like about this song? Hmmm....hard to say. So what do I like?
The 3 M's baby; Music, Message, and Melody. 'Nuff said. |
SA: The true origins of this song lie in the fact that Nick
has frequented this bar since he's lived in this city. They also had
311 in their jukebox for quite some time. This song is basically an
insurance policy to reserve a slot on their juke for eternity. Hexum
hatched this plan like that Simpsons character who always rubs his
hands together and says "Smithers...."
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SA: Love
this song. Chad had this cool instrumental that reminded me of the
Velvet Underground's, "Take A Walk On The Wild Side." Well, at least
the intro. From the pans to Mit's soloing (what hippies
on South Park might call a "crunchy groove") this song does what this
new generation says far too frequently....."it owns". Never thought I'd
type that. Lyrically I got this song idea from talking to Jen. She is
in the process of becoming a licensed therapist and, in so doing, has
come to respect the work of a man named Wilhelm Reich. His belief is
that any emotion we carry, we must let out. Otherwise, this said
emotion will sit within us and manifest itself in ways which may not be
good for our health. We create blocks that turn into physical symptoms
that initially were emotions we denied ourselves from experiencing. It
makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Anyway, I shared this
idea with
Nick who was kinda on the same wavelength with his lyric "speak easy".
Dave Khane also tweaked the phrasing in my verse by creating a slight
pause and then lifting the melody a bit. The chorus melody was
something I had been sitting on a few years. Chad showed me the chords
in the chorus and I looped them on my acoustic and the idea to marry
the two happened. I knew lyrically that I wanted to return to this idea
of letting out emotion, to relax and breathe because breath is life.
"Nice and easy, and your breathing will be pleasing..." I showed this
idea to Nick and he was quick with the rejoinder..."just speak easy,
and say what's on your mind....."
NICK: I like the play on words here. Many people
think of an illegal nightclub (Speakeasy) but this song is actually
about speaking your mind. Nice steel drum part played by a Trinidadian
man that Saint hooked us up with. The song sounds simple but there's an
unusual 10 beat phrase to the verses in this song that Sexton wrote.
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SA: This
has to be one of the dopest songs we've put together. It is so freaking
ill. Musically it slow grooves like none other. We rehearsed this song
a number of times and each rehearsal a different melody would appear in
my head. Nick was feeling the same way I think. I kept getting these
apocalyptic visions, these you and I against the world type scenarios.
This track needed something with as much attitude as the music was
communicating. Well, it wasn't long before I realized I was approaching
the track from the wrong angle. The concept was cool, talk about what
is going on in this world. But, don't sing about it, rap that shit
homey! It's kinda like that commercial from our youth, the one that
went, "'you got your chocolate in my peanut butter, no you got your
peanut butter in my chocolate.'" Well, switch chocalate with Rage
Against The Machine, and peanut butter with Sound Garden and you'll get
the idea. And no, it's not Audio Slave. Enjoy!
NICK: Here's a song I wrote definitely being
influenced by Chad's style. This song is slow and heavy. That's usually
Chad's department but this one just popped out on a lark and people
seem to
dig it. SA delivers the album's only rap on this song. He nailed it.
Both his delivery and his lyrics skewer people who use fear to stay in
power. Basically asking, "Can't you see what's going on here?"
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SA: Catchy?
Check. Bouncy? Check. Undeniably catchy-bouncy? Check check. If The
Beatles happened to venture to Jamaica instead of India, this song
might have happened. But they didn't. This song came
together on our last tour and upon hearing it, one might think it a
simple song. Well, take it apart and realize how nicely crafted it is.
Go ahead. It's built to last.
NICK: This one came out quickly and was written
first of the new batch. It's got a really funky reggae groove going.
Nice solo by Tim.
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SA: Yes
Virginia, there is an outake from Transistor called "Grifters." And
yes, this is the song re-recorded and revised for 2005. The first time
I heard this song mixed I was blown away by the guitars. They are so
nice. There was a vocal melody on the Transistor sessions that we
decided to discard and re-write. I think you'll appreciate this
revision.
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SA: There
exists in this country something so deadly and prevalent, yet so taboo
at the same time. It can destroy a persons sense of self, their
relationships, their will to live. Chances are, you know someone who is
stricken with this yet they haven't told you a single thing. However,
if you were to think about it, you would find warning signs in their
personality if you knew what to look for. This song is about child
sexual abuse.
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SA: The
one thing I wanted to do before work began on the album was to put
together a proper home studio. Really what that entailed was acquiring
a desk with rack space, one of those cool synth stands that could hold
3 keyboards, a sweet boutique amp, some soft synths, and some nice
guitars. Now that we have the toys, let's make some sounds! One of the
guitars happens to be an awesome PRS hollowbody. Just like Mit's. Well,
it was about midnight, the amp was at a nice low volume, and I had the
guitar going through this Fulltone Tube Tape Echo. Let's say lushness.
Again, this was a melody I had been kickin with for awhile but I was
unsure what to do with. Well, now that I had the means, I looped it to
a Sexton beat, hummed the melody with the progression, and the lyrics
just came. Pure gravy. The chorus was next. This kinda just happened by
admiring the finish on the guitar. The fact that I was also nursing a
little Jack at the time didn't hurt either. The guitar has this nice
whiskey center that fades into a deep bordeaux rim. Whiskey & Wine
son. Next it was off to Hexum labs for some touch-ups. He put a tasty
guitar line before the chorus and then got in touch with his inner Buju
Banton for the bridge.
Can you say dope?
NICK: SA has been coming into his own as an instrumentalist
with writing the foundation for "Whiskey and Wine" and "Getting Through
to Her."
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SA: Tim
wrote the music for this track around the time of the Evolver sessions,
but we never had a chance to demo it. Instrumentally, the track is
ferocious. It riffs for days. And yeah, we could've thrown a rap on
there and served it up that way. Thing is, we've done that. It was time
to juxtapose something else entirely cause that's how we rock shit. So
I said to myself, "Self, what would Morrissey do?" He might sing about
life, he might sing about animal powers, he might even sing about
deathbed flowers. Morrissey has been an inspiration to me since 9th
grade. I've seen him half a dozen times. I love how he's grown as an
artist. His latest release, "You Are The Quarry," along with his live
dvd, "Who Put The M In Manchester," and his live cd, "Live At Earls
Court," are all must haves. Anyway, back to the track. So, how to
approach the song? Well, the melody for me had to compliment the track
in some way other than aggressive because the guitars were already
doing the talking. I think we hit it on the head with this one. I think
you'll agree.
NICK: It's nice to have a track that I can just
play guitar on. This Mahoney penned track has a light speed riff in the
choruses and SA came up with a cool smooth melody to balance out the
hard rock riffs.
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SA: What
better way to end an album than a journey such as this one? I love
songs like this. Not exactly sure where things are going. Such a
beautiful track. It opens on such a fragile sentiment and ends on a
cascading testament. Wise indeed.
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SA: Well,
that about does it. This album was a joy from start to finish. I'd like
to thank Jen for the inspiration, Adam & Peter for their daily
energy on the frontlines, Gif Tripp for his contributions, Saint for
his belief, Jason for keeping a tight studio and of course T & P
& N & C. We're real excited about the future of this band. It's
time for a new era. I'd also like to thank you for your continued
support of what we do. Now it's time to tour and share the love. See
you on the road!
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