Our new track -
It's Still On - has a long history. We initially wrote and recorded a version for our second release, the
Disagreements EP. It was an ok recording but really in retrospect I always heard it as a demo rather than a finished record. We'd shared the writing with our pals
Barry Flynn and
Ingrid Schroeder and it was an exciting moment. However, the years rolled by and the song started to feel forgotten.
We were considering tunes to play for Isabelle's parents Golden Anniversary, and, because there was going to be a piano at the party, I recalled our old song
Please. It was written around a completely free form piano part, with wildly varying tempos and time signatures, very romantic. Isabelle and I began rehearsing for Scotland and after the first time we tried it just with piano for accompaniment we both felt the excitement again.
While over in Scotland, we had the pleasure of driving up through the Highlands and had a brilliant visit with Barry and Ingrid, whose brother, record proudcer
Paul Schroeder, was also staying over. Back a decade Paul and I were recording bands together in London (he produced, I engineered). We'd not seen each other for nine years. Of course it was a full fledged re-meeting that led to conversations about our new album. Perhaps Paul would consider working on it with us. (the only hitch being he now lives in Copenhagen)
We returned to Vancouver and started working on a new batch of songs which should complete the next album. I found the old multitrack session of Please and just listened to what we'd recorded initially. With the exception of
Kevin Jones' drumming and a few guitar parts I wanted to redo everything! So starting once again from the piano we rebuilt the track, this time with a vaster sonic vision. We worked on the vocal blends quite a bit, as I was emulating some old favorite records of the 70's. It was starting to sound pretty good so I begun sending reference mixes to my group of trusted ears which rekindled the conversation with Paul. He had several suggestions for various parts of the song so I asked if he might just mix himself. And he did! Below is the product of a rawkus-post-midnight-kitchen-party in Cromarty, Scotland!
It's Still On.
And hey, if you like the song please share it. We need your help getting the sound out there!
Cheers and thanks for listening.
Mark
lyrics:
Waking up, still tired
feeling down, uninspired
draining out, the hard work washed away
Giving up, so heart broken
all the dreams, left unspoken
see them smile as we become the same
Don't be scared of what we're seeing
just realize there's more to being
than what you buy or steal or break
it's how you live and what you make
I think it's time to disagree
with what we've learned for centuries
'cause never in our history
have we been more in debt to greed
Waiting on a wave to break
riding on the chance you take
for a better way, someday
might not be that far away
It's ok, we made it through today
we'll beg or steal or borrow
to make it thru tomorrow
Hope's not gone
it's still on
you may be out of favour
but you could be your savior
Words and music by M Henning, I Dunlop, I Schroeder, B Flynn
