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  Simple Complications Interview: Part II 1/14/09 This is part two of a three part series where Clint talks about the album as a whole and then the individual songs. In this part, Clint talks about the first six songs on the album. What’s Coming Up This song came really quickly, both in writing it and in recording it. It’s a song that talks about when two people meet and are attracted to each other, but there’s always that uncertainty or anxiousness about how the other person feels or what’s going to happen. It’s a good kind of anxiousness though, kind of hopeful and excited. It’s pretty simple musically, but I think the music mirrors that kind of eager anticipation. I chose to have the whole first verse and chorus with just me and a guitar to throw people off a little. Up to this point, the song had only been played with me and a guitar, and it’s kind of reminiscent of that. But then the band comes in, complete with harmonies, an organ, and even people clapping, and the song really takes off. Drums: Mark Misulia Bass: Eric Meyer Harmonies: Jaime Carbo Organ: Clint Felts Clapping: Jaime Carbo and Pat Martel Tomorrow From the very beginning, I knew this would be the second song on the album, it just didn’t fit anywhere else. It’s a pretty standard rock tune, complete with distorted power chords and soaring U2-like riffs. This one was fun to play. It’s a song about choosing for yourself and not letting others dictate how you live your life. That doesn’t necessarily mean ignoring other’s advice, but just making sure that you think about your life and don’t live passively. It’s also an optimistic song for the future, kind of “regardless of how things are, we’ll get through it.” Drums: Mark Misulia Bass: Eric Meyer Tambourine: Clint Felts The Fire I’m really pleased with the way the music turned out on this one. Some times when I write songs, I try to pick a chord that I rarely use and then write a song that uses that chord. In this case it was E7 (Eric will be quick to remind me that it’s technically it’s a G7 because of the capo, but I digress). I’m not really into 7th chords, but I like it in this song. The intro was originally played with a wah pedal, but it sounded too much like “Voodoo Child”. This is a great example of a song where the bass and drums really brought this song to life. It was a favorite of a lot of the people who were working on the album. It talks about a relationship that’s going through a rough patch and could go either way, you’re not sure. Like a lot of my songs, it’s part autobiographical, part fictional. Drums: Mark Misulia Bass: Eric Meyer Emily First off, there is no Emily. I get asked that all the time. This song is about not taking anything or anyone for granted, not waiting until it’s too late to tell someone you love them, apologize, whatever you need to do. So based on that theme, I wrote this story about a boy and a girl who both lost someone because they didn’t speak up sooner. There are a few autobiographical snippets, but the majority of the song is fictional. The mandolin is what really makes this song for me. I love listening to the bridge section where the mandolin solos over some overdubbed guitars. I’m told by most people that this is their favorite song, which is funny because I was considering cutting it. But I’d played it a handful of times before and people kept asking if it would be on the album, so I had to keep it. In the end, I’m very glad I did. Drums: Mark Misulia Bass: Eric Meyer Harmonies: Jaime Carbo Mandolin: Pat Martel Down Here I wrote this song the first night I was at college. I ended up rewriting the chorus, but the verses remained almost unchanged from the beginning. I was so uncertain about my college choice, what I would do, meeting people, and just the future in general. Recording this song was a nightmare; nothing went smoothly. I think we did over 120 takes on the vocals. I had also originally planned to have the song just fade out, but Pat said I should let it play until the end. So I had about a minute of just rhythm guitar that I needed to do something with, and at the time I was really trying to avoid writing guitar solos. I tried to think of something else to do, but I knew that a guitar solo would be the best thing, and I finally ended up writing one and getting it in a couple takes. Although it was extremely frustrating at times, I really like the music in this song. Another one where bass, drums, and in this case violin really made the song. Drums: Mark Misulia Bass: Eric Meyer Violin: Jen Nicholson Piano: Clint Felts Snooze This is oldest song on the album. I started writing it back in high school when I was in my old band, Off Limits. It was in the running for an EP we were going to make but never did. I remember just wanted to write a fun song, and I had this melody and phrase “hey, little girl” running through my head. I ended up writing about people who are so busy caught up in the monotony of life that they don’t stop and analyze what they’re doing with their lives. Then that’s contrasted with this free-spirited girl, the girl in the chorus, who is taking advantage of opportunity and really living her life. Again, it’s part autobiographical, part fiction. As far as the music goes, it’s a pretty basic chord progression. I tried different, more complex arrangements, but they seemed just detract from the happy-go-lucky tone of the music. I also wanted a really memorable opening riff, kind of like “Slide” or something. I don’t know if I quite pulled that off though. I also think it’s amusing that at the end of the song there’s this really high note that I can’t really sing. I asked Jaime Carbo to sing it, but it was high for even her. Then I thought of asking Pat, but I figured if Jaime couldn’t hit it, neither could Pat. Well, turns out Pat could not only hit that note, but he could sing seven notes higher. Drums: Mark Misulia Bass: Eric Meyer Backup Vocals: Pat Martel In part three, Clint will talk about the final six songs on the album. Top of Page |