            |
  Simple Complications Interview: Part III 1/24/09 This is the final part 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 last six songs on the album. Sixteen I actually played Sixteen a few times live with Off Limits. It’s the second oldest song on the album. It’s one of the more personal songs on the record. I was reminiscing about when I was younger and things were much simpler. Not that things are bad now, this isn’t a “woe is me” song. It’s just looking back on fond memories. I would have loved to write an orchestral score for this song, but I didn’t exactly have an orchestra at my disposal, so we just left it in a simple, stripped-down form. Maybe one day I’ll get the orchestra, but for now I like the way it turned out. Synthesizer: Clint Felts Alone I was very nervous about putting this song on the album because I knew it would be misunderstood. It’s not an antiwar, let’s-bash-George-Bush song. There are plenty of those to go around. But in any war, regardless of whether it’s a just war or not, will separate families and cause strain. So how do you justify this with the goal of the war? At what point do we stop looking at ourselves as Americans or Germans or Nigerian or Peruvian and start seeing ourselves as fellow humans? What kind of responsibility do we have for our fellow countrymen and our fellow man? And how does war play a part in all this? I’m not trying to give my philosophy on war or give my position on the current war, no one wants to hear my opinion. This song is just about an internal struggle I had. At the beginning of the summer I honestly thought this song would never make it, but as the music came together, I really started to like it. This song is another example of the rhythm section, especially the drums, really making the song. This is one of my favorite songs on the album. Drums: Mark Misulia Bass: Eric Meyer Harmonies: Jaime Carbo, Pat Martel Underlying Lyrics: Clint Felts, Pat Martel Your Last Song This was the last song that I wrote for the album. It’s basically about doing something that you don’t want to do, but you know it’s the right thing. I am completely in love with the bass and drums on this track. For the final chorus I told Mark just to go crazy on the drums, and I think he nailed it on like the first or second take—they’re incredible. You can also really hear my U2 influence on the guitar during the chorus. This is one of my favorite songs on the record. Drums: Mark Misulia Bass: Eric Meyer Blind Blind is a song about doubts and wondering. I think it’s good to doubt every now and then, I think it helps you reaffirm things in your life and you end up strengthening your convictions. I liked the song, but I could figure out what to do with the music. Pat suggested using the slide guitar, and Mark laid down a pretty groovy beat, but it’s the bass that does it for me in this song. I think this song takes a few listens before you really start to appreciate it. Pat and I really had trouble figuring out where to put this song in the tracklist. It’s not a quiet song like Emily or Sixteen, but it doesn’t pick up as much as a track like Alone. We spent hours arguing over the tracklist, but I’m pretty happy with the final result. That’s one of those things that listeners probably don’t realize, but to the artist the order is extremely important. I think we got it right. Drums: Mark Misulia Bass: Eric Meyer All I Need This song is about a few friends I met at college. You know, when you’re looking at colleges you always look at price, majors, sports, location, but I think what really makes or breaks college are the people you meet. I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of great people, and this song is kind of a tribute to all of them and three very specifically. As far as the music, I feel like a broken record, but the bass and the drums really make the song. It’s just a fun rock song. Singing it was a pain—the chorus is barely in my vocal range and since we had to do all the vocals in less than a week, my voice was not in the best condition. We got it, but it took a long time. I love listening to it now though and hearing everything sung correctly… or at least close enough! Drums: Mark Misulia Bass: Eric Meyer Harmonies: Pat Martel Origins Origins got its name from a class I took my first semester at college: Origins of the West. I was supposed to be studying for an exam in the class, but I was feeling inspired and it was one of those now-or-never moments where, if you don’t write the song then and there, you can’t come back to it. So I wrote the song. Like so much of this album, the song is about uncertainty and wondering where life’s going to take you. I named the song Origins because of the class and because it fits nicely with the themes of the album. It’s the beginning of my college career, the beginning of my solo career, and the beginning of the rest of my life. I wanted the music to sort of sound like people just jamming in a coffee house or their living room. We didn’t use a drum set and there are not overdubbed guitars. The jam at the end was recorded at the end of the recording sessions. I’m looking forward to playing that part live, it should be a lot of fun. Percussion: Mark Misulia, Clint Felts Bass: Eric Meyer Harmonies: Pat Martel Top of Page |