Let’s talk about your new  album, “Try To Be Here”. What was the inspiration behind it’s creation?

I had been working on this album for a long time and I am so happy that it’s finally done. All the albums I¹ve made have told a story about my life and this one is really special because it¹s for my wife and daughter. It¹s a very uplifting and comforting group of songs. Lyrically, it¹s a little different from my previous albums ­ and I am happy to be in the place I am in my life to make this one.

What song on “Try To Be Here” was the most difficult for you to write? Could you tell me?

I feel like a lot of these songs came pretty easy. They weren¹t done quickly, but they felt right as they went down. I usually agonize over lyrics because I want to make sure that every word is right and the one that I was most critical of is “Song About a Pisces”. It¹s about my wife. And of course I wanted to make sure it was going to do her justice. I wrote at least three versions of the music ­ different beat, different vocal melody, different instrumentation, etc until it felt right. The band really helped out with that. Some of the lyrics were from a song idea I had while writing “Here’s What You Should Do”. I kept the good stuff and just kept writing until I was happy with it.

How was the recording process different for you in a comparison between “Here’s What You Should Do” and “Try To Be Here”?

I did “Here’s What You Should Do” before I had a proper band so most of that album was just me and Robbie with a few random musicians filling in the gaps. There¹s a handful of songs on “Try To Be Here” that were recorded like that but most of them were recorded with the band ­ as they should be. I really missed the luxury of having a full band that knows all the material and just loves to play. And nothing beats the sound of a band of individuals playing together. There¹s just a different spirit to the songs I recorded with the band. I am so fortunate to be playing with these guys. They are super talented and always a lot of fun.

How was the process of Popeye [Farside] get involved with it?

I’d wanted to play in a band with him for years. We’ve been friends for a long time and we always talked about doing a band together but never got around to it. I think we shied away from it at first because we¹re both songwriters and I think neither of us wanted to step on the other’s toes. He’s always been a favorite songwriter of mine and there were many years where he wasn¹t doing much music at all so I asked if he would play lead guitar in the band. It has worked out really well. We¹ve also been writing some music together for a new project that should happen sometime this year I hope.

I’ve listened a couple songs of  Random Access Memories of  your side-project, Floormodel. Very good stuff indeed. I’ve read that you and David Stoll recorded the album without ever meeting in person, is it true?

Yeah, that was a very interesting project. I actually did meet David once in Germany when I was doing a solo acoustic tour in 2006. We began corresponding via email. He had been a fan of my music for over a decade and asked if I would be interested in donating my time and voice for a little electronic music project. He emailed me some really interesting loops he created and asked if I could come up with some vocals. So I did. I wrote some lyrics, set up a mic in my room and sang them. I played some guitar along with it. I sent him mp3s of all my tracks. The next day he sent the song with my vocals and guitars beautifully placed, sliced, cut and pasted into the song and it was done. The first songs went down so well that we decided to make a bigger project out of it and a year later, we had 12 songs. We did the whole thing without ever being in the same room together. It was a pretty amazing experience.

Are you proud of it?

Very! Electronic music is a little bit out of my comfort zone as an artist. But I think we ended up making something that suits both of us.

Once we’re talking about internet miracles, I know you have a twitter account and updated it frequently. How do you feel about it?

I always feel like I¹m a little late to all these fancy new internet things. I just started using Twitter. I¹m not sure that I know why I am using it but it’s fun I guess. I don¹t know how to get fans to follow me there but if you have a twitter account, look me up.

Talking about memories, what Gameface/March songs mean the most to you on a personal/professional level? Is there one that you’d like to forget? What are your greatest memories from that time?

We could go on for hours, maybe days, about the memories that surround Gameface/March and all of the songs. There¹s a memory associated with each and every song. One moment I¹d like to share is about the song “Only Chance We Get” ­ which deals with the suicide of Gameface¹s original drummer. That song had always been an anthem for us as friends and as band mates. We played that song at just about every show ­ as it was kind of our way to remember Bob. We did a show in Philadelphia in 1996. There was a moment in that song where the microphone had fallen off the stand. And as I reached to pick it up I could hear everyone singing along – and it was loud. I remember my eyes tearing up as I looked out to see all these people so moved by the words. I had the microphone in my hand but I just kind of stood there and listened. That¹s a moment where you know you¹ve done something right.

What is your feeling to the “emo” scene in the past? Did you see yourself as a part of it or anything?

I¹ve been told that Gameface is one of those bands that happened before their time. And I¹ve read that we were one of the unsung pioneers of the emo scene. I¹m not sure if either of these statements are completely true but it¹s nice to be remembered for what you¹ve done. I know there are bands that were influenced by us, but there are a number of bands that influenced Gameface that never got their time in the spotlight as well so I try not to place too much importance on that.

If you had your a big record label, what unsigned bands would you sign and why?

If I had a big label, I wouldn¹t want to ruin the careers of the independent bands that I love so I wouldn¹t sign any of them. I would just be a fan.

What are you listening, watching to and/or reading right now?

This past year I really liked albums from The Gaslight Anthem, The Hold Steady, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Adam Franklin, Drag The River, Death Cab For Cutie, Old 97s and My Morning Jacket. I recently saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button¹ and that movie was a trip.

What bands do you think more people should take notice of?

My band of course!

Random Posts

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• September 7, 2006 — Zero 7: You’re My Flame remix
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• July 25, 2007 — Puddlegum gets a facelift
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Eric Pulido: “We have been hard at work all year on recording our forthcoming album, The Courage of Others. We still have a good amount to record, but we’re getting there. All I can say is that it will be out next year… not sure when exactly, but our hope is sooner than later.”

Puddlegum: How is the recording process going?
Eric: “Its been a long and arduous process this year, but its definitely coming along. We had hoped to be completed with the album by this time, but its taken some time to achieve the ‘magic’ as we put it, that we’re looking for. We feel like we’ve gotten better as a band and as engineers in the process and, although don’t have a completed album yet, have some great recordings to show for it.”

Puddlegum: What can you tell us about the new album? Does it fit in the vein of The Trials of Van Occupanther, closer to your jazzier roots, or a new direction?
Eric: “Well it’s much closer to Van Occupanther than jazz, but we feel like its matured a bit from that album. i will say that it is darker than Van Occupanther.”

Puddlegum: Are you recording individual tracks and overdubs, or tracking live as a band?
Eric: “We do a bit of both. The tracking usually starts with a basic live recording of maybe drums, bass, acoustics. Then we overdub the other needed parts.”

Puddlegum: What studio setup are you using? (Pro Tools, etc.)
Eric: “We have a studio in Denton and we use a system called Radar and our console is a TS12 Soundcraft.”

Related Posts:

• January 26, 2010 — Midlake: The Courage of Others

Buildings Breeding is treating the election blues on November 4 with a free download of their new album, LP 2. The thirteen tracks were recorded at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone and their own home studios, produced by Aaron Prellwitz (Sun Kil Moon) and Chris Larsen handled the mastering.

Buildings Breeding – Lowest Light
You can download the entire album for free at buildingsbreeding.com.

We had the opportunity to ask Chris Larsen a few questions about LP 2…

Puddlegum: You recorded Buildings Breeding with very little pressure, and it surprised you when it gained attention. When you started working on LP 2, did you feel pressure to approach this album differently?

Chris Larsen: There was definitely no pressure going into it. We went into the studio totally optimistic, we felt we could make any record we wanted. Though, there was a strong sense that we needed to evolve musically. But to me that just meant play every instrument we could get our hands on. This was the first record made as a complete band, the songs started taking off in a different direction. The album was almost entirely cut live, opposed to the jigsaw, piece by piece method of S/T. It instantly transformed the band to a rougher Buildings Breeding. I started to wonder if we should just be making another “Self Titled”. I was way more fearful of changing than I was of staying the same. It took me a very long time to adjust, actually, I think that just happened today.

PG: What did you choose to track in your home studios verses at Tiny Telephone?

CL:We actually completed the record we set out to make at Tiny. We left there with 15 tracks. That record (A Great Divorce) was made for a label who tried to bed us at SXSW, who ultimately chose to pass. So we had decided that record, as a whole would be shelved. Instead we would hold on to the ones we were proud of and add some new songs we’d been working on. Those we chose to track at home very much in the lo-fi vein of S/T. “Look Up”, “True Heart”, “Flakes” and “Death On Tax Day” were written completely on the spot. Hit record, play some chords for so many measures, write lyrics, sing, add percussion, completed song. There is very little pressure working at home and money is always an issue. I would have really loved to keep tracking at Tiny. Aaron Prellwitz produced everything we did there, he is the 5th member of bb.

PG: There is a cohesion between the thirteen songs, yet they all have their own personality. How did you approach the songwriting to LP 2, compared to Buildings Breeding?

CL:The writing process always starts at home with an acoustic guitar. With S/T they kind of just stayed with that aesthetic. I felt the songs on S/T should all carry a classic or beach vibe. This record I tried to let it take its own shape. Not try and force it to be one way or another. S/T was basically a solo effort on my part and Lp2 is definitely a collaborative. Most of the songs were worked over at band practice but the foundations were almost always preconceived. Like the first record, we wrote over 24 songs and recorded them all. We didn’t judge them until they were complete. I really prefer that method, you are bound to get a record you’ll be happy with.

PG: What setup do you have in your home studio? (recording software, board, etc.)

CL ue to budget we tend to use a lot of low/mid price equipment. Evan (lead guitar) has a Digi003 rack, some Art compressors/pre’s. Mic’s can vary from Shure SM57’s, Audio Tecnica condensors, a few random ribbon mics and a Senheiser 441-U. We record most of the foundation tracks at Evan’s studio, then I’ll take them home for over-dubs, vocals and mixing. My home set up is Pro-Tools Digi002 but we recently acquired a 8-track tape machine.

PG: The tracks in these songs are placed really well. Did Walsh do the mixing as well as the mastering?

CL: Half of the record was mixed by Aaron Prellwitz, I mixed the other half myself. I also was brought to master. We had originally planned to have TW Walsh do a remix of the entire record. Unfortunately, that never took place. I can say that if we find a label to release the record he will surely get to.

PG: Which song will be promoted to radio?

CL: Again, I can only see radio promo coming with a label to attached to the record. We will try and send it out to the stations we know would love to have it. How do you promo an album you can only download on MP3? To answer the question though, we have decided “History” would be a good start, seeing that “Emmawood” was S/T’s “hit”.

PG: Is the album up for free download on November 4 only, or will you keep it up on your site?

CL: We plan to keep it free until we physically have an album to sell. I just feel guilty selling MP3’s. I really wanted our friends not to have to wait any longer. It’s a gift for the album I promised last April that never came out. I would love to see end up on vinyl, a CD would be nice too.

PG: Any tour plans underway to support LP 2?

CL: We would love to tour everyday of the year, right now it is just not possible. We are trying to line-up a west-coast tour in January. It’s all very much up in the air right now. Know any good booking agents?

Related Posts:

• February 2, 2010 — Watch TW Walsh live mix new David Bazan
• September 30, 2009 — David Bazan: tour with Say Hi in a new van
• February 12, 2009 — Ivan & Alyosha: The Verse, The Chorus
• July 28, 2008 — The Soft Drugs – Get Back (side a)

Not only did Beau Jennings work towards his band’s debut, he also began working on a solo project. Backed up by James McAlister (Sufjan Stevens), Jeff Shoop (Rosie Thomas), and Ryan Lindsey (Starlight Mints), and mastered by TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, The Soft Drugs), Beau Jennings has recorded an album called Holy Tulsa Thunder that should grab attention.

The album will be released this summer, but you don’t have to wait until then to hear it. Beau Jennings has teamed up with Puddlegum to give you a peak. We also chatted with Beau about the new album, his band, and various topics about the industry.

Help us create a buzz for this album by sharing it with your friends, posting it on your Facebook, or embedding it on your website. Visit the playlist on imeem.

You’ve wanted to do a solo album for a while, correct?
The desire to do one maybe started springing up as Cheyenne became more of a real band and less of a solo project with constantly changing members.  But that’s not to say it was reactionary, its not as if I felt like I was giving away control to the band and had to reclaim it.  I just wanted to have a way to explore other ideas in the future without worrying how they might fit in with the band.  Its also let me take a step back and allow the other members of Cheyenne to take a more proactive role in the songwriting process, and the results have been really great so far.

James McAlister and Jeff Shoop played on the record, both having played in TW Walsh’s Soft Drugs. Will they be touring with you this spring?
No.  This spring is most definitely a “Cheyenne” tour and promoting The Whale is our primary focus.  Everybody that was involved with Holy Tulsa Thunder has their own stuff to focus on – James plays with Sufjan Stevens, Jeff plays with Rosie Thomas, and Ryan Lindsey has his solo career and the Startlight Mints.

The Whale was a great album in many ways. Any plans for Cheyenne, or is that on hiatus?
Cheyenne is definitely not on hiatus.  In fact we’ve begun writing songs for a follow up to The Whale and will be recording them this spring.  I guess the idea is that everything is working towards the same goal, both records by Cheyenne and records by Beau Jennings.

Has the Brooklyn music scene proven to be more difficult than in Oklahoma?
There are more obstacles to actually functioning as a band, for sure.   It kind of requires a whole new mindset.  It’s definitely made us stronger, and has helped my writing tremendously I’d like to think.

Will Holy Tulsa Thunder be released on a label, or are you releasing it independently?
It will be released by a new label out of Texas called Murkville Music.  They are also releasing a really cool compilation later this year with Cheyenne, Ryan Lindsey, Page France, etc…

You make several references in your songs about places you’ve visted, mentioning The Opolis, Tusla, San Juan Capistrano…
The Opolis is the place where Cheyenne really started to get off the ground, it was that classic example of a club where a band plays often enough and starts to feel comfortable enough to where they can actually grow. Tulsa is just where I’m from. As for San Juan Capistrano, that song was written while visiting there last year. It’s the oldest surviving mission in California and there was definitely something to be felt walking around there. Defining the location or setting for a song seems to help me get a little closer to the heart of the matter, at least that’s been my approach. It’s hard for me to write without some sort of setting.

You’re proving to be a prolific songwriter. Do you have times where you write more than others?
Of course.  After the first Cheyenne album we relocated to Brooklyn and consequently we had to take time to restructure and put off recording.  So I was able to put away a lot of songs and save them for future releases.  When we were finally in a position to record again we were more than ready.  We even toyed with the idea of The Whale being a double album but in the end we knew better than that. So about half the songs were written specifically for Holy Tulsa Thunder and half were those that didn’t fit on The Whale. I’ve never really been out of songs before but I definitely am now.  I’ll be interested to see what sort of stuff comes out next.

When you go into the studio, do you have everything planned out, or do you go in with partially written songs?
There have only been one or two times that we went into the studio with an unfinished song.   That being said once we are in the studio the songs usually change quite a bit.  But we try to make sure we have a direction beforehand.  In the case of Thunder I had lyrics for every song and 2 or 3 arrangement ideas for several songs.  The song The Opolis for example…I’d originally written a version that was really slow and sad and I was hoping the lyrics were playful enough to be interesting against a mopey acoustic backdrop.  But when we started recording and had songs like the title track in the can the direction became clear, so we worked up our best Buddy Holly vibe and it ended up being one of my favorites on the record.

Where do you lie on the digital recording versus analog debate?
I think its pretty hard to argue that digital recordings sound better than analog recordings.  But one of my theories about analog recording is that the limitations can lead to more creativity.  Without the option of having 10 guitar tracks on your “big rock” song you have to get a lot more creative to get that bigness.  I was listening to 10th Avenue Freeze Out from Born To Run and it was some sort of revelation to me that there was one rhythm guitar track, one piano track, one bass track, etc…and it still sounds very intense and full.  They just played their parts well, that’s all.  Now on the flip side of course digital recordings let guys like me who don’t sell thousands of records make those records in the first place.  Its a trade off, like everything.  Holy Tulsa Thunder was recorded on a computer, but we tried to make a conscious effort to have no overdubs…everything you hear was done live in the studio, except for my vocal tracks.

Do you have any “go to” microphones or  pre-amp + mic combinations?
I’m probably the wrong guy to ask about this.  I’m just getting into home recording myself and learning the difference between a condenser and a diaphragm mic!  Fortunately Chad Copelin is the best at what he does, and thats why I keep going back to Oklahoma to record even after living in New York.

The music industry is in a low spot right now, and it seems to be in a panic mode. I know this is a vague question, but what do you think the industry should do to turn things around?
That’s the billion dollar question isn’t it.  I wish I knew!  This may sound strange but in a way I’m not necessarily worried about the music industry “turning things around.”  Things are changing and I think there is room for some sort of new kind of music industry to exist, you know?  Music itself has of course has existed forever, its just the music industry that is relatively new, and maybe it was a great experiment while it lasted but when it creates an environment like we have today then I’m happy to see it go.  Of course this is easy for me to say as someone who has never made a living off their music…

Do you think the industry will turn to a free music model?
If you have an industry based on a free product then it seems like you have no industry.  I think its been clearly shown that people can have music for free these days, whether that’s just or not to the artist.  Its like a public piece of art, like a sculpture in a park or maybe graffiti.  The artist has put lots of care into his craft but at the end of the day its out there for free public consumption, its a gift.  But this of course is only referring to recorded music.  It seems like the performance aspect is going to become more and more important to artists as a means of generating income.   Perhaps a shift of emphasis away from a recorded album as an art form is what music needs in this day and age.  The 10 song album model is maybe out…maybe everyone will soon be doing their own Rolling Thunder Revues!

No interview would be complete without a question of what albums you’ve been listening to lately…
The new Evangelicals record The Evening Descends is so wonderful, its been my go to record for the last few weeks.  My buddy Wynn Walent just put out an ep that is great.  Jaymay’s new album also.  Derrick Brown is a spoken word/poet friend of mine from Nashville and his CD called Greatest Slits is rad.  Basically I’ve just been listening to the records my friends put out!

Feb 29 – Milkboy Coffee – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 1 – Piano’s – New York, New York
Mar 5 – The Fire – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 6 – The Resevoir Bar – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Mar 7 – The Red And Black Bar – Washington DC
Mar 8 – Honey Whyte’s – Richmond, Virginia
Mar 9 – Off Broadway – St. Louis, Missouri
Mar 10 – The Deli – Norman, Oklahoma
Mar 11 – Monk’s – Abilene, Texas
Mar 21 – Exit 6C – Tulsa, Oklahoma
Mar 22 – Lola’s – Ft. Worth, Texas
Mar 23 – Good Records – Dallas, Texas
Mar 24 – The Opolis – Norman, Oklahoma
Mar 25 – Eskimo Joe’s – Stillwater, Oklahoma
Mar 26 – The Record Bar – Kansas City, Missouri
Mar 27 – The Replay Lounge – Lawrence, Kansas
Mar 28 – Canopy Club – Champaign, Illinois
Mar 29 – The Klinic Bar – Madison, Wisconsin
Mar 30 – Uncommon Ground – Chicago, Illinois
Mar 31 – Elbow Room – Ypsilanti, Michigan
Apr 1 – Musica – Akron, Ohio
Apr 4 – Wall Street – Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Apr 5 – Snug Harbor – Charlotte, North Carolina
Apr 6 – Spazzatorium – Greeneville, North Carolina
Apr 26 – Norman Music Festival – with Polyphonic Spree, British Sea Power, Chainsaw Kittens and more…FREE – Norman, Oklahoma

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• April 7, 2007 — Suicide Squeeze: spring tours

I think that Open your book was just a side project from the start because when those songs were written the members in Winny Lee played in other bands, but it became more serious when we started to record it. We started Winny Lee to release music and lyrics which had been locked up for a while. It was just something that just had to come out. But as I said, when the record started to take shape everyone took the work we hade done to whole other level. That was when we realized that this is something we all want to do. So this became the start of Winny lee. She released her first record and opened the first chapter in her book.

2, What is your opinion right now about Open Your Book? What would you change in it?

I don’t think I want to change anything. The first record is always the first record even if we can see things we could do different now; we don’t want to change it. I can say that we have learned from it and that’s more important.

What’s your objective now once So Here We Are is out?

We want to play music live. And we think that’s how you should hear us. The whole idea with So Here We Are was to get the live sound out of us. So the record is more a promotion thing, that’s why we release it for free. We are going to keep on promoting the record as good as we can of course. It has already given us gigs in March and we have a tour coming up in Sweden in May.

How prolific is your songwriting process?

I write songs all the time. Of course there are moments when you can be more creative. I think that my emotional condition decides that. But I can reveal that new songs have already been written, and I have never thought about stop writing.

Tell us about your record sessions at a farm and in which way it has an impact on your album (if it has any)?

At first I have to say that record a record is tough thing, emotionally and physically. We hade a rough start but once we got going we just went with the flow. This house was wonderful, a little cabin from the 19th century – what more can you ask for? Not a car for miles, no cell phones with any contact with the world. So the environment was really relaxing.

But we hade one thing against us – time! We hade to record everything in just 4 days. The first day after we hade put everything in order we played for 16 hours nonstop. It was hard work but we don’t regret a thing. It was really great and the sound that bounced off those cabin walls was exactly the sound we were looking for. But the most important thing was that it sounded live, just like we wanted it!!

How do you see the Swedish musical scene now compared to British and American ones?

Indeed, the Swedish indie scene is flourishing, and there is plenty of great new artists out there. However, scene is quite narrow. If you take a look at most recent releases you will find the same names re-appearing. There are a handful of really talented people pulling the indie-strings right now. That might perhaps make it harder for smaller bands making themselves heard.

I believe the American scene creates more possibilities for new and unestablished artists. There are more venues to play and the audience seems to be more open to new music. But on the other hand I believe it is harder getting yourself heard bypassing the major establishments. From what I can see, the DIY-scene seems to have weakened in the US.

What do you think of the present indiepop scene? Are there any artists you feel akin to yours?

The alt-country genre seems to have a recent upswing in Sweden right now. Christian Kjellvander has always delivered great music, but aside from that the scene has until now been far from saturated. I guess that’s why we have looked abroad to find inspiration. Anyway, I think we will see more artists in Sweden filling this void in the near future. One confusing thing is that you hardly ever see bands producing alt-country, neither in Sweden nor abroad. It’s almost always about a single guy and his guitar. In the best-case scenario, he has a backup band that stays intact for two releases. To sum up, I think it’s hard to find a band that is similar to Winny Lee, although we get inspiration from many songwriters, mainly from the US. Let’s hope for some more bands. And some more female front-figures in these bands.

This is something I never cease to ask myself: why there is so much great music in Sweden?

hehe that’s an interesting question. I think that we have lots of great bands here in Sweden but I feel that it doesn’t matter where you are from. That feeling will always be there. Maybe it’s because I get my inspiration from other countries.

Let a message for those people who are enjoying Winnie Lee by now.
We hope that you enjoy our new record “So here we are” Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of this, and we hope that we will see you soon

/ love from Winny Lee

===

Track by Track So Here We Are Review

So here we are. So why are we here? Let’s start with the fact that we all love music. It’s in our little family; it’s in our need to create music. The lyrics are different characters but they all come from the same person. Places come from a written history or from a deep mind. Sometimes they are so real that it scares me. Places I’ve been to, faces I’ve seen or maybe just that feeling when you know that you’re right. So, let me introduce you a little closer to our family.

A secret place I had that little place when I was about 13-16 years old, my secret place! Maybe it was there I started to write music, I can’t really remember, but I remember that I often had my guitar with me, sometimes just a piece of paper and a pencil. I could sit there for hours. It was that place where I could release my mind. Maybe it was something with that age, I don’t know. But I know that I solved many problems there. And that place just keeps on coming back to me, mostly when I am writing. It’s like I’ve made a room for that place in my head and it goes wherever I go.

So here we are Started out like a love story between two people. As I was writing the people changed and became one with the time they represented. In that moment I couldn’t separate these two people from each other, nor from the time. That time became so important that all I could see was my own reflection. I thought, this is what we have created this far and it is wonderful, so I am very curious about what’s going to happen here next. I just can’t wait to see.

Blacksburg I’m not going to explain what this song is about. I think that it speaks for itself. I have one sentence in this song’s lyrics that frightens me; “please let them go”. I know that I wasn’t there, but I can see that picture so clear in my head, it feels so real and so wrong.

I keep on asking myself why I write these kinds of lyrics. I’m not looking for that. But the US has always been a great inspiration for me so I guess that I’m just disappointed.

Collection of moments I think that there’s something in everyone which can affect others more than we know. That thing you say or do can mean so much. That thing can really shape you. So when someone asks you, why did you do that? Maybe you have the explanation but you can’t really understand it. That gets me to the past. We can’t change the past; we know that, so why bother? Ok, you get relieved by talking about it, I can buy that. But the persons you have met and the situations you have been through are still there, because they are a part of who you are.

A bag with some bottles I remember when we took this song by the hand. It felt forbidden but at the same time it was very relieving doing this up-tempo thing. I think that it was just the kind of thing we all needed. A slap in the face! Let’s do this! And it became just like we wanted. Maybe that’s “magic”.

That sound I know I think that my father and I are so much alike sometimes. But the reality comes to you when you have higher dreams and expectations of your life. I know that he wants to understand that. “That sound I know” is not just about my father. It’s also about taking new steps, moving forward and not getting caught in bad habits. I know that this is a classical thing but listen to your heart because that’s where you can find your own sound.

I refuse to Let the mind speak before your mouth does, not the other way around. I think I heard that somewhere… anyway I like that. There are so many people that are not so good with words. There are terms for everything. How shall I answer when I don’t know what you are talking about? So many talented people who never get the chance to speak! Many of them have already given it up. Maybe that’s why I transform my speech into songs.

To another land is not the land you hear in Blacksburg. I like to use metaphors for things just like I do in “a secret place”. This land is a beautiful summer place. You have to go there by boat. When the coldest days are here I promise you that this is the place to go to in your mind.

Closet full of stories Behind every face there is a human being. Sometimes you have to put on that face to survive the game, in this place especially. I never really liked it but there’s something that drags me to it. Losing control is nothing to be proud of, but saying things like this is wrong is a step in the right direction.

Days become years So the worst thing I’ve been through is maybe the best thing I’ve been through. When you are healthy and spirited you are always looking for new goals. And there’s nothing that can stop you. Then something happens and you have to take life seriously. Starting to realize what’s important to you. And when you have come to that knowledge everything turns. Thinking back about happy things and lovely times – that’s a good feeling!! I don’t think I am religious but when you have felt that biting in your heart once, you think that these kinds of things are gifts.

Down by the water I like to tell you how we recorded this song. It came to the studio (räntemåla) in the forest like a bomb, ready to explode anytime. There was so much going on that we couldn’t control it. With the help of the Press Rec. crew Johan and Johannes we cut it down piece by piece and started to rebuild it. We gave it a whole new sound and whole new feeling. It became a song with hope.

Over and out / Martin, Winny Lee

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