Songwriter Blog #8
BENTON BLOUNT PART II - HEARING THE SONG - THE BADDEST THAT I'VE EVER BEEN
Well, I was actually starting to feel like the end was in site. I really only had 2 more nights of writing and then I would be all done. My last 2 nights of writing had been relatively painless so I was riding a bit of momentum. That momentum aside, I woke up on this day in the most physical pain I'd been in since we began this. I'm only 33, but playing football the night before had caused me to pull my back out- I was in pretty rough shape. You know how it is, the next morning is always the worst. Plus, I spent the night sleeping on the couch with Vega squeezing in for space. So when Ryan got to the house with Benton's rough mix, I was in a state of painful anticipation. I slowly tried to sit up.
Vega- My Lab/Pit Bull Mix, makes a warm couch mate. Unfortunately, she takes up a lot of room.
Before we get to that mix though, I need to say a few things about the studio that this was recorded in. Welcome to 1979 Studios was awesome. It was in a huge factory type building - tons and tons of space. Getting this studio was completely last minute. We were in a desperate situation and Ryan totally came through with this. The guy that we really owe our thanks is Chris Mara.
Me talking to Chris Mara at the Wrap Party. Chris owns "Welcome to 1979 Studios." He is a great great guy- and his studio is AWESOME!
The day at Dark Horse Studios was difficult for Ryan. He spent all day making frantic calls to studios until he finally hooked up with "Welcome to 1979 Studios."
Chris owns Welcome to 1979 Studios. We gave him a cold call and told him what was going on. He was up for it and said "I'll see you guys tomorrow." From the moment that the guys arrived there Chris was entirely gracious and helpful. The entire day ran smoothly and it was a great experience for everyone. So if you're ever looking for a studio with some vintage flair- check this place out. I think it was very special to Noel Golden, who for the first time in years got to say "we're rolling!"
Daily Vidcast Day 7 from The Nashville 9 on Vimeo.
This Video Blog contains some great footage from "Welcome to 1979 Studios."
Anyway, we slid the CD into my mac. Immediately I smiled. This was the first song on the album, so it really had to come out with a bang. Noel and Benton had really sped up the song and immediately it came barreling in like a freight train. The musicianship was simply perfect. This is Nashville, so you can easily take this for granted. These were the types of musicians who tour with the big artists and play in the big studios. They know their stuff and they get it done right every time. The whole thing just sounded like a big rockin' country radio single..."Noel Golden Style!" Benton's voice was perfect for the song. He almost "attacks" a song with his voice. It's a very powerful vocal style. He added some flair to the ending which I thought was amazing. I looked at Ryan and said "7 for 7." He looked at me and said "yeah, so don't screw the last 2 up!"
MEGHAN KABIR PART I - WRITING THE SONG - KILL A MAN
Meet Meghan Kabir.
Let me begin by saying that this night, by far, was the most difficult night I had. The other nights weren't even close. It's funny in retrospect when I talk to Chad about how the nights went. It always seems like this was one of his easier nights (I assume the first or second night was his toughest). For me though, it was probably the most difficult piece of writing that I've ever done...and people were watching.
Let me tell you about Meghan Kabir.
Meghan was the last artist that we brought into the project. Technically, Mean Tambourines were the last, but that was because we lost an artist and producer last minute. So as of about 60 days before the project Meghan completed our roster. I was looking at the other 8 artists and thought "hmm, we need another female artist- and preferably someone more in the pop/rock vein." I started racking my brain and remembered this girl that my buddy Mike Logen had told me about. Her name was Meghan Kabir. I thought I recalled her being one of my myspace friends- so I looked her up. I liked her music, thought she'd be perfect and proceeded to send her a message via myspace. We talked on the phone a couple times and agreed to meet over at Edgehill Cafe.
Meghan Kabir stopped by Dan McGuinness for one of our parties. Here she is talking to Actor Nat McIntyre.
From the moment I met Meghan I immediately liked her. She's got lots of things going on and you can immediately tell that she works hard to achieve what she achieves. She's always meeting someone, going to a session, writing, etc. She's got a very special charisma. We talked about the project, I answered a few questions, and we agreed to give this a go. I was actually very anxious to write for her. I had done a couple writing sessions with artists in similar genres and had really enjoyed them. This was going to be lots of fun for me. Plus, I knew she'd be working with a good friend and producer named Paul Buono.
Producer Paul Buono.
Paul was the first producer that The Nashville 9 brought in. He has worked with Ryan Pruitt on numerous project and they are good friends. Paul spent a lot of time producing in Finland. So he really brought an interesting background to the table. He not only produced plenty of rock albums but he does lots of cool stuff like "trance" and "trip hop." We pretty much knew, before we even talked to Meghan, that Paul would be the right producer for her. We were very excited to see what they came up with together.
Anyway, back to that night...
We all sat down to watch the stories. There was a buzz in the air because we had heard these stories were pretty good. Just so you know, they were, in my opinion, the best stories that we got. As we watched I found myself thinking "I don't know which one of these to choose." The stories were taken from Bobby's Idle Hour on Music Row. I had gone in there by myself to ask if they would mind if we came in to get stories. I immediately thought that the place would be perfect.
Back when I first came to Nashville I managed a little Honkytonk Bar out in Gallatin- it was called Lucky's. I owe a great deal of my eventual love for country music to that bar. What was even more interesting though was how intriguing the patrons were. The stories they would tell were just fascinating. Regulars with names like "Bull," "Vodka Larry," "Dickens," "Bear," and "Cleve" would come in every day, order the same drinks, and tell the best tales ever told. Bobby's Idle Hour seemed exactly that place. We weren't disappointed.
Me with Laura, one of the bartenders at Lucky's.
This is Bull. One of my favorite regulars at Lucky's. He told the best stories.
We were really drawn to this story about a guy who actually killed a man who molested his 9 year old niece. The story just really stopped me in my tracks. It's one of those things that was just so engaging that I wanted to use it. It was the most "whoa" type of story, but it wasn't the best one in terms of storytelling. Brandon kept talking throughout the story to engage him further. All that aside though, I was really really hesitant because I was writing for Meghan Kabir. How would I take this dark story and its content and translate it into a song for Meghan? Where would I go with it? If it were Evanescence it would be easier- I could afford to just write a really dark song. That wasn't Meghan though. Her stuff really dances and the content isn't super heavy in that kind of way. So...I wasn't sure I should write this story.
I expressed my hesitation to the guys. The way this process was working for them was a little different. They had already written 7 scenes and they only needed to write the last 2. So they were looking for a specific theme to work with. I asked what the theme of this scene would be- Chad said "conflict." I thought "damn," this story would be perfect for them. Now please understand, I don't say that so that you think I made the great sacrifice and "took one for the team." That really wasn't the case. At the end of the day, I really wanted to know if I was good enough to make this work for her.
Story 8 - Scene/Song 5 from The Nashville 9 on Vimeo.
This is the story!
Immediately after we saw the stories I went into the writing room and sat down with Meghan Kabir and Paul Buono. They came by for a bit to meet with me and talk before the writing began. One of the interesting things they said was that they wanted something upbeat and dancy. They really weren't hoping to get a dark ballad. This made me sarcastically think "awesome" since that was exactly what I was planning on writing. I did my best to assure them that they would get the best song ever. Inside though, my most honest thought was "how the hell am I going to do this?"
So they left and I put on a pot of coffee. I then went in the other room while it was brewing so I could start throwing together some ideas. I started on the piano. Every single idea that I came up with was really really dark and really really balladesque. As I thought of the story, I kept falling into that realm. I'm somewhat of an emotional writer. I like to create the music first and then allow the "vibe" to dictate content. It doesn't always work that way, but it's how I like to do things. In this situation though, it was working against me. The only thing I could think of doing was write what I wanted to write and make some vague references to the story- but that felt like cheating.
Every single idea I initially came up with was some kind of piano ballad. I just couldn't get away from it.
I went in to get the coffee I brewed and it was all gone- the crew drank it all. Somewhat pissed, I drank 2 of those 5 Hour Energy drinks.
Something interesting had started to happen. The story had kind of altered the feel in the house. It seemed like there was a general "something interesting is going on" type of vibe permeating the house. I felt like I noticed more cameras than I usually did. I sat back down and started pushing through the ideas again...
It felt to me like there were more cameras than usual this night. It really added to the pressure.
The documentary crew had decided to interview me for a while. It was already about 10:30 and I had absolutely no idea where to go on this song. I sat down and started answering questions. The interview lasted about an hour and I was starting to get really jittery from all those energy drinks. Plus, I was beginning to get tired and was stressing that I had nothing yet. I began to get a bit panicky. I couldn't think, every idea sucked, my head hurt, and I was having trouble staying awake.
Again I forced myself to sit down and roll together some ideas. I brought Brandon in to help me find direction. Brandon is really good once I get something going - he really helps me hone in and finish up. Unfortunately, I wasn't far enough along for him to really help me. I had idea fragments and he would say "great, now let's go with that." It didn't work though because none of it felt right. I started getting really edgy with Brandon - this is a luxury because he doesn't take it personally. Finally, I said "man, just go to bed, I need to hash this out on my own for a while." He was cool about - he gets how I work. Before he left though he turned and said "you're gonna have to pick a direction and go with it - you can't keep going back and forth between ideas." He was right.
Brandon did the best he could to help me write this song. I just wasn't ready to be helped.
I was really starting to get edgy.
I had one idea that kept bouncing through my head. It was this line that I kept singing in my head with a certain bass line. It was "tonight I'm gonna kill a man." It seemed really dramatic and intense though...maybe too intense for Meghan. I kind of left it because I thought it was a bit too much.
Killa%20man%201.mp3
This was my initial idea for the song. Though I initially left it, I ended up building the song around this.
I started thinking about the storyteller's tattoos. I started thinking about having scars that you can't hide- kind of like a tattoo. I spent a little time on that idea and it kind of fizzled. I had nothing. So I went outside and talked to myself like an idiot, hoping the fresh air would clear my head. I started dialing Reed Pittman...then stopped. I could do this without bringing him in. We were writing on the last night anyway. Then I went ahead and dialed him anyway. He was out at a Restaurant with his family. I hung up feeling like an idiot for calling. I realized I was starting to get desperate. I went back inside and had more coffee. I started playing bass hoping for a different feel. I started feeling pretty sick. I went outside in the front yard and vomited in the grass. All that coffee and 5 Hour Energy drinks were killing me. Then I finally thought, the hell with it, lets make Meghan Kabir "kill a man" in this song. I'm just gonna go with it. She's a really tiny diminutive girl, but lets make her do it anyway. Besides, I can use it to my advantage in the song.
So, I knew what I had to do. I needed help. I couldn't stay awake- I needed interaction. So I called David Scott.
I promised early on that I'd tell you more about Dave. So here goes...
David Scott and I walking out of the Grocery Store...back in the day.
Dave and I are best friends from high school. He was the first person I ever wrote a song with and he was the best man in my wedding. Suffice to say, we're pretty tight. He and I were in a band together after college. The band was called Jordan's Wake. Maybe you've heard of it? Well...most likely not.
David Scott and I during the early days of Jordan's Wake- before Nashville. Oh, and yes, that is a fully bearded long haired Chad Morgan!
Dave is a pretty interesting guy. He speaks a bunch of languages, has lived all over the world, and he reads a ton. He, his wife and 2 kids currently live on the East Coast where he works in law enforcement. He's also spent a great deal of time as a fighting instructor in the art of Krav Maga. So anyway, beyond all that he's an amazing songwriter...and definitely "outside the box."
While we were on the phone, I gave him Meghan's myspace so he could get a feel for her music. I couldn't email him the story since the file was too big. Instead, I played it on my computer while I was connected with him on Ichat. That way he was able to at least hear the story. I told him about my idea to have Meghan "kill a man." He thought it was as good a direction as any. He told me to give him a little time to come up with some ideas. About 45 minutes later, he sent me this:
i left a man today
i left him broken left him breathless
you don't want to know the details
I don't have much left to say
but i left a man today
I 'm not one to walk away
words unspoken. i'm not speechless
you don't want to know the details
and now there's gon' be hell to pay
but i left a man today
I felt like this was a great start. Dave really liked the idea of using things that referred to killing without actually doing any killing. Things like "left him broken left him breathless." I thought these were really good ideas but I still felt like we had to just commit to the "kill a man" idea. Dave's lyrical ideas really got me thinking about the idea that she needed to be in a situation where she was a victim. That way, people wouldn't be so shocked by the "kill" stuff. We talked about it briefly.
David told me I needed to give him more melodic direction. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to plug in the lyrics. I sat and just forced myself to come up with something. Then out of the blue I came up with the melody line that we would use for the chorus. I sang it to Dave and we started working lyrics. Dave sent me back some new ideas and just like that, we had our chorus.
I'm not the kind to walk away, walk away.
Something's going down tonight.
If I'm the one to make it all go away
A wrong will have to make it right.
We loved how the storyteller, in response to Brandon asking if he felt justified, said "I'll let God sort that out." We were able to tie that in with his saying "you don't want to know the details." Together, both of those ideas were thrown into the 2nd verse:
They say the devil's in the details
God will have to sort that through.
But when both have had their say and hell is left to pay
I'm gonna have to pay my dues.
At this point we had finally found our rhythm. Dave and I had written pretty much the whole song. We sorted through some different parts and stitched up some lines. I thanked him profusely and finally hung up the phone. It was about 3:45 at this point. The house was dead quiet and everyone was in bed.
I still felt like the song needed something else...more story. I also wanted to say something about Meghan being this tiny girl, but still being able to do this thing. So I wrote this:
I'm standing in your living room.
Waiting for the moment that you come home.
I know you only see a little bittie girl
But I've got something more for you!
At this stage I was about to pass out. I started trying to sing a demo. Everything sounded terrible. I was trying to capture the vibe of what I wanted the song like, but I was struggling to do it with my acoustic guitar. My voice was shot and I kept having to do it over again. Finally, at about 5:15am I had to just take what I had. It wasn't perfect, but Meghan and Paul were professionals. They would be able to get it! I recorded a long rambling video (in 2 parts) for them and collapsed on my couch.
To summarize this night, let me say 2 things.
#1- This was the most difficult song I've ever written. For that reason, it will always be special to me. For a while, I honestly didn't think I'd make it. I was very desperate.
#2- David Scott saved my ass! I wouldn't have ever been able to write this song without him.
As I quickly drifted into sleep, I wondered what Meghan would think when she heard this. Would she be able to take this idea and run with it? What would they think when they saw the story? Would I be able to wake up when Ryan got here in 2 hours?
Video To Meghan and Paul PART I
Video To Meghan and Paul PART II
Well, I was actually starting to feel like the end was in site. I really only had 2 more nights of writing and then I would be all done. My last 2 nights of writing had been relatively painless so I was riding a bit of momentum. That momentum aside, I woke up on this day in the most physical pain I'd been in since we began this. I'm only 33, but playing football the night before had caused me to pull my back out- I was in pretty rough shape. You know how it is, the next morning is always the worst. Plus, I spent the night sleeping on the couch with Vega squeezing in for space. So when Ryan got to the house with Benton's rough mix, I was in a state of painful anticipation. I slowly tried to sit up.
Vega- My Lab/Pit Bull Mix, makes a warm couch mate. Unfortunately, she takes up a lot of room.
Before we get to that mix though, I need to say a few things about the studio that this was recorded in. Welcome to 1979 Studios was awesome. It was in a huge factory type building - tons and tons of space. Getting this studio was completely last minute. We were in a desperate situation and Ryan totally came through with this. The guy that we really owe our thanks is Chris Mara.
Me talking to Chris Mara at the Wrap Party. Chris owns "Welcome to 1979 Studios." He is a great great guy- and his studio is AWESOME!
The day at Dark Horse Studios was difficult for Ryan. He spent all day making frantic calls to studios until he finally hooked up with "Welcome to 1979 Studios."
Chris owns Welcome to 1979 Studios. We gave him a cold call and told him what was going on. He was up for it and said "I'll see you guys tomorrow." From the moment that the guys arrived there Chris was entirely gracious and helpful. The entire day ran smoothly and it was a great experience for everyone. So if you're ever looking for a studio with some vintage flair- check this place out. I think it was very special to Noel Golden, who for the first time in years got to say "we're rolling!"
Daily Vidcast Day 7 from The Nashville 9 on Vimeo.
This Video Blog contains some great footage from "Welcome to 1979 Studios."
Anyway, we slid the CD into my mac. Immediately I smiled. This was the first song on the album, so it really had to come out with a bang. Noel and Benton had really sped up the song and immediately it came barreling in like a freight train. The musicianship was simply perfect. This is Nashville, so you can easily take this for granted. These were the types of musicians who tour with the big artists and play in the big studios. They know their stuff and they get it done right every time. The whole thing just sounded like a big rockin' country radio single..."Noel Golden Style!" Benton's voice was perfect for the song. He almost "attacks" a song with his voice. It's a very powerful vocal style. He added some flair to the ending which I thought was amazing. I looked at Ryan and said "7 for 7." He looked at me and said "yeah, so don't screw the last 2 up!"
MEGHAN KABIR PART I - WRITING THE SONG - KILL A MAN
Meet Meghan Kabir.
Let me begin by saying that this night, by far, was the most difficult night I had. The other nights weren't even close. It's funny in retrospect when I talk to Chad about how the nights went. It always seems like this was one of his easier nights (I assume the first or second night was his toughest). For me though, it was probably the most difficult piece of writing that I've ever done...and people were watching.
Let me tell you about Meghan Kabir.
Meghan was the last artist that we brought into the project. Technically, Mean Tambourines were the last, but that was because we lost an artist and producer last minute. So as of about 60 days before the project Meghan completed our roster. I was looking at the other 8 artists and thought "hmm, we need another female artist- and preferably someone more in the pop/rock vein." I started racking my brain and remembered this girl that my buddy Mike Logen had told me about. Her name was Meghan Kabir. I thought I recalled her being one of my myspace friends- so I looked her up. I liked her music, thought she'd be perfect and proceeded to send her a message via myspace. We talked on the phone a couple times and agreed to meet over at Edgehill Cafe.
Meghan Kabir stopped by Dan McGuinness for one of our parties. Here she is talking to Actor Nat McIntyre.
From the moment I met Meghan I immediately liked her. She's got lots of things going on and you can immediately tell that she works hard to achieve what she achieves. She's always meeting someone, going to a session, writing, etc. She's got a very special charisma. We talked about the project, I answered a few questions, and we agreed to give this a go. I was actually very anxious to write for her. I had done a couple writing sessions with artists in similar genres and had really enjoyed them. This was going to be lots of fun for me. Plus, I knew she'd be working with a good friend and producer named Paul Buono.
Producer Paul Buono.
Paul was the first producer that The Nashville 9 brought in. He has worked with Ryan Pruitt on numerous project and they are good friends. Paul spent a lot of time producing in Finland. So he really brought an interesting background to the table. He not only produced plenty of rock albums but he does lots of cool stuff like "trance" and "trip hop." We pretty much knew, before we even talked to Meghan, that Paul would be the right producer for her. We were very excited to see what they came up with together.
Anyway, back to that night...
We all sat down to watch the stories. There was a buzz in the air because we had heard these stories were pretty good. Just so you know, they were, in my opinion, the best stories that we got. As we watched I found myself thinking "I don't know which one of these to choose." The stories were taken from Bobby's Idle Hour on Music Row. I had gone in there by myself to ask if they would mind if we came in to get stories. I immediately thought that the place would be perfect.
Back when I first came to Nashville I managed a little Honkytonk Bar out in Gallatin- it was called Lucky's. I owe a great deal of my eventual love for country music to that bar. What was even more interesting though was how intriguing the patrons were. The stories they would tell were just fascinating. Regulars with names like "Bull," "Vodka Larry," "Dickens," "Bear," and "Cleve" would come in every day, order the same drinks, and tell the best tales ever told. Bobby's Idle Hour seemed exactly that place. We weren't disappointed.
Me with Laura, one of the bartenders at Lucky's.
This is Bull. One of my favorite regulars at Lucky's. He told the best stories.
We were really drawn to this story about a guy who actually killed a man who molested his 9 year old niece. The story just really stopped me in my tracks. It's one of those things that was just so engaging that I wanted to use it. It was the most "whoa" type of story, but it wasn't the best one in terms of storytelling. Brandon kept talking throughout the story to engage him further. All that aside though, I was really really hesitant because I was writing for Meghan Kabir. How would I take this dark story and its content and translate it into a song for Meghan? Where would I go with it? If it were Evanescence it would be easier- I could afford to just write a really dark song. That wasn't Meghan though. Her stuff really dances and the content isn't super heavy in that kind of way. So...I wasn't sure I should write this story.
I expressed my hesitation to the guys. The way this process was working for them was a little different. They had already written 7 scenes and they only needed to write the last 2. So they were looking for a specific theme to work with. I asked what the theme of this scene would be- Chad said "conflict." I thought "damn," this story would be perfect for them. Now please understand, I don't say that so that you think I made the great sacrifice and "took one for the team." That really wasn't the case. At the end of the day, I really wanted to know if I was good enough to make this work for her.
Story 8 - Scene/Song 5 from The Nashville 9 on Vimeo.
This is the story!
Immediately after we saw the stories I went into the writing room and sat down with Meghan Kabir and Paul Buono. They came by for a bit to meet with me and talk before the writing began. One of the interesting things they said was that they wanted something upbeat and dancy. They really weren't hoping to get a dark ballad. This made me sarcastically think "awesome" since that was exactly what I was planning on writing. I did my best to assure them that they would get the best song ever. Inside though, my most honest thought was "how the hell am I going to do this?"
So they left and I put on a pot of coffee. I then went in the other room while it was brewing so I could start throwing together some ideas. I started on the piano. Every single idea that I came up with was really really dark and really really balladesque. As I thought of the story, I kept falling into that realm. I'm somewhat of an emotional writer. I like to create the music first and then allow the "vibe" to dictate content. It doesn't always work that way, but it's how I like to do things. In this situation though, it was working against me. The only thing I could think of doing was write what I wanted to write and make some vague references to the story- but that felt like cheating.
Every single idea I initially came up with was some kind of piano ballad. I just couldn't get away from it.
I went in to get the coffee I brewed and it was all gone- the crew drank it all. Somewhat pissed, I drank 2 of those 5 Hour Energy drinks.
Something interesting had started to happen. The story had kind of altered the feel in the house. It seemed like there was a general "something interesting is going on" type of vibe permeating the house. I felt like I noticed more cameras than I usually did. I sat back down and started pushing through the ideas again...
It felt to me like there were more cameras than usual this night. It really added to the pressure.
The documentary crew had decided to interview me for a while. It was already about 10:30 and I had absolutely no idea where to go on this song. I sat down and started answering questions. The interview lasted about an hour and I was starting to get really jittery from all those energy drinks. Plus, I was beginning to get tired and was stressing that I had nothing yet. I began to get a bit panicky. I couldn't think, every idea sucked, my head hurt, and I was having trouble staying awake.
Again I forced myself to sit down and roll together some ideas. I brought Brandon in to help me find direction. Brandon is really good once I get something going - he really helps me hone in and finish up. Unfortunately, I wasn't far enough along for him to really help me. I had idea fragments and he would say "great, now let's go with that." It didn't work though because none of it felt right. I started getting really edgy with Brandon - this is a luxury because he doesn't take it personally. Finally, I said "man, just go to bed, I need to hash this out on my own for a while." He was cool about - he gets how I work. Before he left though he turned and said "you're gonna have to pick a direction and go with it - you can't keep going back and forth between ideas." He was right.
Brandon did the best he could to help me write this song. I just wasn't ready to be helped.
I was really starting to get edgy.
I had one idea that kept bouncing through my head. It was this line that I kept singing in my head with a certain bass line. It was "tonight I'm gonna kill a man." It seemed really dramatic and intense though...maybe too intense for Meghan. I kind of left it because I thought it was a bit too much.
Killa%20man%201.mp3
This was my initial idea for the song. Though I initially left it, I ended up building the song around this.
I started thinking about the storyteller's tattoos. I started thinking about having scars that you can't hide- kind of like a tattoo. I spent a little time on that idea and it kind of fizzled. I had nothing. So I went outside and talked to myself like an idiot, hoping the fresh air would clear my head. I started dialing Reed Pittman...then stopped. I could do this without bringing him in. We were writing on the last night anyway. Then I went ahead and dialed him anyway. He was out at a Restaurant with his family. I hung up feeling like an idiot for calling. I realized I was starting to get desperate. I went back inside and had more coffee. I started playing bass hoping for a different feel. I started feeling pretty sick. I went outside in the front yard and vomited in the grass. All that coffee and 5 Hour Energy drinks were killing me. Then I finally thought, the hell with it, lets make Meghan Kabir "kill a man" in this song. I'm just gonna go with it. She's a really tiny diminutive girl, but lets make her do it anyway. Besides, I can use it to my advantage in the song.
So, I knew what I had to do. I needed help. I couldn't stay awake- I needed interaction. So I called David Scott.
I promised early on that I'd tell you more about Dave. So here goes...
David Scott and I walking out of the Grocery Store...back in the day.
Dave and I are best friends from high school. He was the first person I ever wrote a song with and he was the best man in my wedding. Suffice to say, we're pretty tight. He and I were in a band together after college. The band was called Jordan's Wake. Maybe you've heard of it? Well...most likely not.
David Scott and I during the early days of Jordan's Wake- before Nashville. Oh, and yes, that is a fully bearded long haired Chad Morgan!
Dave is a pretty interesting guy. He speaks a bunch of languages, has lived all over the world, and he reads a ton. He, his wife and 2 kids currently live on the East Coast where he works in law enforcement. He's also spent a great deal of time as a fighting instructor in the art of Krav Maga. So anyway, beyond all that he's an amazing songwriter...and definitely "outside the box."
While we were on the phone, I gave him Meghan's myspace so he could get a feel for her music. I couldn't email him the story since the file was too big. Instead, I played it on my computer while I was connected with him on Ichat. That way he was able to at least hear the story. I told him about my idea to have Meghan "kill a man." He thought it was as good a direction as any. He told me to give him a little time to come up with some ideas. About 45 minutes later, he sent me this:
i left a man today
i left him broken left him breathless
you don't want to know the details
I don't have much left to say
but i left a man today
I 'm not one to walk away
words unspoken. i'm not speechless
you don't want to know the details
and now there's gon' be hell to pay
but i left a man today
I felt like this was a great start. Dave really liked the idea of using things that referred to killing without actually doing any killing. Things like "left him broken left him breathless." I thought these were really good ideas but I still felt like we had to just commit to the "kill a man" idea. Dave's lyrical ideas really got me thinking about the idea that she needed to be in a situation where she was a victim. That way, people wouldn't be so shocked by the "kill" stuff. We talked about it briefly.
David told me I needed to give him more melodic direction. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to plug in the lyrics. I sat and just forced myself to come up with something. Then out of the blue I came up with the melody line that we would use for the chorus. I sang it to Dave and we started working lyrics. Dave sent me back some new ideas and just like that, we had our chorus.
I'm not the kind to walk away, walk away.
Something's going down tonight.
If I'm the one to make it all go away
A wrong will have to make it right.
We loved how the storyteller, in response to Brandon asking if he felt justified, said "I'll let God sort that out." We were able to tie that in with his saying "you don't want to know the details." Together, both of those ideas were thrown into the 2nd verse:
They say the devil's in the details
God will have to sort that through.
But when both have had their say and hell is left to pay
I'm gonna have to pay my dues.
At this point we had finally found our rhythm. Dave and I had written pretty much the whole song. We sorted through some different parts and stitched up some lines. I thanked him profusely and finally hung up the phone. It was about 3:45 at this point. The house was dead quiet and everyone was in bed.
I still felt like the song needed something else...more story. I also wanted to say something about Meghan being this tiny girl, but still being able to do this thing. So I wrote this:
I'm standing in your living room.
Waiting for the moment that you come home.
I know you only see a little bittie girl
But I've got something more for you!
At this stage I was about to pass out. I started trying to sing a demo. Everything sounded terrible. I was trying to capture the vibe of what I wanted the song like, but I was struggling to do it with my acoustic guitar. My voice was shot and I kept having to do it over again. Finally, at about 5:15am I had to just take what I had. It wasn't perfect, but Meghan and Paul were professionals. They would be able to get it! I recorded a long rambling video (in 2 parts) for them and collapsed on my couch.
To summarize this night, let me say 2 things.
#1- This was the most difficult song I've ever written. For that reason, it will always be special to me. For a while, I honestly didn't think I'd make it. I was very desperate.
#2- David Scott saved my ass! I wouldn't have ever been able to write this song without him.
As I quickly drifted into sleep, I wondered what Meghan would think when she heard this. Would she be able to take this idea and run with it? What would they think when they saw the story? Would I be able to wake up when Ryan got here in 2 hours?
Video To Meghan and Paul PART I
Video To Meghan and Paul PART II
posted by The Nashville 9 at
11:50 PM
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