Singled Out is a feature focusing on the stories behind a song, as told by the artists behind their creation. In this edition, Des Moines-based four piece Display Case discuss their new single "Get Out." The track is part of an upcoming EP, with vocalist Jordan Essy calling it a "hard, fast, and angsty anthem," borne out of a new recording space and renewed collaborative spirit.
villin: Stylistically, how does “Get Out” compare to the rest of the upcoming EP?
Jordan Essy: "Get Out" stands out as a hard, fast, and angsty anthem compared to the rest of the EP. Carter and I wrote and recorded the vocals and lyrics on a day where I had just got off working for 11 hours in the beautiful Iowa mid-summer humidity, fixing vehicles I can’t afford. So I think being exhausted, dirty, hungry, and a little bit resentful really fueled a lot of the influence of the song. It just flowed so well and felt so “Display Case” that it worked. What you hear for vocals on the recording, is the collection of about two hours of writing and recording.
villin: What's the new EP going to be called and did Carter do the mixing and mastering on it?
Carter Dull: The new EP is titled The Last Generation. The name actually comes from a lyric in “Get Out.” Yes, I did the mixing and mastering again for this EP. I’m really proud of the results! We tried a lot of different things this time around, and I used some new recording, mixing, and mastering techniques. I think it really shows. The producing aspect of songwriting is one of my favorite parts of it, and it’s even better when the results are as exciting as these.
villin: In your Beers with Bands interview, the group talked about settling into the current lineup with the music you’ve been making feeling particularly collaborative. How long has this current lineup been in place and does the band’s upcoming EP have a different vibe to it because of this?
Dylan Medina: This current lineup has been together for about a year and a half, but have really been friends for a lot longer. When I joined on bass a lot of the demos for Better, Yet were already rolling, but with The Last Generation, it’s all material this group wrote together from start to finish. I feel like "Get Out" and the rest of the songs on this EP are some of our biggest and most ambitious songs yet. We really all push each other to go outside our comfort zones and make these songs come to life.
Joey Heirigs: I think this upcoming EP is going to really surprise a lot of people. The songs felt like they came together so naturally, and just sound so much more mature than anything we’ve done in the past. They feel deep and angsty. When I think back to writing drums on them, I just remember trying multiple different ways to do everything and taking everyone’s opinion and adding it in or piggybacking off it.
villin: In the band’s Audio Addiction interview, you talked about transitioning the group’s practice space into a recording studio. How has that changed the energy of the recording process?
Carter Dull: Using the practice space as a recording studio adds so much freedom to the recording process. If we don’t like something, we redo it, we change it, we scrap it. There’s a lot less to lose. We don’t need to book studio time and risk spending a ton of money on something that might not be exactly what we’re looking for. It also gives us the opportunity to experiment with alternate techniques, extra overdubs, and additional instruments.
Joey Heirigs: I like it most because it’s at my house! We’re extremely fortunate to have this set up. The energy feels so relaxed. It feels like I’m just hanging out with my best friends and creating in my basement. It doesn’t get better than that so I feel like the positive fun energy shows on the recording.
Based out of Des Moines, Roman Gamble carries the torch for independent music and underground scenes through his photo and video work with Thrash Panda Media. Recently opening a studio north of the city, Gamble is dialing in on his mission to grow and support the local artistic communities by expanding his work into areas such as documentary, web series, and more. In this discussion he expands on what form those ideas might take, but also the heartbreaking circumstances that first led him into photography to begin with.
villin: What first led you into covering shows and is there any sort of driving mission you have surrounding the types of bands you cover?
Roman Gamble: I have always been a part of the local music scene; I’ve been in several bands and frequented shows, and had many friends who are artists and musicians involved in the scene. I had taken some photography classes, but never really dived in until my wife and I found out that our son Atticus had a terminal genetic disease, Tay-Sachs.
At that point I really dove into photography as way to preserve as much of the remaining time with him as I could. I spent as much time as possible with Atticus, and caring for him was was very involved, so I really didn’t have any time to go to shows or play music for quite a while. Even before his diagnosis, we were in and out of hospitals and doctors appointments, so I was just completely out of the music scene for a few years.
After he passed away, I really didn’t know what to do with myself. Everything just felt completely meaningless. I would call it more despair than depression. Previously I had used music and art as a way to channel and release that kind of emotion, but I was just so broken that I couldn’t find a creative spark to get started with. There were a lot of people and communities that had helped our family through it all, and I wanted to do something, anything, really, to try and give back and help other families in positions like we had been in. I started volunteering photography to special needs families and the hospice organization that had helped us. Forcing myself out there to photograph other families helped reignite that creative spark and started to pull me out of that void. Eventually I was functioning enough to want to be involved in the music scene again, and since photography had been so cathartic for me, I starting taking photos at shows.
I enjoy almost all punk and metal sub-genres, but as I kept shooting shows, I started to realize that hardcore shows had more photographers than people In the pit, and every other genre had next to no one documenting them. I also never saw anyone at any genre putting out any kind of video other than a short cellphone reel from the middle of the crowd. I really wanted to have representation and documentation of the entirety of the scene, and not just a small demographic, so I really committed to being at a variety of shows and also to learning video and finding ways to shoot and produce videos as a single cameraman in small and inconvenient spaces.
villin: Several months ago I saw a Facebook post where you were floating out the idea of working on a documentary around Iowa’s independent music scene. What did you have in mind when you first raised the topic, and is that something you're continuing to pursue?
Roman Gamble: What I really want to do is elevate my current work to the next level. I want to document all the amazing musicians and artists, and a documentary has so much more weight and permanence to it. A YouTube video is reminiscent, but a documentary is illuminating and archival. It would also allow me to go back in time and try to tell the story of those that have faded into obscurity and preserve not just their work, but the stories and culture surrounding it.
There are just so many bands, venues, etc. that there’s almost no record of. DIY venues come and go so fast, and after COVID, many of the traditional venues have gone under. I think of how much these musicians pouring their passion out into these spaces that I’ve frequented means to me, and I realize that there are generations of musicians and venues that came and went before my time; they all need their stories told.
I think a big thing that gets overlooked when talking about Iowa music is that there’s music outside of Des Moines. 1108 House in Cedar Falls was a major hub for a long time, Modern Life Is War came out of Marshalltown, and I’ve heard legends of the Wolf Hanger in Pella—I want to create a platform for stories like those to be told.
I am still pursuing it, slowly but surely. I’ve been working on some foundational research and also building up a catalog of footage to have a good foundation. With the new studio space, I’m hoping to do more interviews that can build off of and help guide where the documentary goes in the future. It’s definitely going to be a marathon and not a sprint, but I think it will be all worth it in the end.
villin: In opening up that studio space in Ankeny, it sounds like you've got a lot of ideas for projects you're cooking up, ranging from interviews to studio recordings. Since announcing the studio, what sort of direction are these ideas taking?
Roman Gamble: I do! Probably too many ideas, but I suppose that beats the alternative. I finally got everything mostly settled, so I should be running soon! I’ve already had several bands reach out, so after I do a test run and am comfortable I want to start doing videos that feature both an interview and live performance. I have a drum kit and mics all set up, so I’m hoping that bands can more or less just show up and play.
I’ve also been toying with the idea of doing some features that are less serious in nature; maybe an interview combined with a drinking game; a contest/game between band member or vs. another band; a livestream with viewer interaction, etc. That’s all on the drawing board, but I think it could be fun. I’m open to ideas, too!
villin: What are some of your favorite places to see live music or shoot?
Roman Gamble: My current favorite place to see live music is probably Helter Shelter. For those who don’t know it, it's a DIY skate park inside a small old warehouse in the Des Moines area. It’s one of those “ask a punk for the address” kind of places, and inside you feel like you’re in the opening level of Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Bands usually play in a halfpipe, and there’s skaters going at it behind them while they play. The lighting is shit, the acoustics don’t exist, and a dust cloud fills the rooms as soon as the crowd starts moving, but it’s one of those atmospheres that just feels right; like it encompasses the spirit of punk.
In general, a house show or DIY space will always be my favorite though. The atmosphere is always so intimate and personal, and something about it creates this tangible energy that surges through the crowd and onto the state. I think being outside of the public eye really allows both the bands and the crowd to let go of preconceptions and inhibitions and embrace the music and the moment. A lack of stage removes the distinction between the band and the crowd, and it become less of a performance and more of a shared experience.
From a purely technical standpoint, these are the absolute worst conditions to shoot in, but I think capturing emotion and the energy trumps technicalities.
As for traditional venues, I have to hand it to Lefty’s [as an] overall favorite. They really embrace a wide variety of genres and artists—not only musicians, but also drag and burlesque—their sound and light is great for video, and their staff are some of the best people in town. Overall, all the venues in town have something they’re the best at though. The Hull is amazing for providing a space for punk bands, local bands, and smaller touring acts; Teehee’s is really starting to step up and get some great shows and I think will be a new hotspot for hardcore, xBk just looks and sounds amazing—they just don’t book acts in my preferred genres often.
villin: What do you see as some of the strongest aspects of the scene in Des Moines? How would you like to see it evolve in the coming years?
Roman Gamble: One of the strongest aspects of the Des Moines scene that I’ve noticed is that there is a lot of involvement and interaction from both older and younger generations. There was a good five to ten year stretch where it didn’t seem like anyone from younger generations were getting involved in music and picking up the torch. Currently there is an amazing amount of youth present, and they are all incredibly involved and impassioned. There isn’t a divide between generations either—it wouldn’t be abnormal to see a bill with a band like Traffic Death, with members who were in the generation of the scene prior to me; Cursed Existence, fronted by Justin Runge, who I grew up with; and Animals on LSD, a gang of talented youth carrying the torch forward. It gives me hope and optimism that the scene will be strong and thriving for another generation.
As for evolution, I would love to see more DIY spaces pop up—we really haven’t had a consistent one in a while. As for a goal that we can actually affect, I would love to see more coordination and collaboration across the scene—mixed genre shows, collaborations with the LGBTQ+ scene, such as variety music and drag shows. However the future shakes out though, I’m excited to be along for the ride and filming as much of the journey as I can.
Singled Out is a feature focusing on the stories behind a song, as told by the artists who made it. In this edition, guitarist and vocalist Sean Tyler discusses the opening track from his NOR THERE EP, titled "Drive Me Home." The song, as he explains, stands at a crossroads, bearing sonic inspiration from Link Wray while leaning thematically toward the abstract.
villin: The slow burning aspect of "Drive Me Home" invokes something of a shoegaze vibe, and definitely feels informed by the blues, but stylistically it's very much at home within the EP. What inspired the sound to develop as it did on this song and why did you choose to open the release with it?
Sean Tyler: I love slow and mid-tempo music; it tends to be what I write most of the time. I’m happy the blues influence is felt. The riff was inspired by Link Wray's "Rumble 69." I think that was buried in my subconscious somewhere and showed up in the “Drive Me Home” riff. It’s a different key, different chords, different time signature, different everything, but the spirit of that guitar riff made an impression on me when I was a kid.
The song order was all by feel, I liked the way the record felt when “Drive Me Home” opened. I seldom make artistic choices based on my intellect, it’s all feel.
villin: Taking one of the song's lyrics out of context, the line "I don't hear when I speak" speaks to a trap I'm prone to falling in, where I talk more than I listen, which at times distances me from maintaining a mindful presence with people. What were you thinking of when incorporating that line in the song?
Sean Tyler: I want my lyrics to be open to the interpretation of the listener. We’re always trying to make sense of what we’re hearing and seeing so I play with that. I think it’s beautiful that “ I don’t hear when I speak “ made you think of that.
villin: The EP's title, NOR THERE, would seem to be the latter half of a statement such as: neither here, nor there. What is it that you're referring to with the title, and how does that represent the songs encompassed by the release?
Sean Tyler: "Nor there," to me, means freedom from my need for meaning. For me, art is an escape from my need for life to make sense. Making music is about feeling so meaning is neither here nor there. At least to me. Plus, I like the way it looks.
Nestled soundly in the world of DIY, Sterling Bidler works within a musical space that might be best categorized as industrial. Incorporating electronic music within a heavy landscape of drum and guitar, his sound is at times abrasive, but one that makes more sense when recognizing his approach is built off influences ranging from Death Grips to Mr. Bungle. In this discussion, Bidler unpacks the pros and cons of recording and releasing music by yourself, the benefits that can be found in collaboration, and his approach to thoughtful chaos when attempting to categorize his sound, which is where we started the conversation.
villin: One of the things that first drew me to your music was its fluid relationship with genre—including heavy and electronic elements, it feels dated to call it industrial, but that's what comes to mind. How might you describe your work to someone who hasn't heard it before?
Sterling Bidler: When it comes to genre, I've always wanted to see how far I can break the rules of what you're supposed to do within a given style. I never want to create something that's been made before, being original while still making my tracks sound at least somewhat musical has always been my main artistic goal. It probably isn't wrong to call it industrial; that's usually how I describe my stuff to non-musicians, honestly. I think a lot of it is industrial music adopted to fit the 21st century, in which the electronic and heavy elements aren't playing side by side with each other but instead are completely blended together in an evenly ground cacophonous slurry. I've always liked a lot of underground rap, especially a lot of the stuff that's been emerging in the internet age. I have a lot of friends that make that kind of stuff and I think that style has influenced what I create a great deal. I guess what I do is take elements from every piece of music I've heard, fuse their disparate elements and throw my own brand of insanity in the mix. I like to think there's a piece of every song I've ever heard and every emotion I've ever felt in my music.
villin: Citing Death Grips as your favorite band, what do you think you've adopted from them musically, or how have they influenced your own artistic direction?
Sterling Bidler: I guess a lot of what I just said relates to Death Grips, too. They use sounds that no one else would ever use and blend styles of music that no one else would think to, as well. I found them when I was like 13 years old and it completely shattered my perception of what music could be. I found them around the same time I was finding groups like Sonic Youth and Mr. Bungle and the like, so really they came at the perfect time for me. I basically have the same approach to making music as they do, I think Ride said in an interview once that they never want to move laterally, only forward with what they create. I want to do the exact same.
villin: The DIY element to your approach is something I also appreciate; I recall reading a tweet or something at one point where you were talking about going out to your car to record vocals so you didn't scare your dogs? From drums to guitar to vocals, you cover it all, but how did you first get started recording?
Sterling Bidler: I'm totally DIY. I record, mix, master, and produce everything myself. I wouldn't want it any other way, honestly. I think being able to do all of it gives me complete freedom to make what I want. I'm a loner and I don't want anyone else muddying up the process. I also love the sound of things not having perfect fidelity. Most of my equipment is pretty rudimentary outside of my DAW (Ableton Live 11 Suite), so I've always had to get creative in order to make things sound good. I've found that it's a lot better to embrace the faults of a piece of musical equipment than try to fix it to match some platonic ideal. I think everything has its own character and you shouldn't try to shove a square peg into a round hole. I figured a lot of this out when I first started making music, making a lot of it on my phone with GarageBand. I think most of what I made in that era (of figuring out how to make music) is pretty bad today, but it definitely taught me how to utilize low quality equipment to my advantage.
villin: The Anna Pest collaboration you did earlier this year is one of my favorite tracks of yours, and it seems like there's been more of an angle of collaboration to your work as time has gone on. The collaborative nature of some of the music comes in contrast to that do-everything-yourself mentality of some of your other work—has it been an intentional decision to start working with others to get out of your own bubble?
Sterling Bidler: I agree with you, that Anna Pest song kicks serious ass—shout out to her, for real. The longer I've made music, the more I've realized how valuable actually working with other people and even just advertising it is; I don't want to just stay in a bubble forever. It definitely was an intentional decision to start working with more people, because that's how you gain more connections and exposure. Other people have also taught me more things about the artistic process than I ever would've learned on my own. I like to work with other people to filter their sound through my own style and perspective. "Snow" would be a perfect example of that: It starts out as incredibly intense and energetic deathcore, with some electronic elements, and then I take the idea of intense metal + electronics and put my own spin on it. That's why I think that track works so well: It's like two songs in one, but everything is cohesive.
villin: I'm also curious to learn a little more about the Pretend Recordings label, which has been aligned with your releases this year. What is Pretend Recordings and who's all behind it?
Sterling Bidler: Pretend Recordings is a online label ran by my good friends Paul, Ayla, and Amanda. Amanda was who introduced them to me and they've given me an incredible amount of support since I've been working with them. I've met so many great artists that I probably never would've without them and for that I am super grateful. My style is way different than what they typically put up, but they were still willing to work with me and for that I am super glad. Shout out to Pretend, and to everyone I've ever made anything with, and my friends and family, too.
Singled Out is a feature focusing on the stories behind a song, as told by the artists who made it. In this edition, guitarist and vocalist Bo Becker digs into the song "Gaze of Colossus" by Glass Ox. In our discussion, Becker touches the process of building the track, an update on the development of new music from the band, and using the colossus as a metaphor, which is where we dive in here.
villin: Lyrically the song opens with echoed vocals remarking on the appearance of the colossus before the song comes thrashing in, aligned in the story with the colossus bearing its wrath upon the observer. Keeping those lyrics in mind, the music creates something of a battle scene in the mind - was that the intention when structuring the song?
Bo Becker: I suppose that does make sense but there was no direct intention there. When I'm adding my vocals into our songs it really is about whether or not the part sounds good. The story on the other hand is basically a metaphor for the erosion of privacy, especially digital privacy.
villin: When building the track out, do you remember the process of how it took shape? Was it built around a riff, or did it come together much more collaboratively?
Bo Becker: The song was built around that main ascending guitar hook, everything was kind of packed around that. It actually wasn't finished going into the studio so this one was basically written without us being in the room together or anything.
villin: On the Bandcamp page there was a note about the drums being recorded in Des Moines while the rest of the track was recorded in Marshalltown. Is that standard practice at this point for the band and what sort of dynamic does that bring to the final cut of the song?
Bo Becker: So this track was actually left over from the sessions we did for our last record, Winds of Violence. We went in with basically a demo I had thrown together, tracked drums in the studio with Phil Young in Des Moines, then sat on it until this past summer when we started tracking the rest of the instruments for it. As far as the dynamic of doing it that way, I enjoy the time and freedom I get from not having to be under pressure in the studio. I have a small studio setup in Marshalltown that can do guitars and vocals well enough, we just need to do drums in a legit studio, I can't do them at my studio.
villin: Is the track the first taste of a new album?
Bo Becker: No, in fact I would say this is the last you'll get of our last record. The new album, so far, seems like it could go a few different directions but we have never stayed in one lane in terms of genre or style. I have probably five or six solid demos on new songs and I know Mythias [Keahna] has riffs for songs as well, so I'm excited to see how it progresses.
The first line of Teri Underhill's website bio frames the purpose of her music around advocacy work, particularly relating to mental health and autism awareness. This mission is felt with brute force when considering her latest track, a creeping pop anthem titled "MONSTER." The song, as Teri explains, is a direct response to past experiences of ableist abuse relating to her autism symptoms. To elaborate on this further, here's Teri in her own words, discussing the creation of and meaning behind "MONSTER":
I began writing and producing my song "MONSTER" last fall. As someone who was diagnosed with autism later in my life, it’s been a journey of self discovery and self acceptance. During this time, I was feeling heavily judged, sad, and misunderstood with my diagnosis. It was something I knew about myself for over a decade, but finally came to terms with it as an adult. As I started talking about it with people, I was met with a lot of “Are you sure?” “I think it’s just anxiety,” “Have you been taking your meds?” “You don’t look autistic,” and so many more hurtful statements from strangers on the internet and people in my personal life.
Finding this part of me helped me realize my autism is why I react to so many things the way I do, why I barely speak, why I cannot stand loud sounds without crying, and so much more. During this time, I experienced a lot of autistic meltdowns where it was out of my control, crying for hours, and sometimes becoming violent with myself if people around me were not helping out (not helping out by belittling me, telling me to “stop it,” etc.).
I felt monstrous. I felt like an animal. And I felt I was looked at like one.
I realized the ableism that comes with autism. How people bully us for our likes, our “quirks,” our awkwardness, our meltdowns with ourselves. People are so fast to judge without any solutions to those that have a disability. So I wrote "MONSTER" in feeling for those that have been judged, like myself. This is a song to defend my autism, defend my disability, defend myself, and defend others like me. We are not monsters or freaks. We are just human. This is how our brains were created and how we were meant to be. Human.
Singled Out is a feature focusing on the stories behind a song, as told by the artists who made it. In this edition, Wxlley discusses the origins of the track "Bussin" and the purpose behind its creation, noting that he used it as a way to check in with himself to see if he could remain creative without the inclusion of substances in his process. Here's Wxlley with more:
The song was written at the tail end of October 2022 and I was in a really bad state of mind. I feel like I had just been binging on my drug habits, you know? Like it had gotten to a point where it was becoming a coping mechanism for me, and it was doing more bad than good. And it was to the point that I couldn't even write music anymore. I had depended on weed, or whatever, to help me write and I did that so much to the point where it made me stupid and I didn't have the ability to write anymore. It got to the point where I felt like I couldn't write a song, I couldn't do anything musically or artistically if drugs weren't involved. And I had reached a point where I had to stop doing drugs, essentially. This song was, kind of, me testing myself to see if I could still do it.
I originally had no intention on releasing the song. Like, again, it was me testing myself to see if I still have the ability to write something good without the influence of weed or alcohol. So that was the first song I had written sober in months, honestly, maybe a year. So I had it for a while, obviously, and I was just working on mixing it, things like that. And I showed it to a couple of friends of mine and they were all like, "Bro, this is hard! This is crazy. Like, you need to release this." I just never had the intention of releasing it, but after some convincing and then we shot a video for it, and I was like, "Okay, well, there's no way we can't release this. We have to do it now." And especially 'cause I was starting to perform it, and I was performing it to get people's reaction to it, to let me know if I wanted to release it or not, or if it would get good reception if I did release it. So that definitely helped sway me a little bit.
Overall I'm just proud of the song and I'm proud of it because of what it represents. And I'm proud that I was able to prove that to myself. All the likes, all the comments, all the nice things people are saying about it and about the video is really just kind of validation in a way that like, "Yes, I can still make good music and I don't need drugs and I never needed drugs." You know? So all the good comments and everything, it's just saying that even more for me.
Singled Out is a feature focusing on the stories behind a song, as told by the artists who made it. In this edition, Lily DeTaeye discusses "Hive Mind," the title track from her latest release, detailing the patterns in her life that surrounded the creation of the song and how they relate to a broader search for meaning and certainty amid highly uncertain times. Here's Lily with more:
I wrote the song “Hive Mind” in 2020 during my #NewSongNovember challenge. Working in news during the election made me so intimately aware of the dangers of conspiracy theories, misinformation, and in turn, how easy it is for people to be harmed by these things.
After I recorded it with Bryan at Golden Bear about a year and a half later, I started noticing bees everywhere: In the books I read, in the objects I was gifted, tattooed onto the people I met. I was even assigned to profile a Des Moines apiarist in the middle of my revelation. The occurrences were never anything fantastical, just small moments that continued to build until I could no longer deny that bees were on my mind. So naturally, I rationalized every one I saw as a sign.
And while I still like to revel in the magic of that bee-filled year and a half, looking back, I realize this is what “Hive Mind” has been about all along. It doesn’t take much for us to seek confirmation bias. We like magic and we like to be right.
Once we get an idea inside of our heads, we cling to any proof that it’s true, even if it goes against our common sense. We become part of our own little hive mind.
Today, bees remind me to look up, smell a flower or two, and remember that my world is just a fraction of what’s out there. I don’t know anything but I can learn.
It felt right to name the album “Hive Mind” because, although the songs were written years apart, they all seemed to come together to form a part of this process. Some are songs inspired by fear and sadness. But many are songs inspired by new places, new experiences, and times I was put outside of my comfort zone.
Ultimately, I hope “Hive Mind” lands in the hands of folks who recognize the scary state of the world and decide to seek magic anyway.
Singled Out is a feature focusing on the stories behind a song, as told by the artists who made it. In this edition, Jasey Rebarcak discusses the first track to be released from Lady Revel's forthcoming album, Mood Music, which is set to drop September 15. The song, she says, carries themes of overcoming pain and recognizing self-sufficiency, as interpreted through a renewed spirit the band has found post-pandemic. Here's Jasey with more:
Our first ever full length album, Mood Music, is a bit of a vibe switch from previous music we have released. Pre-COVID we were making some R&B tunes just for fun on the side. After taking a bit of a hiatus from the band during the pandemic, we realized we had changed a lot as people and as artists. We released an EP in December 2022 just to gain some momentum and experiment a little with what direction we wanted to go. From there we were starting to gain a stronger sense of the kind of music we wanted to make and the kind of people we wanted to make it with. That being said, our new record coming out this month is very pop, very indie rock, and very fun. It took a while to get here but it feels like we are finally making the kind of music we want to, and I attribute a big part of that to becoming more of our authentic selves and growing as people the last couple years.
Enter Jeanette.
In the process of writing the songs on our new record, I met a very special girl and I thought… “her name just HAS to be in a song.” At the time, I was still getting to know this girl more but I was inspired by her; her openness to love despite being hurt in the past. The song is about this girl “Jeanette,” sort of “looking for love in all the wrong places” as they say, the redemption of overcoming past hurt, and the dichotomy of being open to healthy love while also knowing she is enough as she is all by herself. I do feel there’s a little bit of “Jeanette” in all of us. I knew I wanted this song instrumentally to be upbeat, happy, and have a bit of a west coast or surfy feel. I recorded a demo with some electric guitar riffs and then took it to our drummer, Cam Schneider. We wrote some drum parts and from there it took shape very naturally with the rest of the band.
We’re super excited to share this new era of Lady Revel with everyone and our upcoming album! We've also released another single, “Mood Music” (the album's title track), and have one more on the way before our album release show September 15 at xBk Live.
