Whispers 

Disclaimer: Every part of this album, from start to finish, was done under the quarantine of COVID-19. The song writing, musical composition, arrangement, and all collaboration was performed while each band member stayed within their homes. Each song represents a part of said quarantine.

While I'm extremely proud of how Whispers turned out, it was quite the bitch to create. It started with a piano line. An arpeggiated series of chords. The kicker is that its time signature is 5/4. For those that don't really get what that means, it's basically adding an extra beat to the end of every musical phrase. It can create really interesting grooves, but it can be tough to write lyrics to. Peter, my keys player, had this idea to use the metaphor of a stairwell in your house representing a descent into madness. This seemed to fit, as being quarantined seemed to make people go crazy. But I was stuck. I couldn't come up with anything

I sent it to my cellist, Michael Ronstadt, who not only cowrote my song Blue 52 with me, but also has collaborated on many other songs. He then proceeded to write maybe 8 verses, and a chorus. The story just wasn't connecting. It seemed too, shall we say, Edgar Allen Poe. But I loved the chorus he came up with: "Come find us, we are here. Come find us, we are near." It was at this time that I was listening to the album Ghost by Radical Face. It had many songs dealing with spirits dwelling in houses. So then it hit me. What if, instead of just talking about going crazy in your house, I talked about the house being part of the reason you went crazy?

Essentially, the story is that because I was spending more time in my house, I became more aware of the noises my house made. But then I start hearing footsteps, laughter, whispers. Am I going crazy because I'm lonely, or am I really not so alone after all? I suppose that's up to the listener. But all the while, whispers call out: "Come find us, we are here. Come find us, we are near."

Unlike Whiskey And Silence, I pick up my acoustic again, but Peter pulls out a tasty rhodes electronic keyboard to compliment the live piano part I lay down. The fun part is in the instrumental at the end. We all just get more and more chaotic. I also had fun walking around my house and recording floorboards squeaking, doors slamming, random creaks. I didn't want to just download sounds, but rather reproduce them live. 

8 comments