On the evening of October 27, 2018, a fire alarm went off in my apartment building. I knew the alarm wasn't just a drill because of the time of day and the relentless ringing of the bells. I proceeded to evacuate the building to find a bunch of my fellow tenants wearing Halloween costumes on the front porch. I soon found out it wasn't a real fire, but the alarms were triggered by birthday cake candles fully lit in the hallway of the building. There were unnecessary fire trucks on their way. It turns out, my neighbor was having a Halloween party. After the firefighters came and went, I joined in on the party.
I started talking to my co-tenant/friend Julian who had recently lost a friend to suicide. A friend that he made music with for years. His name was Steve Clark and they had a band/project that started in the 90s called Vibrolux. They were on Much Music and had done a lot of music licensing for their recorded songs in the 2010s. Julian produced that music on Pro Tools in his apartment on the 4th floor of my building.
The night of the party, he showed me a few songs at his place that him and Steve recorded for Vibrolux. Tracks that got licensed for T.V. and film. One song I heard was raw blues rock and I was intrigued by the style. I felt like it was right up my alley. A bell rang in my head, and I asked Julian if he wanted to get back to recording songs with me this time. Since Julian was down on the loss of his friend, I figured a collaboration would be beneficial for both of us. He could get his career back on track, and I could provide some well-crafted songs. With his licensing history, it seemed like it was worth a shot for us to polish a few songs and pitch them.
Two days later, on October 29, 2018, I wrote "Got No Time". The entire song including a recorded acoustic demo on my phone was done in one hour. The song flowed and I tried to keep it simple and straight forward for future licensing opportunities. The next day I showed it to Julian and he got quite excited about it and was impressed I had a song done and ready to go. This was the beginning of our 6-month partnership.
We started "Got No Time" with Julian producing on Pro Tools in early November of 2018 and finished it completely in April of 2019. There were 4 other songs we worked on in the process. Julian used an electronic drum kit with Superior Drummer software. The other songs we worked on from November 2018 to May 2019 were "Journey's Under Way", "Casual Occasion", "Out Of Here", and "Texas Boogie". None of those songs got finished. "Journey" and "Casual" were songs I wrote that I thought would work very well with licensing. "Out Of Here" was an instrumental composed by Julian that I wrote lyrics and recorded vocals for. "Texas Boogie" was a ZZ Top-esque shuffling blues song. It was a song Julian did with Steve before, that I laid down new lead guitar on. Our real intention was to license the songs we record for truck commercials, etc.
In June of 2019, Julian was unable to work on music and ended our partnership. The traumatizing loss of 2 friends and the perpetual loneliness he carried was too overwhelming for him. I really wanted to finish the 4 other songs we recorded, but he did not want to be bothered. This was the only time in my music career where finishing the songs was beyond my control. I hope the guy turns out alright, but this was really disappointing for me to not finish the work. Finishing has always been a theme for me. In the fall of 2019, I started recording my 5th LP on my own with my usual DAW.
lyrics
Words and music by Nolan Randall
After all, I don’t know why, feeling all alone
What it takes for getting by into the unknown
Make a case to get in gear, gotta testify
Shake the weight of what you hear
Feel like getting high on the meaning, reasonable doubt
A star is born, a child is waiting
Why are we leaning? What’s this all about?
Ain’t got no time for demonstrating
Shaking all that brings me down, what I won’t abide
Shedding the tears of a clown, searching for my pride
Walk the talk in what I do, let the guitar cry
Knock the lock when coming through
Feel like getting high on the purpose, to let it all out
A star is born, a child is waiting
Why are we nervous? Why can’t we all shout?
Ain’t got no time for motivating, yeah
High on the meaning, reasonable doubt
A star is born, a child is waiting
Why are we leaning? What’s this all about?
Ain’t got no time for demonstrating
High on the purpose, to let it all out
A star is born, a child is waiting
Why are we nervous? Why can’t we all shout?
Ain’t got no time for motivating
credits
released July 12, 2019
Personnel includes:
Nolan Randall - Vocals/Guitars/Bass
Julian Durzi - Drums/Percussion/Keyboards
Produced and mixed by Julian Durzi
Mastered by Sean Magee from Abbey Road Studios
Plaid On Flannel is an alternative indie blues rock act from Toronto, Canada. With 80+ original songs recorded since 2011,
singer-songwriter Nolan Randall has remained the sole constant member of the band. POF's music is known for guitar riffs/solos, memorable hooks, catchy melodies/harmonies, evocative lyrics, & superb musicianship. While keeping a focus on originality and songwriting quality....more
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