"Rusty Domingo" is a tune where I knew it's title before I wrote anything for the song. In the spring/summer of 2011, I worked at a call centre called Sykes Enterprises in Peterborough. It was a customer service job for Rogers Wireless. I hated the job so much, and I worked there for a long 4 months. The only remotely interesting thing about the job were the names of some of the customers who called in. A lot of them being fake names on their accounts. One customer's name that stuck with me was Rusty Domingo. Which was the guy's real name because I found him on Facebook and he lived in British Columbia. I was intrigued by this name and I knew it would be a great song title. At that point, Plaid On Flannel hadn't even started yet. Although I did come up with the name Plaid On Flannel before that on November 25, 2010.
After recording a pair of Plaid On Flannel albums, I moved to Toronto in September of 2013. I wrote the music for "Rusty Domingo" sometime in late December of 2013. While I noticed the anthemic qualities within the song, I knew it would become a tune called "Rusty Domingo". And I knew it would serve as the main character study for the Primitive Normative concept album I was planning to record. The Plaid On Flannel band started on February 15, 2014 as a 3-piece. By April of 2014, we began playing regular monthly gigs around Toronto.
The lyrics for "Rusty Domingo" were written on July 8, 2014. The song is partially about me. "40 years belated" references me being born 40 years too late and missing the rock and roll revolution. But I was really just envisioning a fictitious main character for the Primitive Normative album. "Rusty Domingo" is also referenced in the song "Make It Happen" from the same album.
I began producing the Primitive Normative album on August 31, 2014 and started recording "Rusty Domingo" on October 8, 2014. The intro guitar riff leads into an "oh" singing chant of long and extended notes on top of the guitar riff. This part was influenced by Rush's 2112 "Overture". When Geddy Lee starts singing chants over the loud and aggressive part of the album's opening instrumental. After the 1st verse of "Rusty Domingo", there's another guitar riff that comes in before the song's chorus. This one is more complex than the opening and closing riffs. Using the "meaty" part of the guitar neck between the 2nd and 4th frets, this riff was inspired by Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" guitar riff.
While I was recording "Rusty Domingo", I imagined it being a song that would be suitable for a 3-piece band. As Plaid On Flannel was a power trio at the time. So I kept the guitar work rather basic without any keyboards. I wanted to use my Digitech whammy pedal in band setting to add octave and harmony effects in the guitar riffs. For the recording of "Rusty Domingo", I used that whammy pedal in the middle section leading into the guitar solo and even the guitar solo itself. I finished recording "Rusty Domingo" on November 9, 2014. Keyboardist Jen Doyon joined the Plaid On Flannel band on February 22, 2015. As a 4-piece we played "Rusty Domingo" regularly at shows, but we never recorded it as a band. "Rusty Domingo" is a tune that works well in a live setting, and I'm sure it will make a return to the POF band in the future.
lyrics
Words and music by Nolan Randall
He never cared about the modern world
Some people always forget
The things he wanted were not evident
His time was his own regret
Give it up for Rusty Domingo
It's gonna take a lot to make him mingle
40 years too late, it's Rusty Domingo
Get a load of Rusty Domingo
It's gonna take a lot to make him mingle
40 years belated, 40 years belated
40 years belated, Rusty Domingo
Is there a way he could evaluate
The things he doesn't approve?
There's not a lot of things he wants to keep
There's lots he wants to remove
Give it up for Rusty Domingo
It's gonna take a lot to make him mingle
40 years too late, it's Rusty Domingo
Get a load of Rusty Domingo
It's gonna take a lot to make him mingle
40 years belated, 40 years belated
40 years belated, Rusty Domingo
Despite what happened to his rotten luck
He still wanted to believe
He contributed to society
In turn he's gonna receive
Give it up for Rusty Domingo
It's gonna take a lot to make him mingle
40 years too late, it's Rusty Domingo
Get a load of Rusty Domingo
It's gonna take a lot to make him mingle
40 years belated, 40 years belated
40 years belated, Rusty Domingo
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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