"When The Rhythm Comes In" is a song that has blues written all over it, and it was inspired heavily by Rival Sons. I saw Rival Sons for the first time on May 7, 2015 at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto. That tour was in support of their 2014 album Great Western Valkyrie. Which in my opinion is one of the best rock albums of the 2010s. In the fall of 2014, I saw a video of Rival Sons' recent performance of "Open My Eyes" on David Letterman and I was completely blown away from the sound. Incredibly bluesy vocals to go with a powerful Gibson guitar. The band had been together for 5 years with a few albums out, yet I somehow didn't even know about them until that point. I said to myself, "Finally!" While the pop music industry monopoly processed computerized garbage for the masses, Rival Sons represented rock and roll redemption for those who care about great music. I bought tickets to that show in 2015 and went with former POF keyboardist Jen Doyon. When I saw them live, it was like seeing Led Zeppelin or The Who in their prime. Top notch rock and roll from the Long Beach, California band. From that point on, Rival Sons became a key influence in Plaid On Flannel's music.
Months after seeing Rival Sons in 2015, I wrote a guitar riff in my head while working bottling light inspection at Steam Whistle Brewing at the Roundhouse in Toronto. I repeated the riff over and over again in my head so I could remember it by the time I got home to record a demo. It ended up being the guitar riff for "When The Rhythm Comes In". Outside of the Rival Sons influence, the guitar riff also sounds a bit like the riff to "Who Knows" by Jimi Hendrix from his live album Band Of Gypsys. But what made my riff different was it's use of hammer ons and pull offs. Which was a technique I was using on other POF songs such as "Something On Your Mind". I also use a capo on the 2nd fret for "When The Rhythm Comes In".
I wrote the music for the song on November 15, 2015. "Keep On Swinging" is the main Rival Sons song that influenced this one. From the extra guitar an octave above in the riff, to the verses having gaps between the chords to give the lyrics more emphasis. Making the song more dynamic as the choruses don't have any gaps like the verses do. The guitar solo for "When The Rhythm Comes In" has 2 different guitars playing off of each other. I contrasted the 2 guitar solo tones so they could work better individually while playing off each other. I even borrowed tricks from the guitar work of Alex Lifeson on Rush's "Freewill".
The lyrics for "When The Rhythm Comes In" were written on February 21, 2016, not long after I finished my 3rd LP Primitive Normative. I finally started recording "When The Rhythm Comes In" on September 5, 2016 and finished recording it on November 13, 2016. It's a song I worked on with the young Plaid On Flannel band in 2017-2018, but it was never performed live. However, I plan on performing this song live with a POF band in the future!
lyrics
Words and music by Nolan Randall
Goin' down, goin' down on my feet
Gotta get that rhythm goin'
Take a ride, take a ride in the street
Gotta get that music flowin'
We've got another way to
Get by when the rhythm comes in
All we want to do is get back from where we've been
What you want, and what you see
What you need to be so free
You may come and you may go
You may even take it slow
It's not you, and it's not me
It's not where we want to be
You've gotta get into a rhythm
Feel alive, feel alive in the heat
Movin' up and i feel it this time
Fly away, fly away with the fleet
Moving up through the mountains we climb
So many of us want to
Get by when the rhythm comes in
What we want to do it seems like it's such a sin
What you want, and what you see
What you need to be so free
You may come and you may go
You may even take it slow
It's not you, and it's not me
It's not where we want to be
You've gotta get into a rhythm
Now, you've gotta get into a rhythm
What you want, and what you see
What you need to be so free
You may come and you may go
You may even take it slow
It's not you, and it's not me
It's not where we want to be
You've gotta get into a rhythm
Yeah, you've gotta get into a rhythm
What you want, and what you see
What you need to be so free
You may come and you may go
You may even take it slow
It's not you, and it's not me
It's not where we want to be
You've gotta get into a rhythm
Now, you've gotta get into a rhythm
You've gotta get into a rhythm
Yeah, you've gotta get into a rhythm
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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