“At Dawn”, the last song on Chapter Six. This episode describes the lyrical impetus, musical easter eggs, and collaborations that made the song take its final form.

Nashville, TN - Recorded at the log cabin studio up the long winding road on the top of the hill. Brandon Collins and his band of studio ace strings players really elevated the track.

Also, wasn’t wearing masks everywhere weird?

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. Songs are hard to finish.

2. Singing low is even harder.

3. Remembering the names of your favorite artists is impossible.

4. Distraction can not only prevent you from completing a podcast episode recorded a year earlier, but can also lead to metal versions of the song you're working on.

So, 2020 got a little weird, right? Change, the pandemic, and music inspired this new piece of music that helped us get through the pandemic and change. (see what I did there?)

“Wouldn’t Miss It for the World” is about facing inevitable change, being brave enough to talk about it, and forcing ourselves to dream again.

In the fall of 2020, we spent a week recording a string quartet in this cool log cabin studio in Nashville, Tennessee. It sits in the woods on top of a big hill. Natural light, fresh air, and rocking chairs on the porch. Not a bad place to host friends and make some music.

We asked our buddy Brandon Collins to conduct/direct and he really blew it. Just kidding. He’s the easiest guy in the world to work with. Crazy talented and he knows how to get the best out of the players.

Most of the songs on Chapter Six are broad and epic, so we wanted this one to be simple and contained. A demonstation of our affection for the music of Bright Eyes, Elliott Smith, Jenny Lewis, Jon Brion, and Aimee Mann.

Josh moved to Nashville. That lyric was written sitting in the studio looking out the window at the hills covered in trees.

A new writing approach: referencing several different stories in the verses and paralleling them with the chorus, which is the anchor. The intent, as always, was for the listener to be able to connect their own story.

Grant Pittman, total beast of a player, nailed it on the first take. Great timing and feel. This piano had just the right amount of instability of pitch too. We were thrilled he joined us on this tune.

Our friend, producer/drummer Dan Bailey, built a new studio and this song was the very first session he tracked in it.

The new old guitar and pickup Jerad sang into for the main hook.

Looking back at the last couple years: raising a child that’s not our own, going through court battles to make sure she stays safe… and then my daughter going into heart failure. There was a lot of turmoil. So, when things started slowing down and smoothing out, it just feels like there’s more breath now. Things are a little slower- a little safer. I don’t know who I’ve been the last couple years. I look back and I don’t recognize that person. Some things for the better, but there are areas, even creativity, where a lot of what I was writing was really based off everything that was around me. To be able to write about stuff that wasn’t so dramatic was refreshing. I feel like I can be creative in a different sense now.

There’s a picture of me in the hospital after Rowen had her heart transplant, and she’s getting ready for another procedure. I’m in the full ‘bunny suit’- ready to walk her down to the OR. The way she’s looking at me is just what you want as a father for your daughter. To be in that scary of a place, but it’s like there’s safety there. When I look at that picture I’m just enamored by it.