Josh and Jerad answer your questions and ramble way too much into very unnecessary territory no-one cares about. Enjoy.

Downton Abbey, the quarantine creativity challenge, political songwriting, CH5 artwork, streaming services, guitar solos, studio snacks, and roller coasters. The Radiohead disagreement, creative filmmakers, and spandex music videos on windy hilltops with eagles soaring above.

HAGAR or DIAMOND DAVE?

INFLUENCES

SOUNDTRACKS

“Won’t give up. Won’t give in. With every breath we take we let the new begin.”

Who would ever want to be tossed into a terrifying life and death situation? Maybe those kinds of experiences are necessary- maybe while unwanted, it’s what is needed.

Josh and Jerad reveal the songwriting and recording process for this final track from Chapter Five. Learning to play cello, Phil Collins, The Goonies, Trent Reznor, and guest appearances of their friends Tony Terusa and Taylor Johnson.

If that’s true, the height of love is to be fully known and accepted. That’s what the song is about. To be who you really are with someone and it’s ok. What could be better than that? “I still don’t believe it…for someone to see me like you do. Over and over anew, seen and known…”

How does a guy who’s musical ambition was to be a punk bassist write songs with complex fingerpicking patterns on acoustic guitar? By not overthinking it.

The Yamaha sampler (pictured below) was a big part of the sound of Chapter Five. It’s old, not easy to use, and limited in what it does- but has something special.

Some of the percussion sounds in the track were performed using a paint brush and a cardboard box. Music is all around us. What is your story? Every one of us has a unique perspective on the experience of life so isn’t it important for us to share it with each other? Think of all the things you could say using the objects around your house, sounds from your favorite hiking path, or what gets left on your doorstep? Make something today. Tell a story, and do it creatively.

These things just take time, and that’s ok.

Additional references from the episode:

• The Pixies

• Jon Hopkins

• Compression

• Tempo mapping

• Coles

It began in a Chic-fil-A drive thru. You just never know when an idea will hit you, but once the line “you hold it all together” arrived, it was clear where the song needed to go. Jerad presented an instrumental version of the song without any strong melody and Josh used it as a blank slate to develop ideas. Inspired by the rising and fading string clusters, Josh began to imagine rolling waves.

So, in many ways the lyrics are a prayer. A prayer in the midst of uncertainty, fear, doubt, and hope. All of these being real emotions you feel when you’re watching your daughter fight for her life…”

“…standing right outside of our daughter’s ICU room…she’s not stressed out, she’s not pacing the halls- she’s just standing there praying…like an anchor in an ocean.”

The above image describes Jerad’s reaction when he heard the vocals Josh recorded…which is why he sent it to him over text right away. Needless to say they knew they were on to something.

Singing like a 4yo, light switches, couch drumming, and iPhone pianos. Sometimes exciting sounds come from strange sources. This episode includes secret production tricks and a conversation about unconditional love.

Seeded in a spontaneous session, dreamed of in Nashville, and completed months later with an entirely new perspective- The Light tells the story of a conversation between a dad and daughter.

The base sounds for the track came from one acoustic guitar into one mic. A fingerpicked set of chords, played with an eBow, played with a cello bow, then finally hit with knuckles to make the “clunk” sound. Not a lot of chords, but why does there need to be?

The song is called The Light, so recording the flipping of a light switch seemed appropriate. That became the primary snare-like backbeat through most of the song.

Drumming on the couch with an iphone underneath was just the sound that was needed, while the orange shaker played a big role and glued the rhythm section together.

Owl City-like vocal hooks, tubular bells and low pitched vocals add excitement to the sound.

“New record. New theme. New songs. Totally different stage of life now. It seemed really appropriate to start (the album) with this song. Days of a brand new start…”

That pretty well sets the tone for Chapter Five.

Josh had this song idea at a time when he was trying to learn a new music recording software, which limited his musical options when it came to making the demo. That ended up being a good thing. It’s the kind of song that doesn’t need much- just honesty. No tricks. No hidden layers. Heart on sleeve and brazen with celebration. It felt right to use organic folk instruments like mandolin, ukulele, acoustic guitar, hammered dulcimer, piano, and raw drums/percussion.

Josh tells the story from which “exhale with a fire in your lungs” came. The guys discuss how good can emerge from from suffering. It’s amazing what can be learned when “you’ve got the smell of smoke on your skin”.

THE ALT VERSION: Singing the same song an octave lower (maybe too low) seems to make it more personal. The alt arrangement was an attempt at telling the story from an intimate perspective.

It is amazing to look back from the other side of a situation you never thought you would escape. To feel the warmth of the sun on skin and say “God, how did you do this? How did we get out of that?”. CS Lewis said, “All enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise…” and that is what is happening in this song. It builds and builds into a party. From one day sitting in a hospital room looking at a child hooked up to tubes and thinking, “we might not ever get out of this” to feeling the warmth of sun on skin while watching the kids playing at the beach with no inhibition. Freedom, life, gratitude- joy. Today is a brand new start.