Days of the Sun is intended to be the title track of the
eventual compilation of Devil Tree music we hope to mine from the current loose
and rough archive we’ve been building in our jam sessions.
It’s also kind of a
motif and a statement by us as band because, although our music contains some
darker themes and sounds, ultimately we want to strike a positive note. You
could say that some of our sound reflects a haunted pessimism about life but which
nevertheless contains a recurring streak of optimism that tries to have the
final word.
The current version of Days to be heard at the Reverbnation
page was the first song we worked out as a band, though on that particular Saturday
we had not as yet been joined by Alan and his bass. Levi was not yet playing
drums, but was finding his way around on the guitar and playing back up to
Brent, who was directing both myself and Levi since we came to Devil Tree as
complete novices to jamming and creating rock music. We had no drummer and didn’t
know Levi was going to fill that chair so we used a canned drum beat from a music
software program.
Levi has played guitar in other spiritual settings so he had
some notion of what to do and Brent lined him out with a mellow riff that he
could keep at while I sang. This was the jumping off place where we shut out
the doubts and the fears and just plunged in with much encouragement from
Brent, who is in another band and has been a musician since childhood.
With the lyrics and a basic melody in my mind, I just followed
their music and we worked it out. The vocals were laid in separately for the
final mix, and Brent then overlaid his solos. I’m glad we worked on Days first
because as I have said, it’s a genesis of who and what we are and the sound we
are trying to let open us.
A listen to the lyrics of Days of the Sun reveals
immediately that it was conceived of as a song after a very dark journey, and
it’s actually very autobiographical and personal, although the evil woman theme
was an invention because it fit. If you have ever walked in those places you
know that it is not at all about who is good or who is evil but is about
forgiveness of self and others, about realizing mistakes, and ultimately about
surviving and loving again. That part, sweetly, is not invented. The chorus
really is a sort of hymn and a paen to the the Sun and the way that no matter
what happens, when it rises to meet you again after a dark night, there is
reason to smile. Like mercies are new every morning. Kind of like, I am still
alive and I didn’t think that was going to happen. And it feels good, like a
kiss from your love when the night told you love was never coming back.
In Devil Tree, we all contribute to the writing. Some are
written in their entirety out of session by individuals who bring them to the
jamming place and offer them for consideration, other times we just start with
some riffing and let the music call forth images and moods, and from that I try
to begin with a phrase or a line about what I’m seeing it, that leads to other
lines, and this person or that offers a suggestion or a line. We try very hard
to be original but there is always an influence from a favorite album or song,
too. Titles come later with this method but usually from the chorus.
When I write songs they will sometimes be complete fantasy
or a made up story that I can’t consciously attribute to any real event,
although there is usually a seed of an experience or a memory. Other songs
(Days is one of them) are written from life with sparse embellishments. The
tone set by the guitars carries the meaning and the declaration of the lyrics perfectly
and really offset the melancholy substance of the words.
With this song, when we re-do it with our full ensemble, we will work hard to make the definitive and final recorded
version retain the original flavor, although now with a bassist and drummer
involved, it must change a bit. We know how loose and rough our stuff sounds on
Reverb at the moment but it was uploaded in spite of this for several reasons,
not least of which was to serve as copyright protection by way of providing an
online archeology to our work , to provide a basis to work from, and to feel
like we were doing something and to share that with our friends, family and
others. The criticism and advice from other musicians through doing this has
been invaluable.
It’s potentially painful to open up our creative process in
this manner, especially since a couple of us are complete acolytes to band
creativity and music in general. Thankfully, we’ve gotten mostly positive
feedback and very little outright skepticism or frowns. And we have opened
ourselves up to quite a few people, some family, some friends, some co-workers and some strangers, who respond to what we are doing from an unbiased view, and that has been completely helpful as well as encouraging. Also, the criticism and advice from other
musicians through doing this has been invaluable.
In the end, we see what we are doing as a personal cleansing
of old ghosts and fears , of negative attitudes and reflexive living. We have a
shared vision, a very enjoyable chemistry in our sessions, and a lot of fun.
And we are striving for art and a new direction. None of us are classically or
academically trained musicians and we don’t make that kind of music, which we
revere and admire. Instead, we are following in the footsteps of some of our
favorite bands and guitarists who relied upon playing by ear, memory and
recordings. Beethoven is truly like God, but the soundtracks of our youth were
the albums we listened to again and again in our rooms or with friends and
which spoke to us in our loneliness and confusion as heirs of a complex modern
age, even though many of the singers and players on those albums were not all trained musicians. But learning new things is certainly something we are interested in, as well.
On a final note, I will say that the first time you hear a
song that you wrote and have lived coming out of speakers as a result of shared
work and vision, it will always be one of the greatest experiences of your
life. It’s really magic on that level alone and has been its own reward. Thanks
for reading!
