Track 4 All I Can Do Featuring Lola de Hanna

Track 4 All I Can Do Featuring Lola de Hanna

Track 4 takes a dark turn from the bright and happy songs that proceeded it. It also has a deep meaning about a dark tragedy in the history of this country. The senseless loss of life at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The song is about frustration and trying to find hope after such a horrible tragedy. The day I learned of what happened I felt a lot of anger and frustration with the stupidity and ugliness of human nature. It didn't stop at the shooting, public officials lied about the circumstances and politicians made sure they took advantage of the tragedy to further their agendas and narcissism. All this just before Christmas which was a time for peace, hope, and love. I wanted to lose faith and as a songwriter I have a belief that my words can change the world in some small way and that day, as the news reports came in, I was as helpless as anyone else. I later learned the motive behind it and it was pure jealousy and selfishness, this is beyond comprehension to me how you can become so dark as to destroy the gift of life yet this world is filled with the devaluation of life, we see it every day and not enough of us are trying to change it yet it is so simple. This is this song in a nutshell. I hope the listener stops to consider that we are one but part of a large world and every life is a gift from the heavens and should always be treated as such. There have been many tragedies just like this one since then but the recurring theme is that life, even their own, has little value to those committing these horrible acts. Life is more precious than any possession, any dollar amount, any position of power and until we as humans take this to heart we will not know peace. Candles can only fade if we allow them to blow out. We've all heard this before but the lessons of life will be repeated again until we take it to heart.

Musically this song takes a turn just like the lyrics and feel of the record. The key of B gave me lots of mystic, ambient chords to work with and I used every chord in the key. It's bright at moments and dark just like the lyrics. At the urging of Scott Hanson, who helped us out when recording at his studio in Cleveland, OH, suggested I speak the verses poetically instead of singing. The key was out of my vocal range and creating a melody became difficult but the spoken vocals were the best thing for the song so fate helped out with that. The spoken vocals really project the numb feeling that I felt that night. Lola comes in the chorus and gives the emotional response of the frustration and in the last chorus of the hope. Scott Hanson also helped out with some really sweet and rhythmic acoustic guitar that added a layer of hope into the choruses and solo section. This is the most complicated song on an album of complicated songs but the instruments and vocals just magically fell together.


Next up Track 5 Full Moon