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6.30.2007 Break I wrote the initial version of Break while on a trip to Hawaii. I had actually written two songs, the other which was rejected by the band. I was thinking of how too much of my identity had been purchased from markets and people who don't really care about me. Leaders who have disappointed (which is different than failed), and an entire ecosystem of commerce that profits at the expense of America's identity crisis and insecurity.Whose child am I? My father left me fending for my life The man who's holding my hand Has taken from me everything I am We're stuck in a time Where principles are valued more than lives The sacrifice of every man and child What's plainly seen is traded for the lies And you find yourself a slave tonight Yeah you feel so low, though you're up so high And all through the land It's coming down just like it began We follow men who think they have God's calling as they carry his command And you find yourself a slave tonight Yeah you feel so low, though you're up so high It's all right, it's all right We're gonna break it tonight It's a fight, it's a fight That can't be won with your might It's a trial by a fire That we are meant to survive It's all right, it's all right We're gonna break it tonight When you're down so low You can see so high But when you're stuck in the middle All you see are the lies And you wonder if you'll ever see See a hint of your reality It's all right, it's all right We're gonna break it tonight It's all right, it's all right We're gonna break it tonight It's all right, it's all right We're gonna break it tonight It's all right, it's all right We're gonna... break It's all right, it's all right We're gonna break it tonight The song was originally written in A minor. The descending chords felt a bit worn and uninteresting with the open strings, so we tried changing it to G minor, which did the trick. Also, the beginning of the chord had a syncopated strum to it, which we changed to the arpeggio in the recording. I didn't know you can play a G minor chord like that close to the neck. Don's bass solo in the middle came unexpectedly. He and Shane had rehearsed that section with specific hits, which Shane stuck to (we tracked drums first). When came Don's turn, he hit an epiphany that is the spiraling bass solo-ish section that you hear in the recording. In post-production we added a hint of chorus/flange to spiral it a bit more. I think it worked out great. Shane's drum hits almost seem like a drum solo, which Don's off-time bass line weaves in an out of. And weaving is Don's speciality, which makes him the wonderful bassist he is. 6.29.2007 Misery Need Company Misery Need Company is a monologue by the devil. I was pondering a conversation with my own demon and arrived at a sympathy for it. Like a lover whose world is drowned in jealousy and bitterness, I imagine the devil can't see past the tip of his nose. We would describe such a state as a certain misery to which sympathy may be inappropriate, but nonetheless I played back a dialogue in my head, in writing this song.Well I got to you, didn't I The way I moved took you by surprise The thought of me in your head The things I said you can't forget They're lies, all lies Suddenly The lights go out and you and I Are left to fight and struggle 'til the break of dawn and I Eventually find that you're a part of me That all along so carefully you've planned this misery I've become my enemy It's a strategy for misery The pruning of adversity in life You make your own kingdom come The devil comes collecting tithes Why fight for lies Happily We put it on each other To do away the other It's a case of do or die Oh misery need company We can't seem to leave it all behind Misery need company Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight Misery need company Tonight Oh happily We put it on each other To do away the other It's a case of do or die Oh misery need company We can't seem to leave it all behind Oh misery We put it on each other I had written the song some time in 2004. We've actually performed it in various incarnations, until it landed in its final recorded form. Don's bass line changed 20 times (I have takes of all of them), and I was frankly surprised by how much the entire song shifts from one version to the next. There's a two-step meringue version, parts of which we will re-incorporate for the Roxy show. Listen for it, and step to it if you feel it. Ken, as often as he does, brought the twist to the song where the song modulates up a whole note. The beat loses the syncopation and starts to drive the guitars which obey with 8th hits. As a whole I love how the song evolves and deteriorates. The devil dances a tragic mood and sings through Ken's solo. You can hate it and feel sorry for it at the same time. There are some personal notes I won't share publicly, perhaps privately. 6.26.2007 Talk About You Talk About You was first recorded as a part of an acoustic EP that Ken and I recorded in my living room. It was written in the summer of 2003, when I was trying to figure out the purpose of life. Things, or lack of things, were happening in my life and I was trying to make sense of it all.You're wrong, I'm not lazy, I'm just waiting Talk about you all the time, pick up each and every sign So long you've had me waiting in my corner Leaves me feeling lost, it does, stretching out my arms because of you So very easily it’s found, so very pleasingly it sounds Forget what’s good and what is not, stuff yourself with all you got The things I should have seen, I say, the things that might have been, they say Well it’s easy to sit and criticize, when you won’t come down and join the fight The nights they go on running on My days are thinning there's growing doubt That my life is ever to be found And life sure would be good If I only understood Why you're making me a fool But all they ever do is talk about you Talk about you So very easily it’s found, so very pleasingly it sounds Forget what’s true and what is not, stuff yourself with all you got The things I should have seen, I say, the things that might have been, they say Well it’s easy to sit and criticize, when you won’t come down and join the fight Make me, make me a believer I'm ready to be a fool Make me, make a believer Make me, make a believer in the Things that might have been That I should have seen 'Cause my lot it grows But I still want more But I still want more But I still want more But I still want more And I still want more The nights they go on running on My days are thinning there's growing doubt That my life is ever to be found And life sure would be good If I only understood The makings of a fool But all they ever do is talk about you Talk about you This song was very much a fuel to get Jack going. Shane, Ken, myself and Randal on bass got together at Amp studios in NoHo and we tried out a few arrangements, and we settled on something that Randal really hit on, a Roadhouse Blues type feeling. Ken added much salt to the song with the A chord in the chorus, as well as the drop and build section in the middle on C. The rest sort of developed from there, and it was such a good experience that we decided to start Jack on it. The subsequent songs would be tougher, we'd find, but the energy in this song kept us going for a while. Lyrically, it was a reference to my discovery that the seemingly mundane things, as well as the exciting things, talk about the meaning of life. "You" meaning God, whom I was posing my frustrations to. We recorded it in the Orange Room, with Don on bass by then. 6.24.2007 Our final two songs!! We're proud to release the final two songs to the world. "Together Apart" and "Far From Home" are posted for listening and download right now, in the Music section (clicky above). We hope you like it half as much as we do.Our final show will be Saturday July 7th at the Roxy. Come hear the songs as they're meant to be experienced - blaringly loud in a seedy Hollywood club as some creepy guy tries constantly to get your attention. "You had to be there" moments like none else, I promise ("Sign Me UP!"). Saturday July 7th 8:00pm @ The Roxy 9009 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90069 All ages, tickets $10  6.20.2007 Jack's send off So the time has come, this upcoming show will be our last. It's come time to wrap up the Jack the Vain project with our last two songs (out in a few days) and graduate onto what's next.We're very proud of the short but strong year in which we've written and recorded some of our best work, played some incredible shows, and got to grow in some significant ways. Most of all we're grateful for your friendship and company. It was as much for your companionship as it was for our own narcissism that we were able to work so hard. Ken will be leaving the band to focus on his career as a session musician. Ken has long graced us with his talents which deserve a better seat than what JTV has been. Don will continue to focus on his schooling, which will be for at least the next 18 years. But then.. he shall descend from the mountains glowing like Moses. Shane and I will continue working together in the industry, though not in any performing form. You'll probably never hear of us again, unless you read the fine print of the CD sleeves. ..Please come out to this last show, and we'll send off Jack in proper form. We sincerely hope each of you will be there. Steven 6.05.2007 ..all the flyers While we're on the subject of flyers, won't you take a walk down memory lane and peruse all our past flyers - back from when we (or some of us) were 1420, the Steven Kim Band, and of course, Jack the Vain:
6.04.2007 Roxy flyers Coming soon to a cork board near you... What do you think? Collect them all! (no don't, please leave them there. If you want one email us).   
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