Fuse I (reposted from Facebook)

I actually wrote the music to this song before I wrote the lyrics. I know that's how most songwriters compose; typically, I work in reverse, crafting a narrative first, followed by the music. Anyway, the music was this lovely lullabye. But the longer I played it, the more I got this creepy image in my hand of some sadistic scenario a la BOXING HELENA of some "caregiver" who really was more of a collector than anything else, and thus were born the lyrics.

Because I wasn't too thrilled by my own playing, I had Adam Silverstein (of Karl and the Marx Brothers) play the piano on the track, and he also crafted some strings. Adam nailed the Brechtian threepenny opera mood I was attempting to establish. Paul's percussion is there for coloring, and then Jacque's bass was the last thing to be added. It may have been the final track he recorded for the EP (remember, not everything gets recorded in order, or at once!); consequently, it really took him a long time to nail this one. The bass had to essentially play the role of the psychopathic character who is, indeed, the fuse: creeping around and appearing innocent when folks are watching; then sidling up to you unexpectedly before attacking you. To complicate matters, I wrote the majority of this as a 3/4 waltz (technically, it's 6/8) which at the end suddenly shifts to 4/4 and becomes looser and less metered (in fact, we recorded the latter part with no click track, specifically to eschew such constraints). Not an easy task for the drummer or bassist to come in AFTER THE FACT and add to that. But Paul and Jacque kick ass.

FUSE I

In another time and place he'd be a menace to society,

Exposed; but his self-serving lies for now, though, go unrecognized.

And all his cruel intent... His keen mind wields blunt instruments.

It's far too late to run. He'd hunt you down, then you'd be done.

His fuse burns hot, though no one sees, and short: Oh, how conveniently

They turn blind eyes, buy his panache. He's such a well-assimilated psychopath.

You can buy the track (as well as the full EP) on iTunes:

Or you can get them at CDBaby, which costs less if you're buying the whole thing, and still manages to pay me more.

And for you old-school tangibly-oriented fogies, send me a private message, and I'll invoice you if you'd like a hard copy of the professionally pressed disc, or order from the store here at the official website!