Ricochet

Ricochet
Written and Recorded 2007

I don't think I have ever shared this song. It's definitely one of my more interesting ones, but it does have its moments. This was written on one of the first nights I'd spent in my first apartment after my sophomore year of college. I remember it all happening very quickly and excitedly, laying down track after track. The original files of this are lost, but I'm guessing there are well over 12 tracks on here. There was never any band in mind while this song was written. I see it now as more of a creative exercise...and I had nothing better to do.

• I thought I was pretty slick by having the piano play the lowest notes and the bass harmonizing it. It's hardly amazing, but I do enjoy the punchiness of the bass register of the piano in conjunction with the higher notes of the electric bass.
• This is one of the only songs from this time period that doesn't have a guitar. Because of the music theory, aural training, and piano classes I'd taken, I was far more comfortable on piano than ever before. There are a few clunkers in there, but I enjoy the various levels of keyboard on this track.
• "Ricochet" is one of two songs that I've written that feature what I call "Mike Patton Vocals." Patton was (is?) the lead singer of a band called Faith No More, along with numerous other projects. He is a ridiculously talented singer who has been called a man of 1000 voices. One of them being the kind of speaking in a lower register that I use on the verses. This is my least favorite part of the song. 
• The melody on the chorus would swim in my head for days after writing it. Even now it is one of my favorite choruses. This also is one of the first songs to have non-verbal chorus (ooos and ahhs)...more to come.
• Because of the weird pivot chord that I use between the chorus and verse, when the verse comes back to the chorus it always feels like I'm making a massive key change, each time going higher and higher. I think this is due to the extreme change in vocal register and the nature of the different progressions. Regardless, I love the effect.
• I was extremely focused on production at the time. The song needed to build, so I would add something new nearly every time a part of the song rolled around. Enter a countermelody here, an extra layer there...this thing is MASSIVE by the time you get to the end.