That Was Me

That Was Me
Written and Recorded 2006

I have very clear memories of writing this song. "That Was Me" is one of the few songs I wrote following a break-up, this one after my freshman year of college. But unlike most break-up songs, this has nothing to do with pining for a lost love, but was a reflective piece on how I acted during that relationship.

However, the chord progression started as an effort to write a song for a ska band...that's right, a ska band in 2006 called Odd End Out. I had classes with some of the members and was admittedly a little envious of other people having a functional band in college. I was asked to sub for them on guitar on a gig, but it ended up being cancelled. When I got home that summer, I wanted to write a song for them to play. I guess it was going to be my way of living vicariously through them. Because of the lyrics that I wrote for the song, I never presented it to them and it stayed in my computer. Try to picture the rhythm guitar playing quick off-beats and a faster tempo for the ska version that was never to be.

• This is one of my stronger "pop" tunes. It's straight forward enough and the content is accessible. It would have fit great in my non-hard rock band in high school.
• Again, I tend to take pride in my bass lines, this one particularly on the chorus. It's sort of a Paul McCartney-ish "trick" I use by just going up the arpeggio. I also do a quick riff every once in a while in the verses.
• The chorus is repeated each time, but changes from the tonic (I) to the submediant (vi) on the first chord of the phrase the second time around. It' a pretty simple way of extending the chorus and giving the second time through a little more weight emotionally with that minor chord. I'm sure I learned that in a Beatles song somewhere along the way.
• I did try and get a band together to perform this and a few other songs at the start of my sophomore year. We were going to be the Skeleton Blues, but with only one other member and not enough motivation, it quickly fizzled out. We did practice this song with prerecorded bass, drums, and organ on my keyboard while I played guitar and he played trombone. The trombone part was in place of the guitar interlude line. It worked surprisingly well.
• The melody of the verse moves along nicely. Each line has a separate set of notes that build on each other and resolve before the chorus. I wouldn't say it's catchy, but it functions in a way that sets up the hook of the chorus.
• I shared this song with my parents that summer. The one thing I remember my mom saying is, "I wish I had you as a cantor at church!" I took it as a huge compliment (my parents are both church musicians), but this recording is pretty pitchy on the verses. Still had quite a bit of learning to do there.