No Angels

No Angels
Written and Recorded 2013

 "No Angels" is one of my most cohesive and memorable songs, definitely in the top 5 best songs that I've written. This was the last original song that we learned in Of the North, and the last song we played together. What a song to end on!

I definitely have to cite our friends in Pay the Devil as an influence for this song. They have so much energy, playing traditional and original music that makes you smile, tap your foot, sing along, drink a beer, etc. As I've said in previous posts, during Of the North's tenure I realized that I needed to write songs that I could walk in to. I needed to be able to step in that mindset and put more of myself in it. Pay the Devil seems to do this so effortlessly. I tried and tried before, but this is a song that really broke through and captured that spirit.

Quite simply, this is a song about a vigilante in the Old West. The narrator has been betrayed and now is dishing out his own good justice. He captures the "victim", sentences him to hell, and makes him dig his own grave. I love it.

• There's more changes in this chord progression than your traditional bluegrass song, but I kept the structure as close as possible. The result is what I consider to be a great mashup of old and new.
• Banjo Ivan from Pay the Devil had another part to play in this songs development. I had originally recorded it a half-step lower (in Db) and sent the demo to Kent. From what I remember, Kent told me he'd played it for Ivan at work and Ivan asked what key it was in. Kent told him Db and Ivan replied with some comment on how no Bluegrass song is EVER in Db and if I brought this to a bluegrass jam, I'd be hanged/hung. SOOO I raised it up to D and everyone was happier for it.
• The lyrics for this song just flowed out of me. I remember starting with "Don't look now" and knew that every verse would start with it. This story unfolded so naturally that I started to wonder if I had stolen it. To my knowledge, this is completely original.
• I've never been a great improviser, so these (not so great) solos were very planned out. Even now when I play this song with Whiskey Doubles I generally use the same solos with a few small changes. 
• I love the stacked "No"s that go on in the chorus. I think it's a really cool effect and always wanted to use it. It adds a little something special to the 3-part harmony.
• Whiskey Doubles recorded this on our first EP, so if you want hear an updated version of the song, check it out on iTunes or Spotify. (Here's a video we did a few weeks ago too)
• Fun fact: At that last performance with Of the North, we played this song with Pay the Devil, Kent's dad on snare, and Ellie on banjolele. It was the final song of our set at Kent's wedding, 12 people celebrating and playing music together, and the guests watching and having a good time. This is a memory I will always hold on to.