Voice Memo Delux w/ Bacon

Voice Memo
Written and Recorded 2007
Voice Memo Delux
Arranged and Recorded 2008
Voice Memo Delux w/ Bacon (King's Gentlemen)
Arranged and Recorded 2008

During the winter and spring breaks of my sophomore year of college, I went back home to 'Stallis and recorded a bunch of music with a former bandmate of mine named Zach Rieboldt. He is my brother's age and had his own apartment at the time. Zach was pretty excited because he just bought a nice studio interface and wanted to test it out. So we started with a cover and then just wrote a bunch of music. I would bring in a song and record most of the parts while he essentially produced and engineered, then we would switch and I would do the same for him. It was an extremely challenging, fun, and productive time. It spawned many songs that would later be reworked again in college.

The original Voice Memo was recorded at Zach's apartment and would go on to be reworked and reworked again for King's Gentlemen. It's pretty cool to listen to all three versions. This is a pretty clear illustration of what my process was like at the time. I'd write a song and record a full demo of it, then go back and do it again until I was happy. Part of me feels doing full demos was a waste of time, but the changes in instruments and settings definitely influenced the structure and feel of the song. I would rarely go back and change things like lyrics, chord progressions, or key signature.

• The title comes from the fact that the chord progression that you hear on the verses was originally recorded on the Voice Memo function of my old, orange, and doughnut shaped phone so I wouldn't forget it.
• The lyrics of this song were originally targeted towards my previously mentioned ex-girlfriend (then girlfriend.) I just didn't get it, we did not really click. Though it was written 4 or 5 months before we broke up, the chorus is basically saying, "Let's break up, I'm clearly not what you want, no hard feelings." 
• Yes, there is a reference to Duke Nukem in the second verse.
• By the time that King's Gentlemen was going to record this song for our EP, I had established new meaning for myself in the song. I was entering my final year at Whitewater and knew it was time to move on. Instead of being a pseudo-sappy break up song, it turned into a positive journey song.
• In the second/third versions, the final chord of the bridge/pre-chorus is extended and builds towards the final chorus. That makes a massive difference in getting to that final moment, otherwise it's very plain jane, but this gives it more weight.
• Again, drummer Trevor Saint really helped this track come alive. That drum fill in the beginning (complete with the "ah fuck") became a highlight for me. He was incredibly easy to play music with.
• It's funny how in the original recording the main guitar is clean on the intro/verses and it almost sounds a bit western in nature. But by the time you get to the KG version, it has lost all of that connection and just becomes a rock chord progression. Part of that is adding the connecting riff in there.
• I always enjoyed playing this song more than listening, but lining up these three versions is really fun.