Coma Beach On the Making of “Nothing Right”
Can you share any interesting or unique musical elements or production techniques used in "Nothing Right?"
“Nothing Right“ was one of our first truly punk rock-y songs and, a little further down the road, turned out to deliver kind of a mission statement for our album “The Scapegoat’s Agony“. Right next to “Jesus‘ Tears“, it’s probably one of our most emblematic and anthemic songs.
Compared to the demo we had released a few months earlier, the album version of “Nothing Right“ turned out to be faster, rawer, and more aggressive (which, apart from us being four angry young men and one angry young woman, was likely also due to some extremely annoying major differences we had had to deal with in our first recording studio😉).
Were there any challenges or breakthrough moments during the songwriting process for "Nothing Right?"
All in all, the songwriting process for “Nothing Right“ was pretty straightforward: In this case, our guitarist Captain A. Fear came up with the song idea and the lyrics (in German), and our bassist U. Terror helped to adapt them into its final English version and then A. Fear went on to work his songwriting magic by structuring the song in such a fashion that it would carry its existentialist message in a memorable and powerful manner: right from the bass intro all the way to its chaotic, all-hands-on-deck conclusion.
What impact do you hope "Nothing Right" will have on your audience?
Throughout our short, but intense musical journey, it was always important to us to combine raw and powerful sonic energy with lyrical depth and universal resonance. This is probably why each and every song on our album “The Scapegoat’s Agony“ serves its very own unique function in driving forward the larger narrative: the – for the most part – painful and excruciating emotional odyssey of the unnamed antihero. As track #2 on the album, “Nothing Right“ lays the groundwork for the protagonist's arduous and torturous journey towards self-preservation or eternal damnation. Or to put it in a nutshell: our music is meant to make you both headbang and think😉.
How did your band members initially come together?
Well, you could say it was the usual mix of familial ties and a slight tinge of megalomania😅! Comprised of two pairs of brothers (M. Lecter & Captain A. Fear and B. Kafka & U. Terror) and one young lady (M. Blunt), our band started out in 1993, shortly after the former three had witnessed a not-quite-convincing gig at an infamous underground club in Frankfurt: when they left the venue, they looked at each other and quipped: “Seriously? We can do that MUCH better!“ A. Fear was going to play the lead guitar, M. Lecter would batter the drums and B. Kafka would be in charge of crooning, growling, and shouting. Well, add to that two unsuspecting accomplices at the bass guitar (U. Terror) and the rhythm guitar (M. Blunt), and lo and behold: we DID have a band!
What do you enjoy most about performing live and connecting with your audience?
Well, since our active touring days have been over for quite some time, that exciting and thrilling feeling when performing live seems like a distant memory now. However, it’s enormously gratifying and encouraging to find out that our music still manages to speak to people all over the world, some of whom weren’t even born when our album was originally released. So you could say that the connection with our audience is still there, but it has mostly moved into the digital realm: in a manner of speaking, we may have become some kind of cyberpunk, I guess😅!