Levi On the Making Of “Common Sense”
Can you share any interesting or unique musical elements or production techniques used in "Common Sense?"
“Common Sense” has nice guitar stacks but what takes the cake on the production, at least for me, are the background vocals right before the chorus. So there are basically 6 takes of my spread to the left and right sides with a nice lush reverb. To me, it sounds amazing and marks that separation between verse and chorus.
Were there any challenges or breakthrough moments during the songwriting process for "Common Sense?"
Oh definitely! It took me a while to finish the song because I couldn't write a chorus section to it. I had all the elements of my verses down but was looking for something to follow it up that would make an impression. I was at the studio trying out different parts. I'd been at it for hours and suddenly it hit me. I thought of Weezer's "Say it ain't so" and it became my inspiration for the chorus.
What has been one of your favorite memories along the path to making "Common Sense?"
Has to be that breakthrough moment of finding the chorus.
How do you continuously grow and evolve as an artist?
Hard to say. I grow by making more music every year I'd say. The more I make, the better I get practically. Being proficient at using the tools of music production is a huge part of making music. But there's also a part of it that is luck in a sort of way. I believe artists make their best art when they have something to say. For this song and my upcoming album, I had something to say so I got lucky there but who knows when that'll happen next. Could be years or days... who knows.
How do you approach creating something new and different?
I try my best to make something I like and not something that I think will please other people's ears. That's how I know I'm being genuine in my music and my sound. Certain sounds or stacks of instruments hit just right for me so I try as best I can to find those combinations and bring them to fruition. Something that's helped me a lot to make different songs is taking breaks and changing the environment where I create. Could be getting a different studio or simply redecorating the room. Helps to get a different creative energy. Also, I try to keep that almost childlike curiosity when writing. Like "ohh what if I do this?" or "what happens if I stack these there and switch the instruments later on???". That's what makes it fun. There are so many possibilities in music, you just have to explore them.