5 Q&A With Letters From Suburbia
Can you share any interesting or unique stories or perspectives in "Poker Night?"
Well, the irony of the song is that it should have never been written. When everyone bailed on poker night I was bored with nothing to do on Friday night, so I decided to mess around with some music sessions and it came out. The funny thing is I’m not very good at Poker and we don’t get to play very often on the street. It just happened to be that topic that night, so that’s what I wrote.
Were there any challenges or breakthrough moments during the songwriting process for this song?
It just kind of came out with the chorus first because I was drinking beer and I kept saying, “I need a cold, nice, iced, beer to end my week just right.” Then I just played the most standard punk rock chord progression of all time over it: “The Timeless T Formation.” What is that, you say? It’s when you start your power chord with your index finger on the A string (the root or 1), then move down to the E string right above the first chord (The 5 chord), then cross the top of the “T” by sliding up to the 6 chord and then back down to 4 chord. It looks like a “T” if you watch the hand play through it and it’s been used time and “toime” again in pop punk (said in a Tom Delonge voice). That’s how it started, but once I realized something cool was coming together I decided to commit to getting it all done in one night. I had nothing else to do, right?
Were there any memorable or standout moments during the recording sessions for "Poker Night?"
Writing, recording, mixing and mastering a song in one night that doesn’t totally suck is not very easy. What I was able to do that night was get a solid demo done for the guys to send them in the morning. The reaction was great and got a lot of laughs, but it was always meant to be a joke song. The problem was every time I would share it with music friends after that, they all said I should polish and finish it. So, when Pete Zen (our Producer) and I were listening through all my demo candidates for the EP (I had about 14), I threw “Poker Night” in for fun but never thought it would make the cut. It ended up being in Pete’s Top 3 as he ranked the demos so I just laughed and accepted that this was going to happen for real.
What is your creative vision as an artist?
To be authentic, always tell a good story, and make sure nothing is half-assed. I put an enormous amount of time and thought into everything. I do all the artwork, the website, etc, in addition to the music and lyrics themselves. Letters From Suburbia became the project name because I envisioned each song being “a take,” “a message,” or “a letter,” if you will, on one topic at a time from a random guy in modern suburban America. If you look closely at the logo, the “E” “F” and “A” are visually mimicking the universal icon for a letter with the lines. This kind of detail is in everything, from the hospital sounds layered in “Medical Boomerang” to the 80’s tonal easter eggs in “80’s Kid” and beyond. “Poker Night” is no different with a lot of inside baseball that involves all the guys in our neighborhood that were involved.
Listen, I love music and I love writing. I have an ongoing lyric document with 144 pages in it and over 100 demos most people will never hear. But I’m not 24 anymore and I can’t write about girlfriends and breakups. So I knew that I had to find a way to write about things that are still meaningful, insightful, and somewhat sarcastic (like me) without sounding completely lame. I’m going to write and record forever whether I want to or not; it’s in my DNA. But actually releasing something “finished” to the world and being proud of each song that makes the cut is a different challenge and much higher bar. Making sure I feel like I’m still doing that with every single release is the most important thing for me.
What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced as a musician, and how did you overcome them?
Over two decades there have been quite a few but for the sake of brevity I’ll narrow it down to a couple larger points that I think really helped me over the years:
There is always somebody worse than you and there is always somebody better than you. There is always someone who will love your music and always someone who will hate it. There is absolutely nothing you can do to change that. Name any famous musician in the world, someone loves them and someone hates them. Just accept it and move past it. You do you, find your people and try to enjoy the journey.
You can’t do everything by yourself. I mean, you can, but your music will most likely never reach its full potential in a vacuum. Let your strengths be your strengths and then find someone as good as or better than you to outsource your weaknesses to. For example, I’m a pretty good producer and mixer, but I realized I don’t have the time and patience anymore to do what needs to be done to finish songs at a high level. That’s been my downfall for years. But when I started reconnecting with old friends or making new ones to help me finish my songs, my production skyrocketed. I think my latest songs, including “Poker Night,” are the best sounding I’ve ever had. That said, it would have never happened if I hadn’t reached out to Pete and trusted a stranger I only knew from YouTube videos with my songs. You have to find ways to trust and let go at times. It’s not perfect, but when it works, it will feed your musical soul to its core.