Feature: One Last Job Decodes ‘Been Here Ever Since’
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind 'Been Here Ever Since' and the story it tells?
The immediate inspiration for the album was the story I tell in the opening track: a time in college when I became viscerally acquainted with fundamental questions of autonomy and free will. While of course, I'd been abstractly aware of these questions before, the episode in the song was when it first struck me how they might apply concretely and specifically to me.
And the broader story the album tells is an internal debate between the respective merits of gratitude versus ambition as guiding values for perception and decision-making. I start off from a sort of standard Western worldview placing individuality at the bottom of the assumption-stack, but following the thread from the events in the first song I gradually unpack that idea and come to explore a perspective that relinquishes some of that need for separateness and control.
Were there any challenges or breakthrough moments during the songwriting process for 'Been Here Ever Since?'
The moment that felt most like a breakthrough was the writing of the last track, "Been Here Ever Since, Pt. Two." For background, I originally got the idea for this album in April 2021, and most of the songs were written from 2021-2022. The second-to-last song written, chronologically, was “Beneath the Ocean” in November 2022, after which I knew that all I needed was a closing song before the album was ready to record. That knowledge felt relatively new to me since I don't generally plan what I'm going to write in advance--usually I write songs in the moment and then sequence them into an album later. But this time I could see clearly what the structure of the album called for--something that paralleled the opening story but had a different result--and made a request of myself to write it.
The only problem was that I had no idea to match that request, so I had to wait. I sat for three months on a 90%-written album, mulling and listening for inspiration.
Then one Wednesday in February 2023 I take an Uber back from work with the driver, Trent, who's now a main character in the song. The ride takes all of twelve minutes and doesn't feel like "Oh here it is!" at the time--we're just having a conversation. But as I'm walking down the hallway to my hotel room two minutes later it hits me that this is my closer. I had somewhere to be that evening, but in my room I hurriedly scrawled out a bunch of details about the conversation on my phone so I could write the song later. Then that Saturday when I was back home I wrote the whole thing in ~20 minutes and knew I was ready to start recording.
What is your personal favorite song from 'Been Here Ever Since' and why?
My favorite is “Beneath the Ocean,” the ninth track. In my opinion, this is the major turning point of the album--it's the first time I allow myself to face gratitude directly and consider whether it might be more important than individuality or control. And though I've tried in several conversations with friends to put this idea into regular speech, I think the message works much better in musical form, so this song has a special place in my heart as the best expression I've come up with for an idea I find quite compelling.
I also love the instrumentation on the track--the piano outro is definitely my favorite musical moment on the album.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in music?
I was a suburbs kid from north Dallas, and I currently live in Austin, TX. I love reading, taking photos, and being in nature. I also think of myself as a somewhat well-versed Nicholas Cage fan, though per a quick Google search the 40+ movies I've seen is only about a third of his filmography haha.
I got into music when I was about fifteen. I had just reached the age when music became the most important thing, and I was in love with folk/indie bands like Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, Bright Eyes, etc. Then the catalyst for learning to play guitar was that a lot of my friend group was musical: eventually after seeing how fun it looked getting not just to appreciate but also to participate in this thing that's so special and meaningful, one day I came home from school, picked up my dad's old Yamaha acoustic, and started watching YouTube tutorials.
And I'm glad this happened since having a creative outlet is now something I'm incredibly grateful for.
Can you walk us through your creative process when writing and composing music?
It usually starts with a state of mind--I generally can't force myself to write on command, but rather it's something I almost have to do when there's too much voltage in my head.
When I feel that state of mind coming on, I go pick up the guitar and often the opening line to a song as well as the accompanying chords will come to me together. Sometimes it's just a lyric or just a riff first, but usually, I need some idea of both before I proceed with writing the song--I almost never write all the music or all the lyrics first.
Essentially every song I've ever written has been recorded first as an acoustic voice memo on my phone right after I finish writing the lyrics. Then when it comes time to record for real I'll sit down to think about what the song is about, what the dominant emotions are, and how best to reflect that tone through the arrangement, even though my initial plans often continue to evolve as I go about recording.
The process moves glacially slowly at some times and unexpectedly fast at others, but getting to sit back and listen to the finished product is always worth the effort :)
