Laughing Cats On the Making Of “Jerk”
What was the creative process like for this particular song?
Each song is incredibly different, like children. "Jerk" began for me as an idea to give to another artist like Matt Shultz in Cage the Elephant, which would mean the composition of the music would be wildly different and much more post punk. But Tony brought me a beautiful, reimagined composition that had synth horns in it like The Beatles’ real horns in "All You Need Is Love", a singing guitar riff, aching synth strings, and a beautiful guitar riff in the chorus. Then I decided to change the drums, so I worked with Máté Jancsovics, out of Budapest, to create what it is now. It was a journey of a few different lifetimes.
Could you discuss the lyrical themes or messages conveyed in "Jerk?"
The lyrics are meant to be very simple, almost "sad clown" like. Most songs about heartbreak are sung from the perspective of the heartbroken. But "Jerk" is sung by the "heartbreaker", the one who made all the mistakes, who hit rock bottom and needs to clean up his or her act.
Were there any memorable or standout moments during the recording sessions for "Jerk?"
Singing the vocals was a highlight. This is a vulnerable song to sing in the verse. I can get choked up sometimes and it makes it harder to get out. But being in the quiet sanctuary of the studio gave me time to connect, and I felt very free.
Where do you find inspiration for your songs or musical ideas?
Tony is constantly exploring like a sonic scientist. My writing comes from various places. I can observe friends around me and channel their relationships, like our debut single "GYB". "Jerk" came from the observations of another person who was on the outs with his wife, who decided to change his ways. And of course, some of the songs off our waterfall style release album, "Funny Money", are from my own past and present. "Cool Hand Lucy" and "Love On Fire" are written about the same past relationship in my life. Our next song, "Electrick", is about those love dreams we all have, about a specific or made up person, when you never want to wake up. My recurring love dream happens to be about Tom Brady, and for me, that's who I'm singing about in "Electrick". Ha!
How do you continuously grow and evolve as a duo?
"Funny Money" is our first album and the songs we chose for it are the ones we built first. Each has a great memory of creation that completes the album. We also have a pretty big pipeline of songs in the making that I imagine will keep us busy for a very long time. The key is to do it. It's really about just making it happen. The evolution happens naturally based on the kind of artist you are. It's important to draw from inspirational sources along your path, which we do, but the most important element is tending to your musical garden every day.