The Sea at Midnight On the Making Of “Wait For Rain”
What was the creative process like for this particular song?
The creative process—especially when it comes to songwriting—has always felt a little mysterious to me. Whenever people ask how I write songs, I often tell them I don’t. Not really. There’s this sense that I have nothing to do with the initial spark or inspiration —the melody, the chord progression, the riff, the lyric—it’s almost as if I’ve had no hand in creating any of it. The songs just show up, as though they’ve been floating around in the ether, waiting for the right moment to reveal themselves.
The way I experience it is that the songs already exist somewhere, and every once in a while, they show a bit of themselves and if I'm inspired or excited I try to further develop the idea. I often think of songwriting as a form of sonic sculpting. I’m not creating the song—I’m simply chiseling away at the original lightning bolt of inspiration, revealing the shape that’s been waiting there all along. The song "Wait For Rain" was no exception. Like most of my songs, it started on the guitar. I usually write on acoustic, and one day I found myself strumming a familiar chord progression—one I’ve probably played a hundred times before. And then, out of nowhere, the melody and lyrics for the chorus suddenly appeared. It felt like a chorus anyhow. Then I thought, "What is this song about?" At the time, climate change had been weighing heavily on my mind. The more I thought about it, the more I realized the song wanted to speak about drought, so then I started to construct the verses around that lyrical theme. Drought, of course, isn’t just about dry ground and cracked earth—it’s also about the devastating ripple effects it has on the environment. Wildfires, for example, are often a direct consequence of severe drought conditions and that idea made its way into the song as well.
How did you work with the producer or engineers to bring your vision for "Wait For Rain" to life?
Chris King (Cold Showers, Kai Tak) has produced, engineered and mixed every The Sea At Midnight song thus far. We did our usual process which is I play the song for Chris on acoustic guitar and he gives me feedback from a producer's perspective. Then we record an acoustic version of just me singing and playing acoustic guitar. From there we start building up the track and adding the other instruments. We often make decisions or choices during this process that we hadn't even considered when we began. As Chris likes to say, "Sometimes songs tell you what they need once you start recording them". Once we get all the music where we want it I resing the vocals over the rough demo take and sometimes recut the acoustic guitar as well if we feel it needs a different feel with all the instruments in place.
What impact do you hope "Wait For Rain" will have on your audience?
It would be nice if it raises awareness about climate change and its devastating impacts and consequences.
How did your band members initially come together?
Only intended for The Sea At Midnight to be a recording project although I did put together a band for a small local festival in the spring of 2022. It was fun although I didn't have the desire then to put together a more permanent band and pursue shows to play out regularly, but for some reason this year I got the bug again to play gigs so need to find some bandmates. I've known the drummer, Michael Rendon, for years as we both work together at the same place and Chris King the producer actually found the guitarist and bass player for me through his wide network of musician connections.
Are there any specific themes or messages that you aim to convey through your music?
I never write songs with any specific message or theme in mind. The initial idea or spark when I write a song usually comes while I'm playing guitar and the lyrics just kind of organically appear which I described earlier. I used to try and write songs using poetry I'd written but haven't done that in ages. Those songs always sounded stilted to me.
Lyrically, many of the songs deal with my struggles with alcohol and drug addiction and coping with lifelong depression. Those themes just organically, almost on their own, seemed to appear when I was writing. Lately, climate change and its devastating consequences have been on my mind so it's probably natural that those themes would make their way into the songs. Suppose there is a strong element of sadness to many of my songs, but hope often decides to make an appearance. Maybe it's a counter against my more melancholy side.