chrismckay.com

Here's some stuff that (for better or worse) money can't buy.

I'll Be Fine LINK REMOVED 5/19/05 - Album version coming in September '05!(McKay / DeFreese / Bavis)(Pre-production demo of band arrangement. Recorded early in the month and posted Feb. 18, 2005) Anyone who's been keeping up with me even marginally over the past year or so will know exactly what this one's written about. I wrote the music when I was checking intonation on my guitar. That riff just popped up and the rest followed. The lyrics are semi-ad libbed but I did actually work on these a bit. I like the song alot but I must admit that it's kind of hard for me to sing due to what it's about. I'm enjoying it more and more as it's become a regular of the live show. Tom has even been known to call it a favorite. I might, too, but I'll have to think about it some more (a little distance will tell). Frank contributed significantly to the bassline in this one, making it the third song that Frank and I have worked on together. Tom also contributed so that makes this the very first song written by all 3 of us. The others that Frank and I wrote together are "The Towel Cape Song" and "Worms On The Pavement", both of which have become staples of our shows (and later, "Wide Bicycle" which has become a personal favorite).

Until The Road Ends LINK REMOVED 5/19/05 - Album version coming in September '05!(McKay)(Pre-production demo of band arrangement. Recording finished 2-3-05, posted 2-3-05) This was one of those "it took as long to write as it does to play it" songs. It was one of the first ones I ever did that was pretty much all ad-libbed, too. I wrote this a few months after Q-Sign disbanded and it kind of describes how I felt at the time (actually I feel this way most of the time). I did a crappy version of it that went on the Perpetual Motion Machine collection(same as "Phony") but it's taken 'til this band to really hit its groove and find a home. We've played it at almost every show either as an opener or second song. I love Tom's drumming here. It's not completely perfect from a technical standpoint but it's sure perfect to get the feel and energy pumping. While not originally slated to be recorded for the full-length album, it's looking more and more like this will make the cut! Enjoy...it's nice to finally have a decent performance of this and "Phony". I can't wait to hear how punchy an actual studio version will sound!

I Know Too Much (For My Own Good)LINK REMOVED 5/19/05 - Album version coming in September '05! (McKay)(Pre-production demo of band arrangement, Recording Finished 2-2-05, posted 2-5-05) If you've been keeping up with my diary, you know I've been a bit depressed lately. I'm still dealing with the death of my Dad, health of other close members of my family (and friends) and the pressures of my work. This kind of says how I feel right now. I'm not trying to win, I'm just trying to keep plowing ahead. If you take that as arrogance, ego or delusion, you're not paying attention and you don't get it. Musically, I was trying to write a new Q-Sign song. The band broke up years ago but I wanted to see if I could still get that feeling. I lifted bits of "Stay Away," "Someone's Trying To Tell Us Something," "Give Up Town" and 2 songs we never recorded ("Actualize Yourself" and "One Of A Kind") for various pieces. The song came to me whole one day in the summer of '04. It may be written as a Q-Sign song but it's still written with the current band lineup in mind! It became a staple of our live show by the second time we performed it and it's just about an "every-nighter" at this point.

Phony LINK REMOVED 5/19/05 - Album version coming in September '05!(McKay / O'Gorman)(Pre-production demo of band arrangement. Recording finished 2-2-05, posted 2-3-05) This song has rightfully become one of the centerpieces of our live show. One listen to the solo at the end should tell you why. Let's just say it's massive. We usually put it somewhere near the middle of the set and then do something quieter after it 'cause you can't really get any louder. I wrote this for my demo collection "Perpetual Motion Machine" which was my first post Q-Sign project. This explains the negative tone of the song. It's not necessarily literal. You see, that was meant to be a concept album and this is sung from the lead character's point of view...not mine. So don't worry 'bout me (at least not because of the lyrics here). This was originally meant to be a Q-Sign song (we called it "Sludge"). Tom O'Gorman even contributed the stop-time music of the middle 8. It was one of our very last collaborations. As far as the songwriting goes, it's not one of my favorites, but as far as riffs and rocking, it definitely is. It's so much fun to perform that I've really come to love it. It's impossible to play without a swagger and some attitude. It almost always catches people by surprise to see 3 "skinny arty guys" pull this one out on 'em. And to be honest, I'm surprised that I was able to sculpt that ending solo and even more surprised that I can nail it (almost) dead-on every time.

Everyday (McKay / Rietveld)(Pre-production warm-up recording, finished 2-2-05, uploaded 2-5-05) This holds the distinction of being one of the first songs I ever wrote. So if it seems like it was written by a naive 17-year old kid from a small town, it's cause it was. Conceptually, it's funny to me because I haven't changed that much! The full-on classic rock solo was composed by a great blues guitarist from South Carolina named C. Jason Brazell. He played it on a studio demo for me and I just copped his licks 'cause it was so melodic and classic sounding. Mike Rietveld (my old drumming compatriot) co-wrote this with me and is responsible for the heartbeat of it. The rolls and tom accents are things I never would've come up with on my own. Tom Bavis adapts Mike's parts to his own personality here but the basic feel is the same. This one's on here for the novelty of the ten or so people who remember it from when it was first written and all of those who've come to like it from performances with the current line-up. For the record, we have no intention of doing an official recording of this one. We did it during this session just to have this arrangement of it captured (and to put up on this site for our regulars). So to that end, it's certainly not a perfect take. It is, however, accurate!