by Dave Fornalsky
Although it's the last track on the EP, the song "Lost Time" was the first track we started writing. As I recall, we decided to get together and make a real music project out of our individual talents, and on the day we were to meet, something came up for me, and I wasn't able to make it. But Al and Chris sat in the writing room and the beginnings of the song took shape.
"Lost Time is the very first song that we wrote in this new endeavor. It started with just getting together to have a few beers and jam a bit, then this idea started to form. It was written on an acoustic guitar (which was finally omitted) and that piece was how the song started." - Al Kunickis
The song is about a person lamenting the passage of time, living a life they feel is a lie because they ultimately wish they could have done things differently. The track starts with only an organ and a clean guitar as the vocals come in for the first verse.
"The song was originally supposed to be all acoustic, or at the very least, the verses were to be. As time went on, we gradually added some clean electric guitars over the verse. As I was mixing the song, I noted that the acoustic guitar was slightly out of tune and became resigned to the fact that it would need to be re-recorded. I muted the track and was surprised that I liked the verse even more without the acoustic, so I bounced it down to let Al and Chris hear it, and they agreed we could just drop it. I always thought that was ironic - dropping the instrument that the song was originally supposed to revolve around." - Dave Fornalsky
Additional guitars begin layering as the verse continues, and the drums play a simple count on the ride cymbal. The verse ends with a cymbal hit, and a guitar slide into a riff telling you something is about to change. Going into the bridge, there's a tempo change, and the song slows down, as if to point out how time is fluid to us, and sometimes seems to fly by, while other times feels as if it's dragging.
"For the next section I asked Chris if he was okay with stepping it up a bit and he was cool with it - so, poof there it was, the pre-chorus. The only thing is that it took a different route from the intro piece (in terms of timing and key) but led very nicely to the chorus. Later we had to find a way of gluing these two sections together, and in the end, I think we came up with a very nice way of doing so. Dave came up with a great bass line to go with the pre-chorus and it really helped where the song needed to head. There is also a section where a buddy of Chris' helped with the bass and we incorporated it into the final bass line for the song - thank you Eric." - Al Kunickis
The bridge into the chorus drives forward with a guitar riff and thumping bass line, as the vocals reflect on how the heady days of youth seem to pass by so quickly. A slow rocking chorus kicks in, where we're reminded to live the life you want to live, and live it like there's no tomorrow.
"This was our first shot at writing in a long time, but it was easy getting back on that bike. Add a few beers, a summer day, and a guitar, you have everything you need! The passage of time is something that fascinates me, and we long for those days long ago when life was more carefree. You don't realize until you look back, that was the time of your life. And like the seasons change, so does life, and friends and lovers become memories and ghosts you visit with from time to time. And if we are fortunate, some day we get to start the party over again." - Chris Caputo
After another loop of the verse, bridge, and chorus, we arrive at a mostly a cappella bridge. Apart from an organ keeping the low end going, and a guitar riff, the vocals are on their own. The keyboards eventually swell and come to a stop with a big hit of the snare and floor tom.
"We had multiple takes of Chris' vocals during the a cappella section. At some point, and I don't remember when, we decided to use two of them together, and it really grew on me. I like how quiet the music is at that point, but how prominent to vocals are." - Dave Fornalsky
We move then to the finale of the track, as the song jams lengthily over the chorus, where vocals are interjected sporadically, and a long guitar solo plays over the inexorable fade, something I always felt was a bit reminiscent of Vivian Campbell on Ronnie James Dio's "Holy Diver" album. The drums pound along with the occasional fill that somehow you knew was going to come in and sound just the way you expected it.
"The ending section I really like as it gave Chris and I the chance to interweave vocals and a long guitar solo over many, many bars. Very happy as to where this song ended up from the start with its extremely basic roots. It is always interesting to see where songs go after the initial thought of a good idea." - Al Kunickis
Thanks for reading. We hope you enjoyed this short take on what went into making "Lost Time". You can watch the lyric video for the song on YouTube or watch a playlist for all the songs on the EP. Stream or buy the EP from your favorite service, or right here on our website.
This is the final blog for the making of the EP. We hope you enjoyed some of the insight that went into putting the tracks together. We'll be releasing some new singles in the coming weeks, and no doubt we'll blog about how those songs were created as well. Keep checking the website for more info!