by Al Kunckis
Ringtone appears to be about a person waiting for a response from someone special, but they are conflicted in which they are not sure if that person is really truthful or playing them - in the end we all need love and sacrifice certain things to obtain it - is this what is happening here?
"Ringtone was the second track we put together for the EP. We were still flushing out the song "Lost Time" when Al and Chris came up with the concept for this one, and we started working on it right away." - Dave Fornalsky
The song starts with dialing a number and the phone ringing - then the guitar is introduced with a repetitive sequence of tones to heighten the phone sound and bring out the urgency, along with the drums keeping time with a stick on the rim of the snare.
"Funny story, this one as I remember. Al, showed up, we went to the writing room (a gazebo overlooking the river), and my damn phone would not stop ringing. Not calls I wanted to take, like friends or business, just telemarketers and bs. Mind you, in my laziness, I had left the ringtone set to what had now become the most annoying of pre-sets. Then inspiration (or maybe it was the beer) struck, and I had the idea that it would be a great way to start a song. Instead of the actual sound, I convinced Al to write a riff loosely following the ring tone." - Chris Caputo
"This song really came from nothing - hanging out in the writing room we started thinking about what to do and tried to mimic Chris' cell phone sound (hard to do when it is a flip phone :) ) on the guitar - after we found something we liked, the next guitar part chunk rolled out pretty smoothly and was quite groovy I might add - gluing a few pieces together and Dave throwing down a great driving beat we were in business." - Al Kunckis
The vocals start with a radio sound to mimic a phone call and then slips into normal voice to establish where the song is heading.
"The opening lyric was based on my general frustration. Then I realized we needed to go somewhere with it as things progressed and it developed into a story we have all experienced. On again off again relationship, being just friends, hearing about the new "friend" going back when you know it will end badly, thinking it's a mistake but doing it anyway, and ultimately giving it another try. Names omitted to protect the innocent, LOL!" - Chris Caputo
The bass kicks in along with the guitar and driving drums to get things in motion - the bass is very prominent to set the groove and push the song forward.
"Placing the bass was a little bit of a chore as it needed to have the movement during the driving sections, but then fit the groove in the tap parts - in the end we figured it out and it fit what the tune needed to bring the song across." - Al Kunickis
"Once I put the scratch drum line together, I wrote a simple keyboard line, one that builds a bit as the chorus approaches. There's also this wonderful, bouncing synth during the tail end of the verses, one that the bass mimics along with it, and helps drive the song along." - Dave Fornalsky
Then, this is where the story really begins - the guy wonders if he is going crazy as he thinks he knows who is calling and why they are calling - or does he?
He questions himself as to what is "the cost" of being in this uncertainty and is battling inside for the right decision - feelings are twisted, and it is mind vs. body - which will win? It is clear that he is going through something that many of us have gone through - love or lust - is it together or separate - who takes advantage of whom and who wins in the end - if we are not of the same mind, no one really.
In the chorus - he wants to get back to the original feeling when they met, be happy again and ride it out to the end where all love stories triumphantly go in the movies. He emphasizes "bitter end" as he knows it is not that simple and it will be a fight to get there, but is willing to take the heartache and pain along with hopefully some good times instead of enduring the emptiness of loss.
He wants to be fully involved in the relationship, but is starting to realize that she may be unstable in more ways than one - what does each person really want in the end? Are goals aligned or not, we all know that attraction is one thing, but if the direction in life does not match then we are trying to put a square peg in a round hole - it will not work no matter how much one of us really wants it to be.
After the second chorus the pre-solo section starts with distorted sliding guitars entering to add tension to the story before the solo brings it back to normality. During this time the drums stomp the bottom and accent the ride bell to continue the momentum forward. In the solo the bass sets a nice groove which is foreign to the song but fits nicely and is refreshing to the story prior to going back into the chorus.
"The final drum line for this track is even simpler than what I wrote for "Sweet Jane". There are no tom-toms in it whatsoever (go ahead, give it another listen). I tried a few simple fills here and there, but it always felt forced. My drummer brain screamed out that you can't have a rock song without at least a couple tom hits, but I never found a spot in the track that felt empty without them, so I decided not to force it. The tune is another straightforward rocker that really doesn't demand the drums to break out of the pocket, so they sit tight along with the bass line that Al constructed for this one." - Dave Fornalsky
The final chorus reminds us that he is not giving up and still wants to get back to that happy feeling. The song ends with more distorted slide guitars and him asking to start over.
What happens next?
Thanks for reading. We hope you enjoyed this short take on what went into making "Ringtone". 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.
Stay tuned for a blog about the making of the last track on the EP, "Lost Time", coming soon!