by Dave Fornalsky
Despite being the first track on the EP, "The Eleventh Step" was the last song we wrote (though not the last song fully recorded, as you'll find out in a future blog about our EP, "Lost Time"). It's the story of an alcoholic seeking redemption but knows he doesn't have the strength to resist temptation.
"To me it's about someone you know. That person that's always up to party, always pushing the envelope. Eventually they alienate their friends and everyone around them. We all might have played that role at some point, once or twice. Maybe you and your friends can laugh about it now. Worse when it becomes a never ending cycle of destruction. At what point does having a good time turn into the need for an intervention? Hopefully the character in our song gets their act together. That being said, it's a song, lyrics and meaning open to interpretation by the listener." - Chris Caputo
The song opens with a riff that segues into a driving guitar, ultimately leading to the song's first verse, where a man wakes up after binge drinking, to find himself sleeping on the floor. Originally the guitars were much busier during the verse, but after some discussion we decided to tone them down to what you hear now.
"I remember introducing the idea to Dave and Chris by showing the intro riff and a few chords to see what they thought. It was positioned in a way for them to envision a big rock type song, which seemed to be a little difficult given the fact that it was just a small riff and a few chords." - Al Kunickis
The song continues through another verse, with our protagonist questioning whether he should have to apologize once more for his indiscretions, while lamenting the fact that his friends will no longer hang around with him.
The chorus takes on an ironically inspirational tone compared to the more somber verse, as the anti-hero falls "down on the eleventh step", unable to fully take the step that connects him to his god, admitting to us that he ultimately can't wait to have another drink - to "do it again".
The final verse of the song has our inebriated rogue making peace with what he is, but also deciding to find a reason to quit drinking.
As the song progresses to the guitar solo, the music returns to that same underlying, driving riff that opened the song. The solo itself starts restrained, but gradually becomes quicker and more aggressive, with the bass and drums keeping pace.
"I began by writing a scratch drum and bass line, just so the guys had something to work with, and so we could figure out the complete structure of the song. But believe it or not, it wasn't until I created the keyboard line that I was able to find the groove I thought fit with this tune. The keys gave the verse a dark feel, something almost angry, and changed the sound enough that Al altered a chord or two on guitar to partner with them. Out of all the songs on the EP, this is the rhythm line I'm most happy with." - Dave Fornalsky
The last chorus ends on a drawn out note of F, which is out of key for the song, but builds tension towards the final resolution, with the concluding strains ending in a bit of laughter. Has the man found his way out of the bottle, or is he just reaching for a new one? We'll leave that for you to decide. Originally the "Lost Time" EP was going to be only four songs, but after we had laid down a good scratch recording of this song, we knew it had to be included, and would be the opening track.
"Turns out, as many of our songs spawn out of this type of initial approach, so did this one - sitting in the writing room as we generally do when it is nice out, Chris started putting pen to paper and came up with the melody and words for the verse and chorus. Then when Dave put the opening drums and bass down, this quickly inspired us to know it was indeed a keeper and the tune was in full motion." - Al Kunickis
Thanks for reading. We hope you enjoyed this short take on what went into making "The Eleventh Step". 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 next track on the EP, "Sweet Jane", coming soon!