by Al Kunickis
Sweet Jane is a very short tune, but right to the point - no need to mess around when you can tell a story in approximately two and a half minutes. This one is something that caught us all a little bit by surprise as it is not your typical song length. It's about one persons insatiable love for a girl and his willing to keep her at all costs, even to share…or is it?
"This one was fun to write. Not sure of the correct literary term, whether its simile, metaphor, or personification, (maybe all 3?) It deals with an obsession, and if you haven't guessed "Jane" isn't really a person. (Or maybe she is? I will leave that up to interpretation, lol…) Whatever your inspiration, or focus of your attention, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did writing this song…” - Chris Caputo
The song starts out with an intro that is very different from the actual piece - the bass drum keeps 4/4 time along with the guitar using a wah-wah pedal for effect. Then it slams into a driving deep seated groove which takes you on a ride. This groove is consistent throughout the entire song as it is the glue that congeals what is essential and makes this song what it is.
"As I've done for all of this EP, I started out with a scratch drum line; something to keep time so Al and Chris had a basic track to work with. I wrote part of the bass line for this one, but if I recall correctly, Al picked it up from there, taking the basic pieces I started with and fleshed it out completely. Ultimately, the drum line ended up as a steady rocker; the song never felt like it needed anything splashy, just something to hold the groove and let the guitars and vocals shine." - Dave Fornalsky
The verse opens with a muted guitar and holds the bottom with the bass as additional slide guitars interplay with the vocals. After the verse, the drums let loose, and the guitars release the mute but keep the same driving rhythm while the keys take center stage. The chorus brings it all together in which he professes his love for the girl by adding two short chords and takes the listener back to a very comfortable place into the driver's seat and off we go again.
"I really like the keyboard line on this track. I started with a dirty organ sound that I've used on a number of tracks on the EP (as well as some upcoming tracks), and layered others on top of that. It has a menacing, almost sleazy tone to it." - Dave Fornalsky
After the quick break it leads us into a second verse which rings similar to the first but is half of the original as it screamed to get back to the chorus so he can profess his love again. Then slipping right into a short solo keeping pace with the movement of the tune and we are back into the chorus with the famous groove to round out the song.
"The song structure was written in one evening - it flowed very easily, and Chris had the melody line and lyrics almost complete that night as well. This was definitely a writing room special that came out from a simple groove and enabled the ideas to flow very easily. The intent was to keep it a very straight forward driving rock song - in the end it hit exactly what we were shooting for. The opening Cry-Baby Wah part was something we were thinking of for a possible different tune, but when we put it together with this one, it felt like the right direction so, there it is - Presto!” - Al Kunickis
Thanks for reading. We hope you enjoyed this short take on what went into making "Sweet Jane". 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, "Leaving The Station", coming soon!