Bret Alexander-Paul Smith-Ron Simasek

TIME FOR PRIDE (listen to MP3 sample)

THE SONG: Written on the spot in the studio. Not a stitch of an idea coming in. There is a song by Iris Dement called "No Time To Cry" that was probably the inspiration for the title. Merle Haggard did a version of that song that I love. "Time For Pride" sounds a bit Paul Westerberg-esque to my ear. A simple message to the tune, "In the end what you won't give away/The world takes anyway." That's it. There is a Bruce Springsteen song, "Human Touch" that has a line in it that says "In the end won't you don't surrender/ the world just strips away". I am sure that popped into my head while writing this one. When you only have a few hours to write something, you use whatever floats your way. Most people are smart enough to hide their sources, but everyone I know that writes steals ideas on some level. Anyone who insists on NEVER doing that is probably not a very good writer, in my opinion. Given the choice between being completely original and being clear, I will choose the latter every time. I never once bought a book because of a writer's peerless command of the English language. I buy the book because I like what the author has to say and how he says it. The same goes for any kind of music.
That attitude won't get you very far with critics, but I don't worry about that. A wise man once told me "Don't worry about the opinion of anyone that gets their music for free". I try and remember that when a bad review comes in.

THE RECORDING: TFP was recorded pretty quickly. Cool Moog synth part with an Ebow. Same sound as in "Perfect Smile". Bass, drums, Rick 12-string, the usual. Our mixer, Dave Goodermuth, did some cool stuff in post production. Panning in verse 2, heavy compression, and a great flange effect at the end. He did the flange the old fashioned way, with two tape decks. The word "flanging" was originally coined by John Lennon. It is achieved by using two tape decks with the same audio on them and putting you hand on the reel of one of the flanges (on one of the decks) to slow down the tape. It gives a great swooshing effect. Nowadays you can buy tons of little boxes that simulate effects like this. But The Beatles invented a lot of their sounds. The original flanger is still the coolest.

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