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Rhode Diaries Part 1: A Certain Smile

I took the first driving shift at 9am. Sam and Tyg hopped onto their newly constructed bunks that had been completed just 2 hours before departure. I couldn’t tell whether it was sleep deprivation or a genuine feeling of contentment, but I spent the first 2 hours behind the wheel looking in the rear view mirror with a certain smile on my face. It wasn’t the normal kind of smile that you can see, but one you can feel real deep down in your chest. At the risk of sounding extremely corny, I kept thinking:

“we’re doing it”

We had the trailer packed with gear; bus stocked with cheap food; almost no money in our pockets; and that nervous, excited, hopeful feeling I used to get before little league baseball games. It was a dream… and we were living it.

It’s funny how those dreams change as you get older. I used to black out my bedroom and shine my reading light towards my make-shift stage while I belted karaoke as loud as I could for hours and hours on end. I started writing when I was 10 years old so that I could put on pretend concerts for thousands of invisible people until my mom called me downstairs for dinner. I never dreamed of ramen noodles for breakfast and pb&j for dinner. I never dreamed of living in the close quarters of a remodeled shuttle bus. And… I never dreamed of playing for tips in a podunk southern city for an audience of 20 or so, but that’s the dream I’m living now and I wouldn’t have it any other way. An arena audience of thousands means nothin’ without the miles put in to get there. Nowadays, I dream for the miles because then everyday feels like a victory. In the past two weeks we’ve slept on the bus; eaten the same cheap foods; been robbed; been rewarded; and as we make our way to the last show of the tour, I still have that same smile deep down in my chest. The smile that assures me we’re doing the right thing.

“I have done away with the false parades for the never coming trophy day…’cause smiles are born on days like today.”

It was such an amazing experience getting to share the bill with one of our favorite bands, DecembeRadio last Saturday at the State Theatre. Thanks so much to everyone who made it out! Watching the crowd of these hometown shows continue to grow is truly gratifying for us so from the bottom of my heart, thanks for spreading the word and continuing with us on the journey. Here’s to the best fans in the DC area. We’ll see ya next time.

-Brad

“The Inspired Love Song” by Brad

Let’s talk about love songs. I feel like I have a lot to say on this matter at this point in time…

For me, the inspired love song is the easiest and most rewarding song to write. You take a guitar, a voice, a plethora of emotions that you haven’t had a chance to sort through–and the outcome is 3 to 5 minutes of lyrics that you have trouble taking credit for accompanied by chord progressions that just happened to fall from your hands in the urgent need to get the words out. The melody follows suit.

There’s only a handful of these inspired love songs that I’ve written and can list off the top of my head. “Portrait” being the first that comes to mind. I’ll do everyone a favor and bypass all the little details that led to the writing of this song. Just know that the life experience inspiration consisted of a 4 hour (completely unromantic) group hangout in Knoxville, Tennessee where a certain gal was present. There was no eye gazing, no one on one conversation, no kiss, no nothin’. Instead, there was a 20 year old kid who was in the rebuilding phase over the break up of his high school sweetheart that was thrown into a large group of strangers that unintentionally forced him into a box of shy silence. Yes, that kid was me. But there was a song. Thank God. Something I’m comfortable with. It wasn’t the love song that I later wrote, but a song I sang later that evening with that mysterious girl from Knoxville who was unknowingly lending me a hand to stand up again. Yup, she was a singer too–an amazing one at that. There was something extremely powerful about marrying my passion for music with a complete stranger at a time when all I wanted to do is hop back on my feet. And for the record, you always hop back on your feet. Life isn’t the Titanic movie and your high school sweetheart isn’t Kate Winslet (or Leo for the ladies). That can be tough to realize in the valleys of young love heartbreak.

ANYWAY, Sunday came and I made the 7 hour drive back home. I didn’t write a word in the car but that doesn’t mean the song wasn’t being written. I think the best ones require some time in silence before an instrument is picked up. That’s why route I-81 has become the best co-writer I’ve come across. When I had the chance to pick up a guitar, the song was born in a thoughtless 30 minutes. I had no control—and that’s exactly what it takes for me to write. I can’t do it when I try.

It’s validating experiences like those that keep me writing music. This whole “love” phenomenon is a pretty powerful thing. There’s no secret as to why an outstanding majority of songs written are inspired by love. The second you sit down and say, “I think I’m going to work on a love song,” you’ve lost in my opinion. You’ve already over-thought it before the first chord is even played. The true inspired love song comes from a place that you can’t put into words UNTIL it’s sung in song. Not the other way around.

I came across what I envisioned to be the “portrait” girl and because I had the opportunity to funnel all those “love” feelings that we have trouble articulating into the bars of a song, it actually changed the way I live my life. As heavy as that sounds—it’s very true.

“I think my happiness is from learning that you exist

Now I can take the risk on my mind

Instead of wasting my time.”