Travis Larson Band - Burn Season
Nevele
Okay, this is cheesy. Parts of this tune are in 11/8 time, so of course,
the title is ELEVEN spelled backward. Turns out "Nevele" is
a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The
municipality comprises the towns of Hansbeke, Landegem, Merendree, Nevele
proper, Poesele and Vosselare. On January 1st, 2005 Nevele had a total
population of 11,056. The total area is 51.89 km² which gives a
population density of 213.05 inhabitants per km². So there's that.
And we're still not sure how it is really pronounced.
Burn Season
The title track was spawned the summer of '03 during one of the worst
fire seasons in California. We were in Los Angeles staying in some dirtbag
hotel with several hours to kill before the show. That morning was beautiful
and clear, there was talk of going for a swim that afternoon. After
hours of watching bad cable tv, we headed outside. The whole sky was
red and filled with ash; California snow. It was creepy, silent and
still, but somehow peaceful and beautiful. A rebirth. So goes the concept
for this song. Kinda creepy, but beautiful. And, it's over seven minutes
long so that's neat.
Edges
The first song we wrote for this album, the guitar parts are obviously
influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Obviously, I say. The title is just
one of those from our little book of "possible song titles",
so nothing really special there. Sorry. I was going for more raw edge
sounds in my solos (not sure if that comes across), so I guess that's
the connection.
No Fate
Inspired by some of the cool Foo Fighters heavy rock riffs, this is
a fun song live. Truth be told, the melody is "reminiscent"
of the Terminator theme. "There is NO FATE but what we make".
Okay, so I am a big dorky Terminator fan. So? So what if I have a life
size T-101 casting in a display case?
Heads or
Tales
The main theme for this song was originally written with a looper. This
tune went through many title changes. "The Jazz Tune" was
the working title, then "Road Less Traveled" (revoked because
of that famous guy's poem), and finally "Heads or Tales" due
to Jen's obsessive habit of flipping a coin when she can't make up her
mind about something. I think this tune has the best bass solo on the
record, so I guess she gets dibs on the title.
Axe to Grind
Another in the book of possible titles, way too cheesy to pass up. And
it's kind of "grindy", don't you think? The chorus in this
tune is one of my favorites and I dig the double-time section.
People Get
Ready
Most everyone knows this story already, but here's the short of it.
I'm a big Jeff Beck fan. Huge. In fact he's the reason I picked up guitar.
Specifically this tune is the reason I picked up guitar. So I thought
it would be a cool homage and it's just such a cool song. Thanks to
my brotha Steve Lukather, this version is exactly what I hoped for.
Enough Said
This tune stems from a live guitar solo that I've done for many years.
It's one of those songs that fell together and when it was finished,
it felt like "enough said".
Strawberry
Spring
This is an old tune that Jen and I have played for many years at our
duet shows. I decided it was time to finally record it. The title comes
from the eleventh short story in Stephen King’s “Night Shift"
where in 1968 when the strawberry spring, a ‘false’ spring,
much like Indian summer, broke. It brought a thick fog, which covered
the college campus at nighttime, providing perfect cover for ‘Springheel
Jack’ a serial killer. So, now you know the dirty little background.
Barrage
A Trois
Affectionately called #10 by Jen's dad (possibly embarrassed by the
innuendo), Barrage has become a TLB classic. I think it's interesting
that the bass line is in 6/8 time over a double-time 4/4 feel. On the
last tour we closed most of the shows with this one, which looking back,
probably not the best call. Can you say bloody fingers??
Dirty Magic
This tune is different for TLB, but turned out really cool. Heavy riffs
reminiscent of Rush and Led Zeppelin earned the working title of "Russian
Zeptune" (Rush and Zep....). The final title came from me trying
to describe Luke's tone and technique as we had just finished working
with him on People Get Ready down at Steakhouse Studios. I said something
along the lines of "It's like dirty magic", and Jen's eyes
lit up.
Seclusion
(With You)
Another tune that was written many years ago. Perhaps the weirdest song
on the record and definitely not your typical TLB tune. I became friends
with Vinx a few years ago and when I was working this tune up for the
record I felt it really needed some intense percussion. Who better?
I sent Vinx some tracks and told him to go nuts. The result was a pleasant
surprise and however unsure we were about it fitting in with the rest
of the album, it kind of didn't matter. It's just a cool song with a
uniquely cool vibe. |
