Title: “Fireworks Over Vegas”
Artist: Riot! in the Boulevard
Album: “Young Cardinals” (2017)
Release Date: August 19, 2017
Length: 2:11
Format: CD Single, Digital Download, Weekly Airplay, 7” Single
Recorded: April 2017 - Village Studios - Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop-Punk
Label: Studio60 Records
Written: March 2017
Writer(s): Amy Meyer, Adam Benjamin, Jason Greenberg
Producer(s): Riot! in the Boulevard, Cara Zayn, Christian Fallon
“Fireworks Over Vegas” is a track written and recorded by American alternative-rock band 'Riot! in the Boulevard', taken from their upcoming album “Young Cardinals” which is expected to be released in late 2017. With the release of their latest single, it marks the fifth single taken from their new album which is a change from the norm from the trio as they've traditionally released two singles before the album release and two singles after the album release. But according to bassist 'Jason Greenberg' it was a decision that the band made not only to keep things fresh for them but to continue to give the fans something new on a regular basis while they finish up what has been one of the longest and gruelling albums for the band since their debuts in 2011. It's not known how many singles the band will put out prior to the album, but there have been some suggestions that we could hear almost half of the album released as singles way before the record drops later in the year. So far the decision has proven to be a successful one as they've achieved two number one singles and two number two singles.
In terms of the songs content, it's very much a melancholy love letter to their hometown of Las Vegas, as Amy recently described, “We're Vegas kids at heart but the amount of time we've spent back home since things took off for us is probably the only real sacrifice we've had to make and struggled with. We all managed to spend the entire month of December 2016 back in Vegas and that just drove home the fact that we've missed the place so much. There's cousins and brothers and sisters with children that are four and five years old and we all barely know them. It was a very sobering thing to get out of the bubble for an extended period of time and that is very much the genesis of this song. It's a song about feeling homesick and being the Vegas kids that we are at our core. This is one of the shorter songs on the album, but it's one of my favourites for it's content and I truly the lyrics and wordplay used in the songs. The opening verse has a modified quotation from 'The Wizard of Oz' which I'm so pleased I finally managed to sneak into a song and I love the imagery of the chorus too. “Cut me skin deep and you will see. That my blood runs neon colours. It's more than dark red to me.” is as about as romantic as I can be at this moment in my life. It's pretty simple imagery. Las Vegas is renowned for it's bright lights and neon colours and it's just essentially my way of saying, this is where I'm from and I will never be able to remove that from who I am and I'm a proud patriot of my hometown.”
“Fireworks Over Vegas” was written in March 2017 and later recorded in April by the trio at Village Studios in Los Angeles, California. The track was written collaboratively with all three members of the band working together on the song with production helmed by themselves, Cara Zayn and Christian Fallon. The track clocks in at two minutes and eleven seconds and will be one of the shorter songs in length from the bands back catalogue of singles and album tracks. The song will be released through Studio60 Records and will be available as a CD Single, Digital Download, 7” Single and will be made available to Weekly Airplay from August 19, 2017.
SONG DESCRIPTION;The band return directly to their pop-punk elements with this track and it is clear immediately as a driving guitar and drum introduction is emphasized by the soaring vocal delivery from Amy Meyer as she sings out loud and energetically the songs opening, “When was the last time somebody said let's go home/Some nights I wish I could just tap my shoes and sing a little poem/But Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Vegas any more/And I know it's all journeys over destinations/At least that's what they say/I'm just a little tired of being told/It's not where you go/It's who you meet along the way.” which is an opening verse lyrically and musically drenched in early 2000's pop-punk. The playing around with movie quotations and the aggressive guitar and drum heavy back-drop mixed with the sad-tinged lyrics of hometown longing are on clear display with this latest track from the group. Amy sings how people keep saying that 'it's not where you go but it's who you meet along the way.' and she sings it with a tinge of melancholy sadness as she's essentially pointing out that despite this, she'd much rather be back home with the people that she grew up with and the people that have more love and better intentions for her than those that she's met along the way in the music industry. This is one interpretation of the opening verse.
We're quickly given the chorus, which screams early Riot! In the Boulevard ideology, the drumming is hard and fast and the guitars are soaring and powerful which again is the perfect element for Amy to let loose with her vocal delivery as she sings with passion, “Cut me skin deep and you will see/That my blood runs neon colours/It's more than dark red to me.” which she repeats once more, giving fans those catchy choruses that they've all loved for many years. On the face of it, it seems like a very simple chorus but it's actually quite clever in the wordplay as she talks about how the elements of her hometown of Las Vegas run through her veins but uses the cities iconic neon image to put across her feelings and give the song a personal touch.
It's then followed by an instrumental breakdown where the music gets a little slower and more melodic, the guitars are softer and the drum beat is a lot more feint, Amy steps up once more and delivers some heartfelt lines about her touring life, “I get so low on the road all of the time/Sometimes I just wish to be home with a place to call mine/From the distance I can see the fireworks over Vegas/which serves to remin me of the places and people that I miss/From a distance I can see the fireworks over Vegas/Which only serves to remind me of the places/And all of the people that I miss.” and like quite a lot of the songs that we've heard so far from the album, it feels more so on this upcoming record than any other that the band are having a long conversation with their fans, revealing emotions and sadness that they've pretty much kept at bay on the face of it throughout the years. It couldn't be more evident that not only Amy but both Adam and Jason too have struggled with a lot throughout the years and if this is their final record for a while as is rumoured then it's a poetically beautiful and raw way for them to walk away from the band and head down some different paths.
LYRICS;“When was the last time somebody said let's go home
Some nights I wish I could just tap my shoes and sing a little poem
But Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Vegas any more
And I know it's all journeys over destinations
At least that's what they say
I'm just a little tired of being told
It's not where you go
It's who you meet along the way
Cut me skin deep and you will see
That my blood runs neon colours
It's more than dark red to me
Cut me skin deep and you will see
That my blood runs neon colours
It's more than dark red to me
I get so low on the road all of the time
Sometimes I just wish to be home with a place to call mine
From the distance I can see the fireworks over Vegas
Which serves to remind me of the places and people that I miss
From a distance I can see the fireworks over Vegas
Which only serves to remind me of the places
And all of the people that I miss
Cut me skin deep and you will see
That my blood runs neon colours
It's more than dark red to me
Cut me skin deep and you will see
That my blood runs neon colours
It's more than dark red to me
I get so low on the road all of the time
Sometimes I just wish to be home with a place to call mine
From the distance I can see the fireworks over Vegas
Which serves to remind me of the places and people that I miss
From a distance I can see the fireworks over Vegas
Which only serves to remind me of the places
And all of the people that I miss”
PERSONNEL;Amy Meyer – lead vocals, lyrics, composition, production
Adam Benjamin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lyrics, composition, production
Jason Greenberg – bass guitar, lyrics, composition, production
Billie Langdon – drums, percussion
Cara Zayn – production, mixing, engineering
Christian Fallon – production, mixing
SOUNDALIKE;We Are The In Crowd - “This Isn't Goodbye, It's BRB”
