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Offline PANIC!  
#41 Posted : 07 June 2012 05:26:13(UTC)
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6. How a Man Grows Older
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Genre: Americana, folk rock, country
Length: 4:52
Writer: Ryan Ross Hernandez
Producer: Ryan Ross Hernandez, Chad Fairweather

Song Synopsis

The song begins with an acoustic guitar intro with a harmonica part played by Ryan himself, that lends a Dylan-esque flavor to the track. It begins very slowly with the two sole instruments, once the harmonica becomes prominent, the drums begin with a gentle hit of the cymbals before settling into a soft drumming pattern in the background. At the thirty seconds mark, Hernandez begins to sing in a intentionally shaky, raw and remorseful tone, his voice finding its place perfectly at home in the wistful ballad. A strong acoustic progression come together in a wonderfully fluid way that reminds one of vintage sounds, like they were made at Laurel Canyon in 1972, whilst rooted deeply in folk and country music.

When it is time for the chorus, Ryan keeps the same tone of his voice, while two of his protégés Caleb Morgan and Wilson Cooper (from the band We Looked Like Giants), provide gorgeous harmonies throughout. In the second verse we get the introduction of the rootsy paean marked by Greg Levey's sharp lap steel. By the midway point, it feels like an outright Americana track, with its instrumentation leading towards the bridge. Instead of getting a guitar solo, we get a harmonica solo, a key instrument in this song, while Hernandez continues to strum his acoustic guitar, steel guitar breezy in the background and a plodding upright bass play on. The keys add a warm feeling to the song, becoming more of an ear-catcher when short organ solo later in the tune play alongside the other instruments, not overtaking them.

The track ponders the passage of time and the sobering reality that the consequences of our choices are ultimately inescapable. By the time this song comes on, it sounds like the singer-songwriter has found his musical home — somewhere between early 1970s Neil Young and a less laid-back James Taylor.

Lyrics

Every morning when I wake up
I take a trip
To all the dark neighborhoods inside my head
Sometimes I wonder how they were built

I cheat my love
To gain her trust
When I know I ain't moving at all
Every year it gets harder to have faith in my fates

Each passing day it gets
Harder to take their shots
Harder to fake who I won't be
'Cause in ten years
I'll be waking up and I'll be forty-five
No one ever wants to grow old lonely


I still have dreams, maybe one or two
I haven't woken up to yet
'Cause their less ambitious than when I was young
The thing with dreams is
The older you grow, the less higher they fly

The other day I,
I saw someone who I once called a 'friend'
Who managed to get stuck in my head
As he said, "they miss you back down home"
And shame was, I didn't even remember his name

Each passing day it gets
Harder to take their shots
Harder to fake who I won't be
'Cause in twenty years
I'll be waking up and I'll be fifty-five
No one ever wants to grow old lonely


Time is still on my side
I haven't lost faith in myself
So I rely on anyone who still calls me

I got a mom
Never had no dad
So I'm a bastard child
Living with the notion
That everyone leaves you

So take a seat
And shallow this bitter pill, prepare yourself for the morning
'Cause by the time you're sixty-eight
You'll be waking up and you'll find out that
We all age just the same


Ryan Ross Hernandez's Commentary

The Music

"'How a Man Grows Older' is the song that opened the door to this album. It wasn't the first song written with the album in mind, but it was the first song that made me go, 'we got something here.' If there was one song that I had to say represents this album as a whole, both lyrically and musically, this is it. The sound is very 1970s folk. I think I was listening to a lot of Neil Young around the time I recorded this song, so things like the harmonica playing reminds of him. If you compared the style of harmonica Young and Bob Dylan played, Young's is much more mellow and calm. Dylan plays harmonica in a much higher pitch. 'How a Man Grows Older', is more of a sonic ode to Neil Young, while throwing some of my own stuff in there and creating what experts call a 'Ryan Ross Hernandez' song."

The Lyrics

"I don't want to talk too much about this one, on its meaning or anything. It's an introspective song, although I feel people will connect to it. If you're young, late teens, early twenties, you may not understand this song right now. That's fine, you're not suppose to. I think adults will understand it better, people in their thirties. All those that have had a violent crash into adulthood. On both a sonically and lyrically point of view, I'm proud of this song. It's without a doubt, one of the most honest songs I've ever written in my time as a singer-songwriter. Maybe it's a good thing that I'm not able to sing for a year, because I don't know if I would have been able to do this song live yet. I need to sing it in my bathroom a few more times before I can go out there and not breakdown into tears by the time I get to the bridge. It pretty well sums up where I am these days."

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Offline GirlSpice  
#42 Posted : 07 June 2012 06:25:34(UTC)
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Nadia: Nooo, Sadnandez! This is a beautiful song though, you know I'm a sucker for those emotional songs, despite my album not having too many of them. In all honesty, I just wanna give you a big hug when I hear these kinda songs from you, especially with commentary like that. :'(
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PANIC! on 07/06/2012(UTC)
Offline PANIC!  
#43 Posted : 07 June 2012 07:31:40(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: GirlSpice Go to Quoted Post
Nadia: Nooo, Sadnandez! This is a beautiful song though, you know I'm a sucker for those emotional songs, despite my album not having too many of them. In all honesty, I just wanna give you a big hug when I hear these kinda songs from you, especially with commentary like that. :'(


Ryan: I wish I could say this is the saddest song on the record, but I'm not quite sure of that yet. I feel very emotionally attached to the next couple of songs. Let's switch roles next album cycles! You make the emotional records, and I make the upbeat, dance-y ones. Aww, I will always take a hug you offer. I expect to get many more hugs as the emotional songs continue to roll out. :\
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Offline PANIC!  
#44 Posted : 07 June 2012 17:45:22(UTC)
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7. Moment You Get Around to Living
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Genre: Americana, blues rock, folk rock
Length: 5:25
Writer: Ryan Ross Hernandez
Producer: Ryan Ross Hernandez, Chad Fairweather

Song Synopsis

This song also starts off with an acoustic guitar before Hernandez's vocals come in. With this track been the halfway mark of the album, the listener should have an idea that is what Ryan is aiming for here. Unlike the simple strumming of the previous song, this acoustic intro features much more complex guitar chords, showing just how much he can do as a guitar player with just an acoustic instrument in hand. His vocals here are slightly higher and more clear, ending each of the three verse as the backing vocalist to himself, harmonizing his own notes. In the first verse, it is just his voice and his guitar, with a quality sound system you may just be able to hear the drummer tapping the cymbal set ever-so gently. Between the first and second verse, a steel guitar comes in, put in very effective use, remaining in the background, complementing the acoustic chords quite nicely. The tapping on the cymbal continues, although this time a minimal drumming pattern can be heard as well. Another short instrumentation break in taken before the third verse, the the backdrop of slow instrumentation now raised a few notches. It remains as such throughout the time Ryan spends singing the third verse.

At the halfway point, there is a musical interlude that changes the feel of the song completely. The Americana glow, slowly turns into more of his signature Blues roots, with a jam-band inspired feel. It features thoughtful chord changes, both on the acoustic and lap steel guitars, both of which slowly build up to a louder drum pattern. The next verse introduces more instrumentation added to the mix, with more percussion, and even some small hand clapping heard. Hernandez gives fans a glimpse of pre-celebrity life in Florida, and wonders whether the fame and success is even real. After the verse, Ryan picks up yet another guitar, this time an electric, which should please his blues fans as he creates a pleasant sounding solo, with a few pedal effects.

Towards the end of the song, he shakes off the fantasy, having a conversation with himself that gives the listener a insightful view of how Ryan's mind thinks. On this occasion he needs no harmonization, calling it just like he sees it. During the closing minute, all the instrumentation heard before comes together. Even bongo drums are played in what definitely feels like a jam, despite the lyrics aiming for a different tone. The beauty in it is it meshes great.

Lyrics

The moment I learn there's a world outside
I'm gonna buy myself an old house with an attic
Make sure it has no windows so I won't see the time passing
And I'll stay on my own
Enjoy the beauty of living on your own

The moment I learn life's for living
I'm gonna construct myself a dream inside my head
Where all the love one gives
Returns to them in equal portions
The love I give

The moment I learn I'm getting older
I'll wake up at dawn each day
Build a sailboat big enough for one
And sail it through the Pacific Ocean
'Til all I see is sea
Disappear at sea

Maybe the last decade is a dream I haven't woken up from yet
Perhaps I'm still a naive young kid
Who just wants to play his guitar on a big stage
With an audience who knows his songs
And maybe meet a few women who love the idea of him

Boy, you ain't seventeen no more
You're a grown man now
Who better get over his fears
And drop the hammer on his glass heart

You have built conspiracy theories in your mind
Thinking everyone is out to get you
That you rather kill yourself than be murdered by anyone of them
And you, have become a control freak
Thinking that you can correct any mess you make
That you have run your mouth long enough and it caught up to you

Boy, you ain't twenty-eight no more
You're a grown man now
Who fear hasn't killed yet
And you have nowhere to run

Ryan Ross Hernandez's Commentary

The Music

"We are at the halfway mark of the album, and this is where the 'transformation' of the album begins. Where everything you've heard so far, and things you haven't heard yet, kind of get twisted up and bent out of shape. In a good way, though. This was both the last song written and recorded for the record. So by the point, I already knew the record pretty well, but I wanted a song to place in the middle of it all. The first of 'Moment You Get Around to Living,' in a way, continues where 'How a Man Grows Older,' left us off, at least sound wise. I was glad that probably three days after we recorded, we already had to send it to be mixed and mastered, because I think if I would have kept that song just for myself any longer period of time, I would have probably fucked it up. I'm not even joking. I would have ruined the song if it were in my hands any longer. Yet, I'm glad that I didn't or that I wasn't able to. 'Moment You Get Around to Living,' is one of, if not my favorite song off this record."

The Lyrics

"A fun thing about this song is that I wrote it so late into the process, that I didn't really have time to analyze it before it went out to the world. Even when I hear it now, I'm still grabbing bits of it and almost surprising myself that I actually wrote some of the stuff that's on there. That I guess you would call bridge, I'm not really sure since this song doesn't have a definite song structure. That verse beings with, 'you have built conspiracy theories in your mind,' that entire verse in incredibly honest. There was a point in my life where I had dinner with someone and I thought that person had a recorder under the table to try and fuck me over. Somewhere in my mind I thought, you won't get me if I stick the knife in me first, so to speak. And the control freak phase of my life, also went along with that. I thought that I could outsmart the system. I thought that no matter what I said or did in an interview, in public, that I was going to always find a way to charm or talk my way out of stuff. I needed to write songs like this for this record. I needed to write this stuff down so I can move forward with my life, both as a singer-songwriter and as a human being."

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Offline PANIC!  
#45 Posted : 09 June 2012 09:28:24(UTC)
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8. 'Til Love Comes Knockin'
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Genre: Rock, folk rock
Length: 2:33
Writer: Ryan Ross Hernandez
Producer: Ryan Ross Hernandez

Song Synopsis

A sustained string of keys begins, with the acoustic guitar coming in along with Ryan's breathy baritone. For the first few lines sung, the pianos can be heard in the background before fading away completely. Until the interlude, the song continues in that same slow pace, with the guitar and vocals at the helm of it all. In the fourth verse the keys return to add a pleasant sound behind the haunting guitar riff. It's a slow burner until about the minute and five seconds mark.

At the interlude, another beautiful instrumentation moment on this record is heard. Ryan continues to strum his guitar, adding more complex chord changes in the mixture. The drums finally thump in triumphantly, the melancholy tune turning into a hopeful one in just a matter of seconds with a few musical additions. It isn't as percussion heavy as some previous ones on the record, although a small glimpse of bells is heard over all the other instruments.

The music continues just the same when Hernandez begins to sing once more. Despite the sonic changes, his singing remains nearly intact. Now background vocals can be heard echoing behind the singer-songwriter, which are his own. With the last verse, it sonically returns to the first few seconds of the track, where it's just Ryan's guitar and vocals. Even the same lines are sung once more but in third person, "Everyone you love will die / It's not sad, just the passing of time," with just a crack of hopefulness in his voice as he does.

Lyrics

Someday, everyone I love will die
It's not sad, just the passing of time
So why cry if you already know it's suppose to happen?
The day you die I will not say goodbye
It might hurt you but I just can't accept the truth

I make lists in my head
I wonder who I love will leave me first
I know what happens when you die
A lifetime of things that make you will vaporize

Like the moments when you hold on to the pain
'Cause it's all you have left to feel
We run in cycles of contentment and tragedy
'Cause sometimes death feels so far off
That we take everyone we love for granted

If you're lucky your life will replay itself in a seconds time
Everyone you love will die
It's not sad, just the passing of time
So before the curtain call, make sure to love someone

I will only love you more
But I will always let you down
I will only love you more
But I will always let you down
I will only love you more
But I will always let you down
I will only love you more
But I will always let you down
I will only love you more
But I will always let you down
I will only love you more
But I will always let you down
I will only love you more
But I will always let you down

Take you time 'cause I will restart your clock
Dry those eyes, don't let another tear stream down your face
Turn off the lights and drink up, drink up
Everyone you love will die
It's not sad, just the passing of time

Ryan Ross Hernandez's Commentary

The Music

"'Til Loves Comes Knockin'', was one of the most difficult songs to compose. I had this song and another, which towards the end of the recording I had to choose between the two. The other song which didn't make the record, was called 'I Felt Something Die That Night,' which never even got recorded. 'Til Loves Comes Knockin' was built around the acoustic guitar, but I didn't want to have all these songs that had these gems behind it, instrumentation wise, then throw this one in there as a straightforward acoustic song. Although it is very stripped down. It just has one acoustic guitar, a bass, keys, and drums. I remember I told the engineer that it felt to me like it was recorded in a garage. It's so simple, yet I think it can hit people. The demo of this track has strings on it, which didn't make the final cut. I really loved how the violins sounded on it, but we already had a song with a violin on it, and I didn't want two songs to have strings on it. How song is on the album, I think guitar players will find it very easy to cover, but it goes to show you that you didn't need circular guitar work and five minute solos as a guitarist to make good songs."

The Lyrics

"This is the first time I've written a song about death. I felt if the central theme of the record is about growing older and maturing and becoming an adult, that I needed to touch upon such subject. I think I'm very Ben Gibbard about the subject. When he wrote 'I Will Follow You into the Dark', he hadn't lost anybody close to him. And I'm fortunate enough to say that at age thirty-four, I still haven't lost anyone close and dear to my heart. I've lost people I love, but not because of death. It's a sad idea of a song. I know people will hear it and think it's a death song, but as the guy who wrote it, I don't see it that way. It's sort of a reminder to celebrate your life, without worrying so much about the ending of it. 'Everyone you love will die, it's not sad, just the passing of time.' That's accepting it, in a way that isn't cynical, but that you just understand that it will come and hopefully it won't hit you that hard when it does. I think it is inspirational, in someways. I wrote it a few months ago after, well, I won't say what exactly inspired the general idea of this his song. I will say that it isn't one of the most personal songs on the record, it's not something I'm going through. I think it's very universal."

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Offline GirlSpice  
#46 Posted : 09 June 2012 09:43:10(UTC)
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Nadia: Sound wise, this is definitely more my type of song compared to the others that I've heard. I knew I was gonna have more favourites as the album went on and this is definitely one of them. There's just something really striking about the lyrics and the message behind it that draws me to it, it's powerful, but it's not try hard at the same time. Nice work Mr. Hernandez-Satyriasis!
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#47 Posted : 09 June 2012 09:46:37(UTC)
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Hayden: Hmm.....now I'm at a crossroads. I can't decide which track I love now because this one blows my mind also. I'm probably being one sided though, since I'm more lenient to the Folk songs but in my opinion, you should just go ahead and make an all Folk album. Just make Folk music for the rest of your life and I'll be satisfied.
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Offline PANIC!  
#48 Posted : 09 June 2012 16:04:46(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: GirlSpice Go to Quoted Post
Nadia: Sound wise, this is definitely more my type of song compared to the others that I've heard. I knew I was gonna have more favourites as the album went on and this is definitely one of them. There's just something really striking about the lyrics and the message behind it that draws me to it, it's powerful, but it's not try hard at the same time. Nice work Mr. Hernandez-Satyriasis!


Ryan: I can imagine. It's one of the songs that's almost just a straightforward rock tunes on here. Don't finalize your list of favorites just yet, I have a feeling there is at least one or two other songs on here that you will like very much, sonically I mean. I think that was my goal with writing this song. I didn't want to seem like I was an expert in the subject. That's like writing a song about being a parent, I can't do that because I'm not father. So even in songs that aren't necessarily about me, I need to personalize in a way where my voice doesn't feel disconnected from the rest of my body.

Originally Posted by: RoseJapanFan Go to Quoted Post
Hayden: Hmm.....now I'm at a crossroads. I can't decide which track I love now because this one blows my mind also. I'm probably being one sided though, since I'm more lenient to the Folk songs but in my opinion, you should just go ahead and make an all Folk album. Just make Folk music for the rest of your life and I'll be satisfied.


Ryan: I could have guessed that this song was going to capture that folk sound that you enjoy. Hahah, it may disappoint you, but I don't think I'll ever make a straightforward folk album. I am, and have been for the last two years, in that phase of my life. Where I found the greats in the folk genre; Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash. I've found a great love for this genre. But as I said in an interview, I'm the kind of artist who's always going to need new colors to paint. I've had five albums worth of blues music, pop music, rock music, soul music, now Americana and folk, country. I've explored every style of music that I love and I'm not done yet. I know that a few years down the later, I will create a Frank Sinatra album. I will say though, I'm not done with the sound I explore on this record just yet.
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Offline Mckenzie-  
#49 Posted : 09 June 2012 23:45:26(UTC)
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Ryan: Even at just the 8th track i've run out of superlatives for this record. It's and interesting approach to the song, and it is seriously emotional. You create the music I dream of making or even listening too, for that matter. You mentioned you were similar to Ben Gibbard on the whole 'death' situation, but there are so much more comparisons. You both have an incredible songwriting technique, all your songs sound similarly different.. if you catch my drift. You can create songs with the same feeling and effect, but portray them in a different manor. You have experimented with many genres before, but to me it's clear that this is where you sound most comfortable. Looking forward tot he final songs of the album.
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#50 Posted : 10 June 2012 04:32:14(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: Mckenzie- Go to Quoted Post
Ryan: Even at just the 8th track i've run out of superlatives for this record. It's and interesting approach to the song, and it is seriously emotional. You create the music I dream of making or even listening too, for that matter. You mentioned you were similar to Ben Gibbard on the whole 'death' situation, but there are so much more comparisons. You both have an incredible songwriting technique, all your songs sound similarly different.. if you catch my drift. You can create songs with the same feeling and effect, but portray them in a different manor. You have experimented with many genres before, but to me it's clear that this is where you sound most comfortable. Looking forward tot he final songs of the album.


Ryan: Well that is quite the complement. I really feel as though the record goes into a certain whole once you hear it all. That's quite an interesting way to put it. I never saw myself as that kind of songwriter. I very much do respect Ben Gibbard as a songwriter, so I thank you for that. As I told Hayden earlier, as much as I love this sound right now, sooner rather than later, I will find another color to paint with. I still have a fiery guitar side, with blues being my first love, that I will need to go back to at some point. I appreciate all the complements you've thrown my way.
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#51 Posted : 10 June 2012 07:33:54(UTC)
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9. Gray Young's Freewheelin' Tale
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Genre: Americana, folk rock, blues-rock
Length: 5:11
Writer: Ryan Ross Hernandez
Producer: Ryan Ross Hernandez, Chad Fairweather

Song Synopsis

Track nine brings the strangest song, by far, to be found on this record. It takes the structure of a classic folk "story song" and is haunting melancholia at its finest. Reminiscent to the likes of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", or Bob Dylan's "The Lonseome Death of Hattie Carroll." The intro features the only horn section on this record. Chris Bradley plays the free-improvisation trumpet solo intro while Ryan plays the acoustic guitar underneath it. The rolling, martial-styled rhythm pattern propels the tune without intruding on the narrative. The drum pattern rolls in a very "march" like matter.

It has telecaster riffs, even-eighths drumming, and features a smooth piano texture courtesy of Charlie Lowell. The haunting background harmonies sound very lush and likable. The vocal delivery itself is very unconventional for Hernandez and even the lyrics are wordier than normal for him, especially on this album. The repetitive guitar melody heightens the story in a way that draws the ear of the listener.

Whether Gray Young makes it successfully across the ocean in his sailboat, away from the life he had grown weary of back home, or dies trying is open to interpretation; either outcome resolves a bittersweet solitary journey that makes you wonder how much Gray Young is supposed to reflect Ryan Ross Hernandez himself. It is interesting to note that in an earlier track on the record, "Moment You Get Around to Living," makes reference to Ryan also building a sailboat and making his way through the Pacific Ocean.

Lyrics

Gray Young
Hates the space he lives in
Another night passes by
He has another dream of killing himself
So today, he goes down into his basement
Locks himself in the room with no windows
A bottle of whiskey accompanies him
He's laid out, his body positioned as the victim at a crime scene
He's not dead
He just passed out
As his liver suffers more

'Cause sometimes it's easier to end your own life
Than keep waiting on times' uncertainty

And his wife has left him
Took the kids to her parent's
And his friends use him as a cheap joke
They don't understand the bore he feels
Watching his kids splash in the pool
How everyday life has become a chore
The winter waters have become so cold
That's no worry when you're living so bold

That December morning the ocean was reeling
The waves crashed against the deserted boardwalk
Hypothermia was waiting for anyone who pressed their luck
He pushed and pulled, his sailboat across the sand
Got it into water, while finally testing his lifelong dream
And went off alone, wherever the wind may take him

'Cause sometimes it's easier to end your own life
Than keep waiting on times' uncertainty

And he sat back, looking into the dark sky
Smiling at the sight of the sea turning from blue to black
He began paddling in a direction
Though the waves were working against him
That's no worry when you're living so bold

He spent weeks, lost at sea until the new year
His wife received a call, accepting the long distance charges
As she waited for the call to be connected
She saw a news report on the TV
The call and the news report were both about Gray Young

'Cause sometimes it's easier to end your own life
Than keep waiting on times' uncertainty

Now his friends finally respect him, share memories of the man on a Thursday night
At the bar properly called, Gray Young's Tavern
And his wife teaches his kids to love their dad
As the man who never gave up on his dream
And lived life so bold

Ryan Ross Hernandez's Commentary

The Music

"A really interesting fact with my guitar playing on this track, is that I recorded it on a twelve-string dobro, which I had never used before. It makes it sound a bit empty, but it doesn't with all the other instrumentation going along with it. The chords came out of nowhere. I had bought this dobro, and I never really thought I was going to use it, I really just liked how it looked. It's a cool looking guitar. So I was toying around with it, just playing chord by chord, I think I went the length of the guitar playing every single chord I could imagine. Then out of nowhere I had finished doing that for like fifteen minutes, I started playing this chord progression on it, which is what you hear once we get into the first verse of this song. It's a very studied song. I think my favorite moment on this record, musically, is those first thirty-five or forty seconds where it's just the trumpet, the only horn section on the album, and this consistent guitar melody playing in the background. I don't want to put my own song over, but that's a beautiful moment within a record. We actually recorded this song, last summer, but we came to back to it in February or March of this year, to add the trumpet and also rerecord my vocals. Right around the time I found out about the granuloma in my vocals chords, the voice when I sang, had some grit to it. As bitch of a thing that it is, it kind of rounded off the song as it should have always been."

The Lyrics

"Writing this song, almost sent me into the asylum. It was so intense that by the time... it's a fiction, it's a fictional story. Or maybe it's not fiction, some people who worked on this album and heard it, told me that it might not be fiction. It's the most moving song I ever wrote. I invented a man, named Gray Young, and I got to know him while writing the song. I've never written a narrative before. I liked the idea of creating someone in a song, where they can just live there forever. It's a gorgeous thing that can happen to a songwriter. It was strange for me to sing a name in a song. I've never done that before. It's a deep and invested story. There is not a wasted word in this song. Ever verse, every line, every word, every syllable needed to be there for this one to work. This song is a third person, in a first person. It's like me, the picture, and the book. And I'm reading the book. I know a lot of people won't be able to understand this song. I just hope enough people will be able to connect with Gray Young."

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#52 Posted : 10 June 2012 07:51:08(UTC)
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Nadia: This song goes past Sadnandez just being sad, it basically enters Emonandez territory, I don't like it! Thankfully, the lyrics aren't completely depressing throughout and there's actually a cute message to it once it reaches the end, and I love those songs that keep you guessing throughout, and really have a story behind it. So in the end, I am now a fan of this song, yay!
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#53 Posted : 10 June 2012 08:04:13(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: GirlSpice Go to Quoted Post
Nadia: This song goes past Sadnandez just being sad, it basically enters Emonandez territory, I don't like it! Thankfully, the lyrics aren't completely depressing throughout and there's actually a cute message to it once it reaches the end, and I love those songs that keep you guessing throughout, and really have a story behind it. So in the end, I am now a fan of this song, yay!


Ryan: Aww, now that just makes me feel awful! I know what happens to Gray Young at the end of the song, but I will let the listener make their own interpretation of it when they hear it. I will just say that you shouldn't think the worst of it. It's the first song that I've made in this storytelling nature, so I really love it, I'm very proud of it. In the end, I'm glad you ended up enjoying it! I have a strange feeling the next track will be a favorite of yours. I promise. :)
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#54 Posted : 12 June 2012 03:18:27(UTC)
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10. Flowers and Paradise, c. 1968
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Genre: Folk rock, country
Length: 2:24
Writer: Ryan Ross Hernandez
Producer: Ryan Ross Hernandez, Chad Fairweather

Song Synopsis

Moving towards the latter part of the album, we get the dark, yet calming song, Flowers and Paradise. It takes the down tempo approach in a soft and exacting song, in Hernandez's acoustic-sensitivity fashion. It offers some very restrained singing and chord picking, as though Hernandez wanted to revert himself back to the singer-songwriter in a coffee shop mode. The guitar arpeggios flowing under the main lines are the musical high's, and the lyrics are like a little poem set to music. Ryan's voice display's a husky tenderness and inquisitiveness that's very affecting. The intricate guitar medley and husky, low-range vocals are constantly accompanied by brushed-cymbal sound. The bass thumps underneath it but in a non-dominating fashion. Towards the end of the song, the vocal harmonies become quite haunting to match the music. The what can be thought to be happy lyrics, are contradicted by the dark music.

Lyrics

I can't explain it, dear
Believe me when I say I've seen you somewhere
A dream where the faces all are blurred
Somewhere our souls have run wild in our past lives

You can't replace the feel
The smell of the breeze
By a bonfire on a beach someplace
Where we played hookie and drove along the coast

We met in 1968
You wore a yellow summer dress
As we swung on a hammock
I sang you to sleep with your head against my shoulder

Now I need some sign
To feel like this is real
Soak your perfume scent in my shirt
Let me put a flower in your beautiful hair

Love was so simple back in '68
We were giants and the world was small
So won't you take my word
When I say that you loved me then and you love me now

How do you kill a feeling?
How do you kill a feeling?
How do you kill a feeling?

Ryan Ross Hernandez's Commentary

The Music

"'Flowers and Paradise' is the simplest song that I ever composed, and for that reason, it nearly did not make the album. I don't think I ever grabbed a guitar, and played such a really simple chord progression on an acoustic guitar. At one point, because I hated that fact so much, that the song became the longest one on the record. It sounded a bit too artsy, so we went against that and kept to under two in a half minutes. I don't know if it's in the way I sang it, or the swirling acoustic guitar heard throughout, but I feel that this song and the reprise, have the country most sound. It works in the track listing because if 'Gray Young's Tale' would have gone directly 'Another Shot of Whiskey', it would have made for way too much emotion back-to-back. So 'Flowers and Paradise' takes you to the latter part of the album, in a lovely matter."

The Lyrics

"This song is a little fairytale. It's a fantasy I had when I was in Hawaii or Cabo, one of those places. It's a fantasy about falling in love with someone in 1968, laying in the field with someone, playing hooky. You're telling them their the one you love. The beautiful sound of reciprocation. But then something happens in this fairtytale or dream, and the clock fast forward forty-four years, to 2012. All these years pass and you meet the love that you lost. Something happened and you have to convince her that she's the one you love, and she loves you too. Yet, she doesn't remember you. So you come off really creepy but you have this sweet beautiful melody for her. How would you prove to them that they loved you? It's really interesting because the answer, I mean I know the answer, which is really sad in my mind. The answer is, 'no,' she doesn't remember him. That is another imperfect thing; Is the narrator of the song telling the truth? Or is he just a mad man?"

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#55 Posted : 13 June 2012 07:37:30(UTC)
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11. Break in the Clouds
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Genre: Americana, rock, southern rock, folk rock
Length: 4:07
Writer: Ryan Ross Hernandez
Producer: Ryan Ross Hernandez, Chad Fairweather

Song Synopsis

In Hernandez's metaphorical sonic road trip through America over the course of this album, the title track takes us down south to the outskirts of Tennessee. The slow track opens with a slide guitar and Ryan's mellow telecaster riff creating a somber tone that matches the song's lyrical melodrama. His guitar rises like a cobra, with minimalist bass and drumming that continues in its same pattern until the final chorus. The slide slowly fades off the radar, with Hernandez's lovely, ever-changing guitar melodies take over. For anyone who is missing his impressing guitar, this is the song for them.

The chorus may try to sound filled with hope, but Ryan's vocals and its background harmonizes make it sound hopeless instead, as if the "break in the clouds", is unseen coming up the horizon. As has been the case through the entire album, Ryan's sterling guitar work is the centerpiece, whether he is keeping it reserved or not. During a breathtaking breakdown section, he plays an echo-drenched pattern that becomes a motif, one which he carries right on through to the final shattering chorus. It is sure to be a fan-favorite once the musician is able to hit the road next spring, with its infectious massive final chorus.

Lyrics

I met a man with a fake smile
I could have sworn he had a recorder under the table
He asked me, "how are you doing?"
I should-a just said, "I've been doing fine"
'Cause that's all anyone wants to hear

But instead it escaped my lips
In some heavyhearted tone
I said, "buddy, if you only knew half of how my year has been"

And these days I just spend my time roaming around
And I don't belong but I keep holding on
If all in life is gray
I guess I'll just say
A break in the clouds is what I'm needing to find


Near a place I did not recognize
I met a girl, so sound and grand
Lighting up every room, wherever she goes
She pretends like she doesn't know my name

She's a wide-eyed girl
Always asked me, "when you gonna let someone in?"
Twenty one, she got a lifetime ahead
I ain't gonna be the one to bring her down

And these days I just spend my time roaming around
And I don't belong but I keep holding on
If all in life is gray
I guess I'll just say
A break in the clouds is what I'm needing to find
A break in the clouds


I came across an old love in Los Angeles
She ate up the sight of me
'Cause I hadn't shaved and I was wearing the same shirt I slept in

She tapped her heels as she said
"Ry, honey, how is that head resting?"
I responded in a joyless tone
"Don't you call me honey, but honey baby, it's seen better times"

And these days I just spend my time roaming around
And I don't belong but I keep holding on
If all in life is gray
I guess I'll just say
A break in the clouds is what I'm needing to find

That you're gonna be finding a break in the clouds
No, no, I don't know where I'm roaming around
And I don't belong but I keep holding on
If all in life is gray
I guess I'll just say
A break in the clouds is what I'm needing to find
Finding a break in the clouds


Ryan Ross Hernandez's Commentary

The Music

"When I listen to this song, I very much think about southern California. The music is very southern, not necessarily outcry, I don't think it's a country song. I was listening a lot to Crosby, Stills & Nash and Paul Simon when I composed this song. I remember I was in the studio listening to 'Wooden Ships', a track off of CSN's debut record. The guitars on that track are chilling, I got chills when I heard it for the first time. So I was in the studio with my co-producer on this record, Chad, and my sound engineer Doug. I was listening to the song and I just began playing what became the guitar melody you hear throughout 'Break in the Clouds.' Even Chad told me that it sounded like someone from the south would play. From there we just took it down south, sonically. The drums, the piano, the bass, the slide guitar... it almost sounds like we're all at a bar in Santa Monica playing this song. It's gonna be a fun one to play live because it doesn't have as many layers as other songs on this record, so that gives everyone the freedom to kind of just have fun a little bit and improvise a bit. Which even on the version you hear on the record, it all sounds very natural because we did have a lot of fun making it. In the final chorus, we got everyone that worked on the record for the gang vocals. Even my personal assistant is on this song. So, when I hear it now, it actually brings a smile to my face."

The Lyrics

"'Break in the Clouds' wasn't the first song I wrote for the record, but it meant a lot for me to name the album after it. Each verse is autobiographical, highly such. I met a man with a fake smile, I met a wide-eyed young girl, and I ran into an old love. They all said these things that stuck with me, obviously enough to be able and write this song. While the verses are very personal to me, I don't quite think everyone will be able to understand them, I believe the chorus people will be able to really feel it and bring the song full circle. I think many people in this world are waiting for their break in the clouds, and it takes sometime to find it. I'm still unsure if I've even found my break in the clouds."

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#56 Posted : 13 June 2012 07:50:38(UTC)
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Scott RH: What a legend this guy is. There has been only one time in my entire life when I looked at someone else and thought, "Fuck me, I'm totally jealous," and it was for you, Mr Hernandez. I was even asked if I changed my last name so people might think we were related. Thankfully that was just a coincidence. I love this album though. Your style of music has never really been the sort of thing that I would listen to before, but I do really genuinely love this album. I feel you have managed to push the boat out an do something totally different, while also retaining an intensely simple edge to your sound, and I really respect anyone who can do that. Each of the tracks is fantastic, and I think this is my favourite album of the year to date. I can't see anyone else topping it either. At all. Well played sire. Should I just carve your name on the Chaos Award now? I'd have thought so!
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#57 Posted : 13 June 2012 07:57:52(UTC)
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Nadia: I can see why this has the potential to become a fan favourite, it's definitely another one of mine, and hey... I'm a fan! I love that final chorus where you just got everyone's vocals on it, that's a great idea, that'll bring a lot of great memories when you hear that in ten years time or so. Another beautiful song from a musical genius, please stop being so good, you make me look bad. :(
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#58 Posted : 13 June 2012 08:29:24(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: genocidal king Go to Quoted Post
Scott RH: What a legend this guy is. There has been only one time in my entire life when I looked at someone else and thought, "Fuck me, I'm totally jealous," and it was for you, Mr Hernandez. I was even asked if I changed my last name so people might think we were related. Thankfully that was just a coincidence. I love this album though. Your style of music has never really been the sort of thing that I would listen to before, but I do really genuinely love this album. I feel you have managed to push the boat out an do something totally different, while also retaining an intensely simple edge to your sound, and I really respect anyone who can do that. Each of the tracks is fantastic, and I think this is my favourite album of the year to date. I can't see anyone else topping it either. At all. Well played sire. Should I just carve your name on the Chaos Award now? I'd have thought so!


Ryan: Well I don't consider myself a legend, I think that there are still albums to be made and I think it'd be highly uncomfortable to be considered a legend when I still feel like I'm in the middle part of my career. I never thought the great Mister RH, would be jealous of my work. It's a pleasure to hear that you've enjoyed this record so much. I'm constantly trying my hand at different styles of music, but this is really a major departure from what I've done before, especially the fact that there no real relationship or love songs on this record. I appreciate the boat reference, I associate the boats to a lot of things. Hmm... well if you insist, I'd gladly take that album of the year award. I feel that's the one thing I haven't achieved yet in my career, and if I were to win it for this album which is the one I'm most proud of making thus-far, I'd be honored.

Originally Posted by: GirlSpice Go to Quoted Post
Nadia: I can see why this has the potential to become a fan favourite, it's definitely another one of mine, and hey... I'm a fan! I love that final chorus where you just got everyone's vocals on it, that's a great idea, that'll bring a lot of great memories when you hear that in ten years time or so. Another beautiful song from a musical genius, please stop being so good, you make me look bad. :(


Ryan: I feel like I know the people that listen to my music enough to be able and predict what are the songs that they really want to hear when they go to one of my shows. Yes, well we had to do a few tweaks there because not everyone on my team has the greatest of singing voices, especially after a few drinks which is when we recorded it. It's not the only moment on the record that you'll hear us all, there is one more moment like that. Thank you Nads, for both calling my music beautiful and as well as the musical genius comment. Sorry honey, as I said on a song earlier on the record, "I ain't stopping for anyone." :p
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#59 Posted : 14 June 2012 07:02:08(UTC)
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12. Another Shot of Whiskey (Drinking Song)
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Genre: Americana, rock, folk rock
Length: 4:43
Writer: Ryan Ross Hernandez
Producer: Ryan Ross Hernandez

Song Synopsis

The harmonica makes its second appearance on the record with Another Shot of Whiskey. From the first few seconds, you can tell this is going to be a California-country song. The harmonica Ryan plays in the intro of the song with the acoustic guitar grabs your attention when paired with the quieted electric guitar and piano. With mournful harmonica between the verses, it captures the feel of New York City on a rainy night, displayed as a cruel city through booze-fueled eyes.

The background harmonies are plentiful and quite beautiful in the song's quietest moments. Later in the song, the music actually picks up and gets much louder and it demands your attention. The drum pattern picks up, filled with percussion bits around it, to create a moment of air. It soon returns to its slow, down tempo pace, before finding a pleasant middle ground. The last forty seconds of the song are dedicated to Hernandez's complex harmonica playing with the other instruments working behind it. In Petty-esque, the song ends with only the harmonica heard.

Lyrics

Los Angeles is in my rear-view mirror
Now I carry New York City's weight wherever I go
As I fill up my liver with hard liquor one more night
I try to find the mold of the man I never got to be
When I wake up in a sweat, from a nightmare that reoccurs
I lose it all and moved back south
Keeping up this facade is so much harder than it seems

I came to this town for a record deal
Once I signed it I became a workhorse in fear I'd have it taken
No devil speaking for me, these words I wrote hungover
You won't catch me complaining

Now I need another shot of whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Another round for all my friends
And one for the girl who I will fake love with tonight

Another shot of whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
I'm drinking for all my sorrows
It's just another night for me


Don't worry ma', it's just a silly little phase
I won't be able to keep this up forever
Only the good die young
I'll change someday just not tonight

Well every night spent in this town
My friends and I, we treat life as if we make the rules
But when I walk home alone and drunk
I wouldn't trust a girl who knew this side of me
And I'm ashamed to say, it's where I feel most at home
I'm stumbling aimlessly with nothing more
My throat, wallet, and pockets are all empty
They match this empty heart I carry around
I tell 'em, "Good luck praying for me, when I'm dead"

Now I need another shot of whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Another round for all my friends
And one for the girl who I will fake love with tonight

Another shot of whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
I'm drinking for all my sorrows
It's just another night for me


Don't worry ma', it's just a silly little phase
I won't be able to keep this up forever
Only the good die young
I'll change someday just not tonight

Another shot of whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Bartender, keep the drinks on coming
Don't stop me until I forget my name

The world is kinda funny
I had a dream somebody loved me
I laughed loudly, drank what was left from the third bottle last night, and fell asleep
It's just another night for me
Another night spent drinking whiskey, whiskey, whiskey

Now I need another shot of whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Another round for all my friends
And one for the girl who I will fake love with tonight


Another shot of whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
I'm drinking for all my sorrows
It's just another night for me
I'll never admit I need somebody
With a bottle of whiskey, I don't need anybody

Now I need another shot of whiskey, whiskey, whiskey
Another round for all my friends
And one for the girl who I will fake love with tonight


Ryan Ross Hernandez's Commentary

The Music

"'Another Shot of Whiskey' is a California rock tune. I had the lyrics for months before I actually created a melody to go with my words. I know when I began to compose this song, I was listening to a lot of California music, classic 70s Cali music. Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Eagles. And it was actually for this song that I taught myself how to play harmonica. I'm not quite sure if I wanted it to sound so much like Petty and the style he has to playing harmonica but it worked, it still sounds very Hernandez-esque, if I'm allowed to say that. Only four songs on this record have harmonica on them because I was very uneasy if my harmonica playing was going to make me hate the songs. But it worked out, especially well on this song. This is one of those songs that each instrument kind of fades in and out, which I love doing that."

The Lyrics

"I just have to start off by asking, has anyone heard the word 'whiskey' so much in a song? Honestly, I remember writing this song in a hungover state of mind. This is actually the first song I wrote for this record back in October of 2010. The song is obviously about drinking, drinking a lot. I went through a phase in New York City, where I drank until I couldn't drink anymore. Be it if friends had to throw me in the back of a cab drunk as hell, or I couldn't even make it to my bed sometimes and I slept with half of my body on the couch and half of it on the floor. I joked with people who heard this song that if they could relate to it, I felt bad for them. There are other songs on the record that are universal, but this is one where all you hear is me. Everything heard on this song is me, that I've gone through. While this song is on the latter part of the album, I kind of revisit my past and reflect on it. As a songwriter if you write something like this and relate to it, that means you have some work to do on yourself as a person. I don't know if I'll play this one live too much. Writing this song made me realize that I had hit rock bottom and I don't think I'd want to be reminded that night after night."

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#60 Posted : 15 June 2012 18:01:22(UTC)
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13. Architect of Dreams
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Genre: Americana, rock, blues-pop
Length: 4:55
Writer: Ryan Ross Hernandez
Producer: Ryan Ross Hernandez, Chad Fairweather

Song Synopsis

For any old school Ryan Ross Hernandez fans that may just be missing his older style of music with the smartly crafted love song Architect of Dreams. It is the second to last song on the record, and the track that comes closes to the RRH heard on previous albums while still keeping in tone with the feel of Break in the Clouds. There are many brilliant facets to this song. First off, it combines a lot of musical genres and ambitious ideas and balls them up into one in a thoughtful way. The intro with the guitar harmonies is very Allman Brothers/George Harrison-like. The opening seconds of the song sound very 60s/70s with the faint violin in the background. Once Ryan starts singing, the song begins to sound a bit more current, but not too much.

The song keeps this slow, down-tempo until the middle of the song where things erupt in a way that may just catch the listener off guard. The drum pattern rises and becomes loud and powerful, when out of nowhere, the song has a breakdown that emulates Coldplay's Fix You. The sound becomes loud and anthematic, taking a page out of the rulebook of the likes of U2 and the aforementioned Coldplay. The percussion/vocals/harmonies/guitar sounds all sound as if the biggest rock band in the world created it.

Providing both the backing vocals in the chorus and bridge of the song, as well as the violin throughout is session musician Amanda Williams. Ryan eyeballs a hopeful future, filled with easy domesticity that compensates for any of the past tumult in his life. Sweeter and poppier than the rest of Break in the Clouds it swells in volume and ends with a fully drawn arrangement that conveys both triumph and relief.

Lyrics

I am an architect
Of dreaming outcomes inside my head
We've only had the wheels churning for a month I guess
You see this beating heart of mine
The one I built with crayons and stones
It likes to imagine things that have not yet come true
And its regained rhythm is telling me
The ink has dried and you have broke its walls

With a tear in my eye I have to plead with you
To not hurt me as much as you could, 'least for the night
I came here alone and I don't mind leaving alone
I'm just trying to find a place to call home
So won't you please just go easy on me


You came into my life at an interesting time
I'm no longer the man your friends whisper in your ear
Still not the man you'd be proud to have holding your hand
I can't blame you when you look at me with the corner of your eyes
These girls will never think of me as a liability
Well that's fine, I don't think that much of myself either

With a tear in my eye I have to plead with you
To not hurt me as much as you could, 'least for the night
I grew up alone and I don't mind leaving alone
I'm just trying to find a place to call home
So won't you please just go easy on me


I'm not quite as strong as I seem
You should keep your truth
Every girl I talk with put up a guard
They decline my charm and belittle my words
Please go easy on me
'Cause I mean you no harm

My tongue is no longer a sword
The war of the words doesn't move me
See my heart barely works, it's covered in dirt
My heart still kinda hurts, so go easy on me

I think I wanna build my own home
I think I wanna build my own home
I think I wanna build my own home
And I'm thinking about building it for two

Maybe baby, I can stay sometime
Maybe baby, I can spend the night
Maybe baby, I can sing you to sleep
And I'm thinking about a song for two

Day by day
Step by step
We'll fix the cracks in the pavement someday, if you'd like to help me
And our garden in the yard will be a place to call home
'Cause we'll build it together with our respective hearts
And I know right now I don't seem like much
But a start is a start
To get you swaying with me to the sound of love prospering

If you don't want me, that's alright
I'll build a house next to yours wherever you are
Bring you freshly cut roses from the garden we built in the yard
Every morning until you trust me enough to let me in
This is the start of something real

Ryan Ross Hernandez's Commentary

The Music

"If anyone has followed my career from the start, there are two songs I wanted to create ever since I got into this industry. For one, I wanted to write a 'real' blues piece, which I accomplished on the 'Let a Man Be Lost' record with the song 'Medication for the Blues.' When I recorded that song, it was important for me because I always wanted that and I finally felt like I had done it. The second thing, was that I wanted to capture or create that U2 or Coldplay sound, but hadn't been able to do that until this song, 'Architect of Dreams.' I finally felt like I had that song that I could play at a festival or something and everyone would be singing it. I finally captured that moment on this song and I'm so proud of it. It took me four records and too many years to count, to achieve this sound on a song. This song is huge, climatic and it fits so well within the album despite being different. I wouldn't have included it if it didn't fit into the other eleven songs that come before it. In my honest opinion as the dude who made this record, I'd say that breakdown in the middle of the song is the most magical moment on this entire record."

The Lyrics

"'Architect of Dreams', broke my heart. When I wrote it, it just hit me hard. This is one of the earliest songs I wrote for this record, in November 2010, around Thanksgiving actually. I don't see it as being either a happy or sad song, but a hopeful song. At that time of my life, I had been seeing this woman for about five months, we were just dating it wasn't something incredibly serious yet. This song revolves around yearning to jump ahead and start a life with someone, when you're in the 'getting-to-know-you' stage. I felt that way because there was a period of about six months in early 2010, where I would just talk to a woman I met at a bar and they'd put this shield and act really cold. I can't really blame them for acting that way when I enter a room, but it hurt. And last year around the same time, I tried my hand again, and the same pattern occurred where women wanted nothing to do with me. This generation of women have a certain way of thinking that talking to me is going to end up with me buying them a drink and giving them a card to my hotel room. Even now when I go to bars alone and I'm not trying to, I'm not talking to anybody it still happens. Women still come up to me, and instead of telling them off, I just give them a face like, 'go easy on me.' I'm more vulnerable then people think, so I have a tough skin when someone is saying terrible things about me on the internet, but not face to face. Yet, people ask me why I go to therapy. "

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thanks 4 users thanked PANIC! for this useful post.
genocidal king on 15/06/2012(UTC), RoseJapanFan on 15/06/2012(UTC), GirlSpice on 16/06/2012(UTC), stephaniewazhere on 16/06/2012(UTC)
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