Busy - Trying to Find a New Normal
Here’s the album art for the new single sans text!
Quick note at the top here: I wrote this blog in May before the death of George Floyd. It feels weird putting out content that has nothing to do with current events, but this is the article that got written for a single that went live on Patreon June 1st via automation. I also feel that my role as white American is more to listen to and elevate the voices of Black Americans and less to wax poetic with my own commentary. Despite that, I do want to say this: as a society and a species, we need to change. The only original sin I believe in is the original sin of racism and white supremacy that is baked into the foundations of our country which we must reckon with NOW. As a musician, I wouldn’t have a career without the work of Black musicians and artists, and I don’t know that I can ever acknowledge that often or loudly enough. American music is Black music, and I wouldn’t be releasing a 12-bar-blues single if Black musicians hadn’t created the idiom I write and play.
Future Melanie out; past Melanie back in.
It’s finally time to release the first single off my upcoming EP, Force of Nature, and let’s just say it’s been an interesting process.
A week before I got sick, I was doing tour research to support my releases. Then I got locked down and then the world got locked down, and all of it went out the window. Pivoting has been challenging. It took me a very long time to recover - almost two months - and I can’t say I got much done in that time in regards to the release. I don’t regret taking the time to move slowly and heal, but it didn’t set me up for success this month and that’s ok. A lot of things that I might have worked with a team to execute, and a lot of the more traditional promotional plans and milestones have been left on the cutting room floor anyway.
But that’s alright. The promotion is great and all - I want to make the biggest impact I can with my music - but I’m really in it for the art and this is some of the best art I’ve ever made.
Most of the songs on Force of Nature were written last year but this first single is the exception. I actually wrote “Busy” in college after my one and only one-night-stand. As an ex-Catholic and general goody-two-shoes, I was both excited my naughtiness and a little guilty. No regrets now, of course, but at the time I felt the need to write about it. I never played the song out, though. I didn’t feel like my guitar playing was interesting enough to support the fast blues style of the song; and I worried my word-play heavy but cheeky lyrics might offend.
Fast forward a few years, and I’m trying to fill time on stage while my bandmates eat a quick mid-set dinner. I’d exhausted the repertoire I would usually play and I remembered “Busy.” After that, it was immediately wrapped into a full band set (I believe the bass player shouted through a bite of his sandwich something along the lines of “Why the hell wasn’t that in the set to begin with"?"). It has plenty of space for musicians to solo over it, it’s energetic, and they lyrics are fun (although I’m still pretty confident someone will take offense at some point). It turned into an often chaotic but energetic show piece in my normal set.
When we went to record, super producer Nick Bullock slowed it down and funked it up. I took some persuading to believe that “Busy” could be as fun a few clicks slower, but I can’t deny Nick was right. At the slower pace, the rhythm section immediately lock on to a body-moving groove. I think this song came together faster than anything else on the album. It’s a fun romp, especially with the fantastic performances of Aaron Shafer-Haiss, Keenan-Keaton Payne, Greg Herndon, and Nick Bullock himself!
When assembling the track list for this project, I knew I wanted it to have a narrative arc and Busy was an obvious starting point. I also wanted all of the content surrounding the EP to add to this story, which was how I chose the tarot theme for the artwork. The Fools Journey is a metaphor for the personal development we all experience through life, used as a tool to help learn tarot. Each card represents a different step in the journey towards fulfillment. We all start as The Fool; naive, ready to explore the world. “Busy” definitely has some delightful Fool energy (and the tequila-fueled origins of the song made the surrealist face-swapping in the final artwork appropriate).
I’m really excited to share this first little taste of Force of Nature with you all and to start telling the story of learning to claim personal power with you all. And who doesn’t need a fun, sex positive pop tune to bop to?
You can listen right now if you join my Patreon or catch it on digital services everywhere June 26th.
Put as much love into the world as you can, y’all.