New Album Countdown

Where I've been, and what is coming...

Imagine a Saturday night in Hollywood. A 24 year old kid blows cigarette smoke up into a smoggy, starless sky. He paces up and down the alley behind the Fonda Theatre where his band’s name lights up the marquee. He’s got a small record deal. Friends who love him. And parents who’ve supported his every creative whim since childhood. It’s 5 minutes to showtime and he’s the star of the movie of his life. He’s half way through the first act and he genuinely believes that all he needs to do is show up on set and magic will happen. 

Obviously me. 

Relax bro…

Act II scene I. The band breaks up. Cue the global pandemic. Manager and publisher drop me. I text my booking agent at one point and he says “Who is this? Superet isn’t a band anymore.” 

I don’t blame him for thinking it was the end of the project. At this point I had left Los Angeles. My partner and I moved back to my hometown in central California where I wrote a song called “Pink House” with a chorus that goes: “We don’t have to go back to the city,” and yet, after a few years of feeling a bit displaced, it started to feel more like we were hiding up in our pink house than actually living. So we came back. I brought with me a half-finished record and quite a few demons yet to face. 

It’s been a long time since Superet put out a record. 5 years. I still flinch when I think about it – there’s some shame lingering there. As the time passed and I watched my peers put out multiple records and go on world tours, I started to wonder if that kid at the Fonda ever really existed. Where did he get all that confidence? I felt at times like I’d drifted too far away from it all to ever match his ambition and determination, but I also resented him for all the people and things he took for granted. I wanted to try again, but I had some serious exploring and examining to do.

A lot of songwriting has been happening in the last five years. I wrote a lot of bad songs, and one (I think) really good album. But I’ve also learned that songwriting isn’t always all about writing songs. Sometimes it’s about not writing a song and taking that time to look inward or move on. Sometimes the writing helps you do that, sometimes it only digs you deeper into where you already are. Same point of view, different melody. Sometimes the thing you learn doesn’t make it into a song, but it’s still a part of the songwriting. 

Personally I always feel the most compelled to make music when I discover a new part of myself that needs to be explored. The problem, quite honestly, is that I don’t always feel compelled to discover new parts of myself! And prior to making this record I was definitely in a period of avoidance. But, as life always seems to do, it led me right smack in the middle of a situation that could not be avoided. Suddenly I was walking on the surface of some undiscovered planet. I felt totally lost, but the songs started coming and they were helping me navigate a difficult time. At this point I knew, from a personal standpoint, I wanted to take time to process and make this new planet feel like home. From an artistic standpoint, I wanted to write the best songs I possibly could. So I told myself to take the time that I needed, and I set some creative goals. 

First, I wanted to write songs that were strong enough that I could sing them to you over the phone, or in a concert hall with an orchestra, and either version could hold your attention. But in all honesty I preferred the dream of the orchestra scenario, so I decided to learn more about how arranging and orchestration works. I wanted to sing melodies that were simple and lyrics that were coherent and accessible. I also wanted each song on the record to string together and tell a story like, dare I say… a  “concept album”? 

First day of recording…

I had never set specific creative intentions like this before, so I spent a lot of hours alone banging my head against the wall, and for far too long I was fixated on doing everything myself... Not the healthiest, but I guess that was the lesson I needed to learn. A couple of songs came quickly, but honestly most took me over a year to get right. I wish I could say I wrote 50 songs that didn’t make it on the album, but the truth is I spent a lot of time tinkering and obsessing. I think Rick Rubin said something like, the work is done when you don’t feel like working on it anymore, and thank God that day finally came for me. He also said, it’s successful when you like it, and thank God, I like it.

I’m happy to finally share that the album is mixed and the first single “Was I On Your Mind?” will come out in January, with the album following soon after. I know that still feels far, but in the lead-up I’ll be posting here every couple of weeks because I still have a lot to share about the album and the process behind it. 

I hope you’ll join me in this new phase, on this new part of the journey… I’m reconnecting with that 24 year old kid entranced by delusions of grandeur… I still love him, I still am him, but I’m carrying a little less armor than him these days. I’m feeling a bit softer, and this album is more personal and direct. Honestly it probably would’ve made 24 me a little bit uncomfortable. But I love it, and I hope you do too.  

More soon.

MB