I’m very pleased to announce the release of the first single from my band, The Right Fiction. This song, and our forthcoming album, has been over two years in the making. But I feel the music has benefited from this time. As a band, we’ve had more time to reflect, refine, and obsess over this material. There’s such mutual respect and admiration between the four of us that ideas can fly freely. Working with these guys has further opened my mind about not judging ideas until you try something. There have been so many times where my first reaction was proved wrong – an idea that seemed like something I wouldn’t like turned out to be an excellent change in a better direction. Case in point: I play slap bass on the verses of this song. That would *never* have been my first choice, but it simply works. The production in this song, and our whole album, has been an exercise in ego checking, and I’m thankful for that.
And, it’s brought us closer as a band. We stopped playing together for the majority of the pandemic. No gigs, and only able to work on the album in fits and starts. But, we started a podcast to keep us talking about music, which has been such a fun part of my weekly routine. We get to study records recommended from each other and have created a forum to discuss our opinions that is always enjoyable for me, and hopefully for others as well.
We imposed a release deadline of 2/25. This date is also the 58th anniversary of when Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, beat Sonny Liston as an 8-1 underdog to win the title in a major upset that shocked the world. Prior to winning the title, Ali had been knocked down by Sonny Banks early in his career and struggled in his two previous fights. The song’s lyrics are inspired by Ali – everyone loves an underdog. And to my ears, Freddie’s drum solo in the bridge sounds like a boxing match.
Thanks for reading and listening to the song. I love sharing all of the projects I’m a part of, but it’s rare that I’m able to share a personal project of such a deeply collaborative nature.