Behind the music and video of "It Always Ends (The Same) featuring Steph Irene
August - September 2020
I've never done a blog before but if only for the sole reason to revisit meaningful moments that went by like a blur, I thought I'd try it out.
When the pandemic hit in March, I began to write country and Americana style tunes. I guess I dabbled with a few country style tunes over the past few years, but as I began to write, with no intention of releasing them, I felt an overwhelming sense of freedom and inspiration. I tend to write lyrics and my music around a melody but I started coming up with lyrical phrases, hooks, cliches to build a song around. "It Always Ends (The Same)" was one of those.
I believe I sometimes do my most honest writing when I write as a different persona or as a character. In this song I created the story of two people leaving each other or I guess my character being left by his partner. The song's tone isn't angry or mad, it lives in the aftermath of a relationship where you've finally given up and both people feel defeated. I liked the contrast of the two pre-chorus lines the first sung by me and the second sung by Steph Irene.
Me: "I hope that, you can say that I treated you kind"
Steph: "I know that, I can say that you treated me fine"
After hours working on my demo, I realized it was time to bring in some real pros if I wanted this song to sound right. I first called on Luke Breitender and Booker Dicuck to lay down a drum part and pedal steel part from home. I then rang Trevor McNeely and Reid Thiel to see if they would want to play in my new project, guitar and bass respectively. The extremely talented keyboardist and fellow Capitals member Eric Doucet would lay down organ. I booked a recording date with Scott Franchuk at Riverdale Recorders after hearing great things and also hearing great sounding records created in that studio.
The boys at Riverdale Recorders on August 8th, 2020
Music Video Shoot September & October 2020
East Kootenay, BC and Edmonton, AB
Around the same time I wrote the song I began storyboarding the music video. I wasn't sure what we would be able to do during the pandemic but somehow, with the amazing adventurous Alex Trivellin and Nick Laird we pulled it off.
On a writing retreat with my other band in the East Kootenays of British Columbia, I extended my trip in order to have two full days to shoot the Always Ends music video.
I happened to get sick with severe tonsilitis a few days before Nick and Alex would drive 7 hours to meet me at my cabin. Thanks to my doctor in Edmonton and the modern fax machine, I was able to cure my illness just in time.
Most of our locations found for this music video were found the day of as some initial locations did not have the right look. On our last day, we drove back and forth on Highway 95 trying to find the perfect river and mountain shot that would be in the final scene. Somehow we found it just as the sun was going down.
Working with Nick and Alex and directing this video was my favourite moment and accomplishment of 2020. I can't wait to make more movie magic with them.