NEW Single “Brothers in Paradise” by The Things of Youth drops February 1st on all streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube Music, Deezer, and more. Better yet, a percentage of all sales will go to the National Parks Conservation Association and the National Park Foundation.
The song was inspired by LIFE Science books (circa: 1960) about The Mind—the instrument of the nervous system, perception of colors, dreams, and how an Electroencephalograph works. I am fascinated by cognitive neuroscience even though I barely understand most of the big words used in the field.
Lyrical inspiration pulls from two legends, Stevie Nicks and Joan of Arc—“Fear not: what I do, I do by commandment. My brothers in Paradise tell me what I must do.”
But, it was just some lyrics, a dirty distorted bass line set to a drum machine app on my phone, and a decent melody…
…then we got into the studio—Panoramic House, Stinson Beach, CA and The Black Lodge, Fairfax, CA.
The song really came to life with the studio genius of Daniel Mckenzie and Cory Gray and the stellar contributions from: Jake Krohn (drums, filthy guitar solo, vocals), Adam Cimino (guitar), Josh Staples (vocals), and Daniel Mckenzie (synths). I have so much damn gratitude for these hyper talented humans. Thank you! And thank you Eduardo Damasceno for designing the cover!
Starting the song with what some call the “NorCal Indie Rock Men’s Choir” was a very last minute studio decision. My 8 year old really gravitated toward the lyrics “Brothers in paradise tell me what I must do” when he heard earlier demos so I decided to book-end the song with it. The funny thing about that lyric is that my 11 year old thought it was about him and his brothers on the beach asking me to fetch them food or something to drink. Oh, the literal mind.
-the things of youth