Wallpaper Series 1

Pick the single

(EDIT – Well it came down to a tie between Sweet Fear and Gulls. Since I need to make an executive decision then “Sweet Fear” it is!)

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Hey friends,

“High Achievers” is in the bag and ready to release on September 1st, but I need your help picking the “single”. There’s four three songs that I think are candidates, but I’ve been working on this damn thing for months now, so I have ZERO perspective. Help me pick which song is going to be the signature track that promotes the EP. Vote by posting a comment.

***Sweet Fear*** WINNER

Souvenirs

**Gulls** Runner Up

High Achievers, Part 3

Thanks for listening. Remember, vote by commenting on this post.

You are so awesome!

Shane

Happy Thoughts

I honestly think of myself as a fundamentally positive, happy person but I’m thinking I might be a bit deluded. I’ve got a ton of things to be grateful for – awesome kids, gorgeous wonderful wife, solid business, great people in my life. An idealic little world in Shawnigan Lake. But these demons do persist, at times. And I find stupid things set me off.

It comes out in the songs. It comes out in my moods. It comes out in some unhealthy choices. I find myself casting about for little props to take the edge off. Making songs helps. Maybe it’s turning 40. Maybe it’s just the pre-release angst of making personal songs. Maybe it’s the hangover of several difficult years that has left me half-expecting the next hard thing to happen.

September 1st

Aiming for a September 1st release date for the High Achievers ep. My 40th birthday. Seems fitting. Mixing is lined up to be done if I can finalize songs this week. Exciting!

Just got another mix back for a song called Souvenirs. Caleb Stull, who mixed it, added some fantastic backing vocals. I’m really happy with it.

I’ll be sending out a release notice. If want to be on the list, email me shanesparks [ at ] shaw.ca or just follow me on twitter @sm_sparks

Getting close

I finished writing the last song for the EP yesterday (it’s called High Achievers, Part II). It’s all coming together in a really cool way. Different than what I was expecting. The whole feeling of the album is what I wanted to get out there. To describe this persistent, nagging feelings of not being good enough. Of failing to meet the standard. Of not being beautiful enough or successful enough, or worth enough. The malaise.

Last night I played the final song for my wife Jess and she said “god, you are so depressed.” But I’m not. Or not any more than normal. I explained that the songs aren’t about me, so much as a collective “me”, which includes you.

The way I think about it is there are so many forces that want to make you feel shitty. That PROFIT off you feeling shitty about yourself – people, products, corporations that win because you feel inadequate. When you are young you can sort of defer the bad feeling because life is full of potential. And then you get to be in middle of it, and you realize, I haven’t met my potential, whatever that is. I didn’t do/accomplish/become the things I thought I would. I’m not measuring up. And it hangs there like a bad smell, surrounding you.

So High Achievers is about that feeling. Hopefully you’ll get it.

Chase the fall (acoustic version)

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Here’s a live acoustic version of the song “Chase The Fall” that appears on the Broken Lovers album. I was never that happy with the album version of this song. It came out a little too pouty and the drums feel too “big” for the song. It was the last song I wrote for the album just before I started recording, and in retrospect, the song didn’t quite mature into the song I wanted it to be.

I don’t know if this version is better, but it’s different. (And it is what I really sing like, unaided by various production trickery.)