Posts in Andy Dalton
Disappear: Andy Dalton

01. Writer

Andy Dalton


02. Theme

Disappear


03. MUSIC INSPIRATION

The Fireside Wake:
Last Words


04. WRITING

I’m cheating. This song is from an album I’ve been making for the last 5 years. It is not yet released, and only exists as a private soundcloud link for anyone interested in my words and music. In fact, this is the only song from said album I’ve ever made available to anyone in any fashion, outside of hanging out with me and asking to hear it. I really don’t like shoving my music down people’s throats - or any music down any throat for that matter.

This not-so-cleverly-titled song is the final piece of a 95 minute movement I’m calling my solo album. It was very difficult for me to write because it eschews any vagueness and is incredibly direct, introspective, and autobiographical in nature. I cope with terrible situations by writing about them. I feel uneasy every time I listen to this song, but I think it’s important to confront my demons, even if I’m not able to make sense of them.

When the theme of “disappear” was presented, my gut sank because that is exactly what this song addresses. Seemed a pity to waste something so apt. Thanks for letting me bend the rules.

Words and Music by me: Last Words
Well my mother’s on her deathbed
But we never got along
And it’s not my fault, for sure not hers
But it all just fell apart

Do I feel grateful, sad, or guilty?
Do I deserve to beat my heart?
Cause this attitude to battle you
Was the lesson you taught

And my friends are all laughing at me
In their subtle stupid ways
So I’m takin' a trip, I’ll need a morphine drip
And I may not e’er return

So when I wake up old & angry
When I wake up cold and gray
Roll me over, dear, in my shallow grave
And just make it disappear
Just make it disappear
Just make it disappear

Mathematics: Andy Dalton

01. Writer

Andy Dalton


02. Theme

Mathematics


03. MUSIC INSPIRATION

Toadies:
Little Sin


04. WRITING

Last time, I made alternate lyrics. This time, I just feel like blathering.

Math: Probably the only discipline I felt I grasped naturally in school/college, aside from creative writing I guess. I like that mathematics have formulas, and if you understand the concepts, you can solve any problems. There are very few gray areas.

In life, I find my interactions with people have an endless number of gray shaded areas. Instructions from employers are intentionally gray. As my luck usually has it, when I’m at work, the weather is beautiful. When I have a day off, it’s cloudy and gray. Most of my undergarments are black or some shade of gray (I never saw the point of “fun” undies, even if they were Ren & Stimpy themed – I’m too utilitarian I suppose). Relationships with family members are gray. My financial stability is gray. My future in general often feels gray.

Not math though. Math is pretty straightforward. At least the core disciplines like Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geometry. I’ve grown an affinity towards spreadsheets, budgets, and tracking income and expenses. I like balancing things and understanding the journey of money through a system. I enjoy tracking merchandise sales for the bands I’m in. Slicing and dicing the numbers gives me tangible proof of success (or lack thereof) and provides a clearer path to the desired financial goal.

Math in music is extraordinary. I find that almost all music is simply a form of math (though I understand that some truly avant garde pieces purposefully eschew such traditions). Any time someone tells me “I’ve always wanted to learn drums, but I just can’t do it. I don’t get it.”, I reply, “it’s just Math. Just count to 4 with your dominant hand, use your dominant foot on the ‘one’ and hit the snare when it feels good!” Usually, they have a mini breakthrough and they’re playing a beat and really stoked about it.

Over the years, I’ve come to love complicated rhythms. Jazz music is a treasure trove for such fodder. But what got me started and really digging deep were bands like Hum, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Toadies. Hum has all these really cool turnarounds and utilize time signatures that were baffling to me in my youth. 11/8? 7/8? They’d sit on a time signature for long enough for you to finally get it, and then they’d move on or end it. Dillinger’s first full length, Calculating Infinity, was a mind-fuck for me. That’s when I learned what a Polyrhythm was. Beyond that, they played with such speed, aggression, and intensity that it was impossible to ignore them whether you loved it or hated it. I’m of the former camp. Come to find out, the original drummer, Chris Penne, was very much Jazz influenced.

And then there’s the Toadies. Perhaps ostensibly a “yawn” compared to the previously mentioned group, but the Toadies have a great sense of songwriting, energy, and weirdness that isn’t alienating. Anytime I mention “Toadies” or “Possum Kingdom” people are like “who?!” and I say “the ‘do you wanna die’ song” and they’re “ohhhhh – yeah, I know that one” and a little part of me dies inside. Curiously enough, the song is a classic radio jam, but most drummers I know can never play the beat correctly. It’s just math! Three 4-counts, followed by a “one-two” and then three more 4-counts followed by a “one-two, one-two” and repeat ad nauseum. What’s so difficult about that?! But I digress.

The song that really popped into my head when I thought about this topic was “Little Sin” off of Hell Below / Stars Above – their second LP. It’s not a particularly stand out track, but what always struck me as genius about it was their ability to write a seemingly simple straightforward guitar riff, that didn’t quite match up with the drums. It’s a 5/4 feel on guitar, but 4/4 on drums, so every other measure, the turn around or resolve happens. But the in-betweens are so neat because the riff goes from leading on the kick, to leading on the snare, and it never feels uncomfortable. The listener is always bobbing their head in perfect time. It’s just enough to tilt your head sideways and pull you in, but not enough to feel exhausting. It’s just a song that feels good to me and the math behind it is what makes it really stand out in my world.

Writing insanely complicated riffs and beats for the sake of writing insanely complicated riffs and beats is all well and good, but my favorite songs or artists to listen to are the ones that find a way to simplify that complication. Like reducing a fraction, or taking the square root of something. I find great beauty in simplifying the complicated. I hope to one day simplify my own complications and enjoy that beauty within myself. Writing helps. Math helps.

Commute: Andy Dalton

01. Writer

Andy Dalton


02. Theme

Commute


03. MUSIC INSPIRATION

Burning Airlines: 
Pacific 231


04. WRITING

Gripping black mass skid
Sliding 'cross the black top
Metal, glass, liquids
Twisted up & junk shopped

Ricocheted backwards
Careening at the headlights
Vomiting bad words
I should've stayed in bed, right?

Evaluate existence
Crumpled on the shoulder
Evacuate assistance
Blood is feeling colder

Slumber-lack abasement
Terrified compliant
Humbled in amazement
Mortality defiant