Monday is upon us, peeps, along with the final installment of “Behind the Song.” Before we dive in, I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who’s taken the time to read these little blogs about the album and have continued to show the band support. We may have some veterans of the scene in this lineup but we’re still a new band, growing and evolving with each album. We appreciate you more than you can imagine.
With that said, let’s dive in. When we were “Down to One” other member (see what I did there), that guy was Tony Stahl. He and our old record label were entrusted with listening to the entire catalogue of songs I’d written and this was one that we all agreed should make the cut. Tony felt the piano work, in demo form, was simple but effective in conveying the emotion. After all, this was an open love letter to my wife. Hopefully, anyone who’s shared the miracle of finding that one, amazing, life-changing person can find meaning in this song. And while not a massive fan of melodic hard rock, my wife digs it. Hmm...go figure. ;)
Before the song kicks off, though, we’ve got Prayer for Love. This piece was an accompaniment for Down to One and written/performed entirely by Tony. All of us have nothing but mad respect for Tony’s abilities and when I asked him to write something elegant to introduce the world to the final song on Mach II, he did not disappoint. He’s been amazing throughout and as a band, our only regret is that Tony wasn’t able to make picture day. He’s one of us, our brother-in-arms.
Roy has had some miracle moments of his own and this is absolutely one of his best performances, if not the best, on Mach II. The richness of his voice is on full display here. The song is quite groove/bass driven and if you are looking to find the influence for that, look no further than Heart, “Desire Walks On.” Unknown to them, the Wilson sisters have been a huge influence on me and my songwriting. Anyway, Jason laid down the groove and BJ just rolled with it. Between the two of them, there is so much power in the breakdowns throughout. These guys...they’re master craftsmen and it’s hard to believe they’re in SteelCity. We count our blessings, most certainly. Backing vocals? Erik Johnson...those arrangements RULE. I don’t usually reflect too greatly on the guitar solos but on this song, everything just felt “right.” The outro solos are most definitely paying homage to one of my all-time favorite Survivor songs, “I’m Not That Man Anymore.” I hope you don’t mind me adding a little acoustic flair to change things up, peeps. Again, it was all about “feel.” Speaking of feel, Ty Sims absolutely nailed it throughout. Thank you, sir. We are forever in your debt.
As we close out the album, we’d again like to thank everyone who was part of the SteelCity team, both past and present. Roy always quips that this is “my baby.” I like to think it’s a part of all of us. Fan family and band members, record labels, producers, engineers, our webmaster, our management at BLE, just everyone. This is one of those rare moments in life when “living the dream” is actually true. I never thought anything like this could ever happen...yet here we are.
Be well, stay safe, and God Bless. We hope to be playing some shows and seeing a lot of you later this year. Peace.
-Mike
