BRIGHT SHINING LIGHTS

Q. How did you approach writing the lyrics for *The Sun Is A Star* to make them feel both cosmic and intimate at the same time?

I’ve always been more interested in a very basic approach to lyrics. Short and sweet. However, keeping them open-ended enough house a deeper meaning. I have no interest in telling the listener what to think and far more interested in making them feel something. So, when the narrative was space, I didn’t want to leaving the audience on the ground wondering what the character might see. I wanted to to take them with us and have them feel it in “real-time”. And when you start to understand that the journey out is just as mysterious as the journey in, you start to feel something. For a sixteen song record through space, I don’t think there are too many references to celestial objects or science scientific terminology. That would have been heavy-handed. They’re pretty basic (the Sun, a black hole, stars, etc.). I didn’t feel the need to complicate it. I think the music adds the complexity.

Q What inspired the recurring theme of weightlessness and floating in your songs?

Uneasiness. But, not panic or fear. Maybe unfamiliarity is closer to the mark. I mean, who wouldn’t want to float? It’s liberating but difficult to navigate. It’s such a foreign concept to us with the exception of a body of water. But, water offers a horizon. In space, there is none. With no horizon, there is no point of reference.

Q Can you talk about the idea of building a home “beside the moon” and what that represents for you personally?

Companionship. Being a part of something. I think it represents the innocence of youth. The idea that together, you can do anything and go anywhere and that the reality of what’s possible doesn’t really factor in. It’s childlike in a way. Let’s build a house beside the moon.

Q How did you decide to intertwine space imagery with human relationships throughout the album?

I didn’t. It wasn’t a conscious thing at all. I knew how I felt. I wanted to keep the imagery accessible. Uncomplicated and approachable. There’s plenty of great science fiction films in my memory bank to help. I borrowed from them I guess. A film like James Gray’s “Ad Astra” is a good example. Yeah, its about space, but it not about space at all. BTW, Max Richter’s score was just amazing. I’m not sure how many times I’ve listened to that. I think incorporating the great expansiveness of an unfamiliar place was enough to ground it without a play-by-play of what you’re looking at.

Q The lyrics often explore the balance between closeness and distance. Was that a conscious theme from the start?

Absolutely. I mean, that’s the whole thing, right? Closeness and distance is a human experience. Friends, family, neighborhoods, etc, etc. And then you turn that lens inward. Thinking you know yourself and finding out you don’t. Understanding that it takes work. It’s a journey, wherever it takes you. Like the great opening scene from Kubrick’s “The Shining.” It starts from an aerial shot above the of the car ending up in the front seat. He basically says, “Hey folks, this is a journey inward.” Looks like my film minor came in handy hear.

Q In tracks like “GO FOR LAUNCH,” there’s a strong sense of movement and momentum. How do you translate that energy into words?

I think it’s the prompting. The scene opens on the last ten seconds of a launch pad. There’s no decisions to be made. We’re going and that’s that. From there, we experience the sensation of the engines rumbling, countdown from Houston, and of course, “Let’s go”. There’s a lull in the action once you break out of Earths atmosphere. Then it’s time to go. But not a breakneck speed. This is only the start of our journey and we’ve got no idea what comes next and it’s going to take some time.

Q Many songs seem to reflect growth and perseverance. How much of that comes from your personal experiences?

All of it. I couldn’t have done this in my twenties or thirties. Authenticity is so important in art. It’s everything. I think an audience can see right through it. The courage is in being true to yourself. Joseph Campbell said “Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world”. It’s a fact. Like an actor searching to draw from an emotion. Writing is no different. For the record, I’ve never been to outer space 😉

Q How do you approach the balance between surreal or dreamlike imagery and emotional honesty?

I really have no idea. My guess is that it all comes from honesty. If you were a kid with a big imagination it’s already baked in. It’s just how you interpret things. If you can tell stories then it just comes out that way.

Q The album often navigates uncertainty and the unknown, like in “BLACK HOLE.” How do you relate to that personally?

“Black Hole” was a different animal. As simple as the lyrics are, there is some science in here. Light is the main character. It’s something we all understand. However, light in the universe is not so simple. It represents the past as much as is does the present. For example, I read that it take the light from the sun eight minutes to reach us. So, the light we see in the present is already eight minutes old. Light from the nearest known galaxy, Andromeda, takes 2.5 million years. So, you get the picture. The proposition I found really interesting was the idea sitting on the edge of a black hole. Inherently, I think we feel it’s a bad thing. But the truth is that we just don’t know. The lyrics don’t tell you that you should or shouldn’t. The line “We should go” could be interpreted as it’s dangerous or that it might lead to something better. And we get back to time. Our previous experiences with bias our decision. The past will likely affect the present and ultimately, the future.

Q Songs like “DREAMING OF SHEEP” and “QUIET ESCAPE” feel very introspective. Were those moments inspired by specific experiences?

Those songs went through countless iterations both musically and lyrically. You just keep trying to simplify it to it’s essence. In the context of science fiction, “Dreaming of Sheep”is a derivative from Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” which is based upon the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick. I’m not going to be pretentious enough to say I read it, but I saw Blade Runner about 200 times. Did the androids know they were androids? I guess that’s the point. Self discovery. Quiet Escape probably takes it one step further. Finding the quiet to discover yourself. Hard to do. It takes a lifetime if you ever get there at all. “It’s amazing when the grips release” is getting pretty damn close to it I suppose. I’ll let you know when I get there. But I imagine it’s a beautiful thing. It’s why I decided to go with an a cappella finish instead of instruments. It’s just felt right.

Q In “ALIEN,” you explore belonging and difference. What does that song mean to you in the context of the album?

You’re really pushing me here. For me, it’s the only character that goes unexplained in a way. The helmet, the shield, the vacuum of space. The inability to answer back. But it’s not a threatening situation in my opinion. “Alien” in science fiction is typically the enemy. I did not want to convey that. In fact, the only reference to it being alien is the title. I think alien means more along the lines of something that is not of a particular group or place. To me it’s more of an invitation than a warning. “If you could see and you could say, would you see us as the same?” I think there is a universal truth to this.

Q The album has a feeling of both leaving home and finding a new space. What does “home” mean to you in these lyrics?

Home is comfort. Whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual. It’s a place we find familiarity and peace. It’s an inherent need in all of us. It’s a theme that found it’s way into this record from the our first record “This Is Where We Start”. Is home the past, the present or a future state? It’s an interesting idea because it might just be all three. And for some people, it might be two or one. Unfortunately, that answer might be none. I think that’s part of what is being asked on “The Sun Is A Star”. And answering that question opens up much bigger questions. Home is a sense of belonging. I think that you take home with you in a way, like a spark to light a new one.

Q Can you discuss how memory and reflection influenced songs like “WE DO OUR BEST” and “BLACK HOLE”?

We make choices based on our experience. Those feelings from the experience influence the next choice and so on. Not all of them are good or bad. But they make you feel something. I think the interesting thing in “We Do Our Best” is that at some point, our memories may become unreliable or factually incomplete or incorrect. There are memories we’d like to remember and memories we’d like to forget. “Scenes familiar, fade. Now just colors and shapes.” All we can do is do our best 😉

Q In what ways did you want listeners to feel connected to both the physical and emotional journeys in the album?

Storytelling is such a powerful thing. So much of what we learn and how we interpret the world around us is influenced by it. “The Sun Is A Star” is dressed up like a cosmic journey. And it is. And it isn’t. I would like the listeners to feel something. To feel like their might be more. More to see. More to experience. More to learn about who we are and where we’re going.

Q How did you craft the sense of intimacy in songs like “HALLELUJAH” and “THE DOOR IS AJAR” while keeping the cosmic theme alive?

I think that lyrically, they are really simple ideas. “Hallelujah” seems pretty obvious on it’s face. However, I feel like there is a quiet desperation in it. A feeling of being “all-in”. That can be a difficult negotiation. It’s vulnerability at full-tilt. “The Door Is Ajar” was among the first songs conceived for the record. I think we had it as the opening track at some point early on. The sound landscape formed it. That cinematic feeling drove the idea of the whole record. “Rise like a star, the door is ajar”… there you have it.

Q Many songs suggest a kind of bravery in facing the unknown. Is that something you were consciously exploring while writing?

Sure. I think you have to be brave in facing the unknown. You may not like it and it sure as hell isn’t comfortable. However, if you don’t face it with bravery then I think you rule out the possibility of a positive outcome. Or, if it is positive you may not truly appreciate the journey. In the context of exploring space, bravery is part of the deal. Don’t participate is you’re not going to be brave. It’ll eat you up. Symbolically, face the world with bravery if you can. Understand that it’s not easy. But being brave is an incredible brave thing to do.

Q How did you approach the themes of cycles, restarts, and reflection in the album’s later tracks?

In “Restart, Begin”, I wanted to convey an idea of separation. Like, this time you’re on your own. Try again.Then try again. To nerd out for a minute, there was a line in the Star Wars series “Andor” that really stuck with me even though the song was already complete.“We fight to win. That means we lose. And lose and lose and lose… until we’re ready.” Contextually, the line refers to rebellion, but to me it’s about persistence for a different result. “Restart, Begin” is a repetitive behavior to adjust. “Look in, look up, give up, give in, rethink, respond, repair, resolve, amaze, astound. Restart.” Reflection is what allows us to make the change. Without it I don’t think you can.

Q What role does imagination and dreaming play in your lyrical process?

Lol. Our first record was all dreams. The whole record centered around the dream state. In fact, we even incorporated Brahms’ “Lullaby” in the opening track. So, dreams do play a role in the writing. I think imagination, in the case, is more relevant. You’ve got to be able to imagine a place of vastness. Our brains aren’t capable of even conceiving what that means. So you try to ground the lyrics as much as you can. I’m not an astronomer or a physicist but I can imagine how wonderful and terrifying it might be to find yourself in the expanse of space.

Q How do you think listeners interpret the tension between vast, cosmic imagery and personal, emotional experiences?

Well, I hope they feel something. I don’t think that the background of space complicates things. It’s the unknown. I think that not including a vehicle like space would be far darker. I really didn’t want it to be dark per se. To be honest, I thought the whole thing was going to come out out way darker than it did. I think I walked the line on that, consciously. The themes throughout the record are far more accessible than they could have been. It would have been easy to just get all technical and cliche. That’s not what we set out to do. To go back to James Gray’s “Ad Astra”, the personal relationships are the thing that the audience relates to. The how and the why are just background. If James Gray should ever read this… I really loved your movie 😉

Q If you could describe the lyrical journey of “The Sun Is A Star” in one sentence, how would you sum it up?

Where we start is different then where we end up.