This new batch of songs that make up Eclipse were written more in the spirit of collaboration as a band than were the songs that made up our debut album. We’re proud of that and proud of this batch of songs. And we hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we like to play them.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase This Is The Place.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
This Is The Place (Carhart, Carhart, Johnson, Driml)
Lead vocal: Paul Carhart
© 2019 Third World Sun. All rights reserved by all media.
This is the place
Where Your spirit
Is uncontrolled
Go ahead and have Your way
Notes:
The last of the Launch Pad songs for this project, this song was actually written primarily by Lori. She had a heart for worship and really only ever wanted to be a worship leader, a calling she fulfilled briefly when we were part of the worship team at a church in Colorado which led to leading worship at a Fopursquare church in Long Beach without a team. We, as a couple, left that behind to start Launch Pad, which was meant to be a band as well as sort of a worship movement. Lori always felt that corporate worship never got as deep as she would have liked. She believed the Holy Spirit wanted to move more than we would let it because we would quench it with the need to cut it short and pass the plate or make announcements or give the pastor some time to preach. I’m not sure that she would have ever been satisfied with the amount of time in a service given over to worship. That said, I came across her playing this song on our living room piano. Three simple chords and the words just coming from her as she played. Nothing was written down until I started jotting it down. “What chords are you playing?” I asked. In Launch Pad, we started opening with this song, no matter where we played (bars, churches, etc.) as a way of sorta dedicating the stage and our performance to God and asking Him to show up and have His way. We still do it every once in awhile. And, sometimes, like with Caida from our first CD, I can sometimes sense Lori (or maybe I just hear her voice in my head) in the music. In fact, since we recorded the song in the same key as the Launch Pad version, I was able to pull three of her vocal tracks (one lead and two harmonies) over from the Launch Pad recording and mix them into the interlude between verses and again at the end of the song. That’s actually Lori’s voice, recorded roughly five years before we recorded the music for this version. The song ends with Lori’s voice singing, “Go ahead and have your way.”
Harsh Reality: The internet hub for Third World Sun, a Long Beach-based alternative rock / powerpop band with a Christian spiritual outlook.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Behind the Songs: ECLIPSE: Pitter Patter Blues
This new batch of songs that make up Eclipse were written more in the spirit of collaboration as a band than were the songs that made up our debut album. We’re proud of that and proud of this batch of songs. And we hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we like to play them.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase Pitter Patter Blues.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
Pitter Patter Blues (Carhart, Carhart, Johnson, Driml)
Lead vocal: Paul Carhart
© 2019 Third World Sun. All rights reserved by all media.
We waddled through our pain
Feelin the pitter patter of Your rain
For a season we got benched
About time we got drenched
Pitter patter. What's the matter?
Pitter patter. What's the matter?
Pitter patter. What's the matter?
We've been waiting for Your thunderstorm!
Notes:
Another Launch Pad song. For some reason, Lori really liked the idea of having at least one song for ever musical genre. We had a power ballad. We had one that had a Spanish vibe. We had at least one in which she would rap. And we had this blues-ish number. Third World Sun pulled this one back out when we did a feature spot on Blues Night in downtown Long Beach. Not being a blues band, we dusted this song off and, with the caveat that it’s about as close to blues as we get, we slipped it into our repertoire. The lyrics, written by Lori, not surprisingly turn out to be pretty spiritually deep (likening the Holy Spirit to water the way the Bible does throughout).
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase Pitter Patter Blues.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
Pitter Patter Blues (Carhart, Carhart, Johnson, Driml)
Lead vocal: Paul Carhart
© 2019 Third World Sun. All rights reserved by all media.
We waddled through our pain
Feelin the pitter patter of Your rain
For a season we got benched
About time we got drenched
Pitter patter. What's the matter?
Pitter patter. What's the matter?
Pitter patter. What's the matter?
We've been waiting for Your thunderstorm!
Notes:
Another Launch Pad song. For some reason, Lori really liked the idea of having at least one song for ever musical genre. We had a power ballad. We had one that had a Spanish vibe. We had at least one in which she would rap. And we had this blues-ish number. Third World Sun pulled this one back out when we did a feature spot on Blues Night in downtown Long Beach. Not being a blues band, we dusted this song off and, with the caveat that it’s about as close to blues as we get, we slipped it into our repertoire. The lyrics, written by Lori, not surprisingly turn out to be pretty spiritually deep (likening the Holy Spirit to water the way the Bible does throughout).
Behind the Songs: ECLIPSE: Falling Down
This new batch of songs that make up Eclipse were written more in the spirit of collaboration as a band than were the songs that made up our debut album. We’re proud of that and proud of this batch of songs. And we hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we like to play them.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase Falling Down.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
Falling Down (Johnson, Carhart, Driml)
Lead vocal: Scotty Zero
© 2019 Third World Sun. All rights reserved by all media.
Well, I know that you love me but I don't know why
All this time, been afraid of what lies behind the lie
So I stopped to pick up what I've found
Man, it's so easy to see. So easy to be free
When you're around.
So I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
Yeah I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
All my life I tried and I tried to be good enough
But I can't live at all when I make it so rough
So I wandered aimlessly
Man, I was out of a prayer, I was at the end
When you found me
Then I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
Yeah I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
Break down
I saw you again, my friend, just the other day
I was riddled with guilt. Man, I was full of shame. Didn't know what to say.
But you reached out your hand and you touched my heart
Said, "Welcome home, you'll never be alone and that's the best part."
Then I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
Yeah I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
Break down. Turn around.
Notes:
Another one of Scotty’s, we originally played this one with a totally different rhythm, drums and bass. The dichotomy between that other rhythm and Scotty’s guitar never fully gelled, so we went with more of a straightforward, driving rhythm. Scotty says this song is about love being easy if we just let it happen… It’s as easy as falling down. The lyrics seem to resonate with audiences when we play it live. We all love playing the “break down” sections live and Biff really brings it in those sections.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase Falling Down.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
Falling Down (Johnson, Carhart, Driml)
Lead vocal: Scotty Zero
© 2019 Third World Sun. All rights reserved by all media.
Well, I know that you love me but I don't know why
All this time, been afraid of what lies behind the lie
So I stopped to pick up what I've found
Man, it's so easy to see. So easy to be free
When you're around.
So I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
Yeah I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
All my life I tried and I tried to be good enough
But I can't live at all when I make it so rough
So I wandered aimlessly
Man, I was out of a prayer, I was at the end
When you found me
Then I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
Yeah I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
Break down
I saw you again, my friend, just the other day
I was riddled with guilt. Man, I was full of shame. Didn't know what to say.
But you reached out your hand and you touched my heart
Said, "Welcome home, you'll never be alone and that's the best part."
Then I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
Yeah I surrender without a sound
Trust in love. Love is as easy as falling down
Break down. Turn around.
Notes:
Another one of Scotty’s, we originally played this one with a totally different rhythm, drums and bass. The dichotomy between that other rhythm and Scotty’s guitar never fully gelled, so we went with more of a straightforward, driving rhythm. Scotty says this song is about love being easy if we just let it happen… It’s as easy as falling down. The lyrics seem to resonate with audiences when we play it live. We all love playing the “break down” sections live and Biff really brings it in those sections.
Behind the Songs: ECLIPSE: Get Away From Me
This new batch of songs that make up Eclipse were written more in the spirit of collaboration as a band than were the songs that made up our debut album. We’re proud of that and proud of this batch of songs. And we hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we like to play them.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase Get Away From Me.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
Get Away From Me (Carhart, Johnson, Driml)
Lead vocal: Paul Carhart
© 2019 Third World Sun. All rights reserved by all media.
Misery loves company
So join me in my pain
Sit with me for awhile
You'll see you've nothing to gain
It's just you and me
Against the world, my friend
You don't really believe
This will ever come to an end
Get away from me!
I refuse your outstretched hand
Get away from me!
Today I'm gonna stand
Get away from me!
You'll never amount to much
You're just a waste of skin
Sentenced to relive pointless days
Over and over again
There's no real purpose to your life
It's all a waste of time
So take another puff of this
You're life ain't worth a dime
Get away from me!
I refuse your outstretched hand
Get away from me!
Today I'm gonna stand
Get away from me!
Misery loves company
So join me in my pain
Sit with me for awhile
You'll see you've nothing to gain
There's no real purpose to your life
It's all a waste of time
So take another puff of this
You're life ain't worth a dime
Get away from me!
I refuse your outstretched hand
Get away from me!
Today I'm gonna stand
Get away from me!
Get away from me!
Get away from me!
Notes:
Here’s one that I wrote pretty much on my own during the Launch Pad days. Had Lori not passed away, it might have one day made it onto a third LP project. It was always a pretty simple one and I imagined it very close to how it turned out. Sort of a driving, Ramones-esque (although we don’t really sound anything like The Ramones), post-punk, piece of 3-minute pop-distortion. When Mr. Charles was in the band, we attempted a reggae version, but it never gelled and, once he had moved on, this song reverted back to its post-punk-pop origins. It’s essentially an argument with the devil (or temptation, if you prefer). The verses are the devil speaking and the choruses are the rebuke. Both Scotty and Biff come out of The Program and think this is a great song for recovering addicts. And, in the spirit of punk, we opted to forego a guitar solo.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase Get Away From Me.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
Get Away From Me (Carhart, Johnson, Driml)
Lead vocal: Paul Carhart
© 2019 Third World Sun. All rights reserved by all media.
Misery loves company
So join me in my pain
Sit with me for awhile
You'll see you've nothing to gain
It's just you and me
Against the world, my friend
You don't really believe
This will ever come to an end
Get away from me!
I refuse your outstretched hand
Get away from me!
Today I'm gonna stand
Get away from me!
You'll never amount to much
You're just a waste of skin
Sentenced to relive pointless days
Over and over again
There's no real purpose to your life
It's all a waste of time
So take another puff of this
You're life ain't worth a dime
Get away from me!
I refuse your outstretched hand
Get away from me!
Today I'm gonna stand
Get away from me!
Misery loves company
So join me in my pain
Sit with me for awhile
You'll see you've nothing to gain
There's no real purpose to your life
It's all a waste of time
So take another puff of this
You're life ain't worth a dime
Get away from me!
I refuse your outstretched hand
Get away from me!
Today I'm gonna stand
Get away from me!
Get away from me!
Get away from me!
Notes:
Here’s one that I wrote pretty much on my own during the Launch Pad days. Had Lori not passed away, it might have one day made it onto a third LP project. It was always a pretty simple one and I imagined it very close to how it turned out. Sort of a driving, Ramones-esque (although we don’t really sound anything like The Ramones), post-punk, piece of 3-minute pop-distortion. When Mr. Charles was in the band, we attempted a reggae version, but it never gelled and, once he had moved on, this song reverted back to its post-punk-pop origins. It’s essentially an argument with the devil (or temptation, if you prefer). The verses are the devil speaking and the choruses are the rebuke. Both Scotty and Biff come out of The Program and think this is a great song for recovering addicts. And, in the spirit of punk, we opted to forego a guitar solo.
Behind the Songs: ECLIPSE: Velvet Glove
This new batch of songs that make up Eclipse were written more in the spirit of collaboration as a band than were the songs that made up our debut album. We’re proud of that and proud of this batch of songs. And we hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we like to play them.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase Velvet Glove.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
Velvet Glove (Johnson, Driml, Carhart)
Lead vocal: Scotty Zero
© 2019 Third World Sun. All rights reserved by all media.
Strange, I'm feeling kinda high
Remember all those times she tried
Swimming slowly to the shore
Boats go by me by the score, yeah
So are you the savior of the world?
Or just some mixed up little girl
You fit life just like a velvet glove
So are you real babe, and who do you love?
Twilight comes, I feel the flow
Reminding me of the things I never thought I'd know
Then we played for the money man
You know the one who sends the waves across the land
But are you the savior of the world?
Or just some mixed up little girl
You fit life just like a velvet glove
Are you real babe, and who do you love?
Was she real or just a ghost?
I think I miss her laugh the most, yeah
All that now is in the past
Now she's gone so I can't ask
Are you the savior of the world?
Or just some mixed up little girl
You fit life just like a velvet glove. Yeah!
So are you real babe, and who do you love?
What do you love?
Why do you love?
Who do you love?
Notes:
Another one that Scotty brought to the table almost totally complete. It’s got a surf vibe to it. Part way into mixing it, I was listening to an Ultravox song and got the notion of putting an echo on Scotty’s vocals every other line (I was listening to Vienna, I think). I think that added a little something extra. Biff was really all over the place on the drums, doing all kinds of stuff. I left Scotty’s comment on the end of the song just because it was really something to behold. We hadn’t rehearsed it that way. But I’m sure glad we captured it. Scotty says the lyrics to the song questions New Age beliefs.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase Velvet Glove.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
Velvet Glove (Johnson, Driml, Carhart)
Lead vocal: Scotty Zero
© 2019 Third World Sun. All rights reserved by all media.
Strange, I'm feeling kinda high
Remember all those times she tried
Swimming slowly to the shore
Boats go by me by the score, yeah
So are you the savior of the world?
Or just some mixed up little girl
You fit life just like a velvet glove
So are you real babe, and who do you love?
Twilight comes, I feel the flow
Reminding me of the things I never thought I'd know
Then we played for the money man
You know the one who sends the waves across the land
But are you the savior of the world?
Or just some mixed up little girl
You fit life just like a velvet glove
Are you real babe, and who do you love?
Was she real or just a ghost?
I think I miss her laugh the most, yeah
All that now is in the past
Now she's gone so I can't ask
Are you the savior of the world?
Or just some mixed up little girl
You fit life just like a velvet glove. Yeah!
So are you real babe, and who do you love?
What do you love?
Why do you love?
Who do you love?
Notes:
Another one that Scotty brought to the table almost totally complete. It’s got a surf vibe to it. Part way into mixing it, I was listening to an Ultravox song and got the notion of putting an echo on Scotty’s vocals every other line (I was listening to Vienna, I think). I think that added a little something extra. Biff was really all over the place on the drums, doing all kinds of stuff. I left Scotty’s comment on the end of the song just because it was really something to behold. We hadn’t rehearsed it that way. But I’m sure glad we captured it. Scotty says the lyrics to the song questions New Age beliefs.
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Behind the Songs: ECLIPSE: There Is A Name
This new batch of songs that make up Eclipse were written more in the spirit of collaboration as a band than were the songs that made up our debut album. We’re proud of that and proud of this batch of songs. And we hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we like to play them.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase There Is A Name.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
There Is A Name (Carhart, Johnson, Driml)
Lead vocal: Paul Carhart
© 2019 Third World Sun, all rights reserved, all media.
There’s a name above all names
Who can heal your heart
There’s a Lord above all lords
Who will never depart
There’s a King above all kings
Who can give you a new start
His name is Jesus. His name is Jesus
His name is Jesus. Come sit a spell.
He heals diseases. It's of this man I tell.
His name is Jesus. Lifted me when I fell.
And if he pleases, I'll drink from His well.
There’s a God above all gods
Who can give you life
There’s a rock of ages still
So why all the strife?
There’s a friend to you and me
Shines in our darkest night
His name is Jesus. His name is Jesus.
His name is Jesus. Come sit a spell.
He heals diseases. It's of this man I tell.
His name is Jesus. Lifted me when I fell.
And if he pleases, I'll drink from His well.
There’s a Maker of it all
Who has crafted your soul
He’s watched you all along
As you got older
He’s calling to you now
Don’t be so cold
He's calling to you now
It's the end of this road.
Notes:
One night, I was dropping my daughter off to stay the weekend with my sister. On the way home, I put on a band that I love but hadn’t heard in awhile (for the record, it was Delirious?, a band I had also introduced to my late wife). I had the top down on my convertible and I cranked the music up to eleven. Before I knew it, I was crying and I couldn’t put my finger on why. I turned the music off and the melody to this song just popped into my head. To my knowledge, it is not a recycled melody from what I was listening to. Nevertheless, the lyrics are sort of my version of the kinds of altar-call type of anthems Delirious? always has done so well. When I got home, I grabbed my acoustic bass from where it typically stands next to my fireplace, and I put down the chord progression. If I hadn’t believed in divine inspiration before, the way this song came together would have convinced me. I brought the entire song, pretty much complete, to the band and it came together pretty easily. I really like the instrumental interlude Scott did on this recording (I hesitate to call it a guitar solo) and Biff does some really nice fills here to make this more than just a worship song and identifiable as a Third World Sun piece. The laugh at the beginning is Biff bleeding over into the drum mics from behind the drum kit. We kept it in because I thought it connoted a level of joy that isn’t always present.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase There Is A Name.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
There Is A Name (Carhart, Johnson, Driml)
Lead vocal: Paul Carhart
© 2019 Third World Sun, all rights reserved, all media.
There’s a name above all names
Who can heal your heart
There’s a Lord above all lords
Who will never depart
There’s a King above all kings
Who can give you a new start
His name is Jesus. His name is Jesus
His name is Jesus. Come sit a spell.
He heals diseases. It's of this man I tell.
His name is Jesus. Lifted me when I fell.
And if he pleases, I'll drink from His well.
There’s a God above all gods
Who can give you life
There’s a rock of ages still
So why all the strife?
There’s a friend to you and me
Shines in our darkest night
His name is Jesus. His name is Jesus.
His name is Jesus. Come sit a spell.
He heals diseases. It's of this man I tell.
His name is Jesus. Lifted me when I fell.
And if he pleases, I'll drink from His well.
There’s a Maker of it all
Who has crafted your soul
He’s watched you all along
As you got older
He’s calling to you now
Don’t be so cold
He's calling to you now
It's the end of this road.
Notes:
One night, I was dropping my daughter off to stay the weekend with my sister. On the way home, I put on a band that I love but hadn’t heard in awhile (for the record, it was Delirious?, a band I had also introduced to my late wife). I had the top down on my convertible and I cranked the music up to eleven. Before I knew it, I was crying and I couldn’t put my finger on why. I turned the music off and the melody to this song just popped into my head. To my knowledge, it is not a recycled melody from what I was listening to. Nevertheless, the lyrics are sort of my version of the kinds of altar-call type of anthems Delirious? always has done so well. When I got home, I grabbed my acoustic bass from where it typically stands next to my fireplace, and I put down the chord progression. If I hadn’t believed in divine inspiration before, the way this song came together would have convinced me. I brought the entire song, pretty much complete, to the band and it came together pretty easily. I really like the instrumental interlude Scott did on this recording (I hesitate to call it a guitar solo) and Biff does some really nice fills here to make this more than just a worship song and identifiable as a Third World Sun piece. The laugh at the beginning is Biff bleeding over into the drum mics from behind the drum kit. We kept it in because I thought it connoted a level of joy that isn’t always present.
Behind the Songs: ECLIPSE: Love Letters
This new batch of songs that make up Eclipse were written more in the spirit of collaboration as a band than were the songs that made up our debut album. We’re proud of that and proud of this batch of songs. And we hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we like to play them.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase Love Letters.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
Love Letters (Johnson, Driml, Carhart)
Lead vocal: Scotty Zero
© 2019 Third World Sun, all rights reserved, all media.
Learn to trust what you cannot see
The Spirit wants to set you free
Come to the cross and you'll find harmony
Don't worry about where you stay
The changes happen every day
New ones come and the old ones pass away
Do you know what it's all about?
Fills you up and it empties you
Over and over until the truth comes out
Understand that love is true
You stay up from dusk til dawn
You hate the fuel that you're running on
And so afraid, yeah, you just pretend you're gone
So friend, come take my hand
I will lead you from this land
The time will pass and you will understand
Do you know what it's all about?
Fills you up and it empties you
Over and over until the truth comes out
Understand that love is true
You learn to live another way
And now you breathe a brand new day
You life grows stronger and addictions fade away
Now you know what it's all about
Fills you up and it empties you
Over and over until the truth comes out
Understand that love is true
La la la-la la la la.
Notes:
Scotty brought this one pretty much complete. My bassline is based on his guitar riff as well as the song’s melody. Both Biff and I do the chorus harmonies. Scotty was always on me to do some sort of a bass solo since he does guitar solos all the time and Biff has a drum solo in Jump Gig. So this is the song that I do sort of a bass interlude. Not sure I would call it a solo. On the recording, I used my Ibanez fretless bass, but live, I just play it on whichever bass I’m playing (typically, these days, my Fender Starcaster). According to Scott, the lyrics of this song are about overcoming addiction.
Purchase ECLIPSE or purchase Love Letters.
Also available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.
Love Letters (Johnson, Driml, Carhart)
Lead vocal: Scotty Zero
© 2019 Third World Sun, all rights reserved, all media.
Learn to trust what you cannot see
The Spirit wants to set you free
Come to the cross and you'll find harmony
Don't worry about where you stay
The changes happen every day
New ones come and the old ones pass away
Do you know what it's all about?
Fills you up and it empties you
Over and over until the truth comes out
Understand that love is true
You stay up from dusk til dawn
You hate the fuel that you're running on
And so afraid, yeah, you just pretend you're gone
So friend, come take my hand
I will lead you from this land
The time will pass and you will understand
Do you know what it's all about?
Fills you up and it empties you
Over and over until the truth comes out
Understand that love is true
You learn to live another way
And now you breathe a brand new day
You life grows stronger and addictions fade away
Now you know what it's all about
Fills you up and it empties you
Over and over until the truth comes out
Understand that love is true
La la la-la la la la.
Notes:
Scotty brought this one pretty much complete. My bassline is based on his guitar riff as well as the song’s melody. Both Biff and I do the chorus harmonies. Scotty was always on me to do some sort of a bass solo since he does guitar solos all the time and Biff has a drum solo in Jump Gig. So this is the song that I do sort of a bass interlude. Not sure I would call it a solo. On the recording, I used my Ibanez fretless bass, but live, I just play it on whichever bass I’m playing (typically, these days, my Fender Starcaster). According to Scott, the lyrics of this song are about overcoming addiction.
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