Singled Out: Pierce The Veil's Caraphernelia

"Caraphernelia" is the only song on our new album that is completely about one person in particular. The other tunes are kind of a mix of a bunch of things, but this one is specifically about my ex-girlfriend. The last time we hung out she ended up leaving all of her random things around my house. I kept finding little travel shampoos, her razor in the shower, pieces of clothing, all kinds of random paraphernalia. Her name was Cara, and the rest is history, haha!

I actually had a talk with her before I officially titled the song and sent her the lyrics. It was very awkward and difficult for me to talk about it to her, but thank God she was actually very flattered by the whole thing and didn't think I was crazy. The lyrics are about all those thoughts that you have in the back of your mind, but never bring yourself to say out loud. I made it very clear to her that I didn't want her to take the song literally so that she wouldn't think I was insane. The thoughts and feelings behind the song were 100% real and accurate though. Sometimes when you are away from the person you left behind, you start to wonder why you ever left at all.

Musically, this is one of my favorite songs on the record. My good friend Dave Yaden brought the song to a new level with all his piano and organ work he did. We also brought on board another friend of mine named Jeremy Mckinnon from the band A Day To Remember to do a guest vocal on the chorus and bridge. I had this super heavy scream part written that I knew I couldn't do any justice, so I asked Jeremy if he'd be down to handle it. From the moment I wrote the part I knew that I wanted Jeremy to do it, because his voice would fit so perfectly in the song. If he had refused I would have probably scrapped the song. I'm so happy it all worked out.