Louisville rockers Dash | Ten just released their self-titled debut and to celebrate we asked Corrin Campbell (bass player and vocalist) to tell us about the song "The Scene". Here is the story:
Our most tongue-in-cheek songs on the album is "The Scene". I often joke that I was listening to a little too much Kesha at the moment I started writing this song, and I say that because I loved all of her talky-verses. It wasn't rap, it was just the lyrics without a melody, and I really liked that approach.
Our band is based out of Louisville, KY, but I spend a lot of time in Nashville, and there were a couple nights in a row where I had gone to some showcases of new artists vying for label attention. It felt like such a jaded process, and I really just tried to wrap my head around it. There were so many artists trying to be what they thought the industry wanted to see, and it was a really alien concept for me to grasp. Don't get me wrong; anybody needs to make money to survive, but at what point are we trying too hard, buying in a little too much and losing ourselves in it?
The title and context of "The Scene" were really about this jaded process of the music scene. Verse lyrics like "pulling out your PRS, pretty like a party dress. It has the name on it, shine to it, flair to it. Keeping up appearances, makes you cooler when you play it," was really a comment about how some artists were making that effort to be what they thought people wanted.
However, more of the lyrics were more about the people who take advantage of those with big dreams. My true black list. It sucks how hard people work to make their music and try to shop it around� for a "fee". There are sharks in the music scene who make a lot of promises to get musicians' hard-earned investment, and (in my mind) that was the real problem when I wrote, "Here comes the suit with all the answers, all your treasures. Hand over all your money, he'll answer all your prayers. He'll shake your hand with the right, don't watch the left! Fingers crossed behind, it's junk, lies, theft."
The song is sure to piss some people off, but I'm proud of it because it shows a little of our punk edge - that loyalty to the music, the fans, the band's identity - over the promises of success and fame.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!
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