Phoenix rockers Lane Change recently released their brand new EP "Rise" and to celebrate we asked guitarist Jake Galambos to tell us about the song "Floodwater". Here is the story:
"Floodwater" is one of those songs that literally just came pouring out. Usually when we write, one of us brings in an idea and if someone else likes the idea, they take it home and come back with more lyrics/melody/parts. Then the process repeats, someone else takes those ideas and builds on them, until the song is almost done. Then we polish it up together as a band. It's only the last 10-15% that we do together in one room.
"Floodwater" was a different process. We were just hanging out with really no plan to write. We're all friends outside the band, and enjoy spending casual time together, so this was one of those nights. Cam's (Cameron Holladay - Drums) family is from Tennessee and South Carolina. We had been talking about the floods across the South East US that had happened a few days before. We just found out that some of his family was evacuating the coast and headed inland. It seemed like and appropriate metaphor for what was going on with us personally, and also so much of the world was changing in other ways. It felt like a tide was coming in.
I had this riff that I was working with and that I was excited about so I wanted to show everyone. The entire band immediately grabbed hold of it. Myles (Myles Vann - Vocals) threw out the idea, referencing our previous conversation "the flood water is rising." It was an immediate fit.
Lizzie (Lizzie Shafer - Vocals/Bass) started singing what became the chorus pretty much straight away. I think it was Cam's idea to start it Acapella with the gospel vibe, or maybe it was me. Everyone was going back and fourth on lyrics. Every time someone had a lyric idea someone else jumped in with, "and then this happens�" It was a whirlwind.
When we write, we are capturing ideas the entire time, because it all can happen so fast. We have one or two people voice memoing on cell phones so we can always go back if we forget something, or remember we had a cool thought but not quite sure what it was.
About a half hour later we were doing a quick guitar vocal recording - the kind where Cameron is cueing Myles how long the solo break is, and Lizzie is cueing me where the bridge repeats, and where theres a lot of "oh yeah!" and "Sweet!" in the background - and we worked it up with the full band arrangement at our next rehearsal.
Of all our songs "Floodwater" has the fewest changes from that first rough, full recording. Usually we sit with it for a week and make a few changes, play it live and tweak it, and play it for fans and make adjustments. But, this song was special and we stayed really proud of how it turned out throughout then entire creation and vetting process. The four of us had something to say and we said it together with one voice.
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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