Singled Out: Otis Heat's Shame
. Basically, this guy, Mr. Sean David O'Neill, wrote this song, Shame. The band he is in is called Otis Heat. The song is currently available with three others for free download from either OtisHeat.com or myspace.com/OtisHeat. The band is based in Portland, Oregon, as many bands are apparently. The lineup is: Sean O'Neill - vocals, bass; Mike Warner - electric guitar; Scotty Gervais � drums. Looking back, "Shame" seems to be an attempt to describe, with one voice, more than one thing happening, at the same time, that make up a portion of the personality, that which propels and that which inhibits; Drive vs. Guilt, Cowardice vs. Honesty, Ambition vs. Shame. An awareness ensues and not necessarily a productive one; however, the song attempts to concurrently illustrate these concurrent forces, concurrently. Ya dig? At the time, I was feeling a general malaise of guilt or embarrassment�perhaps, critical of myself, nitpicking, enduring a self-conscious reduction, in which I painfully reduce myself to nothing, and, well, not nothing, something� something, small, specific, and focused. I became internally panicked. "I've realized something about myself and I'll never be the same again. I want to go back!" Unpleasant, pero, a veces, a song, a cartoon, something may come of this process. Something does, and I am grateful� a little frustrated at the time, but grateful. That's the poignant chaos art emerges from, I suppose. Lyrics to Shame: Think you're right cause I'm wrong, but you uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh take too long. Where the shame grows. Hello mister nice guy. Would you be a friend, friend, friend, friend, friend of mine. Where the shame grows. If nobody else is on the docket, I'll just go home. I'll just go home. I'll just go home. Nevertheless, the lyrics were Witten in accordance with the bass groove, subject to a desire for aesthetic form. (Please take note of my mentioning of Kim Jong Il. Fun!) With regards to Willie Wong: "�at hotmail dot com" used to be in the lyric, but it didn't make the final cut. I'm sure you can guess where the lyric was. It felt a little silly. Not that there's anything wrong with silly. I just wasn't feeling it. (sidenote: there was an earlier version of this uber inspiring story, in a play I wrote at Kenyon College. Though, it was a more avante garde a cappella song, and in character it went "Shoot me an email tonigh-igh-igh-ight.") The song, in this form, is about 2.5 years old (2008). This recording is from mid 2010 and currently on the PRE LP EP. There was another recording from 2009, but it was a lot faster (rushed), and had a bunch of strange back-up vocals on the "where the shame grows" part. �that's, more or less, the evolution of the song. In the final version, guitarist Mike Warner and drummer Scotty Gervais find great composure on this tune. For the instrumental section, Mike stumbled upon a poised groove the day before the recording that we used instead of what was orignially more of a guitar solo. It gives the song the cohesiveness it needs. The snare hits and ghost notes in the same section give the song a subtle dynamic that reinvigorates the groove, plodding along smoothly, giving the song a key dynamic to replace the vocal. The sound may exemplify a direction for the next Otis Heat record. Possibly. Dunno. The Free EP has four songs from our new LP, which will be out in 2011. If you download the EP, we'll let you know when the full length comes out. On our website we ask for emails, along with city, so we can let you know when we play in your town or release music. We don't send out too much email and we keep it relevant to your specific location. Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself with a free download and learn more about the EP right here! Preview and Purchase Otis Heat CDs |
Sites and Sounds: Music Adds to Your Caribbean Fun in Sint Maarten - Saint Martin
The Blues: Ollee Owens- Kenny 'Blues Boss' Wayne- more
Burton Cummings Releases New Album and Embarks on 60th Anniversary Hits Tour
Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Roger Daltrey Tribute Soul Man Sam Moore
AC/DC Birthplace Accidental Destruction In New Documentary
Foreigner Hit New Milestones With Classic Hits
Tremonti Launching The End Will Show Us How Tour This Week
Metal Supergroup Crucial Velocity Deliver New album 'Controller'
Hirax Announce New Album 'Faster Than Death'
Necronomicon Ex Mortis Unleash 'Unspeakable Swamp Creature'
Billy Joel Forced To Postpone Hard Rock Show Due To Medical Procedure