Singled Out: Dinosaur Bones' Royalty

"Royalty" was one of the first songs I wrote for Dinosaur Bones. My previous band had broken up, I was living in a new city where I didn't know a lot of people, and I was sort of in limbo writing songs for a band that didn't exist yet. At the same time it was liberating, knowing that I could start from scratch stylistically and really go in any direction.

"Royalty" was a part of that initial crop of songs, and one of the only ones that made it into our setlist once the band was formed. Musically, it's essentially built around the pulsing bass line that sort of propels the song. The structure of the song is pretty conventional, but I like that its the bass that serves as the hook, particularly in the verses where the guitars really just serve as a percussive element.

When I wrote this song I was between bands, but had made up my mind to rebuild and have a proper go of it. The lyrics circle around some of the trappings of playing in a band, having to appease or impress industry people you'd rather ignore, being away from your friends and loved ones for long stretches of time. Because of that, "Royalty" definitely has a pretty cynical tone to it. I think when I was writing this song I was probably subconsciously warning myself about what I was getting myself back into. I guess I'm a bad listener.