Ghost Of Finneran: Back in 2009 my longtime friend/ singer songwriter Gary Finneran (Ex-Idools, She Died, Tuscarora) killed himself in a motel room in Santa Monica CA. The news shocked all of us in the Southern California music scene that knew him but knowing him as we did, none of us were surprised that it finally happened. As one of the greatest songwriters any of us ever knew, many of Gary's songs were about dying or wanting to die. The theme resonated so deep within his music that a collection of death related songs titled "Goodbye" was given out at his service. It was a horrible situation and this world lost yet another incredible artist.

A few years later my wife and I were in a bar in Huntington Beach CA and I saw Gary clear as day sitting on a bar stool. It was insane! There his was in all his glory holding his guitar as he had done many many times before. I immediately grabbed my phone, found a quiet section of the bar and sang into its recorder "I don't know where you are tonight, I'm out here at it again...somewhere in the bar tonight I swear i saw the Ghost of Finneran" That moment was the beginning of this song.

Shortly after, my band, Lords of Ruin were invited by producer/ keyboardist Ronnie King (Tupac, Pennywise, Mariah Carey, Rancid, Pepper) out to his place in the middle of the California desert to write and create new music.. We began to jam and this music sort of wrote itself, after a few hours of jamming, I grabbed the mic and began with the same lyrics that I had sung into my phone months prior�.the song continued to develop into something powerful. Late that night after a long session of drinking and jamming an alert on my phone came on that said "R.I.P Gary" in a bizarre coincidence the song was written on the anniversary of his death! This was not planned, I showed the boys and we stood there stunned. What a night.

We eventually recorded & released the song and here it is. I do believe Gary gave it to us.

Sleep well Gary & Thank you!

The Darker Side Of Life: This song was written about the emotional transition from darkness to light.

The majority of my life was spent in a very dark place. I didn't realize I was in it but people who grew up like I did tend to stay in this broken headspace that they are completely unaware of. We gravitate towards other messed up people and find a comfort in dark music, film, and other dysfunctional situations. It's really no way to live but when you're in it, it all seems totally normal.

I look back on the things that I have written and recorded over the years and realize that I was really lost deep in it for a very long time and never even noticed that I had transitioned out of until this song was done.

One night the band and I were jamming in our guitarist Jimmy Craig's studio in Orange CA and we began to pound out this dark really heavy sort of Sabbath /Alice In Chains-ish groove and then chorus came to me "You want to know about loss? I know what lost is, I've seen the darker side of life"

It took us a few more weeks to figure out the arraignment and for me to finish the lyrics but it is a nod to the broken ones out there, those of us who have traveled through the darkness and eventually found the light. All I can tell you is that things do eventually change as long as you allow yourself to grow and truly feel what it is to be alive. This life really is a wonderful thing once you tap into the beauty in it.

"You want to know about loss? I know what lost is, I've seen the darker side of life, the darker side of life, You want to talk about life? I've learned what love is and I've never felt so alive, never felt so alive than right now"

This band understands the hurt and pain that this life can bring but we also see the beauty that is all around us. Keep on breathing, things do get better!