Singled Out: Second Shooter's Caged

01-22-2024

Second Shooter just released their new album, "Fury Made Flesh", and to celebrate we asked guitarist Travis Hildreth to tell us about one of the tracks and he selected the song "Caged". Here is the story:

As I reflect on my head space in the moment I started writing "Caged", I actually have to sift through a variety of experiences and emotions. In February of 2020 I had a riff bouncing around in my head. I really liked it, but couldn't quite duplicate exactly what it sounded like in my mind. This of course frustrated me as a songwriter; as a result, I would need to rely on perseverance. By March of 2020, I - like everyone else in the country - heard news reports of some insane virus spreading across the world. Soon after, we would find ourselves in a mandated lockdown. It was during this time "Caged" came to life.

I am a very social person, most comfortable when I'm surrounded by large groups of people who I enjoy spending time with. So needless to say, when our lockdown due to COVID came into existence, I was like a fish out of water. I'm sure a lot of folks felt the same way. When the initial excitement of "We don't have to go to work?!" wore off, I had a lot of time on my hands. As anxiety, stagnancy, and panic filled my mind, I turned to music. I filled my days with writing and it felt awesome. Eventually, I revisited the riff that became "Caged". The song opens up with a killer drum riff which is extremely chaotic, but rhythmically sound. The drums recreate what I remember my heart rate feeling like most days locked in my home. The guitar comes in very aggressively and matches the chaos of the drums. The opening lyric of the song, "As I wake, sun on my face" was a daily reminder of change I had no control over. I am generally a very early riser, I am usually up way before the sun is out. The second part of that lyric is, "I feel the restraint tightened grip" - I felt tied down, unable to move or breathe. I felt like a prisoner and it made me very bitter at the situation. So the song opening very chaotically felt appropriate. I wanted a different feeling for the chorus, a sense of hope and release somewhere in the song. I wrote the chorus with airy open chords. As life started to open up, I wanted that feeling of being free from chains to be present in the song. The vocal attack of the chorus lyric is still very aggressive, but the feel of the chorus was my attempt at showing a light at the end of the tunnel. "We may make it through this after all" is the scenario I wanted to capture with the chorus. In the breakdown, written by our bass player Jeff Clark, I felt the song needed a breakthrough moment. Within the whole COVID experience, I felt like banging my head against a wall, metaphorically speaking of course. The breakdown really encompasses that feeling.

I am very proud of "Caged". The whole band Second Shooter, contributed amazingly to develop the song and made it a truly interesting story. The writing process was very therapeutic for me, at times I really needed it. I hope "Caged" helps someone out there with a challenge or struggle they are facing as well.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself here