Earlier in 2022, I released the first newly written song idea since the Pandemic: Match My Energy. This tune was written on electric guitar starting in May of 2021, and refined over months and months.
The Chart
A E
Sunday at the roastery
Bm D E
But it wasn’t meant to be so we
Had a juice instead and you
Walked me to my Subaru
We discussed…
A E
the dating life ennui
Bm
Looking for love
D E
But finding phoneys and wannabes
A E
You need someone
with a passion and job
Bm D E
And can be your best friend
CHORUS
C#m D
you said match my energy
A E
We drank tequila by George Clooney
C#m D
You said match my energy
Bm7 E
And if it feels good, do it
If it feels good, do it
Monday at the end of may
We met again on memorial day
We shared a plate of cheese and you
Threw a little frisbee with me too
We discussed
The kinds of lives we lead
Busy with work
And feeling happy but incomplete
I need someone with
Passion and a job
And can be my best friend
CHORUS
C#m D
you said match my energy
A E
We stayed at home and watched old movies
C#m D
You said match my energy
Bm7 E
And if it feels good, do it
If it feels good, do it
BRIDGE
Bm7 F#m7
We crossed our boundaries
E Dsus2
And found a place for us to share
Bm7 F#m7
You went to Tennessee
Aadd11 E E7
But you came back home to me
Someday in the future we
Will take the time to define what this could be
But for now we’ll take it slow
Enjoy the ride and let the future go
you said
match my energy
let’s drink tequila by George Clooney
You said match my energy
And if it feels good, do it
If it feels good, do it
Writing
First came the verse and chorus and then froze for a good 3 months. Here’s a video of the status of the tune after the first writers block.
As time would go on though, I would eventually live enough life to discover what the remaining two verses and the bridge needed to say.
The lyrics are basically about dating again and finding someone who asks you to match their energy. It’s an upbeat optimistic story full of hope for the future. I hope that translates to the listener.
Recording
This marks the second “full band” recording made with the assistance of the EZband from Toontrack. I remember feeling pretty excited when combining the sounds of the EZdrummer 2 kit with another EZdrummer instance using Latin Percussion. Adding the EZkeys for the bedrock piano part (that I couldn’t really play to save my life), I felt less like a performer/songwriter and more like a producer, albeit a somewhat unsophisticated one. Insecurities aside, I’ve got to do what I can with what I have while I have it. Or, to quote Maya…
I also took the new path of recording a guest feature vocal. Whitney Schaap added her vocals in a session full of fun and silliness that I think matches the energy of the irreverent lyrics. I especially enjoyed her intentionally audible auto-tuned solo scat section. I may cringe
The Stems
For the first time, I thought I’d also provide the audio stems for anyone interested. These are intensely fun to drop into a DAW and remix. If you use them and make anything you publish, I’d appreciate a listen.
The Album Art
I must say, of all the things I like about this single, I think the album art might be my favorite. Not only because it features my own wheels (2016 Subaru Outback) with a photoshopped retro Illinois license plate that reads “MilesMax,” but also because it represents my first foray into AI-assisted images. I used one of the DALL-E 2 knockoffs to enter the elements I wanted in the artwork to create a rough draft. This is what that looked like.
