Cultural opportunity # 3

I could not afford a concert this year so while laying in bed thinking (what I really mean is stressing) over it, I remembered Eric. Eric and I have a long history together, which I won't bore you with the details. We have evolved from being friends to being engaged to being friends again. He is one of my favorite people.
When I met Eric 9 years ago, he told me that he had been in a band and even showed me a video (translate VHS, yes we are old school) that someone had made. The picture was grainy and the sound left a little bit to be desired. You'll have that with VHS though. His band's name was Water's Edge, and they only played original music. Unfortunately for them Central Illinois for the most part doesn't like original music on a Friday or Saturday night. They want the same stuff they hear on the radio so they can sing along and not stretch out of their personal comfort zones. They want to dance and know that Jessie's Girl will sound like what is on the original track.
Probably about 5 years ago, Eric came to me and told me he and his friend Mike (who has a recording studio) were going to finally lay down some tracks and compile a cd. Ever encouraging, I gave him the thumbs up and tried to think of another band name along with them. In the end they decided to stick with Water's Edge. Eric wrote all of the songs and lyrics, while Mike did the instrumental part. Each song for him has a history. Some are about old girlfriends (not me), and others are about life in general. I love that I get to revisit his music. Eric forwarded me his songs via email, and my daughter and I sat and listened to them. Her favorite is paradox (which we used to joke he was saying "pair of ducks") and mine is cuinoz. Neither one of those are on the list of his favorites. As they were recording the songs, he would bring me a cd showing what they had done and where they were going with it.
Cuinoz is about the "blown away" feeling we all have with new love. He uses a tornado as a metaphor for his relationship with some woman. I have no idea which woman this song is about, but I like it. In the beginning there is a guitar sound that mimics the sound of a tornado. Then like the movie Twister, there are sounds of wind chimes throughout the song and the end. About the middle they added the national weather service announcements. It is a clever arrangement. They released in on You Tube. If you cut and paste it the link is; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um1XjJPWYjE.
Paradox is defined as is an apparently true statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition. Eric's song titled Paradox is about people who lead a "lucky" life. Alix (my daughter) still remembers the lyrics after years of not listening to it. It is a catchy tune and gets stuck in your head.
The song Light Another Candle is on Eric's list of favorite lyrics. It is about love that is lost. The lyrics aren't complicated. It makes nice poetry because it rhymes and flows easily. This song is obviously about a woman (once again not about me). Are you sensing a theme here?
I like the song fool because it's refreshing to hear a man admit they were a fool (read, idiot). If I close my eyes I can hear Poison or Guns N Roses singing it, Slash ripping riffs on the guitar.
Heaven Only Knows starts out like a Billy Joel song with a heavy piano sound. This is a reflection of the question that everyone asks in the beginning of a relationship. I like it because it has a rather blue-sy/gospel sound. None of his other songs has this feel.
Den of the Wicked is a heavy song, reminiscent of 80's music. It is a reflection of society and persecution. He talks about maintaining our innocence and that when everything else is done that is all that remains.
I promised Eric in return for my being able to pick apart his lyrics and sometimes poke fun at him that I would "plug" this cd. Once again, the band's name is Water's Edge. I'm sure sometime this decade you will be able to buy the cd at Co-op records.