I Can't Take The Strain

First and foremost, here's the song (might take a second to load)

Lyrics

I wish I could say there's only good memories

Look at the past and feel some positive energy

Now the days when I see beauty I'm struggling

To believe the ground I'm standing on isn't crumbling

Because I can't take the strain

Before the downfall I was fond of imagining

The concept of a future as an infinite tapestry

Now I see the future as a goddamn catastrophe

All I want to do is stop the madness from happening

Because I can't take the strain

The constant noise around me is deafening

The lonely road I'm going down is unsettling

Clinging to a single thread of hope intellectually

While feeling like I'm stranded and there's no one to rescue me

Because I can't take the strain

Thoughts...

A lot in my life has changed since "I Can't Find You". I moved from Dallas to Salt Lake City. Ever since Covid a series a destabilizing events happened that kind of made staying in Dallas really hard, which led to the move. And this is pretty much what the song is about.

Really the feeling of being pushed to the edge. Like things are never settled. You can never exhale, let go, and feel like life is ok. Being on the edge of breakdown. Going over the edge of a breakdown. Losing control of emotions. Having no control of a situation. Coming to terms with being powerless. lol.

I don't want to get into specifics. So yeah, that's the new one.

I'm extremely happy to say that this song has REAL DRUMS played by the incredible Dennis Ford Jr. I mixed a band called Intensity for many years, and Dennis plays drums for them, we've been friends for a very long time, and I've had the pleasure of mixing him and have always been a big fan. I asked if he'd play on this track and wow all I can say is it's an honor.

And that's not the only person on this track. Thomas Drinnen, who has played some rhythm guitar on some Grand Commander songs in the past, played modular synth on this track. He came over and set his stuff up and we collaborated on sounds. I mean he made all the sounds but I'd be like try this, and then he would be like how about this, and I think sometimes after he patched things in I was lucky enough to turn a couple of knobs and Thomas turned tons of knobs. He speaks the language of synths and there was a mechanical dystopian character that I wanted that would haunt the tracks, and as always Thomas totally delivered.

Gotta give a huge shoutout to my sister Tarah Quinn who always manages to come through with some art that completely encapsulates the vibe of the song. I was trying to do the art on my own and it was looking like total dog shit. Tarah did a sketch and it was like BOOM that's it. Right there.

And finally this track was mastered by Alan Douches, who has been my go to mastering engineer for quite a few songs at this point.

This one is heavy, and if anyone cares, this is my favorite guitar solo I've ever recorded. Also the whole thing is exactly how I played it, no overdubs, no edits, just straight up a raw take. I'm 100% into cutting things up and editing and splicing, but damn it feels good to hit record and rip a solo and let that original expression remain intact.

So that's all I got for this one. I have another new song in the works called "Temporarily", and this upcoming one isn't heavy AT ALL. It's like a kind of mellow funky chill vibe. So stay tuned.

As always, THANK YOU for being here. I appreciate you so much. I feel so grateful to be able to share these songs with you.

-Sam