When one hears the words stained glass, they tend to think of the colorful windows that decorate a church. But have you ever tried to look beyond the glass to see what was inside? That was the inspiration behind this song. Not so much the religious aspect of those beautiful works of art�but to look into one's own flaws and realize that what you may find will not scare off those who love and accept you.

This track was actually one we dusted off from some very old demos. I was both elated and disappointed after hearing it. Elated, because I always liked this song, but disappointed because we never gave it a proper recording as a band. Considering how it turned out, I'm glad we waited. In fact, if our drummer, Rich, hadn't brought it to our attention a few years back, I would have forgotten about it completely. Thanks brother!

The acoustic intro of the song was actually something written back in my high school days. I used it at my audition to get into Syracuse University. Luckily they liked it and I got in, but I never really did anything with it until the last recording session. I was inspired to use this piece at the beginning of the song, similar to what Rod Stewart did at the opening of "Maggie May". It has a classical baroque sound to it which I always thought was quite beautiful. Plus, it shows quite the contrast between the preceding song, "Slop Rock", which is all bombast and adrenaline and feedback. After all, we pride ourselves as being a band with many musical styles and influences.

As far as the song itself goes, it's a pretty simple structure with a straightforward arrangement. We recorded it with a classic SJ-200 Standard Gibson acoustic, along with a Fender Stratocaster and Hofner Bass. Add into the mix some rhythmic drums and vocals - lots and lots of harmonizing vocals! - and you have a recipe for a pretty catchy tune. This was the type of melodic song that builds toward the coda, so we thought it was important to layer as many guitars to give it a full orchestral effect, ala Koncrete Kite style!

"Stained Glass" has been a tremendous success for us, staying in the top 20 of the Independent Music Network charts for 18 months and counting. Whether it's the message, or the music, we think we struck the right chord with our fans. It's certainly a departure from the usual guitar-rock fare we put out. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as well.