Dan Tracey (Alan Parsons Live Project) tells us about the new single "Circus Maximus" from the supergroup power trio Save The World which also features Jon Wysocki (Staind) and award winning producer Robert Wright. Here is the story:
"Circus Maximus" is about how the 24/7 media plays us against each other and poisons us by feeding us the very worst things in society on a daily basis. We wanted the song to be angry and reflect the frustration that many people are feeling today.
The song itself actually came to me as music first. I had the opening guitar riff and I thought it was powerful, so I jumped into my home studio and got all the parts down before I forgot the idea. It all came to me pretty quickly. I went right to the chords for the chorus and shouted out the first few lines, "We lit the fire. Calling the masses, for the world to see." I worked up a quick demo that night and sent it over to Robert Wright our bass player/producer. He responded with "Well, hell yeah!"
After that, the song just kind of sat there for a few months in my archives of other unfinished tunes.
When it came time to pick out songs for the STW album, I am immediately wanted to put this on the record. I thought it was strong, so I started working on refining the lyrics. Nothing was coming at first, and I'm not one to just force things. It's always better for me personally when it just comes out. When it's real, when it's right, you know it. So with that said, my wife of 26 years leaned on me pretty hard one day and said, "Aren't you done with that song yet? I love that tune. Get to work!" Then she took me for a ride way out into the country. Just us two. No radio on. Cruising through the tobacco fields of Tennessee, and boom! It all came rushing out. After that, we headed in to record it. Jon gave it some balls, Robert did his production magic, and it was sent off to the amazing Billy Decker for mixing.
It's worth noting that Robert is an award winning producer and gifted multi-musician. His hands are all over this record. I feel blessed to have someone I can co-create with in a totally egoless situation. It's about the material. The song.
Next up were the visuals to help sell it. Filming the video for this tune was a blast. We had just finished shooting a big budget video (with a jaw dropper ending) for our song "Bleed" a few months earlier. It was long hot days in multiple locations for 14 hrs a day. Conversely, the approach for "Circus Maximus" was to make something great for only a few hundred bucks, and we purposely forced ourselves to shoot it in under 6 hours. The result is a hilarious parody of the media, ala Dumb & Dumber. Our director John Campolo did an amazing job editing. Although it's an amusing observation into today's media, in the end, I think it delivers a powerful message.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself here and learn more about the group right here!
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