Singled Out: Cal Kehoe's Fiasco
10/18/2016
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Rock/Groove/Jam artist Cal Kehoe and the band Brother Moose just released their new EP "Batting Practice" and we asked Cal to tell us the story behind the single "Fiasco". Here is the story: (Insert Law and Order theme song music here) As with any song, I write the two main parts, the music and the lyrics, I try and have each part compliment the other. I had an idea for the premise of the story for "Fiasco" but I wanted to get the music down first. I listen to a ton of Gary Clark Jr. and Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys. That is the hard driving rock feel I wanted to emulate. Moose (Zack) had some kick ass drums going that worked really well with the feel of the song. The guitar riff at the beginning was rattling around in my head for awhile so I started to expand on it and ended up with a strong chorus. The piercing distorted solo toward the back end of the song was improvised when we recorded at the studio. The guys in the studio heard me playing during a playback and told me to record it. Sometimes I guess the best stuff is made up on the spot.
I tried a couple times to write a "story" song and it is not easy for me. The idea for Fiasco was directly inspired by the Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter. Hunter wrote some of the all time greatest character/story songs of his generation. Named characters like August West, Tennessee Jed, Jack Straw and unnamed characters in songs like "Loser" where he is sitting at the poker table in the saloon and the lyrics in the song "Deal", that invoke card/poker playing metaphors, have all been favorites of mine for a long time. I wanted to create a character that could be sitting at the same poker table Hunter created. Once I pictured Danny Trejo as Fiasco I couldn't get it out of my head. I created the back story for the character to explain that he was dealt a pretty sh*tty, somewhat tragic hand in life. I wanted to tell a story where at least for one time the perpetual loser who had been kicked around most of life beats the odds and wins. The triumphant underdog. I don't think I am done with "Fiasco", the character may make an appearance on a future release. As I was doing some research, I came across the movie "Trinity is Still My Name"(1972) and the poker scene in that film. I knew right away that when I was done recording the song I would go back and edit the scene for the "Fiasco" lyric video. Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, check out the aforementioned lyric video here and learn more about the album right here!
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