I wrote Melissa at the Blind Thief Farm with Kieran and Erick…….. it was a great first hang with Kieran Kelly as we were first introduced to his manic energy and amazing love of all things of good taste musically….. the song began as a melody idea with Kieran and Erick on guitars and yours truly singing melodies and coming up with lyrics…. the song morphed considerably after I arrived in NYC at Kieran’s studio the Buddy Project in Queens and we got together a session of players including Andy Rourke Of The Smiths. Before the session in NYC, I had jotted down what I felt was finished lyrics and melodies….. the song came alive literally in a LIVE session that evening, with Andy remarking to me that ‘I really love your voice, its unique.’…….. Kieran and I then took Melissa a step further with overdubs and he mixed a version for me that would become the final product. The song in my mind, was about a friend of mine in Highschool that was ostracized as she was one of the ‘goth’ kids… heavy eye makeup and a penchant for Souixie and The Bansheees….. in a christian school, that didn’t go over well…. I was sympathetic as I was a new waver and dying my hair and wearing makeup and listening to duran duran and the cure…. The song is also about the misunderstanding of youth… and the idea that the corporate church cannot really understand what its like to live in a setting where you don’t really relate to what they are subscribing to in terms of cultural standards. Melissa was originally titled ‘Melissa, I’ll Listen’… and the rough demo does exist where I am working out the lyrics… I might post this at some venture.
Thank you for listening. KM
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