New Single from Lowlight

Lowlight from the very last set I shot before the world changed. Not the best pic ever, but I had to get the disco ball into at least one shot for Renee.

"Julian"

Am I gonna start every post from now on by saying how I haven't been posting much lately because I just haven't felt like it? We'll see, I guess.

I was exchanging messages with good friend Renee Maskin of Lowlight yesterday. At one point, I mentioned how CoolDad Music has kind of been on life support for a while now and how I thought maybe it would become another casualty of the pandemic. The main context of our chat, though, was my telling Renee how much I'd been enjoying Lowlight's latest single, "Julian." I told her how refreshing it was to hear Lowlight continue to try new things. What I didn't explicitly say (but I think I implied) was that the song's epic sweep (It's nearly 8 minutes of epic sweep that absolutely flies by. Trust me.) and hopeful tone helped to keep things going here for at least one more day.

"Julian" provided me with a little moment of inspiration, and I asked Renee to share some thoughts about the song:

"Despite its runtime, "Julian" is a song that came together relatively quickly. It’s also a true Lowlight collaboration. Sometimes, we all write on our own and then present the rest of the band something that's structurally set in stone. But, in this case, we really molded the different elements of the "Julian" together.  Derril [Sellers] and Dana [Sellers] had the initial chord change ideas. I suggested that the song shift to a long instrumental ending. Colin [Ryan], Rey [Rivera], Derril, and Dana went to town on putting it together, while I shuffled around with a notebook, listening, and trying to figure out what the lyrics should be about.  

I had been getting comments recently that my lyrics are often pretty depressing (as if I wasn't aware). So I thought I'd take a shot at writing something a little more upbeat. And, while the song is not all sunshine and fucking rainbows, I think the takeaway is mainly hopeful. There are moments of depression, confusion, and disappointment. But there's also love, appreciation of the people and things we have, and hope for what's to come. 

We had no idea that we’d collectively as humans be in the mess we're in right now by the time "Julian" was released. With any luck, some of that feeling of hope in the song will rub off on whoever listens."

Julian is available now at your favorite streaming service via Telegraph Hill Records.