For this song the bass parts (opening rhythm, bassline, slap line, distorted chords, wah bass, and melody) were recorded on my 1998 Warwick Thumb Bolt-on six string at Studio Dud in Decatur, GA. The drums and Hammond M3 (both played by Chris Moore) were tracked at East Hall Studios in Fayetteville, AR. The whole shebang was mixed and mastered at East Hall by Chris. I used a Digitech Bass Synth Wah to get the melodic hook at the beginning as well as the all the other wah sounds. Distortions came out the groovie tube of a Digitech BP8, so, yep, that’s bass and not guitar doing those distorted chords. The version that’s on equilibrium is actually the demo I sent in for possible use in another East Hall Records project, but got rejected I guess. I felt it would go well with the theme of equilibrium, so Chris beefed the tune up a bit with his mojo.

When I was a kid and first learning how to do cool stuff like snap my fingers, “pop a wheelie” on my bike, or whistle, I felt pretty darn proud of myself. I was so pleased with my newfound coolness that I would compulsively repeat the freshly acquired skill ad nauseam. I bet I almost wore ruts in my hands the first day that I figured out how to snap my fingers. Much to the chagrin of my posterior end, I wouldn’t even consider mounting a bike without attempting to execute a sweetly popped wheelie within the first thirty seconds just because I had just learned that I was capable. My whistling is still rubbish, so I won’t linger on that subject here. I will mention, though, that on the day I learned the word “rad” I somehow managed to utter it at least six hundred and fifty-four times in a single sentence.

The really funny thing is that I still do this as an adult. I learn a new “ten dollar” word, and I’m instantly bursting at the seams until I can slyly slip it into a casual conversation — every casual conversation. When someone tells me a nifty joke, I repeatedly tell it to everyone I know until the threats of physical harm cut me off before the first few syllables of the joke pass my lips. I stumble across a new trick on the bass so I promptly fill up an album with it. I can’t help but laugh at myself.

That’s what “Gist” is all about. It’s a reference to my own silly compulsiveness towards the things I find nifty. The bubble-gum-meets-Seventies-game-show sound of the song really represents the relentless pest I become, but I think there’s a little of this in everyone. I have a hunch that we all take a bit of pride in our own cleverness, and we give pause to pat ourselves on the back and tickle our egos.

In the grander scheme of our lives, getting the gist of things plays a pretty important role. Amusing ourselves with our own cleverness leads us to figuring out more and more little things until those add up to a pretty big progression. We are lucky to have something that makes us think, “Wow, neato” as we bump into the “hows” on our way to the big “why”. What started as a catalyst becomes the baseline of our existence as we seek out equilibrium. 

Please, take a moment listen to my little ditty, and I hope you hear at least a little of this in my song.

Hear a sample here.

Purchase a download of this song here.

Purchase the album equilibrium here.