Lyrics
V1:
Cool Room, dim dim light, Couldn't tell if I heard you right, Pretty sure, But I won't lie, I really don't care, Another sip, slow slow down, The way I see you hanging around, You seem to know how to get down, and I think it's only fair,
Chorus: Let me tell you a story, of a girl who never tries, Girl this might sound corny, But I'd like to make you mine, So when I say I'd like to know you, it means I'm not afraid to try, but first, you gotta take a leap of faith, and I promise it'll all unwind,
V2: Tell me now, is it oh so clear, Be honest, I won't shed a tear, I can tell you I don't have a fear, I'd be classier if I could, A cool room, with dim dim light, Suddenly I don't feel so bright, But I know I just can't lie, I'd really like to blow your mind,
Chorus 2: Let me tell you a story, of a girl who never tries, and this might sound a little mean, but girl you got to be blind, so when I say I'd like to know you, It means I'm not afraid to try, But first you gotta take a leap of faith, And I promise it will all unwind,
The Story
I wrote this song in 2011. I first started performing it at Open Mic Nights around town. It always had a reggae type vibe to it. I can't remember exactly what it was that inspired me to go with that sound for this song, but I wanted to see if it was something I could pull off.
Lyrically, I was writing about how I felt being a performer at that time, being in a dark room with lights on you, trying to impress everyone with what you hoped was the best representation of yourself. It's also romanticizing the idea of being a performer, that when you are on stage you feel like someone else, in another world even. You feel like you can do or say anything and the whole world is listening.
I hope that listeners hear it as a cool party tune about cutting loose and having a good time whenever possible. As we get older we have less time for fun so you have to make your time count.
Recording
When I decided I wanted to record this song, I booked a student session at The Sheffield Institute for Recording Arts. I pulled a band together the week before we recorded. The group consisted of Jeff Gardner on Drums, Ben Kolakowski on Guitar, and Nik Kosmas on Bass. I knew most of these guys from jamming with them in one form or another and knew they were all expert musicians who could find the groove and the melodies when I had nothing for the song.
They helped shape the songs arrangement which really took it from a cool idea to a fun song. Once we had tracked everyone I really felt like it had potential. I showed the song to my friend Joe, he recommended that I change the chorus melody to flow a little better which really helped the chorus sound as big as it does.
Sometime after tracking at Sheffield, I took the song to Tony Correlli at The Deep End Studio, where he mixed the song, added the Organ playing and did some additional tracking. When all was said in done, the song came out sounding killer, and knew I wanted it to be one of my singles. When I listen to the song now, I think of how it started out as such an experiment in writing then evolved into one of my favorite songs to play live.