The riff that opens this song and reappears at different points throughout is one that has been with me a long time. Like “Dance”, it’s a song that I never finished, but has always been on my mind. When I was 16 or so, I discovered the riff in my dad’s basement where I practiced and used it to write a song called “Gypsy Girl.” There were interesting things happening in that song, particularly lyrically, but there was something missing. Specifically, it lacked a strong chorus.
The core idea of “Gypsy Girl” was youthful romance through a cosmic lens. I’ve always felt that there was something inherently romantic about the universe. We are born. We live. We feel pain. We love, laugh, and cry. We look at the stars and we walk through the woods. We touch one another. We have sex. Souls meet one another on this plane of existence during our transient journey from birth to death.
The song has changed a lot since I first imagined what it could be as a teenager, but its heart is still the same. It took me a long time to figure out how to express these ideas through music, and living inside the song and the original main riff has been cathartic for me.
This song is called “City Limits.”
Guitar – Faith Venus Percussive
Loop – Boomerang Pedal
Delay – MXR Carbon Copy
Boost – Stigtronics Gilmourizer
Bass Simulator – Boss OC-3 Dual Super Octave
Lead Mic – Aston Origin
Loop Mic – Shure SM58
Drum Pads – AKAI MPK Mini mkII
Sampling Hardware – 1010music Blackbox