The takes on the singles are each unique. Side: A's version is a rock 'n' roll affair, recalling the melodic bliss of Nada Surf. Side: B contains the album version, casting the tune as a ballad, and features pedal steel courtesy of Jon Rauhouse, who's worked Neko Case, Jakob Dylan, and tons of other great artists. Finally, Side: C showcases the song in its infancy, just a guitar sketch with songwriter Brendan Murphy singing softly.
I just finished Juliet, Naked, by Nick Hornby last night, so pardon me if I don't proclaim the demo version superior to the other versions (that was the lesson I was supposed to learn from the book, right?). I caught up with Murphy to discuss the song's genesis. Read beyond the jump to hear the Side: B version of the song, and figure out how the whole thing came about.
"I have a wife and a little girl, so I have to write in the mornings," says Murphy. "I wrote this on a Saturday or Sunday morning. If I can't sleep or I'm up early, I just sneak out back and this was from a morning I did that. I wrote this about 5:30 in the morning, and I had just learned some news about my dad, that he was sick. It was impacting me in a way that came out through this song. I wrote it in about twenty minutes, and the demo version is pretty much what I wrote, and it's pretty much the same thing you hear on the record."
"We did a few versions of the song, trying to figure out how to do it. We ultimately decided to do a mellow version for the record, but we recorded also recorded a rock version, with Jamie Woolford," says Murphy.
"We wanted to sort of do a Beatles-type thing where the single wasn't on the record. You know, give people something more for the money."
The single is available on Source Victoria's BandCamp page, and will be available at the band's show at the Yucca Tap Room tonight.
Source Victoria: Once I'm Dead (Album Version) by PHXmusicdotcom
