GRAY FORD
http://soundcloud.com/gfomusic
Most recent version:
COTTON/LIVING IN LIMBO
(Lyrics G. Ford and A. M. Lemire, Music Gray Ford) We cling to one another Like cotton on skin When the weather is too damned hot I’ve known no other To give me shivers on the spot Come away with me (You) cut the strings and move(d) swiftly Bind yourself to me again If we stay here my fear is this will end We try to latch onto each other Like ice wants to hold on to a river But the current is too damned strong I’ve known no other To turn my rights into wrongs And still turn me on Cut the strings and move swiftly Free yourself from me again If we keep pushing Everything will end I see clearly Still I can’t (make myself) let go Hoping this is salvageable/We can start over Unmarred, unscarred Like fresh fallen snow We are - We were The pendulum’s swing A cold winter’s heat An unquenchable thirst The first light of day The first time I didn’t want to quit You were the biggest lie I ever told myself You were the biggest truth I ever held An army’s retreat Swords, slings, and arrows The words that cut too deep Bind yourself to me – Free yourself from me Again |
I can’t remember exactly where I met Gray. It might have been at the Wunderbar at a Darren Frank show. And okay, I admit that when I first heard his name I thought he was trying to pull a fast one on me…especially since I was driving a gray Ford at the time!!! We started talking and when he mentioned he fronted a reggae band (formerly Our Sound Machine now GRAY) I thought I’d ask him to be a part of this since I’ve never written anything remotely like reggae.
It’s strange how the perception you have of someone is altered a little as soon as you hear/see them play. I wasn’t too sure what I was getting myself into with Gray, especially with him being so young. Luckily the conversation flowed easily and after we swapped stories and filled each other in about our respective musical history and ways of working, things went well. Gray’s way of working varies. He puts poems to music, comes up with music and lyrics together, sometimes a melody comes first and he writes for it afterward. He cares about the images created while keeping the melody and arrangements in mind. He loves metaphors and imagery rather than abstract or cerebral concepts. We passed the guitar back and forth, played some different riffs, and then Gray suggested we work on a song that he had started but was stuck on. Speaking of stuck on, this guy definitely knows what he wants. When he hears something in his head, there's no getting around it. It was a new experience for me to have someone dictate a melody. Especially since I have a tendency to stray off melodic paths even on such standards as Van Morrison's Crazy Love. I guess I take after the jazz mentality of deconstructing classics. It makes it a little tricky when trying to respect someone else's vision of a song. And that's exactly what I love about this project: getting out of my comfort zone. |
