In The Beginning

Music by David Fowler

Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
It's hard to romanticize theoretical physics, astronomy and metaphysics, then set it to melody. But we did our best, for now, in this song. Before we get into anything else, we want to say we owe our inspiration for this song to A Briefer History of Time by Professor Stephen Hawking.

Ok...you're probably already familiar with the Big Bang theory, although it's not much a theory anymore because we can observe its effects. Most astrophysicists agree that it may soon graduate to fact. Anyway, the concept in these lyrics is that all physical matter (you, your computer, Earth, the Milky Way and the estimated 100 billion other galaxies) was once squished into an infinitesimally-small ball called a singularity.

From what scientists currently know, the singularity exploded (or just started expanding rapidly) in all directions, simultaneously creating physical matter, dark energy, some rudimentary physics, space itself, and perhaps many other things we've yet to discover. The elements were created within seconds, and started to settle and coalesce over billions of years, thanks to the attraction of particles that we call gravity.

Hard to think that this is all true, but rest assured, this actually happened. I don't remember being born, but I'm pretty sure that happened, too.

Fast forward an estimated 13.7 billion years, and here we are- these things filled with goo on the surface of a huge ball. The pitfalls of humanity all-too-often deny us the fundamental freedom to remember that we are not just connected with the universe...but that we are the universe...and that is a beautiful thing.

Cool Facts

"Today we know that stars visible to the naked eye make up only a minute fraction of all the stars. We can see about five thousand stars, only about .0001 percent of all the stars in just our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The Milky Way itself is but one of more than a hundred billion galaxies that can be seen using modern telescopes - and each galaxy contains on average some one hundred billion stars. If a star were a grain of salt, you could fit all the stars visible to the naked eye on a teaspoon, but all the stars in the universe would fill a ball more than eight miles wide."

- Professor Stephen Hawking
A Briefer History of Time

The intro sound clip for In The Beginning is the real Professor Stephen Hawking during a live lecture.

Nobody knows yet where the singularity came from, but there are many theories about how this universe will end. The cyclic model theorizes the universe we know is just one life in an infinite cycle of expansion and contraction. In this scenario, the singularity expands, a universe (including "life") takes form over the course of billions/trillions of years, but gravity ultimately pulls all the matter back into a singularity, annihilating everything in the process...then starts all over again. Other theories include the big chill, the big crunch and the big rip. Read this awesome article at the Hubble site for the story behind the current theories.

Check out inspiring and thought-provoking images of the universe at the official site for the Hubble Telescope.

It's no coincidence that "in the beginning" is also the first three words of the Old Testament. Most members of Echo Movement are free thinkers and don't recognize a religious deity...this song talks about the real story of Genesis. No talking snakes, no garden, no incest...just straight-up physics.

Key Phrase
"It's all a distant part of me."

Music and Lyrics
[A Dm or A Bdim]

Stephen Hawking:
"The expansion of the universe was one of the most important intellectual discoveries of the 20th Century, or of any century. It transformed the debate about whether the universe had a beginning."
[Everything we see was once a little part of everything we touch]
"If galaxies are moving apart now, they must have been closer together in the past. If their speed had been constant, they would have all been on top of one another about 15 billion years ago. Was this the beginning of the universe?"

In the beginning there was just a ball
No bigger than an atom
Floating all alone in a dark room with no borders
And all the stars that glow, and seas, and people you know, we were together
A time when things were better

This was history's most peaceful time for us
We were always tight
Without a fight, we floating through the nighttime before order
And you and me and all the stars and seas and trees, we were together
A time when things were better

All we know is 15 billion years ago
The peace was suddenly shattered
A chain reaction blew us all apart like it never mattered
And you and me and all the things we know and see got torn from each other
The Big Bang is our mother

Everything we see
Was once a little part of everything we touch
Was just as much a part of those we love and hate
Can't separate them from the waves out on the sea
It's all a distant part of me

The Day After Chill

Music by David Fowler

Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
Sometimes good ideas come at inconvenient times. I was driving, and had to take out a few cars to get into the next parking lot, a Game Stop. I recorded the main melody of The Day After Chill it into an old cell phone. Oddly enough, the panic and mayhem on the road resulted in a sweet little tune about chillin' out.

Lyrically, the song is about the time we spend as a band on the road. We have off some days, so we most-often check into a campground in the backwoods of who-knows-where. We don't know anybody for hundreds of miles. Since the shows are often chaotic and loud environments, we welcome the solitude.

The true soul of this song is in the recording. It was recorded live in Jay Alders' living room while he was painting the album cover in the next room (his studio at the time). We moved a ton of our studio gear a few miles down the road to his house, and invited a few friends and girlfriends over for the recording. It took a few takes, but what's on the album is the actual recording from that room.
Cool Facts
Instruments in the room - singing (Steve & Dave), ukulele (Dave), bass (Dan), guitar (Ed), flute (Matty Peks), congas/bongos/percussion (Colin), shakers (Steve), sand blocks (Rob).

"You keep on knocking but you can't come in" is a lyric borrowed from Keep On Knockin, a tune written by Perry Bradford and made popular by Little Richard. Other melodies, and the song on a whole, were largely inspired by The Young Rascals' Groovin'.

The title The Day After Chill is a little play on words. It was originally inspired by The Morning-After Pill, which is kind of a "chill pill" after a night of uninsured excitement...much akin to the thrills we get when we play a killer show. We don't pop pills, so our chill is the herb.

Key Phrase
"Nowhere I need to go." Alternately, "Know where I need to go."

Music and Lyrics (chords over lyrics)
F Gm
Chillin
Ain't got no place to go
Ain't got no one I know
I'm just chillin
Illin
Nowhere I need to go
Waiting for the next day's show
I'm just chillin

I hear the phone ringing, really don't care
I know the noise you're bringing, leave it out there
Am Bb C C+
I really don't give a damn when I hear from you

Chillin
Ain't got no place to go
Ain't got no one I know
I'm just chillin
Hanging around the day
Nowhere I need to go
Waiting for the next day's show
I'm just chillin

I'm taking a personal day, that's how I win
You keep on knocking but you can't come in
I really don't wanna move if I don't have to

Soul-Searching Drive

Music by David Fowler

Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
This bottom-heavy dub track was largely written in the car and pieced together later in the studio. My winter of '08/'09 was defined in a series of these late-night car rides. The winters at the Jersey Shore are quaint, peaceful and just down to the townies. The roads are wide open and good for cruising...and cruising is great for deep thought. Maybe it's the white noise from the road or blasting your favorite music. Maybe it's the feeling of movement, even when there's no real place to go.

Cool Facts
The lead instrument is a melodica borrowed from Jay Alders.

To get that oscillating white noise effect, we used a Roland RE-301 (circa mid-70s) with a spring reverb and tape delay. This unit is the follow-up to the famous Space Echo (a legendary unity in reggae), and capable of producing its own self-generated noises that we thought vaguely resembled spacey road noise.

Key Phrase
"To a place I won't arrive, on my soul-searching drive."

Music and Lyrics (chords over lyrics)
Am G
The bass is in my trunk
Am
Light another funk
G
I'm my own nomadic tribe
C
On the road is where I vibe
G
And I'm cruising aimlessly
Am
Dream there's somewhere I gotta be
G
To a place I won't arrive
Am
On my soul-searching drive

So I'm going till I'm gone
Got my sunglasses on
You know it's still too bright
In the middle of the night
And I conjugate my plea
That she's waiting there for me
And I keep my love alive
On my soul-searching drive

Do It In The Ocean

Music by David & Stephen Fowler
Lyrics by David Fowler

Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
At its root, this is the title track of In The Ocean. The phrase "do it in the ocean" was taken from a vintage (c. late 70s/early 80s) Belmar lifeguard tournament t-shirt. The shirt was dark blue and had silhouettes of two angels facing each other in white. Steve and I remember the shirt from when we were kids, as part of the lifeguard t-shirt collection our father maintained.

Do It In The Ocean started as Steve and I jamming in the studio in the soul-driven style of Stevie Wonder. It developed into an epic saga, of sorts, as the lyrics took shape around leaving civilization for the ocean.

The lyrics were triggered by a daydream built on loose memories. The bars on Main Street in Belmar NJ close around 1:30 a.m., often turning the Summer streets into a carnival. From there, it's a six block walk to the ocean through a beach house suburbia. All locals and many visitors have made that walk. The bars and lights gradually cross-fade with ocean waves.

There are always a collection of late-night wanderers on the beach, all with a different story. But they all have one thing in common- they chose to spend that exact time with their backs to the land. The nighttime shoreline is a close manifestation of "the edge," and even wandering near it can be empowering.

Cool Facts
The cover art for In The Ocean is a painting by close friend Jay Alders called Burning Inspiration. This song features a short soundscape right after the first chorus (@01:12) that puts you in the painting. Stare at the cover art while you listen, and enjoy.

Lifeguard tournaments are a local oceanfront community tradition. Around ten different municipalities convene after hours to showcase their crews' most athletic members for friendly (however intense) competitions. Swimming, running, kayaking, boarding and rowing are all common events. Both Steve and Dave have competed in the Monmouth County tournaments.

The last few seconds of the song has a few voices. One is drummer Colin saying he dug that take. Another is Dave saying "alright..." That was the beginning of some dialog about a monstrous spider that found its way into the studio. We discovered that we left the tapes rolling later on and decided to leave just a second in.

Key Phrase
"All of what's imagined is in-between dreams"

Music and Lyrics (chords over lyrics)
A G F
Moonlight draws the sidewalk
A G F
How you lead me to my friends
A G F Dmaj7 Db
Wander to the ocean never ends
A G F
Lovers quietly talk
A G F
Others' thoughts transcend
A G F
Leave the world behind me
D7 Db
Turn me on to the sea

F#m
It's about where we've been
B
And where we're going
F#m
And it ain't no sin
B
To not be knowing
A
Once we begin
B
We keep it going
F#m E D
That's why we do it in the ocean
C#m D E
For its sweet motion


Crawling back onto land
The waves, they reach for me
Flowing through the soft sand peacefully
Pale moon on the ocean
What's your mystery
Your inviting motion
Waves me back to the sea

[chorus]

[chromatic climb: B to F]

Bb F#
All of what's imagined is in-between dreams
Bb F#
What's impossible isn't what it seems

F#m
It's about where we've been
B
And where we're going
F#m
And it ain't no sin
B
To not be knowing
A
Once we begin
B
We keep it going
F#m E D
That's why we do it in the ocean
C#m Bm C#m D E
For its * * * *

Daydreamer

Music by David Fowler

Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
Whoever said dreaming should be left to the sleepers? Why should they get all the fun? Besides, daydreaming is a lot closer to the ever-desired lucid dream.

Cool Facts
Steve isn't singing in tongues...that's the verse played in reverse during the horn bridge.

The bassline is a vamp directly inspired by dub legend King Tubby.

The whiney keyboard should be a warm and familiar sound- it's a sine wave with portamento ("slides" the notes together) that first appeared on a legendary 80's synthesizer, the Yamaha DX7. It's been used by everyone from Dr. Dre to Sublime.

Brain scans show that areas of the brain used to solve complex problems are activated while daydreaming (ref - sciencedaily.com, read the article here).

Key Phrase
"I look as though I listen, but you never know."

Music and Lyrics (chords over lyrics)
[Bb Ab]

Daydreamer
All I do is drift away
I'm just a daydreamer
You look at me as if to say

I like to drive my body set to cruise control
I look as though I listen, but you never know
So why I say goodbye just as you say hello
I'm playing golf with aliens down in Mexico

Gravity High

Music by David Fowler

Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
This vibey follow-up to Fifteen Minutes originally had full lyrics and melodies. Matt laid down the oboe track, followed by Justin putting in the trumpet solo, and the last piece of the puzzle was Dan on classical guitar. Once all those tracks were in, we decided to let them do the talking.

The term gravity high could refer to several things. We wont tell you exactly what was running through our minds at the time, but ponder the phrase, if you haven't already.

Cool Facts
Matthew Lepek, Echo's sax player, is a sick oboe player. He graduated in 2010 with his masters in multiple woodwind instruments.

Dan's forte is classical guitar. Ask him to play a classical piece when you see him. If he says he doesn't have a guitar with him, rest assured he's lying, and we encourage you to provoke him with verbal insults.

Music (chords only)

Body: Cm Db
Refrain: G Ab G

Fifteen Minutes

Music and Lyrics by David Fowler

Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
It was the worst dry spell for bud in my town that I can remember. Miraculously, my friend Pete (yes, the same Pete from No Need To Worry) called and invited me over for some bingers. Well, I got a bit too friendly with the gravity bong and was marooned on his sofa for two hours. I felt like a kid who ate ice cream too fast.

Regardless, this song is about that excited car ride to his house...that pure elation when something unexpected comes through. It was a rush so deep that it temporarily redefined my sense of moderation- just the way I wanted it.

Cool Facts
I wrote the original chorus melody while listening to country music.

The original lyrics were "fifteen minutes 'till I get real high." Steve felt it was a bit too forward, and we ultimately agreed on something more chill.

Key Phrase
"I may not see the wind...but I see what it does to the trees."

Music and Lyrics (chords over lyrics)
[horn line: Bb Eb F Bb]

Bb
My buddy just called
He said, "come on by"
I got fifteen minutes till a positive sigh
Eb
Been searching all day, but the town's been dry
Bb
He's got the gravity packed to make my third eye awry
F
Ain't got no money, but there's no need to buy
Eb Gb
My brother's got me covered on personal supply
Bb
My buddy just called
He said, "come on by"
I got fifteen minutes till a positive sigh

Bb G
Hey kids, life sucks when you got no bucks
Ebmaj7 F
No girl, no car, no job, no luck
Bb G
"When it rains, it pours," in life I learned
Ebmaj7 F
And when the sun is shining, yeah, you might get burned

Eb D
But it's not a sin to get off my knees
Eb D
Rising tides help me back to the seas
Eb D
I may not see the wind, may not see the breeze
Eb F
But I see what it does to the trees

My mind just called
He said, "come on by"
It's been fifteen minutes since a positive sigh
Been searching for a grip on a slippery slide
It's been fifteen hits and I'm alarmingly high
The gravity's kicked, I think I lost my eye
Got a cookie in my pocket and I don't know why
And so I hear horns falling from the sky
It's been fifteen minutes

I Know Why

Music and Lyrics by Echo Movement

Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
Colin met up with me in the early morning. I was wandering around Jay Alders' carport in the depths of an amphetamine binge, and had just lost a cruel battle with the sunrise. Actually...let me back up.

We had this great soca drum track recorded and a cool chorus written. Colin and his friends, including drummer Chris Thatcher from Streetlight Manifesto, are award-winning percussionists in Drum Corps and marching band. We decided early on that this track would be a great opportunity to work in some ensemble percussion. Colin composed and arranged much of the drum work. He and his friends borrowed the instruments for the day and laid down the drumline tracks.

It's no accident that this song comes after Nobody Dies In Vain. I Know Why is meant to pick you back up and "restore hope," in a way. And since the Drum Corps were a part of United States military tradition, it served the perfect tone and instrumentation to drive a message of perseverance.

Back to the carport. The chorus was already written, but I couldn't get any lyrics to work for the verse sections. Days, weeks, months went by with no verses, and it became plaguing. I was house-sitting for Jay, which served the perfect environment to get creative. I stayed up through the night mulling over an idea: lash together a bunch of famous quotes for Steve to sing. The problem, as you can imagine, was arranging stiff political banter into melody. I called Colin around 9am, and he swung by Jays for a good-ol' brainstorming session. He suggested running audio samples of inspiring quotes, even whole parts of speeches. In the few days following, I listened to dozens of speeches over countless hours of audio.

I was stopped in my tracks when I came to a recording of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address. It was like reaching nirvana. FDR spoke with incredible passion- and in a rhythm. This speech was a song already, almost a gospel song, just without music. And the content was perfect for drawing our parallels between the state of affairs in 1933 with the US depression in 2009, as well as addressing crooked politicians, financial institutions and the public's trust in its own government.

The rest is current history.

Cool Facts
The lineup of drumline musicians on I Know Why: Chris Thatcher, Rob Thatcher, Jeff Silva, Geoff Summers.

FDR's speech set the tone and action for saving the US from the Great Depression. Read the whole speech at the government archives here, and listen to the audio here.

Clips from this speech have been used in music before. Maybe most notably, the famous quote "the only things we have to fear is fear itself" was used at the end of Living Colour's late 80's hit Cult of Personality.

The Significance of this Speech Today
The First Inaugural Address was FDR's first address to the nation. It took place on March 4, 1933. He took office in a time of economic despair, the Great Depression. It set the tone for his administration and the New Deal, his plan to save America (it worked, by the way). He brutally called out the banks, who he blamed for the huge financial collapse, and even shut the banks down until he worked new regulations into place. Bank CEO's today still get a cold shiver down their spine every time this speech is played.

This speech restored hope to the public, and began a chapter of restoring the government's image as a fair, transparent organization. It gave a sturdy farewell to the previous republican administration (Hoover) and ushered in a fresh, progressive, democratic office with an aggressive approach to reform the way we handle business.

Sound familiar?

Key Phrase
"They have no vision, and when there is no vision, the people perish" -FDR

Music and Lyrics (chords over lyrics)

[song in A]

Franklin Delano Roosevelt:
"This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly
Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today
This great nation will endure as it has endured
We'll revive and we'll prosper
So first of all, let me assert my firm belief
That the only thing we have to fear is, fear itself."

I and I no cry
I and I know why

[Am]
"They have no vision, and when there is no vision, the people perish
Yes, the money changers have fled from their high seats in our temple of civilization
We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths."

[A]
I and I no cry
I and I know why

Nobody Dies In Vain

Music and Lyrics by David Fowler

Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
Well...Paul was my next-door neighbor for a two-year run at Ball State University. He was killed by a sniper in Iraq while breaking up a riot at a gas station.

Seth was Ed's childhood friend from Northern NJ. He was killed in Iraq while disarming a road mine.

I don't have much else to say about these guys, but I will say they did not die in vain. They contributed to The States' armed forces, as part of a movement to stop people from infringing on our way of life. Beyond that, we love them for who they are...personable, bright, selfless people.

Cool Facts
Paul was a Staff Sgt. Seth was a Second Lieutenant. Both were in the US Army.

Paul wasn't a war-junkie or advocate of violence. From what we gathered, he spent much of his time overseas helping the children, getting them toys and gaining their trust as a good human.

Seth's mother was arrested for actively protesting during a Laura Bush speech. She became somewhat iconic in campaigns against W's second term.

Ed wrote the chord progression and lead guitar line. Dan performed the classical guitar. Dave wrote the lyrics and wrote/sung the middle section's background vocals.

The middle vocal section is written to Paul and Seth. The last verse is written to their families, particularly their moms.

To be clear about the last line of the song, the family is presented with a flag at a military burial ceremony.

Key Phrase
"You gave them your love and they returned a flag."

Music and Lyrics (chords over lyrics)
[Am G Dm]
Paul was my neighbor in college
Indiana sun who was born to run
He always was the one to acknowledge
The jobs at hand that got to get done
The Army shipped him out to exploit this
Indiana man in the desert sun
One day he was just minding his business
He fell to the ground from a sniper round

Sacrificed everything

Seth was the responsible friend
The type of guy who studied on Friday night
He always was the buddy who would lend
An extra helping hand to see you're alright
The Army shipped him out to exploit this
He dutifully agreed to help defend
He gave one more kiss to his new wife
...

Sacrificed everything
But nobody dies in vain

C Bdim
Your mom stood there
Am
Exhausted all her tears
Dm Am Fm G
She's looking in silent panic
C Bdim
Her face, worn thin
Am
Can't hide the fear within
Dm Am Fm G
Her trust in her god's fading

Shock will eventually yield to
Broken, bitter thoughts and a soul to drag
Nothing could completely heal you
You gave them your love and they returned a flag

Maybe Somethings Wrong With Me

Music and Lyrics by David Fowler

Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
This song is the direct result of journalism school. More fairly, it was the result of closely studying media, public perception, the power of words, credibility, mass hysteria, media ownership and the obligation to occupy a 24/7 newscast.

This is not the right place to extensively explain Echo's thoughts on politics, corporations, international relations, religion and media. But I can't explain the song without giving some loosely-gathered band views.

There is an inextricable web of all these elements that boils down to one lousy thing: power. It's weird because we can't see power, but we know when someone has it. They exhibit irrational behavior characteristic of primates in mating season, and despite all human logic, somehow they're able to execute fully selfish decisions. The over-powered most often become self-consuming primates- not human at all, which is too bad, because humility and guilt are programs that only humans can run.

Here's the kicker: all the business that happens among politics, religion, and the corporate world (particularly its influence on politicians) is caught on film, honored with closed-circuit discussion and presented as the truth. It calls itself the news and we mistakenly call it by the same horrid name.

News today is a perversion of The Fourth Estate (ref. Thomas Carlyle). In our opinion, Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes and all the swine at NewsCorp (Fox News) have forged the template for corruption and should be tried for misleading the public. If The Daily Show (a comedy show) did not constantly call the media out on their blatant lies and irrational commentary, we would most likely be flying a confederate flag over the White House and would be engaged in World War III (or dead as a result). This is not an exaggeration; this is a surface-level opinion bordering on fact.

So I wrote this song. Most people dismiss this kind of talk as paranoia or the liberal agenda. It's not...but, hey...maybe somethings wrong with me. As a man of logic and reason, I have to consider that I may have this all wrong and the hard-right politicians and religious nutballs have it right. NASCAR, Mountain Dew, Drill-Baby-Drill, Jesus Loves You (vote for me).

Do your own research. If you do it online, please CHECK YOUR RESOURCE. Make sure whoever wrote what you're reading is a credible journalist with actual citations. Check for objective perspectives (that they're not just taking a one-sided perspective). And remember, there's always more than two sides to a story.

Good luck. Back to the music...

Cool Facts
"Talking heads" is a common expression for people on television, particularly newscasters. It is also a random shout-out to an amazing band that truly understood and expressed the feelings in this song (just in a different way).

The guitar solo was performed by Mike Mourounas, a long-time friend of ours and guitarist for the NJ cover band Moondoggies.

This song is a bit more musically complex, produced slightly deeper, and tonally more aggressively than other tracks on In The Ocean. It's all musical expression of the lyrical content. Even though the music came before all the words, we knew it was going to be a heavy topic.

Key Phrase
"If I follow who's ahead, I won't feel lost, but purposely misled."

Music and Lyrics (chords over lyrics)
[intro: G F#m B A G F#m Em]

Bm F#m G A
Thoughts pour from my head
Bm F#m G A
I hear the people laugh at what I said
Bm F#m G A
And if I follow who's ahead
Bm F#m G A
I won't feel lost, but purposely misled

G F#m7 Bm
Maybe somethings wrong with me
G F#m7 Bm
Maybe somethings wrong with me
G D
When the world looks upside-down
Em Bmaj
But my feet are on the ground
Bm F#m Em
Maybe somethings wrong with me

Hear the evening news
Another scandal proves we've been abused
Talking heads confuse
So casually push me on their views

Maybe somethings wrong with me
Maybe somethings wrong with me
You're staring like I'm crazy
I look back like I might be
Maybe somethings wrong with me

Look around my world
Oh what a mess into we've all been hurled
And every time I find my logic fail
I'll blame it on my mind

Maybe somethings wrong with me
Maybe somethings wrong with me
G F#m
When the world looks upside-down
G A
But my feet are on the ground
Bm F#m Em
Maybe somethings wrong with me

All I Can

Music and Lyrics by David Fowler
Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
As the Good Dr. Thompson is often misquoted, "the music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs."

All I Can would just as well be named Blood, Sweat and Tears or maybe Fear and Loathing in a Reggae Band. The song documents a long-run of establishing myself (and my brother) in music. It may not seem like a huge challenge to play music- after all, we're playing, right? Well, yes, but the stage is the fun and playful part. Behind most closed doors, musicians are viciously beaten with hard sticks, often while the venue's live-in unmotivational speaker puts the band's pay up his nose and spits random discouragements. But this isn't a forum for complaining, and we are eternally grateful for our spot in the music world. Okeeeee...moving on.

All I Can took so long to write (see Cool Facts below) because it needed to experience the trials, errors, angst, frustrations, idles, uncertainties, the many highs and innumerable low-blows in the life of music. It needed time and space to mature rhythmically, melodically and lyrically. It has been written in bitter times and re-written in better times. The end result is about hindsight, "what-if's" and quiet prospects.

The most consistent and prominent musical figure through all this was, and still is, Bob Marley. All I Can is just as much an homage to him, his positive nature and his music.

Cool Facts
All I Can took over ten years to write. Early recordings date back to 1998.

There are two references to Bob Marley's song Three Little Birds. The lyrical reference is in the chorus line "every little thing will be ok" (taken from "every little thing is gonna be alright"). The melodic reference is in the organ lick after the third verse, taken verbatim from the Three Little Birds repeating organ riff.

The original chorus lyric was "Music is all I got...", inspired by an early girlfriend that left because of my maniacal focus on music and wild mood swings.

"You never win if you never play" is a classic aphorism that my and Steve's father uses all the time. As with most everything he said through our youth, this phrase had a lasting, somewhat-anthemic impact and encouraged me and my brother to take necessary chances in our pursuit of music.

Key Phrase
"My soul is tolerating of my mind debating if my heart still gives a damn."

Music and Lyrics (chords over lyrics)
C D
I'm holding onto all I can
G B
Can't try to take that away
C D
One little thing I know
G F#m Em D
Is I'll never win if I never play
C D6
I'm holding onto all I can
G B
And I listen to Bob Marley
C D G
Every little thing will be ok

[C D Em]

Am Em
So I'm told I'm nobody till I'm somebody
B Em
Turn it around again
Am Em
Some they say I might be crazy
B
But tenacity ain't a sin
C B
So I'm trying and I'm trying and I'm trying again
Em
Know exactly where I am
C B
My mind is forgiving to my soul's decision
C D
And my body don't give a damn


[chorus]

G
So I'm feeling for a switch

I've been flipping around my current condition
C D
A way to get up, stand up from a sitting position
G
I try to be cool and understand the collision
C D
When the mission was already planned
G
So I stand on the edge of the land
C7maj D
Bury my feet in the sand
G
Try to establish a plan
C D
A way to trust my life with my band

[chorus]

I know where I'm supposed to be, but don't know where to go
Drifting around again
I'll answer your stares like they're questionnaires
And I'll grin a perfect ten
So I'm trying and I'm trying and I'm trying again
Know exactly who I am
My soul is tolerating of my mind debating
If my heart still gives a damn

Some Girls Are Crazy

Music and Lyrics by David Fowler
Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
It's science. Actually, I believe it's hormone-fueled psychology. That, and it's trendy for a girl to be a bit nuts. Need proof that it's trendy? Get two soundsystems in one room. At the same time, play Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood through one system and Crazy Bitch by Buckcherry through the other. Keep volumes low to prevent death.

Of course, the term of endearment wouldn't be "crazy" unless women, themselves, willingly admitted they occasionally leave their element. Most will proudly admit they're crazy when asked from a safe distance. So it's confirmed from both sexes that some girls are, in fact, crazy. Let's not get into why, let's just calmly move on.

The original inspiration for this song came in early 2008, when my long-term girlfriend suddenly and ruthlessly left me for her best friend's fiance (can't make that stuff up). Pretty nuts, right? Needless to say, the original lyrics were quite offensive and definitely not right for Echo Movement. So she left me and it was pretty rough, but I did get a great song out of it. And if by some freak chance she ever reads this......hi! Thanks for the song and I hope all is well in the 9th Circle of Hell.

I clearly wrote this song for myself, but the chorus is written from another dude's perspective. Perhaps, and most likely, I wrote it from my own brother's perspective, especially since he would ultimately be singing it. It's what I wanted to hear, but nobody was saying these exact words...so I said it to myself. Steve added "brother" and "bro" to the chorus line (it was originally "boy").

The verses came together on 4/20/2009. I wrote them on the back of a cereal box while my girlfriend (my new young, beautiful girlfriend) was driving us to a friend's show. The new verses were broader and more directed towards several girls I've had the honor to know...including the second verse for the one driving.

Cool Facts
The song was originally called "All Girls Are Crazy." When I read the lyrics to my new girlfriend, she was pretty offended. The band unanimously agreed it'd be best to soften the blow to "some."

Just after the second chorus, you can hear the main piano riff lifted from Biz Markie's hit "Just A Friend."

Key Phrase
"Crazy eyes and lies arise, they hypnotize...so it seems my girl's a wreck, just in disguise."

Music and Lyrics (chords over lyrics)
Bb
Don't be no fool brother
Eb F
Some girls are crazy
Bb
You work three jobs
Eb F
And she still calls you lazy
Bb
Don't be no fool bro
Eb F
Some girls are crazy
Bb
They have a way
Eb F
To make that fine line so hazy

Bb Eb F
A little back I met a girl, she's like a jewel
Bb Eb F
But in time I've come to realize she's not that cool
Eb Cm
She got makeup she caked on her soul
A dim D7
When it rains she just loses control
Gm Cm
In her mono-maniacal role
Eb F
She digs her own hole

[chorus]

My new girl keeps a lot of guys she calls "just friends"
But I see through a shady eye what each intends
Her phone rings in the mid of the night
She picks up to a drunken invite
And gets pissed when it causes a fight
My veins ignite

[chorus]

Crazy eyes and lies arise, they hypnotize
So it seems my girl's a wreck, just in disguise
She got caught in the web of her lies
I'll find time to undo all my ties
And as sure as the sun will rise
I plan my goodbyes

I Think God Smokes Weed

Music and Lyrics by David Fowler
Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
Ok...before anything, it's important to note that Echo Movement is a secular band. Many of us are actually free thinkers. And beyond an ethical foundation, religions simply don't make sense to us. As for the church...well, that's a very creepy corporation, in our opinions.

Just behind this song's fun tone lies a tight message poking fun at humans and religions. It's also a big f-u to the uptight conservatives (better than mashing a stress ball). We personally recognize our governing superior as nature (credit Frank Lloyd Wright), and cannabis is a botanical constituent of that nature...thus, it is not unreasonable to recognize cannabis as an element of our actual biology, especially since its found its way into so many of our ancestors' lives.

The chorus was written in Fall '08, presented to the band and arranged for recording. It almost never saw the light of day, at least in the form we all know it. We knew it was risky, edgy and defining (for better or worse). We talked with family and friends before releasing the song, and ultimately released it in hopes it would entertain our fans and provoke cool discussions. It has.

Cool Facts
The last part of the song is a dubbed-out instrumental bed reserved as a time of reflection, especially for those hearing the song for their first time. If you listen closely to this part, you can hear a massive hit from a bubbler followed by construction elements in the percussion rhythm- we recorded a socket wrench, a drill, sanding blocks and a few other tools from our garage.

Key Phrase
"Every time we rock the ganja, so does he."

Music and Lyrics
I think god smokes weed
Ab Db
And he was high when he made me
C Fm
I can feel it in my DNA
Db Cm Fm Eb
I think god smokes weed
Ab Db
And he was high when he made me
C Fm
And I think he gave up halfway
Db Cm Fm


Before I was complete, as I understand
Fm
God was making a mess of the man he planned
In the face of defeat, he smoked a helping hand
And said, "I'll just put him in a reggae band"
I feel it in the beat when I'm on the stand
I feel it in my feet when I'm in the sand
I see it in the sunsets that might expand
Into your mind, so you'll understand...
Eb

[chorus]

Back in Catholic school, to my memory
They made me feel [like] a fool through humility
They said that god's infallible consistently
Except for the one time he dropped that seed
I hear that god's in you and me and all we see
Assuming all the actions of my own body
If that's the way it is, than you must agree
Every time we rock the ganja, so does he

Keep My Head High

Music and Lyrics by David Fowler
Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
All members of Echo work several jobs just to get by and enable time away for touring, etc...and it takes its toll on us. This song represents the utter frustrations (horn sections) and the human ability to collect (ukulele parts) in any overwhelming situation...and we thought it'd help our listeners, too.

Cool Fact
In the third verse, we reference two of our favorite classic rock bands: The Beatles (Fool On The Hill) and The Doors (Light My Fire).

Key Phrase
"My mind will always duel with my soul's desire, so I guess I got to keep my head higher."

Music and Lyrics
When the world's got me stressed, agony of defeat
Dm Gm
And I'm working so damn hard just to make ends meet
Dm
My soul is strolling down a one-way dead-end street
Dm Gm
But I just gotta keep my head high
C Bb F

I say "ohh, I know that I'm gonna get by"
F Bb C Bb F
Ohh, I just gotta keep my head high
F Bb C Bb F


I gotta live today or I'll die trying
In the game of being a man there ain't no crying
I'll keep it to myself when my mind's sighing
But I still gotta show my head's high

[chorus]

It's hard to keep my cool when my world's on fire
On the hill I am the fool, light my funeral pyre
My mind will always duel with my soul's desire
So I guess I gotta keep my head higher

All Night

Music by Stephen and David Fowler
Lyrics by David Fowler
Arranged and performed by Echo Movement

Behind the Song
This is one of a few songs written together on In The Ocean. The lyrics were written in summer '08 on a friend's porch near the corner of 8th and Ocean Ave in Belmar, NJ. After bar-hopping all night, a select crew found their way back to this house and continued to rage.

Key Phrase
"I see the animals, don't feed the animals- you know these cops are social cannibals."

Music and Lyrics
[C F]
Our time, my soul is shaking
Our world is what they're breaking
Downtown, a sanctuary
All night, I got no worries

[G G# G Bb C]

I got a will to get weird but I got no cash
Checked my head stash but it's turned to ash
Once again I contracted the fear
The future's uncertain and the end is near
So go out, blowout, no doubt
Hear a groovy band in a bar to check out
A good beat always takes control
The girls on the floor got the Jersey soul
I cross paths with the man of the night
I'll take one blue, one green, one white
Been up for 24 hours, I've developed super powers

[chorus]

Step outside to catch some air
My move turns into a love affair

Yea, I see the animals, don't feed the animals
You know these cops are social cannibals
They do a drive-by but everything's cool
Dark porch, chill, don't be no fool
About a girl and she's hot for the pool
Ten minutes into a flirtatious dual
So lay down, uptown, downtown
O'd hard enough to make a poor boy drown
Skipping town is the best for us
Gone with the wind, with the wind I'll discuss
...
Yeah we got a lot to talk about, me and the wind

Echo Movement: Behind the Name

We're asked about it all the time, and it's a bit more than a reggae/rock band...here ya go!

Echo Movement was conceptualized and developed through the course of a few decades. It's the story of a generation paused in self-awareness. The music, itself, is kind of like the exhale after a startling revelation, as well as an "invitation" to move on.

In the wake of our grandparents (the Greatest Generation who ended WWII), our parents (the Baby Boomers who fought in Vietnam and pretty much defined modern culture) and even our older siblings (the Gen-Xers), we, the Echo Generation, kind of wandered away, steeped in apathy, made only worse by a collective case of "The Fuckits." To our elders, managing us was like herding cats. We even smoldered through the wet blankets of Ritilin and Adderall, proving our tenacious ability to simply not care about anything, save video games, music and sports. The other things- education, news, religion, and even certain traditional family values- were antiquated and faulted for not keeping up with the times.

Two of my favorite books, The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan and Future Shock by Alvin Toffler provoked these thoughts. There is also a great quote from the movie Fight Club that wraps it up well:

We're the middle children of history- no purpose or place. We have no Great War, no Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives.

That's a little dark, but captures the frustration of a generation. And frustration easily converts into anxiety.

So we started Echo Movement to remind ourselves and our peers that we actually do have a lot to be proud of, and to start thinking/knowing/believing/feeling that our contributions to the progression of humanity will be marked with flags of revolution.

For starters, for the first time in the history of the world, we have established a true global village through the Internet. The United States was supposed to be the first to carry that honor, bringing people and cultures together geographically. However, the flaw was that the people who moved to The States had to abandon their homeland and adhere to new laws in a new land, and ultimately became "Americanized." And as generations passed, laws and norms became increasingly-destructive to the cultures and traditions carried over. However admirable, that's not a global village as envisioned by the great thinkers...USA is more so a convergence of culture. By that, it is no more unique in cultural diversity (and market exchange) than were the Silk Roads.

The Echo Generation is the first group of people to live above Spaceship Earth (credit Buckminster Fuller); we have transcended physical differences and taken on a new digital form. We have largely disconnected from laws, norms and trends, and can comfortably exist in a place where there is a free-flowing exchange of ideas and information. We have reformed copyright laws, flipped the music industry on its head, and gave a vicious beating to the swine in corporate power (work in progress). We think at the speed of our bandwidth. Those are all great points of pride!

The apathy towards tradition served a valuable purpose in our growth. It unleashed us to explore alternatives without hesitation...to let logic outweigh honor. An ego is like a bag of bricks- all you have to do is put it down.

Yet another great point of pride is the organic movement. A lot of people in our generation have made efforts to consciously monitor their amount of over-processed material intake. This includes food, music, clothing, medicine, transportation and so much more. It's a choice to live healthy. Consequently, we're creating a healthier world, exploring renewable resources and revolutionizing our use of energy.

Echo Movement is a call– an echoing call to everyone in our generation and beyond to salute the past, take pride in the present and embrace the future. We have our own thing going on, and have already secured our history-in-the-making. Selah.