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