The story of The Failing Hearts: this past July, I was invited to record some music with my friend Jay Caddle in his basement studio. There was no game plan, no rehearsals, no discussion on what key to play in or what genre, no overdubs or second takes. Steve Levandoski would play drums, I would play guitar & Jay would play bass or keyboards and occasionally sing. We decided to name this project The Failing Hearts. To be clear, I had never played any of these guitar parts before and most likely would have a tough time trying to completely figure out how to play them again. Strictly off the top of the head and in the moment. Raw instinct. Musical meditation.
That being said, after listening to the sessions, I am completely blown away at how cohesive this all sounds. I love playing with those guys because no one is trying to hog the ball or show off – this isn’t some prog rock jam or the lobby of your local Guitar Center. This is the sound of three musicians communicating as one (corny as that sounds) on a stormy night in an incredibly humid West Philly basement. There’s definitely a heavy post-punk vibe to these tracks but they venture all over the place.
Anyway, Jay just put these experimental tracks up on bandcamp – I hope you’ll give them a listen.
The cover for the EP features my collage Terminal.