In an effort to celebrate the official launch of djphillips.com, challenge my songwriting/ recording abilities and to take my own swipe at a 30 Day Project I will now post a new song idea every day for the next 30 days. These are not necessarily finished products. They are not necessarily fantastic pop nuggets. But they will be new ideas (written at least within the last few weeks). They will be (pretty much) on time. And they will be original.

Along with each posted song, I'll include a little story of the writing and recording process. If you're the kind of person who doesn't like to know what's behind a song, feel free to skip all the content below the track.

I'm putting these out there-- warts and all-- so let me know what you think! The songs that get a good response will be the most likely to be included on a future release.

Status Quo

Soooo... this one is a bit tardy. I think it still counts though since I haven't technically gone to sleep yet today. I had a great visit to the Ohio homeland and I made it back safely to Music City, USA. But, with a finished yet unrecorded song-- so I had to get right to work!

Musically, this idea has been around for a little while. It started when I was putting a band together last year and we were rehearsing. Shea, my good friend and excellent drummer, started playing a little complicated beat. I had him loop it and play it for a while and the bass player and I had a fun one-chord jam over the top. The idea sat dormant for a while, but it was preserved on a recording of that rehearsal. Listening back to it a little while ago, I remembered the idea and played around with it some more.

I had a decent chorus and melody idea and even played it for a live question and answer session on JamPlay. The phrase "status quo" kept swimming around in my head, but I wasn't sure how I would put that in the song.

Eventually, it made it onto my idea list under the current title "Status Quo". I tried to loop the rehearsal recording of Shea's drum part, but it was a bit faster than I was feeling it, so I ended up scrapping that idea. This song is definitely a situation where I just wanted to lay down a simple sketch of the song with the lyrics I finished this afternoon while I was still in Ohio, so that I could just go to sleep. But instead I spend a few hours recording multiple guitar parts, vocal parts, hand claps and experimenting with drum loops. I guess I was having fun!

I am not a political person. I mean, obviously I have opinions. And some of them I do feel passionate about. But I consider myself more of a peacemaker/ diplomat when it really comes down to it. Perhaps that's just me looking at myself through rose-colored hippie glasses. But there is this thing that happens-- it happens in music, politics, movies, you-name-it-- that when someone or something comes into power or popularity, there is an automatic aversion to it.

If a favorite band that you've "discovered" gains mainstream success, they've "sold out" and they don't make anything good anymore. If someone is elected into office, they are automatically the enemy. My thought is not that we should shut our mouths and just take whatever is fed to us, but still avoid opposition just for opposition's sake. Contrarianism is what I'm railing against here, I guess. I'm not sure if this all makes sense since it's 4 AM and I'm getting a bit delirious. But that's the idea I was going for with "Status Quo". Maybe the lyrics will actually make more sense than my rambling explanation thereof. Thanks for reading/listening!

Status Quo

Stand up everybody Let's let our voices be heard Stand up everybody Let's shout our choice to the world

Gather 'round everybody Check out this brand new machine Gather 'round everybody It's the American dream

This is becoming the way that we do things It's just the ebb and the flow This is becoming the way that we do things It's now the status quo

Sit down everybody We have now lost control Stand back everybody We have lost sight of our goals

Gather 'round everybody Check out this busted machine Tear it down everybody It's the American Dream

This is becoming the way that we do things It's just the ebb and the flow This is becoming the way that we do things It's the new status quo

Status Quo

This is becoming the way that we do things It's just the ebb and the flow This is becoming the way that we do things It's the new status quo

Status Quo