‘Caught Inside’ is a surfing term. The literal meaning is when one is paddling through a set of waves that is breaking before them and they have no choice but to eat it. The song is a basic metaphor for being in the trappings of one’s own mind set with a sense of having no way out. It is also a question: do we unconsciously set ourselves up to fall to see if the Universe is watching and wants us to learn something?

‘Children’ started out as a plea. In one way or another this country has been tuning out the rest of the world. I believe boundaries can’t truly divide people and we have many more similarities than perceived differences. The concept of learning about other cultures is what I was trying to awaken through a simple lyric. I refer to the collective us as “Children” as we are all children of this world and students of its ways.

I was fascinated by the idea of how most women’s first male encounter with love is through their relationship with their father. This song is simply about the passing of the crown from the ideal a woman may create from observing her father to the man she has chosen to be with. And while their may be differences among her and her lover it is really the child like part of them that interacts as friends to create a higher level of love.

While watching ‘Fast times at Ridgemont High’ on cable one afternoon, as a surfer I was of course drawn to the Spicoli character. His carefree attitude, his life plan or lack of which was to hop in his van after high school, move down to Mexico and surf the rest of his life. I think we all have that voice in our head somewhere saying ‘well if all else fails I’ll just find paradise and live on the beach.’ At least I do, but the juxtaposition in the song is the bridge. The passion and drive to achieve my life’s purpose always outweighs the inclination to run to away, no matter how close I come to actually doing it.

This song was 80% improvised on the spot in between a break up on the phone and the ensuing conversation 2 hours later in person. Basically I was losing someone, felt devastated by it, pressed record and what you hear is what I sang in all the verses and part of the chorus. The breakup was on her end and came out of left field. I thought I was the less committed one yet I took it really hard. The Valentine’s Day reference came when I found out she had another date with a friend so that pretty much “un-sealed” the deal for me.

Be the one was also a reaction to this waning relationship except from a more angry and frustrated place. We had been playing back and forth for months after the break-up and I had become emotionally exhausted. I was looking for signs everywhere as to what to do. My dreams were exceptionally vivid clearly directing me to let it go. But I had a hard time accepting what I knew which that it was over. I was basically giving an ultimatum that asked ‘tell me where you stand once and for all?

The Bush team had relied heavy on luring in the Evangelical vote in both elections. Having watched 9-11 from my rooftop in Brooklyn I and many others in NY were opposed to the Iraq war from day 1. From claiming war with a country unrelated to 9-11, to a woman’s right to chose, ignoring climate change and so on I felt the administration was ignoring the core tenets of the religion it had so unashamedly courted during the election season. And the members of those institutions had been duped into their movement under the guise of preserving religious social values while the country was overseas killing people truly in the name of oil. They used religion, which is supposed to be separate from law, as a lure to win votes and approval. Of course the real goal was to fuel banking interests, weapons manufacturing and construction contracts.

A fluid instrumental piece for the album written by longtime SOL bassist and my good friend Taylor Bergren-Chrisman. The track showcases different moods over a repetitive phrase that builds into a crescendo at the end. Taylor is playing both bass and keyboards on this track.

At the end of making this album I was beginning to lose interest in my life as it had been going. I needed a change yet felt stuck and didn’t know what to do. Then on a trip to Mexico for a close friends wedding I had a chance encounter with the photographer. We fell in love very quickly and I was catapulted me into a whirlwind relationship. She was from Argentina, I was in NY and over the next few months we met up in different parts of the world when we could. And as quickly as the fire lit up it was put out. The song calls for that Epic day to return, that period of excitement that broke the mundane and took over like a tidal wave. The lyric was written mostly in my head during a surfing session shortly after the breakup.

This song is last for a reason. I was finishing the record, had been through 2 breakups, band member changes and a lot of soul searching mostly while meditating on a surfboard. Now it had become time to take care of me and the first step was to get the band on the road. I wrote the lyrics for this song as a prayer to the universe for guidance and help while I prepared to venture off into the unknown. It is also a declaration of my willingness, excitement and desire to keep an open heart and make my dream a reality.