Releasing a new Kenny Schick song today called ‘Sonic’. Clocking in at nearly 7 minutes, this song won’t be everyone’s cup o’ tea — not Americana like a lot of my stuff, but rather, noisy and quirky with some ‘sonic’ exploration.
This one was inspired by the purchase of my Jazzmaster guitar—a Squier actually—and specifically, the J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) version that so many rave about in terms of quality/price point. I got it with the intention of having another guitar for more ‘crunchy’ tones, and as such, I began to listen to some famous Jazzmaster players like Nels Cline(Geraldine Fibbers, Wilco), and of course, Sonic Youth guitar slingers Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo.
I went on a Sonic Youth deep dive for about a month, going back to all the albums of theirs I used to love, and ones I hadn’t heard. I got in the mood to write something in that vein, and so I came up with a riff that I recorded into a session entitled ‘Sonic’.
As I built the song, lyrics started to come, and they started to form a story of someone trying to out-drive the demons and chaos of these past several years(we all know what I’m talking about). It’s a ‘road trip’ song in the weirdest of ways…. The whole ‘Sonic’ theme made it’s way into the lyrics as well…The song was going to be called ‘Super Sonic Highway’, but I decided I’d tip my hat to original session name, which was meant to be a temporary name—it just seemed that single word was the thread that tied this whole puppy together.
Hilariously, as I’ve played that guitar more, I ended up string it up with .012 gauge flat wound strings, and often like it for clean single note kind of stuff. Though it still does the grind nicely, if desired.
lyrics
Super Sonic Highway
V1
Rubber on Rubble, to leave my trouble
Behind in the dust, shake off the rust
Pedal to metal, screaming tea kettle
About to blow, just need to go
Faster faster, in front of disaster
A pointless race, through time and space
(Push the) Needle Higher, city on fire
In the rear view, (but I’m) into the blue
CHORUS:
She asked me: ‘How are you feeling?’
I don’t know, like I lost my soul
She asked me: ‘Where are you going?’
I’m not sure, I’m not clear
____________
2nd and 3rd chorus extension:
She asked me: ‘What are you doing?’
I gotta go, feel so slow
She asked me: ‘When will you be home?’
I can’t say down the super sonic highway
V2
Faster faster, away from disaster
(Is it) Time to turn, or just crash and burn?
I wanna go far, wanna get to the stars
Leave this earth behind going out of my mind
CHORUS W/ EXT
V3
Hot flash, (and) burnin’ road rash
On the road for days lost in Purple Haze
Seein’ double, (don’t)burst my bubble
White line fever, ghost in the receiver
7-11, must be heaven,
Fueled up for flight, feelin’ alright
(Push the)needle higher, engine on fire
Look in the rear view, then into the blue
BRIDGE
A need for speed, seductive indeed
(When you’re) in low gear, and riddled with fear
(Cuz it’s) On your back, about to attack
Get on the road, to lighten the load
Drive through the night, ’til the sun is bright
A new day, to push it away
Ahead or behind, nowhere to find
A safe place, gotta drive into space
101, 152, 5, 58, 40, 66, 40, 24, 75, 16, 95, 1, A1A up up and away 10, 9, 8…etc
credits
released July 13, 2023
Written and Performed by Kenny Schick
Orchestrated, Instrumentation, Mixing and Mastering by Kenny Schick
Backing Vocals by Sabine Heusler-Schick
Artwork by Sabine Heusler-Schick
Video by Jessica Fong (adaptedcreations.com) www.youtube.com/watch?v=86XEz6Unkcw
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