Royal Speaks

May 27th

I am about to get underway recording the new record this fall. Very exciting times.

To inspire and get the creative juices flowing, I have decided to cross something off my life list at the same time. I have always wanted to record a few cover songs – just for the experience of reinventing them in the studio. Who knows what will become of them.

Well dear friends and fans, what cover songs would you want me to try my hand at?

Tweet or post your answer on Facebook

Musically yours,
Royal

I recorded this cover song called “Pumped Up Kicks” after an afternoon spent in my hotel room in Halifax on a rainy day on tour. I had wrapped up a writing session, and was waiting to load in at the venue, when I started playing “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster The People on my guitar in its original manner. However, the lyrics suddenly hit me in a much more melancholy way. The are subcutaneous to the melody. Though the tune comes off as a fun summer song, under the surface it reads to me as a comment on a single absentee Dad who raises his son with false promises, and the child is left to deal with the lack of love in troubling ways. i.e. Carrying a gun for retribution. I recorded it on the first take in a slow and deliberate manner, and ended up using that performance because I felt like the rawness only added to the message.

I hope you are moved by it.

Royal