Roman Candle

Debuted: February 13th, 2009

Now Playing:

“Glad and Sorry (Faces)”

Skip: Faces have always been one of our favorite bands, especially when Ronnie Lane sings. Even last night at a show we played at Union Hall in Brooklyn, the thing we chatted about most in the van after the show was the playlist the sound guy chose (before our set) included both Cindy Incidentally, and Sweet Lady Mary. A couple of years ago a good friend of ours, Kent Bennett, mentioned that he'd love to hear us cover this song. So one night when we were all hanging out at Timshel's parent's house in Oregon we crowded into the living room with Keegan and decided to figure out a rough version of it. We were happy to get a chance to record it for this session.

The lyrics in this song are pretty underrated (and with that, as are most Faces lyrics). In all the usual talk about how loose and swagger-y Faces are, not much is mentioned about how often they knock it out of the park in the songwriting dept. For my money, Ronnie Lane paints a better picture of two people, in minimalistic music and lyrics, better than any "let's light candles and listen to (insert current singer/songwriter)". "Can you show me a dream? Can you show me one that's better than mine? Can you stand it in the cold light of day? Neither can I."

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The Session:

Roman Candle

Debuted: February 13th, 2009

About:

For better or worse, sometimes being in a band can feel like being in a family. Someone will almost always emerge as the de-facto leader - the daddy - calling the shots as he or she so desires, leading with a (usually) steady hand. But this sort of paternal strength requires a strong wife's support to be effective. Someone's gotta handle business and lovingly communicate to the others when, how, and why things are gonna happen. Then, of course, you've got the others: the kids... the children... the young'uns. Now these roles run across the entire spectrum: the prissy boss of an older sister (the flashy lead guitar player), the slacker kid brother, who's usually up to no good (probably the bass player), the always-a-mess runt of the bunch (always, always, always the drummer) ...hell, you've even got the occasional awkwardness of that step-sister that's 10 years older than the rest (keyboard player - i.e. Garth Hudson from The Band) or the troubled foster kid that's around for a season and then, thankfully, gone forever (former junkie lead singer). All in all, it can get a little complicated.

Now here's why I like Roman Candle... they are a real family. A husband & wife, a brother & sister, two brothers, a sister-in-law, brothers-in-law, and so on. It is this foundation that has allowed Roman Candle to persevere through the travails of a major-label shuffle and the years of subsequent purgatory. Without these family bonds, I doubt they would have left their home in Chapel Hill to regroup some 500+ miles away here in Nashville, let alone emerge stronger and tighter as they've done. That sort of perseverance is rooted in blood and commitment. Now that's family, y'all.

Well we here at Lake Fever Sessions are certainly glad they did make the move to Music City. Their sharp, intelligent Southern pop is a most welcomed addition to musical landscape that surrounds us. Along with a host of other Nashvillians, we certainly claim them as our own. And with that, we proudly present Nashville, Tennessee's Roman Candle. Enjoy.
-jbc