"Though I did the Devil's work, he was working for the good"
The new video for the pre-release of You, my latest 10 song album, is now released. Let me know what ya think. Good bad and ugly. If you dig it, help us out and go hit thumbs up and leave me a comment.
Settle Down Good - From the upcoming album 'You'
About the new album
Settle down good is my first release from the very eclectic Americana album that's FINALLY!!! coming out April 10th. It's on pre-release sale at all major stores, like iTunes and Google Play. I say "finally!!" because this little album that was supposed to be a themed celebration and study of my partner and my 10 years of marriage together... ran into all kinds of snags and ended up just now, in our 13th year of marriage being released. I was expecting to release it in 2015 but instead pursued other EP's and singles so that I could take my time and get this one where I wanted it.
Here is a podcast on unstarving musician if you want to hear a more detailed talk about making this, and building a community around my music, such as the community feel represented in the music video above.
The Credits, Lyrics and some details on Settle Down Good
The credits on this music video run as long as my legs. And if you've seen my other videos, such as Live from the deep's "Peace on the morning", you will recognize that this is just something I do. The short reason why I surround myself in a community and bring them on stage (when I can), is that I lived for a decade, even while doing music, as a very isolated person. In this day and age of more relationship with devices than faces, I guess I'm a little out of place. I realized I need people, I need to give to them, and be willing to receive. In some way, that can be found in not just the feel of the music video, but in the feeling of the song.
Making Settle down Good
The recording and the video shoot are two different things. For the recording, I was looking for 'real' instruments.. no keyboards, no plugin instruments. Not so much for the sonic qualities, but because I wanted the band to have fun. I feel like how the band plays together in the studio, how they feel, translates across soundwaves in unidentifiable ways. So we headed to my favorite studio, The Congress House Studio in Austin.
Mark had several pianos and old vintage keyboards and organs. This one we used a 100-year-old upright piano. And I played Mark's (The studio owner) 1945 Gibson guitar. If I remember right, this is one of the songs where we recorded some core sections live, but isolated. We could do that at congress house because he has several rooms with cameras in them.. so we can listen to each other and see each other while recording together.
The Credits
Settle down Good
From the album 'You'
By Ezra Vancil
Tailgate Players
from video
Lori Martin Bass/Vocals
Kent Smith Piano
Martin McCall Drums
Eric Entrekin Acoustic
Dennis Rybacki Banjo
Rich Doty Mandolin
Ben Salico Electric Guitar
6 O' Clock Dance Theater Dance/choreography
www.6oclockdancetheatre.com
Production
Siouxsie Romack Camera
Paco Estrada Camera
Lizbet Palmer Camera
Margaret N Jones Directors Assitant
Dylan Droz Audio Technician
Eliot Vancil The VW's / Location
Halli Vancil Everything Else
Scott Romack Hang'n round
Adrian Palmer Hang'n round
Maria Winstead Hang'n round
Ezra Vancil Director/Editor
Settle Down Good Recording
The core band
Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin - Ezra Vancil
Bass/vocals - Lori Martin
Piano - Kent Smith
Drums & Percussion Chris Brush
*** Guest players***
Banjo Orville Johnson
Electric Guitar Jay Stapley
Production
Producer Ezra Vancil
Co-Producer David Castell
Executive Producers, Eliot Vancil & Timothy Taylor
Engineer Mark Hallman
Recorded at Congress House Studio In Austin & Buck 50 studio in Oak Cliff, Dallas, TX
The Lyrics
settle down
settle Down
I'll put you in my heart
point a way to Arkansans
throw me like a dart
wash me up in lithium
God knows I need a friend
In a hot spring new dream
we’ll start another band
play it boys
oh Remember when
remember when
I was just a kid
Now I'm sorry that I put through
The life I never lived
about drowned in DFW
when I was swimming with the Sharks
to a hot spring in Arkansas
on that river in the dark
I'm gonna settle down
settle down
and do what I should
there’s a girl that’s gonna love me
cause I did all I could
i chopped down this world around me
for the heart of the wood
now I’m gonna settle down
settle down good
I drank myself to jail and back
now I'm piss'n clean
found God at the bottom of a cigarette pack
at the Monday morning meeting
so float me up to Arkansans
like we used to do
or maybe down to Galveston
oh, that wasn’t you
(who was that girl..)
Well you cried yourself to sleep each night
But I wish you understood
though I did the devil's work
it was working for the good
I'm gonna settle down
settle down
do what I should
there’s a girl that’s gonna love me
cause I did all i could
I chopped down this world around me
for the heart of the wood
now I’m gonna settle down
settle down good
Well you poured me out like alcohol
‘Cause I just can’t get enough
But there is a bottom of the bottle in every heart
And getting there was tough
I think I was drinking up the dust
I'm gonna settle down
settle down
and do what I should
there’s a girl that’s gonna love me
cause I did all I could
I chopped down this world around me
for the heart of the wood
now I’m gonna settle down
settle down good
Thanks for reading, listening and watching. I'm @ezravancil a Singer/Songwriter living in #Texas. You can learn more about my music on www.ezravancil.com
YOU, the new album, now in stores http://bit.ly/you-order.
All images copyright Lovearchy Records & Siouxsie Romack