Post Mosh Clarity
This show focuses on the stories and ideas behind bands and their albums.
Hosted by music enthusiasts who are also avid concert-goers, the podcast aims to educate listeners on the often-overlooked aspects of albums beyond the mosh pit experience. Whether it’s exploring the evolution of a band’s sound, dissecting the lyrics of a particular song, or unraveling the inspirations behind an album’s artwork!
Post Mosh Clarity
Deadweight
In this episode of Post Mosh Clarity, Lani and Josh discuss the album "Deadweight" by Wage War. They reflect on their initial impressions of the band and how they have changed over time. The album is explored as a journey of finding light through darkness and overcoming the weight of life's challenges. Join them as they provide insights and a fresh perspective on this impactful album.
Credits:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadweight_(album)#Personnel
https://genius.com/albums/Wage-war/Deadweight
https://www.allmusic.com/album/deadweight-mw0003065963
https://www.euphonicmasters.com/about
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Email: PostMoshPod@gmail.com
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Welcome to PostmarchClarity, a podcast where we take a deep dive and provide you with insights on your favorite albums that will make you appreciate the music even more. We're your host, Lonnie.
Speaker 2:And I'm Josh. Whether you're a diehard fan or a casual listener, we guarantee you'll learn something new and gain a different perspective on the albums that influence your music taste. We hope you enjoy listening and follow us along on this journey.
Speaker 1:Life has its ups and downs. At times, it could feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. For some, this heavy weight and darkness can really put a stop to the momentum of their life. However, the beauty in life is that there is always going to be a brighter side. Our lives are really limitless and sometimes we just need that little something to pull us out of the darkness when life gets too heavy to handle. Today's album, Dead Weight, is about finding the light through the darkness.
Speaker 2:Wait, well, yeah, what's up guys? I just wanted to let that roll. I'll let you guys know we're back. We took a little longer break than normal, but we're still trying to keep it going.
Speaker 1:Yep, we're here, we're doing it.
Speaker 2:We're gonna have a good time. Today I got a good one Dead, Weight Wage War, great album, great stuff. Honestly, I didn't know about this band until I met you.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I did no idea, and then you showed me them and you're like check these guys out. Like really, I don't know about this.
Speaker 1:Why you didn't like them at first.
Speaker 2:No, I just I'm biased, and if it's like a band that I don't know, then I immediately write them off.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:No, I mean I've changed quite a bit, but yeah, no, it was, I just hadn't heard of them before. And then, I mean, as soon as you showed them to me and told me to check them out, I checked them out I was like, oh okay, these are pretty cool. And then, as I kept listening, I was like wait a minute this is really cool. And then I was like wait, there's like more albums, too, Like this is oh, this is great, I never heard of these guys.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, so we're actually forwarding going a decade from our previous episodes. Oh yeah, and I talk.
Speaker 2:I guess we should eventually get a little more relevant with our episodes, huh.
Speaker 1:It seems like we're scooting a little closer. This one was released in 2017, in August.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I was just going to say that we got some really good requests that I want to work on, and it's kind of my fault that we've been late. I had an episode planned. I didn't quite get it done. So here we are and we're going to do another one of Alana's episodes.
Speaker 1:Oh, Cheshire's a little slacker.
Speaker 2:I'm a bit of a slacker. I'm bad at this research. Part of the idea.
Speaker 1:We forgive you you must move on. I believe you'll get better.
Speaker 2:It's going to be a good episode though, you know, so be excited. Yeah, excited, woohoo I don't want to spoil it, I don't want to say what it is right, but it's going to be a good one and people are going to like it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, especially my people.
Speaker 2:I did great, you know who you are.
Speaker 1:Well, I guess we should just get right into it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we'll get to it now.
Speaker 1:All right. So the band members are Britton Bonney, the lead vocal, beth Blake, lead guitar and backing vocals, cody Quistad Rhythm Guitar and clean vocals, chris Gaylord on the bass and backing vocals and finally, stephen Kluciner I hope I said that right on the drums.
Speaker 2:Kluciner looks pretty good, I tried. Did everybody sing in a band then?
Speaker 1:Well, it comes together very flawlessly in this day.
Speaker 1:I killed it. So the making of Deadweight I thought it was pretty interesting Wage War as a band did, a lot of episodes, a lot of interviews about this album in particular, and each member of the band actually had something to say about the making of this album. So the basis Chris wanted to show off the progression of the entire band in the album Deadweight when compared to the previous album, bluefront. The vocalist, britton Bonne, says that this album is when life slaps you in the face and really just how to deal with that. Okay, guitarist Cody says writing a lyric weren't necessarily happy at the time or feeling when you want to write something positive. It was the opposite as letting your negative out on a piece of paper, because that's all you have. Deadweight is about finding the positivity through the negative.
Speaker 2:I really like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this whole album has a lot of really good references and you'll see that they really just want people to relate to their music.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they do really well with that, very inspiring.
Speaker 1:The drummer, steven, says he had a different mindset than recording and writing with a blueprint album, and Seth, the backing vocals and guitarist, says that it's a darker album and feels it would be relatable to people and help them apply it to their situation. So exactly what I just said it's a darker album, so it's more relatable.
Speaker 2:It's unfortunate.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So overall, their number one goal was to be real and authentic, which can be shown throughout the entire album and well as a little preview into production. They said they were particularly happy to work with Andrew and Jeremy and says they're like a super team and work well individually, but when together it is a powerhouse. So, with that being said, we actually have a callback to our first episode.
Speaker 2:That I recognize.
Speaker 1:Yes. So Andrew Wade and Jeremy McKinnon, along with Brad Blackwood, was in the background of this album with engineering, mixing, production, mastering so really great team behind the scenes. So if you haven't listened to our first episode, andrew, Andrew Wade started playing guitar and lead vocals in a Christian rock emo band, a Wish for Maryland, and has produced every wage war album to date. Andrew says he likes how adamant the band is about their defined vision of what they want, which helps make his job easier to make their vision become a reality.
Speaker 2:That's super cool. They're a I mean, they're a really great band to listen to. Just just so cool how they all kind of work together and people that you wouldn't necessarily expect. Like somebody come in from a data, remember, you wouldn't think they would produce this stuff. Everybody's got their tastes and they're doing good stuff with it, so Right.
Speaker 1:So I must say, like before I even knew Jeremy was behind the making of wage war. I thought vocalists sounded very similar to Jeremy sometimes and I often was like wait, is that Jeremy McKinnon? Oh, no, no, no.
Speaker 2:Like maybe he helped him out, like coached him a bit.
Speaker 1:Oh, totally, yeah. Well, speaking of Jeremy McKinnon obviously the lead singer of a data, remember, if you don't know he says that when writing lyrics and music it's a lot of pressure because it's your own work. He feels that working with the band he can sit back and relax and add to what the band already had in place or really just highlighting the segments and songs to really stand out more. So not only produce some of his own albums with the data, remember, but he produced multiple wage war albums, like I was saying, the ghost inside, real friends and Viara. But that was pretty interesting. I didn't know all that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I didn't know that either, but I was wondering how many albums Jeremy was involved with wage war. So multiple is a good amount.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then finally, Brad Blackwood, the mastering on this album. He started Euphonic Masters in 2003. And he also has plans such as Maroon 5, Lamb of Gone Korn and Black Eyed Peas, just to name a few.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:Quite a wide spectrum there, to say the least.
Speaker 2:Yeah that's cool.
Speaker 1:But he seems pretty rad. He has many award nominated projects.
Speaker 2:Heck yeah, working with those people.
Speaker 1:It truly was, or is a powerhouse working behind the scenes here?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a great album. It's an awesome album.
Speaker 1:So in another interview with KM interviews, who KM interviews, specializes on camera interviews, drum kegms and photography, and he's interviewed other bands that are similar to Wage War. So this interview took place three days after the release of this album and Wage War is just really excited and they strived to have this be their best tour yet and they really just wanted to hang out with their fans and people at the merch table. And when asked what it was like to headline with Parkway Drive and DataRemember, they said it was awesome to play with the big dogs and have that realization that fans are there for them, but also really stressful because they want to do well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I can't, man, that would just be the dream, especially after having worked with these people, and then going out and playing with them and getting to play your new stuff and them like supporting you and just everybody being there kind of for you in a way. It's unimaginable, it's gotta be so great.
Speaker 1:Right and then, like you can tell, just writing this album and putting the work into this album that they did, they really wanted to be relatable and to see that that's actually coming through, that must be like such a surreal feeling.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So when asked about the meaning of Deadweight, the band said that it's shedding the skin of past struggles and here's a very personal record. Honestly, it's also about letting go of things that hold you back in life and being away from home. While writing this album, attributed to most of the lyrics and what the band was personally going through at the time. And then, off of this album, they were asked what songs they liked to play live and they said Stitch, Justine, Johnny Cash and Graphie and we'll go ahead and talk a little bit more, as now we're ready to talk about the track list, dive into the fun stuff. So to me, something very iconic about Wage War is their iconic blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 2:Good old blah blah.
Speaker 1:So I decided to count how many times I did this throughout the album and I mean it's not like catastrophic or anything. They only did it four times, but Catastrophic.
Speaker 2:They did four powerful, meaningful blah, blah, blah. Did I do it right? Pretty close, pretty close.
Speaker 1:That practice paid off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you might as well just do a just go audition right now.
Speaker 1:Oh, yikes, all right what do you got?
Speaker 2:Okay, kicking her off First song two years.
Speaker 1:very short song A minute and 15 seconds to be exact.
Speaker 2:The intro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it actually leads quite nicely into the second song or second track. Two years could signify the two years that had gone by since the release of the first album, Blueprint. I mean, I could name them off. It's pretty short. If you'd like me to, could I?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it's like 30 words.
Speaker 1:No, I didn't count, but it goes as follows it's been two years since I spilled my heart, sorry, spilled out my heart on a blank page, so I'm the same to think that it's art. But I'm just trying to fight my demons. Always learning from my mistakes, I'm still trying to make a difference, forever looking for my place.
Speaker 2:forgive me, yeah, I would say it signifies like two years since their last album.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it sounds like they're still, I mean, with it being their second album, and it seems like they started to become a lot more popular than they thought they would be with this, so I'm sure they're in that transition phase, I don't know. What do you think?
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe I mean just the line about spilling out your heart people thinking it's art kind of hits me, because it's like a lot of people that are, you know, they have this fame or they have this ability. They don't exactly see it as a gift all the time, but some people would really, you know, would love to have the ability or the renown that they do. But I don't know. I'm not saying he's doing anything wrong with those lyrics, but it's just interesting how the different, how people interpret it different, you know, fight him the demons, but everybody can relate to that in their own way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and it kind of relates throughout this entire album.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's kind of. It's kind of the whole theme.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there you go the theme. Yeah, so moving on to Southbound being the second track of the album. Honestly, after reading through the lyrics, I assume he's talking about going through a hard time in the phase of life that he's currently at at this stage.
Speaker 2:Oh, I kind of forgot to mention we were going to try something new. You might have noticed we put in some song clips to kind of give you guys ideas of what you're listening to or what you could listen to If you wanted to check out these songs. We're going to put in little clips for you, each song, each track, maybe five, ten seconds, something like that. And yeah, if that helps you guys out, let us know. Anyway, back to the lovely lady talking to you about the songs.
Speaker 1:All right. So yeah, just going through a hard time in that phase of life, so succeeding and being an up and coming band and having your dreams come true but no one really knows what goes on behind the scenes, such as touring, writing music and being away from your family and everything else that comes with that. A lyric that really stood out to me for this song was I will suffer the judgment passed by those who simply do not understand people, not understanding what he's going through internally and judging him from the outside. I think a lot of people can relate to that. You know how they say don't judge a book by its cover, and that's exactly why yeah, I mean it's taken a while for people to not judge on outward appearances.
Speaker 2:Everybody goes through a lot and you really just got to take time to get to know people, no matter how they look. But I suppose, depending on where you are, you can kind of tell some people you probably shouldn't get to know.
Speaker 1:Oh, you vibes are real.
Speaker 2:Vibes are very, very real.
Speaker 1:You feel a bad vibe. You're probably right.
Speaker 2:Just go with that bad vibe.
Speaker 1:Listen to yourself, all right. So that's that about Southbound. Moving on to track three Don't Let Me Fade Away. Don't Let Me Fade Away. Right on, bring it on, right on, bring it on. So the singer and guitarist, brunston and Cody did an interview about the meaning of a couple of songs. This was one of the ones that they spoke about following the release of this album. So they said that this song, don't Let Me Fade Away, is about internal struggles, that, I'm sorry, internal struggles with what you believe in, not knowing all the answers sometimes.
Speaker 2:Pretty often.
Speaker 1:And the guitarists wanted to push in the melodic progression of the band compared to previous album, like I was saying in the beginning, and they wanted to break forth and show the progression. So this is one of the songs that really showed that I think and looking at the world and how it could help you, but feeling hopeless. Honestly, this was a song when this album first came out I loved. I used to kick off my day on my drive, my five minute, six minute drive to work, like 6am Blasting this.
Speaker 2:Nice little ritual.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, it was great, but today I must say this is probably one of the favorites. There's multiple favorites off this album. I particularly really like this.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can get that.
Speaker 1:So number four Stitch.
Speaker 2:The most popular song ever. Ever, Well, I don't know about ever, but I mean their most popular song On Spotify.
Speaker 1:Yeah, from this album.
Speaker 2:I think it's their most played song.
Speaker 1:From this album.
Speaker 2:Of all time on Spotify.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think you're right.
Speaker 2:Over 50 million plays Pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's actually. This song is a continuation of the River, which is track number six from the first album, Blueprints.
Speaker 2:Really yeah.
Speaker 1:And they have stated that this song was written about a failed relationship and the feeling of abandonment and emptiness which occurs as a consequence. This is represented by the metaphorical phrase burn the bridge, meaning that any past relationship which may have existed will never be reconciled. The word whole is related to the idea of a black hole, an event which can occur when a star with enough mass exhausts its fuel and collapses into itself.
Speaker 2:Thanks, science. Look at that. Isn't that beautiful, it's awesome, it's incredible.
Speaker 1:And during this event, no light can escape making them invisible to the outside world. This could be the representative of the suffering this individual endures as a consequence of the heartbreak.
Speaker 2:You can't even imagine. You can't even imagine what non-light looks like.
Speaker 1:Like only in your dreams.
Speaker 2:Exactly like the erasure of light. You can't even imagine.
Speaker 1:I know, and then so a ripped stitch indicates that there has already been a previous attempt to reconcile this relationship, and the whole which forms as a consequence is due to the exhausting. Yeah right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exhausting.
Speaker 1:Due to the exhausting of the fuel which kept the relationship functional. Yeah, and to close up on the songs of the lyrics as follows but I guess we weren't worth saving is a reference to their first album. Blueprints that read show me that I'm worth saving. Three years after the original lyric, britain is suggesting they weren't worth saving after all.
Speaker 2:Why not? The relationship wasn't worth saving.
Speaker 1:Yes, the relationship I was like I don't know.
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So was. Hmm, when I just wonder what like was Blueprints about the relationship.
Speaker 1:Oh well, maybe I'll do a deep dive on that album.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we'll have to find out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I seem to have a theme of always picking the second album of bands so far. What is with that?
Speaker 2:I don't know. They're good albums.
Speaker 1:They're really good. I am probably going to go back and do a couple first, but Sometimes they're good, but as they, progress. This just blur blur.
Speaker 2:Well, they're actually. I mean, when you discovered them? Did you discover them on the first album or did you discover this album?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did actually.
Speaker 2:You discovered the first album. Yeah, oh, so you always knew about this band.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't say always, I think I just discovered them right before the release of this album.
Speaker 2:I see. Yeah because I feel like that sometimes will influence you, like maybe this band had been out for a few years but you hadn't heard of them, and then you latched on to their newest release.
Speaker 1:Exactly that's what happened.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but their first album hits just as hard. I mean pretty good people behind the scenes as well, so Definitely. The ending of this song has a really good breakdown.
Speaker 2:We love a good breakdown. I must admit yeah.
Speaker 3:You were the light I could never see you in myself.
Speaker 2:I went astray by you until the gates of blue. Got to call them out. Call some more of these seasons Okay.
Speaker 1:So number five is a witness. This is a witness.
Speaker 1:This is actually the third single that was planned for the record and it's one of the first songs that they played as a band. It had a vibe like nothing they have ever done before and lyrically it's about going through hard times and learning from it instead of looking at it with pity. There is always something to be gained from that situation. The line sometimes we're too blind to see reflects the fact that while an individual is going through a difficult time, it can be frustrating. However, once they got through it, it is possible to understand why it occurred and how to move on from it. The guitarist calls this a Rift Fest and is one of their favorite songs to play live.
Speaker 2:So many notes.
Speaker 1:Number six Deadweight Um Deadweight. All you do is write that. Write the way you'll do. Write the way you'll do. Write the way you'll do the title of the album right?
Speaker 2:But they don't always do that what?
Speaker 1:do you mean?
Speaker 2:Some bands don't always use one of their songs as the title of their album.
Speaker 1:No, they don't, but they really want to send a message about.
Speaker 2:Get rid of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, positivity Through the neck. Deadweight is about letting go of what's bothering you. So Britain, in the beginning, mentions the man he sees in the mirror is at fault, meaning himself. By the end of the song, he's letting go of the deadweight a deadweight referring to his old self. It was released on August 4th 2017 by Fearless Records. It is also the first album to have led Britain to do clean vocals, alongside with Cody, on the songs Never Enough and Gravity, the latter being the first power ballad of or by the band.
Speaker 2:It's a dope song.
Speaker 1:Britain Bond is referring to the deadweight of whatever is holding him down. This could be failed relationships or imperfections that are getting the best of him. These lyrics are repeated on the final track Johnny Cash, where Britain talks about letting go of his failed relationship and all the baggage that he held from it. Forget my name, forget my face. It was all just empty space. Deadweight, no longer part of me. Number 7, gravity Number 8,. Gravity.
Speaker 1:Another really good song on the album, another one that I blasted every morning. This chorus really spoke to me. I was in a bad place at the time this came out and the lyrics read as Pull me close. I feel the water reach around my neck. Don't let me go, just show me that there's better days ahead. Make me see I'm only half the person I should be. Pull me close and set me free from this gravity. Towards the ending of the song, the lyrics are there is a light in the tunnel, but it's distant. On my own, I don't think I can fix this. Set me free from this gravity. Again, I really resonated with this and it really just speaks to the theme of going through a bad time and trying to find the light and positivity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember after you showed me this band and then whenever we'd be hanging out and this band, this song would come on. You just always turned it up a little bit more.
Speaker 1:Did I really Usually. Yeah, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:Or it was like the first song you would put on by them. Wow, you were really into this song. You're so cute for remembering that, oh sure.
Speaker 1:Alright, number eight Never Enough. The lyrics suggest giving your all into a relationship for it to feel like it was never enough for them. It's honestly a great song to listen to after a breakup and going. You know, when you go through the grief, I mean of course you're going to be sad, the stage is a grief, right, but if you're in that anger stage, the perfect song.
Speaker 2:Just show it back, give it back to them.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, and honestly, the chorus hits hard. It's a good song, honestly Pretty short, but it's good. Number nine, indestructible. This song talks a lot about living in darkness and worrying about the unknown, ultimately leading to your own destruction. And boy can that be true. There's a lot to worry about in today's life, I feel especially about the unknown, and depending on how deep you decide to go into, that can really lead to your destruction, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you got to be careful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely, and it's possible that feeling indestructible indicates not being affected by the darkness. One of the closing lyrics of the song is so write this on my stone if I don't make it home. I tried my best, but I'm not indestructible.
Speaker 2:I always thought it was a weird, an interesting song to have in between all these like songs about being like never enough and being like oh, but they're actually talking about not being indestructible.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Makes sense now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then I like the ending lyrics, which are even through the darkest nights, all hope is not off.
Speaker 2:Beautiful. Yeah, they always kind of they got a way of bringing it back and making you not lose all hope.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's tough out there, but don't give up.
Speaker 1:Okay, two more, or actually three more songs to talk about. Thank you for bearing with us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I hope you've been enjoying it.
Speaker 1:Number 10, we have disdain. The definition of disdain means the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one's respect or consideration.
Speaker 2:It's a pretty tough word.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's pretty stabbing.
Speaker 2:That's rough.
Speaker 1:Yeah, honestly, reading the lyrics, I feel like this has to do with the state of our world and government. So let me read a little bit of the lyrics here. Shall I Outrage?
Speaker 2:I'll try it one more time.
Speaker 1:Yes, outrage, fed up with the system, outbreak. Everybody is a victim, enslaved, and we think we're free. I think it's time that we take back what we lost, no matter the cost. We're branded by disdain. There's nothing to gain. I'm not the one to be all political, but it's a problem. When everyone's hypocritical, you can't lead. If you admit you're wrong, our innocence is gone. I can't read the headlines. Another murder in the streets. He was only nine. God, are you listening? And then the breakdown. Think for yourself and nobody else. We can't trust the lies we're fed over, all as good as they.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would agree with your assessment there.
Speaker 1:You are correct.
Speaker 2:You really do got to be careful about what you believe and what you hear, especially nowadays.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's kind of sad. I mean, most people don't know where to get reliable information these days.
Speaker 2:I feel yeah, I mean, you just got to be able to make your own decisions nowadays.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I mean it's funny you mentioned that because I feel like the next song kind of relates to that as well. So the next song, number 11, my Grave is Mine to Dig another personal favorite. But I really just talked about self-dabotage and masquerading, running away from the things that are good for you, and he goes on to write he's not the man he wants to be yet, so not being the person you want to be, and honestly I can relate to that. Going through your 20s, it's honestly rough trying to figure out who you are and what you want to do with your life, not to mention like I feel like your friends at the time are also going through that. So this is also a time where you really discover you true friends are.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and how like the people are going to back you up on your decisions that you make?
Speaker 1:Right, that's a huge one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have to be ready to go out there and make the tough decisions and you know, you don't even know when you're making them, when you have to make them.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Especially when you're in the early 20s.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, but that's why we go through the things we do. We must learn from them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, everything makes you who you are today. Don't live in regret. You can always do better. We can always get into a better situation.
Speaker 1:You can do it Alright, moving on. So this is actually really serious. The lyrics go on to say Death to self is much easier said than done. Pain is what has set me free. I had to go through hell to find what's best in me and, honestly, like while in depression it's easy to think about what it'd be like not to have to deal with the world. Pain is what has set me free could relate to self harm, to not feel so numb. Going through hell to find the best in you is really just hitting rock bottom. Either think or just swim.
Speaker 2:Yeah, kind of a little serious.
Speaker 1:And so the song goes on to describe knowing he's not alone but is desperate for a place to call home and wanting to change himself but not sure where to begin. And last but certainly not least, johnny Cash Very, very good song. It's about a very tragic relationship ending and this is the song that sets it free, so I would say it's probably a good conclusion of the entire album. The song lyrics reflect the last lyrics and the deadweight song, as I mentioned earlier, a deadweight, no longer part of me. This song is from a place of helplessness and a way of coping with it. Interestingly, stitch River and this song is about going through something traumatic and feels like most people can relate to what they're feeling.
Speaker 2:Do you think they're all related?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do. I think they're all related.
Speaker 2:Like the same song, universe Sure.
Speaker 1:That's a good way to put it. When Cory was writing this song, he knew he wanted it to stand out from the rest. He listens to country music and he chose Johnny Cash because, no matter what he did, people still looked after him. The first thing people usually ask about is Johnny Cash, and Cory says this makes him excited. Personal thoughts about this song. I really like the subtle guitar riffs in the background and this song is also just really great on their stripped version, which is the acoustic version named the Stripped Sessions. It was actually just recently released to SN 2022. Nice. It includes two songs off this album Gravity and Johnny Cash.
Speaker 2:Julio.
Speaker 1:That includes the track list. The Deadweight really made a hit, ranking at number 45 on Australian albums, number 15 on the UK Rock and Metal album and US Billboard Top 200. They were listed at 54. Top Rock albums on the Billboard in the United States with number eight and Top Hard Rock albums on the Billboard, number two.
Speaker 2:Heck yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They really killed it. That was a good year.
Speaker 1:Definitely Well.
Speaker 2:Good year for them. Yeah, for them there you go.
Speaker 1:Not bad, so wait for. I thought it was interesting to share a little bit about their name. The guitarist and clean vocalist, cody, said it's the worst band name ever to travel with. They're like, hey, we're wage war, can we play in your country? But it's not political or army related. Our band just alludes to being the change you want to see.
Speaker 2:That's a weird thing to allude, I mean, I guess if it's like a personal war, that's how I've been interpreting it you want to wage war on yourself.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely so. Cody goes on to say positivity is something that they're all focused on. They don't want to be dark or depressing and they want to leave kids with some hope at the end of the day. We should support each other and try to live a life where you don't tear each other down, you build each other up and break through the barrier of judgment that comes with being younger. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing, which is love and peace.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's awesome. It's always great at the end of the set when they do a little call out. They're like hey, we love you guys. Peace and love, Take care See you next time, see you next time. And you're like, ok, I guess you're just a basic human being with amazing vocals and pounding guitar riffs, but yes, I will obey you. Obey you. No, it's not like that, but it is cool when you see them be normal people on stage.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or even just in general, aside from the music.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I'm not very good at going up to the band after the fact I'm shy.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. That reminds me when we met at Lola and we were waiting in. Kurt Travis was standing right next to us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, we weren't there to meet him.
Speaker 1:I know we're like we don't want to check away from the moment, but Kurt Travis is like right next to us.
Speaker 2:He's so busy.
Speaker 1:He was on his phone by himself.
Speaker 2:He was talking to another man about the show.
Speaker 1:Not me. I swear to God, no, no, but I was already. I had enough for meeting Andrew Wells and the rest of the band.
Speaker 2:So I'm sure it would have been fine if it would have talked to Kurt real quick, but yeah, we didn't want to be rude.
Speaker 1:Respect.
Speaker 2:Kurt, if you ever hear this, I doubt it. Where were we? We were in Sacramento.
Speaker 1:The Goldfields.
Speaker 2:Was it Goldfield?
Speaker 1:Yeah, the Goldfields, it was the first time there.
Speaker 2:actually it was at Lola meet and greet. You were there. I had a really big beard.
Speaker 1:That's what's most important.
Speaker 2:Anyway, we're talking about wage war.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah, okay. So final thoughts I really appreciate how the band members and producers really came together and are excited and dedicated to producing music that is meaningful and stands out from the rest. Each member of the band has amazing talent and they all just create such a masterpiece. I enjoy the screamers clean screens. I was able to see them at Aftershock in 2009 and these songs are even better live than coming out through your speaker. Wage war continues to progress with their music and I look forward to the music they keep releasing. I hope to see them live again and hold on.
Speaker 2:You saw them in Aftershock. In what year?
Speaker 1:2018.
Speaker 2:2018. Okay, what you might have said 2009.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:You might have 2009? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that came out of your mouth. Why?
Speaker 1:We can check the tape. Are you serious? I did not.
Speaker 2:You might have.
Speaker 1:No way.
Speaker 2:Maybe I was right.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, how did I do it? Why I don't? Know, I literally was looking at 2018.
Speaker 2:Words just out your head. Sometimes it's funny, especially numbers.
Speaker 1:Wow, my mind is blown.
Speaker 2:It's okay.
Speaker 1:I saw them in Aftershock in 2018, correction we just did a lot of reading there.
Speaker 2:Well, you did, yeah, good research, oh okay.
Speaker 1:So, now we can conclude with our top three. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep, yep.
Speaker 1:Don't sound so sad.
Speaker 2:Well, I gotta go find the, I gotta go get my answers.
Speaker 1:Go and get money out.
Speaker 2:We'll be right back, all right. All right, we're back, we're back. So, yeah, we're gonna do top three, of course, how we finish, and this episode's topic is top three, DGD songs, dance heaven, dance songs, and this isn't like by album or it's just like top three, and this one's really hard.
Speaker 2:Super hard. I mean, I'm not like the hugest fan anymore. I'm not super impressed with their newest stuff. That being said, they will always be just a favorite band in mind. So picking They've been through so much and just picking three songs of everything they've done is really hard. So I spent a good 10, 15 minutes and figured out what I need to say. Would you like to start?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yes, okay. I don't even want to say these are in any particular order, but these are the three songs that I could pick if I could choose three. I'll just put it that way. So Inspire the Liars.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Really good one. It was my first song that really tied me in a mothership album.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And well, I have a tattooed on me, so Did you know about them before that album? Yes. I just didn't know specifically about mothership because I didn't listen to them right when Tillion came on board until Instant Gratification.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:But I listened to them before with Kurt and Johnny.
Speaker 2:Interesting, Okay. So that being said, my first one that I kind of went to was we Own the Night and kind of the same reason, Like I knew about DanceGavin Dance, but you know they kind of A lot of stuff happened. And then this guy, Tillion, showed up and I wasn't too interested. But we Own the Night, amazing beautiful song, really got me into Tillion.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the whole album really did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a great album.
Speaker 1:You know it was a tie between we Own the Night and On the Run and honestly, on the Run stuck out more to me.
Speaker 2:Oh, is that your next one? Yeah, sorry, some of my next one off that album. There you go.
Speaker 1:But yeah, it was between those two songs An awkward, I really awkward off.
Speaker 2:Instant Gratification. Awkward is awesome. Yeah, I love that song. It was just, it was cool, it was nice. You know they I had a weird thing getting into them and then I didn't like Johnny Craig stuff, so I just dropped them. And then Tillion came around and it was breath of pressure.
Speaker 1:Yeah and yeah, they've been through a lot. Yeah, a lot, a lot Over a decade. We've listened to them.
Speaker 2:My second one will be Don't Tell Dave, okay, yeah, I just it was a favorite, you know, through all the years and even in the beginning, before Tillion it's probably. I mean, kurt is, I love Kurt, man, kurt is the guy and it's a good song. They had a different bassist on this one but man, the bass is awesome on this song. Just a groovy, anti-social social song.
Speaker 1:Perfect.
Speaker 2:What's your life like for?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so my last one is pretty typical, but it's a good one. It's an easy, hard way, the most.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:It was my ringtone for a long time.
Speaker 2:There you go, gotta be. Yeah, you just can't avoid it, you know.
Speaker 1:It's a classic.
Speaker 2:It is a certified, it's literally the head-jurker.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, in concerts and you're waiting for the next band to set up and they're playing the background music. I guarantee you, if we're at one of these shows and this song were to come on, there's a good chance. At least 50% of the crowd knows this song.
Speaker 2:I would say more than that, but yeah, but I don't know. I guess I don't know, shoot on the lower side there, but yeah Well, I'm gonna finish it off with a little unexpected one, but Summertime Gladness.
Speaker 1:That's a really good one. Maybe not as popular, but that was its own special release right.
Speaker 2:Right, so it was actually a single that they did. They did it for they kind of do it. Now pretty often they release a single in between albums, yeah, just to kind of let you guys know, hey, we're still doing stuff, which is cool.
Speaker 1:I don't think enough bands would do that, but it's interesting, you see that, because I think they literally just released a single.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, they did definitely.
Speaker 1:And I know there's a new album coming.
Speaker 2:But this song, yeah, it kind of rejuvenated me because I didn't really like Mothership unfortunately it wasn't as big on it and this song really got me back into them and stoked for Artificial. Artificial dropped in Artificial is a banger and I'm honestly surprised. You know I want to do a couple of runner-ups here. I really thought you would pick Evaporate.
Speaker 1:Oh, that was hard.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm surprised that you didn't put that in your top, I know.
Speaker 1:It's because there was classics before that song which made Evaporate what it is to me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, true.
Speaker 1:Which is why I couldn't just pick it from the top.
Speaker 2:True, true, but it is one of my favorites. And then I like the other singles, headhunter and Bloodwolf. Like honestly, it's weird, the singles kind of hit a little different than the album tracks. The album tracks are great and the albums always flow, but yeah, I really like their little singles. Well, that will do it for another episode, episode 4.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it sounds like we have a lot to talk about when it comes to Dancekevin' Dance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, who knows when we'll actually talk about that.
Speaker 1:To be honest, the DGD fanbase is kind of scary right now, must admit. Maybe it's calmed down a little bit.
Speaker 2:That's going to be the episode that puts us on, and then everybody hates on us.
Speaker 1:I'm scared, it's my opinion.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're just having a good time. We appreciate you guys listening and following along with us. Share it, tell some people, if you want, if they think that they'll resonate with it. That'd be great. You can also comment or just hit us up on socials. We got Instagram.
Speaker 1:And Gmail.
Speaker 2:Well, what's the Instagram?
Speaker 1:PostmashClarityPodcast.
Speaker 2:There you go, and then PostmashPod at gmailcom. There's an email. You can send us some requests, you can make some suggestions, but we'd love to hear back from you guys.
Speaker 1:And let us know what you think of our addition of adding the clips.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, we got a suggestion from some good friends and we hope that you guys like that. So let us know what you think and keep your ears open and ready. That was weird. Bye. What do you mean? Don't look at it's a blur. Oh, that was good, that wasn't bad. I mean, it sounded more like a throw up, but oh, no, blur. Make it mean Don't look at me, I'm not looking at you. I'm not mean I have to think mean Be mean I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not.
Speaker 1:I have to think mean.
Speaker 2:Be mean, be mean with it Angry throw up. Blur, blur.
Speaker 1:I didn't get angry enough.
Speaker 2:You didn't.
Speaker 1:I can't, you can't be angry.
Speaker 2:You can't be angry. Bring out your anger Blur.
Speaker 1:The dog pooped in the house Blur, oh my lord.
Speaker 2:I mean, it just sounded like you walked, like you stepped in it and threw up at the same time. I give up.
Speaker 1:I give up, I give.