All this week we are releasing a single a day from our new EP, No Winter. Each day we will post a new song and make it available to stream from right here on our website with the full EP available for purchase this Friday. You can also order the CD now from our merch store and we will send it out after the Friday release. Be sure to check out our latest shirts and posters while you are at it. We stocked up big time for an extensive tour before we all ended up in lock down. We would love to get some of this merch into your hands instead of keeping it in our closet. And now, let's get down to the business at hand...
The title track of our new EP, No Winter features the intense and dramatic cello playing of Andrew Emlen, an accomplished musician and songwriter based in Wahkiakum County, Washington. Our engineer/producer Raymond Richards joins the rhythm section and is on the bass throughout the EP, just as he was on 2018’s Threshold EP. We hope you enjoy this arrangement of The Mutineers, we love the way it kicks things off. Here’s a bit about what influenced the song:
No Winter is a dark, folk-rock, parable based on an ancient Taoist story. I first heard the tale while watching the indie documentary, The Bill Murray Stories. I think it had an impact on me because of a deep need to be more stoic about life’s ups and downs. My own emotional rollercoaster was making me a bit sick at the time. You can read the original tale first or wait until after you’ve listened to our song to see if it enhances the experience. Either way, it’s neither good, nor bad :)
There once was farmer who had a friendly neighbor. One day his horse runs away. And his neighbor comes over and says, to commiserate, “I’m so sorry about your horse.” And the farmer says “Who Knows What’s Good or Bad?” The neighbor is confused because this is clearly terrible. The horse is the most valuable thing he owns.
But the horse comes back the next day and he brings with him 12 feral horses. The neighbor comes back over to celebrate, “Congratulations on your great fortune!” And the farmer replies again: “Who Knows What’s Good or Bad?”
And the next day the farmer’s son is taming one of the wild horses and he’s thrown and breaks his leg. The neighbor comes back over, “I’m so sorry about your son.” The farmer repeats: “Who Knows What’s Good or Bad?”
Sure enough, the next day the army comes through their village and is conscripting able-bodied young men to go and fight in war, but the son is spared because of his broken leg.
And this story can go on and on like that. Good. Bad. Who knows?