Return of the Singer
While staying in my favorite hotel in LA, I wrote this song with co-writer and programmer, Mark Townsend (not the Mark Townsend of dc talk's band). I wanted to begin the record with a bit of theatre, a modern message on the stage and its effect on me. I wanted the whole record to be a fused-ongoing thought, a journey through life and its senses. "Return" started with a simple loop, melody and "Eastern ear candy." I have always loved Eastern influences in music form George Harrison's contributions in the Beatles to Ravi Shankar and the like. The lyrics reveal that our life is like a stage, and we need the Father to guide the voice inside us.


Existence
This song is all about the searching soul, the person with a destination in mind but struggling to find it. We all search for truth in our individual existences. I wrote this song directly after writing "Return." It came to me quickly because of the emotion and mood of dark yearning found in the chord progression. The metaphorical girl in the lyric represents all of the doubt and confusion many people feel, and sometimes can't escape.


Be
This song was written at my house with guitar buddy and friend Erick Cole. I wanted to write an anthem, a song about self-realization. It became the cornerstone song for the project. The idea of being more powerful and useful, when realizing God's design for your life, was a truth I wanted to convey. People in modern society seem to be chameleon-like, never wanting to be individual, always wanting to please the masses. Becoming a faceless, bland, brand of every diluted idea that culture can come up with. We can become more than we know, if we seek out the mystery of God and his blueprint for our lives. Adrian Belew, my friend and co-producer, played pedal steel for the first time in his life on this track.


Angel With No Wings
"Angel" started off with Erick and I wanting to write a pop song. Most of the songs that Erick and I start out with are 8-minute odysseys that are trimmed back to reveal more "radio friendly" compositions. It is a song about learning to deal with people and relationships the hard way. It is about avoiding a problem, but struggling with it at the same time. The problem being a femme fatale, in sheep's clothing.


Shaping Space
This was the first song I wrote for the project. It was a stream of conscience song. It came to me while playing the piano late one night at a friend's house. Every time I played the song it took on another meaning. It is a poem put to music, for all that believe in eternity to come.


I Don't Belong
William Owsley is a friend of mine who has a deal with Warner Bros. He has been in several bands and played for many pop stars. We had always wanted to write a song together and finally got the chance. William suggested I write a song on how I felt about the music industry and my role in dc talk. I have always felt like somewhat of a misfit throughout my life. I know there are a lot of people who can understand or relate to that. We must realize, however, that in the end, we are far more interesting together than apart.


The Union of Souls
Spoken word has always been a love of mine and I have been executing that love at the end of many dc talk records. The fact that I included this poem in particular, was the centrifugal force to the whole of the project. This poem was written about my wife, and my innate need for her goodness in my life. It also exposes my insecurity in myself, and my need for completion. I think we can mirror this relationship to our creator and His divine love for us.


Alycen and the Secret Circle
Before meeting Adrian and the rest of King Crimson, I set out to write my own version of a "prog-rock" tune. This song was written in the vein of Crimson, Pink Floyd, Mansun from England, etc. One day I wandered down to 12th and Porter in Nashville to see King Crimson play. I met Adrian's wife at the door, she introduced us, and immediately hooked Adrian and I up to write together. I ended up playing this song for him and our working relationship was sealed. The arrangement of the strings and other instruments was crucial in the mood of this song. John Painter, a great guitarist and arranger who has worked with Ben Folds Five, Fleming and John, and dc talk, helped Adrian and I realize the scope and drama of "Alycen."


Blind
"Blind" is a song about temptation. The forbidden fruit that all of us as humans reach for constantly. I wanted to write a song showing no promise of hope in that situation, but during the bridge I came up with the line "I need your divine intervention." I was just ad-libbing the lyrics to the track when it all made sense. I loved the way Adrian's guitar riff on the verses reminded me of early David Bowie, then I remembered that Adrian had played on Lodger and Station to Station, two of Bowie's early albums. I have found this song to be a powerful picture of our humanity.


Dead End Moon
Much like the other two songs I have written with Mark, this started out with a program and a loop. I then took the program home from L.A. and put lyric and melody to it. This was a first marriage of Eastern sounds to pop music on the project. The lyric was taken from an idea that I had about romance in the spirit of Arabian Nights. The song particularly works in the expression of total desire and hunger for a partner, who is just out of reach. I have always envisioned this song to be put to video in Fes, North Africa, or Marrakesh.


Her Game
I started writing "Her Game" early on in the sessions on my new keyboard, the MS2000 by Korg. It was a melody that was shaped into a bit of a pop anthem about a lost relationship. The original demo was a bit too John Lennon for most tastes, so I had Adrian de-bug it into a modern format. Adrian's arrangement of the strings and his use of guitar was spot on. This is one of my favorite cuts on the project from a songwriter perspective.


On and On
This was an 11th hour tune that we came up with one night after my wife had prodded me to write a ballad. Ballads are usually not my bag, so I immediately wanted out of the responsibility. But from Erick's initial chord progressions we stumbled onto this song together. My lyric to this song was especially important because of the sensitive nature of the song. I wanted to draw out the complexity and sometimes "dark versus light" in relationships. This song is a dramatic telling of my relationship with my wife Alayna, my muse.


Deconstructing Venus
I originally had a poem called "Venus Was a Tramp" that I took and crafted into a song about the fashion industry. I wanted to express the fact that media "icons" sometimes live a very lonely and self-deprecating lifestyle. People Magazine, Vogue, and National Enquirer never tell the whole story.


I Went Over the Edge of the World
This poem was written in L.A. at the mixing sessions, and I added it in to end "Venus." I wanted a poem to end the project, so I wrote this one down as a last thought and testament. The lyric is directed to a catalog of feelings about the creation of Stereotype Be, and the nuances of the business.


You
The hidden track on the record—a song about the totality of God.