When Miles was born my life turned upside down. Despite all I expected from reading books and taking classes and listening to advice, it quickly became clear that the day he came into being marked a fundamental change in my world. I am eternally grateful that my wife and I had it easier than many parents do, but still it was hard. My focus shifted to this incredible tiny man and away from everything else. Songwriting, music, and any sort of artistic endeavor were put on the back burner and gone from my mind. That was ok. I knew it would happen. What I didn’t foresee is what would take place when I finally clawed my way back to songwriting. I’ll never forget the first day I finally got some time and space and quiet to sit down and see if I still had it in me. Miles was six months old, I was finally getting a little sleep, and I had the apartment all to myself for three hours. I was a little nervous...a little scared. Had I left songwriting for too long? Would it forgive me for what I’d done? Did it move on after I ditched it and left it all alone on that deserted dusty road? Would my old friend let me have a shot at repairing our tattered relationship?
In short, you betcha.
These are strange times we live in. The world is more transparent and accessible than it’s ever been; yet people feel more isolated and lonely than ever before. Peace, love, friendship, caring: these ideas are juxtaposed every day with war, death, crime, and hatred. All you need to do is switch channels or click a mouse, and you can see it all. You can try and feel it all too, but I believe our bodies and minds have to go a little numb to process it and take it all in. Otherwise we might lose ourselves.
Over those three hours in that old apartment my thoughts on all of this, on my life, on the way society makes me feel tumbled out onto the pages of my comp book. I’ll often joke that “Get Found” is a song about everything. It’s not. But it’s about a lot of things. The lyrics move fast because the narrator is worried he’s running out of time. He’s desperate. He’s searching. He’s afraid that what he’s saying needs to be heard before it’s too late. He knows that even though he’s broken, even though he’s lost...he can’t get it back ‘til it’s gone.
Thanks for listening. I hope you like the song. The new album is out May 23rd.
-Mike