The Witness Marks - 'The Witness Marks' Track by Track & Album Stream
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| Ashley Kauschinger |
Our record is about people making it through difficult circumstances. These are people who are looking for a sense of community. A lot of these songs were written as I struggled with my place in my own community, or my joy in feeling accepted by my peers. They’re also reflections on contemporary America. The characters are complex and conflicted. They’re also in tough situations. And they’re discovering how unfair life can be. But there’s joy there, too.
On a personal level: I’ve never felt prouder of a record. We tried a lot of approaches that took us out of our comfort zone and these songs are better for it. I think it’s a great example of what makes our band special. We tried to maintain a collaborative atmosphere with no egotism, and we considered what served the songs we were writing the best.
This is a bona fide band record. It would not be possible without Moses Andrews III, Alex Skiro, and Sean Thomson. Each person is an awesome multi-instrumentalist, and a loyal friend. It doesn’t get much better than that. I’d also like to recognize Mario McClean, Kelley Mclachlan, Kristen Harris, Emily Wait, and Ross Swinson who all gave their blood, sweat, and time to making this record.
About each track:
I wrote the original demo for “Better Man” during a songwriting challenge put on by The Sound Connector. I like the story it tells; it’s about someone who says they’ll be a better man, but the evidence is really not in their favor. I wrote this version after seeing Cory Branan live.
“Change Your Name” was the first song I wrote after finishing Southbound– it was another song I wrote during a songwriting challenge. Looking back, a lot of these songs were written during challenges. This song is a toe tapper. I always notice audience members keeping time when we play this one. I identify with the song but I’m not always sold on its brash idealism.
“Happier With Me” is a narrative about loss. In the second verse I put in a lot of detail about getting a barber’s license and a tattoo with a grandma’s nickname. Those details are based off a lot of people I know from my hometown. The last verse reminds me about Bruce Springsteen talking about how as a performer he dressed up like his father. It’s a bit of my dad’s story at the end.
“Birthmark” holds a special place in my heart because this song was all about trusting the band. Usually I write songs and bring them to a band, but with this one I had the melody, and some lyrics done but they helped make it into a real song. With this record I tried to do things that scared me more – with previous records I’d never dream of having a song that was over 4 minutes long and didn’t have a bridge. But I think that’s the strength of “Birthmark” – and of this band.
“Paradise” is a song about getting on with your life. It’s inspired, in part, by a Nashville Uber ride, and a particularly sad episode I saw of the HGTV show House Hunters. At the time a friend of mine was going through a divorce and trying to put her life back together and there’s a bit of her in there as well.
“Honey Hole” is another one of those songs that scared me to write and record. I’m from a small town in West Georgia and “Honey Hole” is the story of a lot of people I grew up with there. I like the ambiguity at the end. But what’s really special about this song is how Moses Andrews III (piano) and Kristen Harris (violin) braid their embellishments around the song. Moses has a lot of highlights on this record but I love the one note strike he does right after the bridge. It’s so impactful, it hurts.
“You’re Lying” is a character sketch sonically inspired by the band Pony League as well as the songwriter Lori McKenna. It’s about the strength and value of friendship. This was the first song I wrote after buying a piano for my house. Our keyboardist Adam Cullum committed suicide around the time we recorded this, and it’s kind of since become yoked to my memory of him. Tell your friends you love them – and listen when they’re going through rough times. You don’t need to explain anything to them, just listen without judgment.
“Another Chance” is a rock song about believing in the power of love. The characters in the song are distant but not broken entirely. It is a stunner. Ross Swinson of the band flower shopping did some killer guitar work on the song.
“Long Way Home” was another song I wrote during a seven-day challenge. The barebones arrangement is really haunting. My wife helped me write the lyrics in this song while we walked our dog around our neighborhood during a humid summer night.
“Each Room” is inspired by my friend Matthew Pendrick and his band Slow Parade. Matthew has a really great metric acuity in his verses so I tried to emulate that. I was also interested in how I could use the same chords for the verse and the bridge. I recorded it one cold afternoon in November at Standard Electric Recording Co. in Atlanta, GA.
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