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I'd Rather Not Talk About It: Some Thoughts and Tidbits.  

I'd rather Not Talk About It has been streaming for a few weeks now. I wanted to share a few interesting tidbits about my process and inspiration while writing this song. If you haven't heard it yet you can listen on my website or add it to a playlist on your favourite streaming service. 

My lyric writing process is not very linear. I will often jot down ideas as I go about my day and piece them together when I've got a new piece of music. This song was originally written in the summer of 2019 when I was spending a lot of evenings exploring Calgary and meeting new people. I cam across a particular phrase that stuck out to me and anchors this song. "Some nights we push too far. . . rubbing bar stamps off our arms". I used this line as a jumping off point to tell a story that explores the explosive nature of attraction (especially at the outset of a relationship), and how this intense emotion interplays with obsession. 

My working title for the song was "Make You Mine". I decided to go with the tongue-in-cheek "I'd Rather Not Talk About It". I like the mystery and intrigue in this title. It has been funny trying to talk to people about the new song. They are very confused when I say "I'd rather not talk about it", and often take that to mean I want to change the conversation.

My earliest demo of the song was slower, with an entirely finger-picked guitar line. We went in a different direction on the final production, but there was a broodiness to the original demos that I liked. Ultimately I think the intensity of the recorded version suits the song, but I will get an acoustic version posted soon so you can get a feel for those original thoughts. 

Thanks for listening and let me know your thoughts in the comments!

NEW SONG ALERT! I'd Rather Not Talk About It is out now! 

Oh-oh-WOAH-oh-oh! I'm excited to announce the release of my brand new track “I'd Rather Not Talk About It”. 

This one is a true toe tapper that found its voice in Calgary's dive bars. I've been playing this song out at shows for a few years, but when I met producer Joel Pearson I knew this was one he had to get his hands on. Definitely a more aggressive sound than my last record, and I love it!

I'm also very happy that I was able to get pieces of the old band back together for the recording process. My good friends Tony Harrison and Rob Burgis joined me at Bucket Brigade Studio to hash this one out back in the fall of 2022. With Tony on guitar and Rob on drums we captured some perfectly executed jangly bits and tippy-taps. 

Give the record a spin and stay tuned for more behind the scenes info.

Nothing Less 

I have always wanted to make a record. It's like the Holy Grail of a musical life. When I search through old notebooks I often find the remnants of what was going to be my album. Lists of song titles scratched into margins. Pages dedicated to different song sequences. I was always questioning which set would make the better album. 

I met Lorrie at Gravity; one of my favourite local haunts. We had been put in touch by Music Calgary's managing director Colleen Krueger. I took the morning off work so I could make our meeting. I sipped on an Americano as we talked about the process of putting a record together, what his role would be, and what the creative vision was.   

Admittedly, I had no idea what I was doing. Having never heard me play before Lorrie asked me about my sound. Despite my life-long ambition to create a collection of material, I had a hard time articulating what it should sound like. In hindsight, this is maybe the reason it took so long for me to get to this point. Regardless I knew I was about to embark on a really meaningful process.

Nothing Less

Written by Rocket Alexander  
Produced/Engineered by Lorrie Matheson @ Arch Audio  
Mastered by John Golden @ Golden Mastering  

Drums - Chris Dadge  
Keys/Backing Vox - Lorrie Matheson  
Guitar/Bass/Lead Vox - Rocket Alexander 

 

 

I do have a few recordings under my belt. Shout out to Society High, Danger Men, Cooper Collective, Tony Harrison and the Ramblers, and Jess & Robb. 

https://www.reverbnation.com/coopercollective 

https://tonyharrisonandtheramblers.bandcamp.com/ 

https://www.jessandrobbmusic.com/music