Debut Album from Sadlee Huge
"Being Awkward in Little Rock"
Released September 2011
What I'm Waiting For
Satellite Girl
Spoke and Once Again
Madona
Wil I Collide
Heaven
Instrumental #42
Screw Devil
Kingdom Come
Our philosophy with Sadlee Huge was pretty simple: get the music recorded and the lyrics written while the idea was fresh. Johnny would create the riffs and then we'd flush out the song structure. The base of the track would be Johnny on guitar and me on drums, performing in real-time. Once we had a take that worked (one with not too many screw-ups), I would immediately begin writing lyrics in a free-form style. With lyrics completed, Johnny would add bass and keyboards (if necessary). Lastly, a lead guitar or two would get laid down. We almost never edited the tracks after we laid down our parts.
Most of this we did in an hour or less.
I realize that our music is simplistic and amateur. We're not the best at what we do. Both Johnny and I would consider ourselves songwriters before musicians. However, at the core of these songs is a heartfelt desire to communicate emotion. That's really all you can ask for at the end of the day. It wasn't important for us to flush out the instrumentation or write and re-write lyrics. Notes are repeatedly missed. The tempo fluctuates like the seasons of the year. I'm flat or sharp on the vocals pretty much the entire album. That's not the point though. The idea was to get it all out as fast as possible without over-thinking our decisions.
What are these songs about? Well, after much internal debate, I've come to the conclusion that "Being Awkward in Little Rock" (a title for which there is no deep meaning) is an exploration of spiritual beliefs (or lack thereof). Being someone who believes in a faceless, nameless higher power, I struggle often with defining my religious beliefs. I'm certainly no Christian, but I'm not a bad person. I do have a personal moral system by which I judge my actions. I consider that moral system to be a fair one. No one is better than me. I am better than no one. What I ask for in life is to be accepted as a decent person, regardless of whether or not you believe there is a God, Jesus, Allah, Heaven, Hell, or whatever you want to call that force that guides us all. I imagine that many people can relate to this desire.
This album is wrought with cynicism. Realizing that has made me very aware of how I act as a spiritual person. I am against organized religion on a grand scale. I am all for treating myself and others as I would like to be treated. It doesn't get much more simple than that.
Of course, it doesn't get much more simple than "Being Awkward in Little Rock" either.
-Alex
Album Credits:
Johnny Massey - Guitars, Keys & Backing Vocals
Alex Auxier - Vocals & Drums
Alan Beckham - Lead Guitar on "What I'm Waiting For"
