Track By Track: An Inside Look at Mark Karan’s Walk Through The Fire
We’re starting a new column today called Track By Track in which an artist shares a story or factoid about each track on their latest album.
Ever since guitarist Mark Karan joined The Other Ones in 1998, he’s been winning over Deadhead after Deadhead with his soulful lead guitar work. Mark followed his stint with Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart in The Other Ones by spending the last 11 years as a member of Bob Weir and RatDog and also started a band called Jemimiah Puddleduck. For all of Karan’s work as a crucial member of a number of bands, he’s never made a solo album…until now.
That album, Walk Through the Fire,
ANNIE DON’T LIE – This is a really fun, party sort of song by my friend Alex Call. I played in Alex’s band for quite a while. I hadn’t heard it in years when my friend Teresa James pulled it out at an LA blues gig as “Eddie Don’t Lie”. I remembered I always loved the song and started doing it myself. I love the singalong party vibe and the tex-mex quality the accordion brought to it. JT Thomas’ piano playing is great on this track.
LEAVE A LIGHT ON – I wrote this song when I was a songwriter and producer at Studio 56 in LA. It was poppier and more overblown back then, but I always thought it had something. I revived it for the record and tried pulling it into a more authentic, organic space. I had to twist JT’s arm to play the insistent quirky keyboard part, but it really makes the track for me.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
READ ON for Mark’s take on the rest of the tracks…
BAIT THE HOOK – This is an oldie for me. I wrote it when I was 19 or 20 as sort of a Tower of Power thing. It laid around for 25 years unused but got pulled out when we started digging for Jemimah Puddleduck material. I like the demented “wheels coming off” back porch quality we got with it by keeping it loose and raw.
WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – I’ve got a strong emotional connection to this one. I wrote it in the hospital during my first week of treatment for throat cancer. It’s a personal, confessional song that I hope also reaches beyond my story. As a way of showing gratitude for still being around to share the song, I’m donating all proceeds to the Oral Cancer Foundation.
LOVE IN VAIN – What can I say about this track? I feel so blessed to have known Delaney Bramlett and had the joy of playing music with him. This record is so much the richer for his presence. He was a great singer, a great man, and a mentor for me… and i had a grand ol’ time building up the guitar parts and other goodies!
ROCK YOUR PAPA – Though we’d rocked it for years, this one was a bit elusive, but after several attempts at different sessions we landed on this take, which felt great. Adding Billy Payne’s and Mike Finnigan’s santictified keyboard stylings really add to the soulful blues/R&B grease. The Persuasions’ doo-wop vocals are the icing on the cake. With all that going on, you know I had a ball singing this song.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
MEMPHIS RADIO – This has always been a special song for me. My friend Susan Sheller wrote it. We played together a lot when I lived in southern California. She brought the song to the band and I connected to it immediately and came up with the hook melody on the guitar. When we put Jemimah Puddleduck together, I felt a calling to play the song and Susan gave her blessing. It’s one of my favorites on the record.
TIME WILL TELL – This is a sort of musical and emotional rollercoaster. It features some of the best ensemble playing on the record. John Molo’s drumming in particular is exceptional on this song. Hopefully this song will take the listener on a journey… I was after an almost cinematic presentation of this music.
LOVE SONG – Here’s another song I wrote a long time ago. It got a new lease on life when I sang it to my wife at our wedding so I decided to include it on the record. I’d previously approached it as a sort of James Taylor kind of thing but wanted to try something different, so i experimented with blending a Beatles sort of influence with an old-school soul vibe and i really liked what happened.
THINK IT’S GONNA RAIN – I’ve always loved Randy Newman’s writing, so when JT Thomas brought this one in, already having worked out these great ensemble parts, it was a fait accompli. I like the way, as a band, we deliver the song, with its lonely, desolate feel, and then go off into a completely different space that sort of washes the melancholy clean… and then close with the return of that empty vibe, leaving the listener hanging out in that space.
FOOLS IN LOVE – This would be my nod to the intelligent new wave/punk/pop i loved in the ’80s. I was a big fan of Elvis Costello (still am!), Joe Jackson, Gram Parker etc. This was always one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite records. I thought it’d be fun to do it with a looser, reggae influenced approach. It’s also a showpiece for JT’s piano playing. i really wanted to feature him on this track and he really delivers.
EASY WIND – I’ve always loved Pigpen’s part of the whole Grateful Dead thing and I’ve always loved the blues. I’ve shared life, love and music with the Grateful Dead family for the last decade. This song is my way of celebrating and honoring those things and giving a little nod to the music that brought me to my current fanbase.
Pingback: Track By Track: An Inside Look at Mark Karan’s Walk Through The Fire - Roll With It
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Thanks for the track stories!
I am listening to the cd for the 1st time and reading along!
Fantastic cd!