The Story Behind the Song: “Remnants”

Often the inspiration to write a song will be sparked by hearing a new song on the radio or TV that piques my interest.  In this case the song was Smashmouth’s “Walking on the Sun”; I heard it on the radio on the way home from work, and was inspired to start writing when I arrived.  Somehow or other a Santana influence crept in, too.  A journal entry from Monday, November 3, 1997 recounts, “Just got through writing a song called ‘Remnants’.  It’s about how we of ‘Generation X’ (well, me, anyway) tend to live in the past, and our lives are full of references to pop culture and things of the past, while ignoring the future.”  The recording was included on my sixth solo album Machine Dream.  Recorded, like everything on this and prior albums, on a four-track cassette recorder.  Additional backing vocals by Joe Arrington.  This song was later performed live by Mother Zephyr. For the 25th anniversary version of Machine Dream, I re-recorded the guitar, bass, and drum parts.