Song: “Ghost Pines”
Album: Ghost Pines EP, June 17, 2011
What was your inspiration for writing the song? The suicide of our friend Chris, a friend of all of us in the band, apart from our newly added guitarist. A few months after the incident, I distanced myself from a lot of people who were close to me. It took me the writing of this song to realize that that was the opposite of what I should be doing.
What is the meaning behind the song? Losing someone close is a terrible experience, and the fact that it was a suicide, that it was his choice . . . That really gets to me. This song isn’t really a song about mourning, memories, or goodbyes. It’s more about the mental and spiritual struggle that came in the wake of the tragedy. I guess you can say it’s about accepting it for what it is and trying to find something to take away from it other than pain.
I mean, there’s nothing good to take away from it, but do I look at the people close to me differently than before? Absolutely.
When was your favorite time performing it live? Hands down, the May 24 show at El Corazon! A lot more of our friends came to this show than usual. When we started playing the song, we were surprised by our large group of friends right up front pointing and singing along word for word. They weren’t just singing the lyrics because they knew them or liked the song, they were singing because they went through what I went through, what all of us onstage and everyone who knew him went through. It really made it something special.
