The genesis of “I Will” – from Steve

Following the “Download of the Month” release, members of MBG will share their thoughts about that song in subsequent blog posts. We hope it’ll give you a greater appreciation for the tune and all that went into writing and recording it. Enjoy!

*******************

We’d been a cover band for so long that I wasn’t sure if we even wanted to do the original thing. That’s the issue with bands that make their name in the cover genre, especially one like ours so rooted in the music of Mr. Jack Johnson. The thing was, all of us were either proven songwriters in our own right or budding ones. It seemed kind of silly not to crack that particular door and see where it took us.

“I Will” was our first attempt at songwriting as a band. I remember the practice at the Bat Cave, as it’s affectionately called. Gary was still in MBG but wasn’t there that night; and as I recall Doug had just come on board but wasn’t there either. It was Les, Jerry, and myself; and we were determined that night to come up with something. As happens when we’re a trio, I defaulted to the acoustic guitar. I started playing a simple G – Em – C – D riff; which as any musician knows could be any of ten thousand songs. Jerry suggested modifying the Em chord to distinguish it a bit. Lee came up with a nifty drum lick and starred vamping vocals as if he knew it already. We slid naturally into the C- Am – Em breakdown, and then put a little bit of thought into the middle eight. I think I was the one who suggested going to the Bb – Dm progression, which I don’t think I would’ve normally done. That’s the awesome thing about being in the presence of great songwriters and musicians – they help you raise your game in ways you couldn’t have done on your own.

When Gary and Doug came back into the fold, I slid over to the keys. “Evoke Bruce Springsteen,” Les told me. Thus the high padded eighth note chords. It was interesting singing harmonies with Les on this tune because he was always working on the lyrics. In fact, I’m pretty sure he wrote most of the second verse in the studio when he was actually recording the song! I remember in practices, Jerry and Doug huddling for a few minutes on bass and guitar to sync up some of the wonderful little runs in the song. Add to that the incredible horn parts Doug wrote and we came up with a neat little tune, I think. If nothing else, it certainly laid the foundation for the burst of creativity that was to come.