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| Moon Tooth: Left to right - Vincent Romanelli (Bass guitar), John Carbone (Vocals), Ray Marte (Drums), Nick Lee (Guitars) |
Hello there! I'm back! Over the last few months I just have not been able to find the time or ambition to put an article out. I've wanted to. I've meant to. I've started several. You may be asking yourself, why now, Nick? Two reasons, mainly.
1. I was listening to a song from a band I was somewhat familiar with, and the lyrics started hitting me like a ton of bricks and forced liquid to emerge from my ocular sphincters. I thought, if any song is worthy of talking about on this blog, this is the one. Alas, this was two weeks ago and..... no article.
2. This morning I received a six year sobriety chip. My mentor mentioned this blog while giving me said chip. If I needed some sort of sign from the universe that writing these things is good for me, then there it was... so here I am.
Cool story, Nick, when are we gonna talk about some music? I'm getting there, Nick! Get off my sack, for the LOVE OF GOD!!
First, a couple things about this band, Moon Tooth. No, I don't know what, if any, meaning is behind the band name... maybe someday I will find the energy to take the five seconds required to ask AI, but today is not that day. I became aware of them several years ago when their 2019 album, Crux, was released. I absolutely loved (and still do) the first song on that album, Trust. Here is the YouTube video for your convenience... I'm here to serve!!
First thing I noticed was the voice. Powerful, precise, and emotional. Oh yeah, and dynamic. Don't forget dynamic. The softer/quieter parts are just as good as the louder parts... not easy to achieve!
Some highlights:
:00 to :20 - The beginning of this song is great. There is something so satisfying of the PING around 11 seconds when the drummer hits something metal (sounds like a Slipknot keg lol) at the same time as the kick drum.
1:02 - After the verse they take it down a notch. The vocals on "if you saw what I've seen..... you'd know what I mean......... then baby, believe me"..... hooks me every time.
1:46 - PING
2:18 - "There is nothing left for me here, so let me gooooooooooooAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" Chills, my man, chills.
3:15 - Starts the instrumental break with a superb melodical guitar solo, then transitions into one of my favorite parts of the song.... a jazzyish progressive instrumental section with buttloads of interesting rhythms. Yes, I think there is a saxophone or two somewhere in the background.
The super cool thing is... that song isn't even why we are here today. A couple weeks ago I discovered Moon Tooth had released a four-song EP sometime in 2026 called BASTARD. (This also led me to discover a full-length album released in 2022, Phototroph, that I had missed, but thats something for another time.)
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| BASTARD artwork |
I really really... really like all four songs on this EP, but one in particular, PUSH, is the one that resonated the most for me and the one that I thought would fit nicely into the 'Surrender To The Rock' thing. You'll find out why soon. BE PATIENT! It's not all about you, ya know! 🤨 So, let's talk about it.
Band: Moon Tooth
Song: PUSH
Album: BASTARD EP
Release Year: 2026
I love this song musically. The instruments complement the vocals and lyrics and add power and emotion to everything. However, for this discussion, I want to focus on the words being sung and what they say to me... more specifically, this section here...
(Hold on)Whereas before
I set the outcome
Now I only set I
Come what may
And that must not change
When patulous dark clouds
Challenge our raised brow
Hold that ground
Hold on
After all these years I’ve learned
How to set my hand in the flame
And keep a straight face
Yeah it’s been my place
But it ain’t my home
First of all... hold on. Just stay here and hold on... even if it's just for five minutes at a time. When things are really bad and the voices in my head are telling me to panic, and my body is clenched, and I feel so uncomfortable, that is when the desire to control is at it's height. I have to change this feeling NOW. This feeling is going last forever if I don't DO SOMETHING. That's what drugs/alcohol/gambling/eating can do for us. They take me out of that pit and I get to escape.... temporarily. The real answer is to hold on... be aware and call out that this unnamed feeling of doom and panic is where I am... and I need to sit in it.... and know that IT WILL PASS. I don't have to DO... ANYTHING. (Wow, didn't intend type all that based off of those first two words of lyrics.)
These next couple lines define what 'surrender' means to me (at this point in time anyway). Whereas before I set the outcome... now I only set I....come what may. This is where I am at in my 'spirituality' at the present time. A large focus of my spiritual practice is recognizing where my ego is trying to control outcomes. Recognizing those times and shifting focus and awareness to the fact that I have no control over what happens in this world. I have no control over what you think of me. I sometimes have no control over what emotions come up in me. My ego tells me I can can control these things, but it is exhausting and unhealthy for myself and everyone around me when I try. What CAN I control? I can control my breathing. I can control my attitudes, my perspective. I can focus on awareness... what am I paying attention to? When things are really bad I find I am focusing entirely on the things I don't want to happen and how the ten-thousand strings I am trying to pull to prevent that thing are not going the way I think they should. If I can take a breath and set that down... even for a moment.. and focus on all the things going RIGHT... all the things I take for granted every second of every day... then my ego and survival instinct can quiet down into the background instead of overpowering my mind. Whereas before I set the outcome... now I only set I.... come what may. When patulous dark clouds challenge our raised brow... hold that ground....hold on.
After all these years, I've learned how to set my hand in the flame and keep a straight face. Yeah, it's been my place... but it ain't my home. The face I show 'the world' is not the real me. If I am hiding all my pain and fears and pretending like everything is fine all the time.... why would I think anyone else is NOT doing that? This reminds me to stop comparing my insides to other people's outsides. We all have internal battles and the 'idiot' in front of me in traffic who isn't going as fast as I'd like, or the co-worker who obviously has it out for me that I can't stand... that person may be dealing a cancer diagnosis of their child... may be struggling with an addiction that seems hopeless to overcome.. it could be anything, use your imagination. Think of all the hard things you have had to deal with in your life and recognize that everyone... everyone goes through, and is going through, similar things. It doesn't mean I have to accept abuse or not stand up for myself. It just means it's 'not always about me'. This perspective is not just about being nice to people, either. That is important, of course, but it also helps me to step outside of myself and see that getting to the store at a certain time or correcting Betsy for the millionth time at work is not that important. Recategorizes things in their proper place.
Well, I think I have rambled on long enough! Thank you to anyone taking the time to read this and thank you to my mentor JW for ... everything.. but specifically for mentioning this blog today. Even if no one reads it or gets anything out of it... I sure do.
Now.... go listen to some Moon Tooth!!
✌️❤️🤘
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