photo by Angel Ceballos
[Editor's note: This Q&A previews Minus the Bear's concert tonight at The Bourbon with Rah Rah and Eighteen Individual Eyes. The show starts at 8 p.m., and cover is $20.]
Minus the Bear's Cory Murchy is matter-of-fact when he tells the story of "Diamond Lightning."
The third track off the Seattle band's most recent album, Infinity Overhead, this trip Mruchy talks about is just that: a trip. Murchy, who plays bass, says, "I think it’s a story about a group of friends going down to a spot and taking acid."
With guitars reversing through the left and right, with the vocals floating down from a high note, the song is a bit harder to hold on to than a straightforward explanation would suggest. Murchy calls it one of his favorite songs Minus the Bear has ever written, and tonight, it just might make its way into Nebraskans' ears live tonight.
Minus the Bear plays an 8 p.m. show at The Bourbon with Rah Rah and Eighteen Individual Eyes. Read on for more to-the-point descriptions of just one song by the band with a growing discography spanning more than a decade over five LPs:
Hear Nebraska: Tell me about what the song “Diamond Lightning” means to each of you.
Cory Murchy: Well, actually it’s probably one of my favorite songs we’ve ever written. Playing it live, it’s really fun to play. It’s a good story. Jake (Snider, main lyricist and vocalist/guitarist) wrote great lyrics for it. The music as well takes you on a little story. It’s funny because every once and while there’s a song you like immediately, sometimes it takes awhile. This one immediately stood out to all of us. There’s something kind of special about it. I’m glad you’re asking about that song because it’s one we generally all like.
HN: What was your part in writing the song?
CM: Just writing the bass part. The song came about with Dave (Knudson, guitarist) playing guitar and coming up with an arrangement with Erin (Tate, drummer). We all filled our parts in. There’s parts where we’re all expressing maybe we should try this or try that. Jake takes care of 99 percent of the lyrics, so that’s how that all worked out.
HN: When and where was the song written?
CM: Just in our practice space over the last year or so.
HN: Have you talked to Jake much about what the lyrics mean?
CM: Yeah, I think it’s a story about a group of friends going down to a spot and taking acid. It’s a trip they all took both figuratively and literally.
HN: Is Colson Bridge a specific place?
CM: There is a particular bridge out in eastern Washington. I don’t know if Colson Bridge is the name of it, or if that was lyrical license. I’ve seen pictures, and it looks pretty epic. I believe it’s an old abandoned bridge that spans a little bit of a valley, canyon, if you will.
HN: What does “infinity overhead” mean to you?
CM: Well, there’s infinite space out there, and it happens to be overhead (laughs). It’s pretty literal and figurative. You can take it in a lot of different ways. When you’re outside and it’s night, when you’re out in the middle of nowhere looking up, it’s definitely vast, you know. No one really knows what’s out there.
HN: Talk about the song’s musical structure starting with the reversed guitar in the intro and outro.
CM: It’s just the way Dave wrote it. He uses all sorts of techniques, and part of that is looping stuff that’s a signature part of the band’s sound. That’s all Dave.
HN: And I’ll end with a question going back to the lyrics: Who is Lucille?
CM: Lucille’s a big reference to LSD, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
HN: Of course. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
CM: No, I’m glad you asked about it. It’s a great song and a story.
"DIAMOND LIGHTNING" LYRICS
We all go down to Colson Bridge
it’s where they say all that magic is
over that dried up river bed
blocked by boulders at both ends
We all go down to Colson Bridge
where we ended and we began
infinity overhead
When I whisper are you listening?
Liquid concrete under our feet
Tripping on the constellations we see
Diamond lightning
Seeing where the seams are sewn in
We all go down to Colson Bridge
I met Lucile the first time again
canyon walls became an audience
time becomes irrelevant
We all go down to Colson Bridge
to be wedded to our accidents
Michael Todd is Hear Nebraska's managing editor. The change from Lucy to Lucille threw him off, all right? Reach Michael at michaeltodd@hearnebraska.org.