Behind The Song Pt. 1 ~ Rear View Mirror

Welcome to the first post of our Socially Distant Storytellers Series! We recorded the entire record with Earle Mankey at his Psychedelic Shack in T.O. It was an honor and privilege to get to work with him once again! The recording was mastered by Guy Martin at Black Couch Studios, who is always a pro! The first track off the record is Rear View Mirror. Take a listen and enjoy the story! We’d love to hear your feedback and answer any questions you have in the comments!

REAR VIEW MIRROR

He said can you come out to play 
To the part of her that couldn’t walk away 
Spinning round in circles 
Like a child under the stars 
Can’t move in both directions 
So you just stand where you are

And you only see 
Through the rear view mirror 
And you only see 
Through the rear view mirror

He talked about the way it used to be 
The dashboard clock read only half past three 
Silent accusations 
Hanging in the air 
Stared ahead at broken lines 
And pretended not to care

And you only see 
Through the rear view mirror 
And you only see 
Through the rear view mirror

The sky turned shades of orange 
And her heart turned upside down 
The cactus all were blooming 
Something lost and something found

And you only see 
Through the rear view mirror
And you only see 
Through the rear view mirror

 
He had nothing left to share 
She was way to tired to care 
Lost inside the part of you 
That used to hold her hand 
While you’re hanging tight to longing, they’ll be 
nowhere left to land

And you only see 
Through the rear view mirror 
And you only see 
Through the rear view mirror 
And you only see 
Through the rear view mirror 
Why can’t you see me 
Sitting here in the passenger seat

 

Behind the Music: 

So we had just played a gig in Huntington Beach and Robert randomly sang a line about only seeing through a rear view mirror. It stuck in my head and I knew it had to be a Medicine Hat song. I brought the rough sketch to practice and tried to describe the vibe and style I was feeling, an R.E.M. kind of jangly tune. Of course Robert knew exactly what I meant and we worked out a bridge, fine tuned the lyrics and arrangements and took it into the studio! This is one we really never even had a chance to play live, but maybe a few times. It’s going to be fun when we can finally get the full band out for the performance of this song!

Rear View Mirror 

CLICK TO HEAR THE SONG

Geek Tech Notes : 

Guitars all capo’d at first fret, high E tuned to D. 

Two acoustic guitars panned left/right. Epiphone EJ200 in standard tuning, Takamini dreadnaught in Nashville tuning. 

Electric rhythm guitar - Gretsch G6129 Sparkle Jet > J. Rockett Audio Designs Archer Overdrive > Keeley Kantana Clean Boost > 1965 Fender Blackface Reverb Deluxe. 

Lead guitar - Fender 69 Thinline Telecaster > J. Rockett Audio Designs Archer Overdrive > Keeley Kantana Clean Boost > 1965 Fender Reverb Deluxe. 

Guitars, Robert Ramirez

Bass, Cary Von Gott