< Previous page

"Crazy as we are, we were all saying, 'It needs one more song,'" Hood says. "We have our weird ways. There were reasons why this one was so long. All 18 songs felt like one big, interlocking piece that captured a mood and a vibe about where we were. And in listening on the bus, we were all in complete agreement: 'This is the record, except we need a real rockin' track three to sum up the loose ends and tie everything together.'"

At the last minute, Hood finally came up with the last piece of the puzzle: "The Righteous Path," which you might call a depiction of quiet desperation and trying to keep contradictions at bay. Except there's nothing quiet about it.

Got a beautiful wife and three towheaded kids.

A couple big secrets I'd kill to keep hid.

I don't know God but I fear his wrath.

I'm trying to stay focused on the righteous path.

They bashed out "The Righteous Path" in a single take and inserted it into the sequence as track number three, and the record was done. Given how rough and raw "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" is, its chart performance is surprising. It has sold a shade over 50,000 copies, a solid figure for this day and age.

"I never thought we'd get as far as we have," Hood says. "I'm ambitious and always wanting to move forward. But at the same time, if we can just maintain basically where we are, that could be OK. I'd like to sell more records, but the business has collapsed to the point where our sales look pretty good. We're still selling pretty much the same as we ever have, but everyone else is so much worse that we're in the top 40!

"It's like what Billy Joel told John Mellencamp when he inducted him into the Hall of Fame," Hood concludes. " 'Congratulations, John, you've outlived the music business.' I never liked Billy Joel, but I'll give him that one."

< Previous page