The Transient Sessions: New York City

1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 The Transient Sessions: New York City - "Against The Grain" Against The Grain&nbsp;is a new song and has yet to be “officially” released.&nbsp;&nbsp;The recorded version for the album is actually a bit different than what I do here.&nbsp;&nbsp;One evening in NYC, I was waiting to take the stage and had no idea what I should start with.&nbsp;&nbsp;It needed to be a song I connected with personally but also upbeat enough to properly meet the listeners where they were at.&nbsp;&nbsp;Typically, an audience is more riled up at the top of a show having just come in from their busy lives.&nbsp; The lead off songs need&nbsp;to meet them and direct them where to go. &nbsp;At the time, I wasn't feeling inspired by any of my upbeat tunes and couldn’t get the lyrics of a new song I was working on out of my head.&nbsp;&nbsp;The problem was that the new song,&nbsp;Against The Grain, had a unique droning tempo that wouldn’t hold up on a solo guitar.&nbsp;&nbsp;It sounds great with a band but when played solo had a little too much slack in the rope.&nbsp;&nbsp;So I began playing the song with this tempo to help cut out the musical fat and showcase the lyrics more.&nbsp;&nbsp;It gave the song a 60s, Dylan-esc protest type vibe.&nbsp;&nbsp;I actually based the strumming pattern off of Dylan’s version of&nbsp;Love Minus Zero / No Limit&nbsp;from his Rolling Thunder Review tour.&nbsp;&nbsp;Waiting to take the stage, I gave the song a facelift and found the tempo treatment served the lyrics really well and injected the energy needed to start the night off.&nbsp;&nbsp;And just like that, an alternative version to a song that had yet to be released and barely played live … was born.&nbsp;&nbsp;Something about the way the chords roll creates a nice bed for the lyrics to lay upon.&nbsp;&nbsp;It feels really good to play.&nbsp;&nbsp;I feel confident and strong in this song.&nbsp;&nbsp;When I set up to record this batch of video sessions I was really struggling with entering into the music. I felt off and rudderless.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just at that moment, I remembered this version of the song and gave it a try.&nbsp;&nbsp;From the very first strum I was recalibrated, comfortable and dialed-in.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sometimes all you need is the right song.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Transient Sessions http://mikemangione.com <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/20492708/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/111380354