The high point of the era of the compact disc was the hidden track. Whoever invented the hidden track was a genius. I’m sure the record executive meeting presentation was an interesting one. Let me get this straight – the “last” song on the record ends, there is silence for an indeterminate amount of time, and then another song that isn’t a listed track plays? The first question is probably why? If the song is good enough to put on the record, just put it on the record. But that defeats the purpose of it. It’s like a hidden treasure, a bonus song that you didn’t know you were getting when you bought the record. And it rewards the patience and lunacy of someone who notices that the CD is still “playing” long after the last track has “ended”. In the digital streaming age, the hidden track makes zero sense.
When I was in high school, I made a record called The Banks Of The Sandy Creek. A guy in town named Mike Bennington had been on the peripheral of the music business for a long time. He heard me play and thought he heard some burgeoning talent in my voice and my songwriting. Mike was the veteran, so I didn’t make a whole lot of decisions or have very much control over the production. I played my guitar (poorly) and sang the best I knew how. In the end, it wasn’t very good. Perhaps the promise of a brighter future is there, but it left a lot to be desired. Piano Factory Records was short-lived thanks in no small part to the lack of success of my record.
So, when the guys agreed to help me make One Foot In The Door, I found myself now in complete control of the process. Turns out that wasn’t such a great idea either since I had no clue what I was doing. But it did mean that I was going to have a hidden track!
The first day of classes in August 2002 was miserable. It was about 50 degrees and pouring down rain. After spending most of the summer in sunny and warm southwest Florida, Blacksburg had a rude greeting for me. I had moved into an apartment for my junior year which also meant I had to catch the Blacksburg Transit bus back and forth from campus. Parking was too much of a hassle, so the bus was easier. But it also meant that I had to wait for the bus in that weather.
Some of the kids from the youth group hit me up on Instant Messenger. As I shared with them how miserable the weather was, they started bragging about going to the beach on Siesta Key. So, I wrote a song about it. It didn’t fit well within the larger narrative, so I felt the best place for it on the record was the hidden track. As I went back the other day to listen to it, I couldn’t believe how much time of silence I put on there. What was I thinking?! I don’t know what the average gap was at the time to a hidden track, but I imagine I’m on the higher end of that spectrum.
Since Mary and I moved to North Carolina in 2011, we’ve made 3 trips back to Sarasota to visit our friends from work and Faith Baptist Church. Sadly, the last trip we made was in 2018. It is high time to do it again!! As a fun way to announce our last trip, I re-recorded Siesta Key. Like I’ve said on previous posts, the first upgrade was to the acoustic guitar track. This version also features yours truly on percussion including the conga. When I dropped the news that we were coming to visit, I put this song out on my Soundcloud account and eventually on my redesigned and updated website. I think the 2018 version is a fitting way to end these posts. Let me know what you think about the story and the newest version of “Siesta Key”! And thank you for journeying with me down memory lane and allowing me to share my stories and revisit some of my songs. It’s been healing for me, so I hope you have gleaned something from it as well.
