Miniature Tigers' sound was forged in the bedroom of frontman Charlie Brand, only to quickly outgrow the space, with the band soon finding itself on stage, in the studio and signed to Phoenix’s Modern Art Records in short order. Brand’s lyrics – a mix of deeply personal insights and playful references to the disparate cultural artifacts that have informed his existence – and effortlessly constructed indie-pop arrangements have made fans in his native Phoenix and beyond. The fans stretch to Los Angeles, where Brand reconnected with drummer, collaborator and fellow charter member of the band Rick Schaier while living in Hollywood, and far beyond thanks to the Internet, which it seems people are into these days.
Miniature Tigers’ debut album "Tell it to the Volcano" runs the lyrical gamut, taking inspiration from and referencing TV’s Lost (which rates a Dharma Initiative sticker on Brand’s acoustic) as easily as it probes the joy and heartbreak of Charlie’s own life, while managing not to take itself too seriously. Brand wrote the album while on the lam – not from the law, but rather from a relationship he described as "brutal." He left Phoenix to clear his head, landing in Los Angeles and collaborating with his friend Rick to complete the long-gestating album. It was his catharsis – with cannibals and volcanoes stepping in for the real-world problems that had both beset and inspired him. In the end the album represents Charlie’s effort to codify, examine, and ultimately move past a 2-year stretch of his life.
Charlie and Rick are joined in their live incarnation by friends and collaborators Lou Kummerer on bass and Lawrence Hearn on lead guitar and keyboards, for performances that seem to give equal time to playing songs and intra-band joking. They aim for a controlled chaos aesthetic that eschews "auto-pilot" at all costs.
In an effort to further confound the expectations of those around the band, they chose to have their video directed by someone who had never helmed one before…or at least never an authorized music video. The band tapped "Yacht Rock" creator JD Ryznar to direct their video for Cannibal Queen in the hopes he would recreate the magic of his wildly popular Internet video series. Ryznar quickly assimilated the band’s aesthetic and turned in a video equal parts "Weird Science" and "Frankenstein," to the band’s delight.
Last Night's Fake Blood
Miniature Tigers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From an even faker cut
Some poor girl's bleedin', bleedin'
All over everything I own
Merry Christmas, Hare Krishnas
Don't you wish you had it as good as I do
Nothing new to report from the floor of the airport, oh oh oh
They took my baby; they took it from me
That's the worst thing you could have done to yourselves
Now I'm out for black magic revenge on all of your friends
There's a pet death comin'
Washing off last night's fake blood
From an even faker cut
Some poor girl's bleedin', bleedin'
All over everything I own
Diamond death, there's nothing left for you and me
But a paper cut down from a family tree
Its leaves changing; now everything's gonna change
Washing off last night's fake blood
From an even faker cut
Some poor girl's bleedin', bleedin'
All over everything I own
Take my shrunken head from your shelf
Witch doctor with your potions and spells
You're just another evil girl I will have to forget
It's such a fantasy with her, I don't have to pretend
That this isn't happening to me again
Don't look here when you lose all your friends
Yeah, you can disrobe, take off all of your clothes
Look at you now, you're the one who's exposed
In "Last Night's Fake Blood," Miniature Tigers paint the picture of a person desperately trying to wash off fake blood from a fake cut they had put on themselves. They go through the motions of cleaning up, all the while alluding to darker things that have happened to them. The lyrics about "some poor girl's bleeding all over everything I own" might suggest that something bad has happened, and they're trying to wash it all away. The line "they took my baby" implies that someone or something they care about has been taken away from them. The singer then declares their intention to get revenge on all of their friends with "black magic," suggesting that they may have been wronged or betrayed by those around them.
The song also has a sense of melancholy about it, with lyrics such as "diamond death, there's nothing left for you and me" and "now everything's gonna change." The reference to "Merry Christmas, Hare Krishnas" and "the floor of the airport" provides a sense of dislocation and alienation. The singer seems to be isolated, cut off from the world around them.
Overall, "Last Night's Fake Blood" is a song that hints at darker themes while still remaining somewhat cryptic. The lyrics suggest a story or situation that the listener is left to piece together on their own.
Line by Line Meaning
Washing off last night's fake blood
Cleaning the remnants of the fake blood from last night's performance
From an even faker cut
The cut was also not real, just part of the performance
Some poor girl's bleedin', bleedin'
The fake blood was meant to resemble a girl's blood, part of the performance
All over everything I own
The fake blood has stained the artist's personal belongings
Merry Christmas, Hare Krishnas
A sarcastic greeting to people living a more simplistic life
Don't you wish you had it as good as I do
The singer believes his life is better than those living a spiritual life
Nothing new to report from the floor of the airport, oh oh oh
Boredom from waiting at the airport and experiencing nothing noteworthy
They took my baby; they took it from me
Someone stole something important from the artist
That's the worst thing you could have done to yourselves
The thief has made a grave mistake by angering the artist
Now I'm out for black magic revenge on all of your friends
The artist plans to use black magic to get revenge on the thief's friends
There's a pet death comin'
The use of black magic may result in the death of a pet
Diamond death, there's nothing left for you and me
Death is inevitable and affects everyone
But a paper cut down from a family tree
Even though death is inevitable, it can still harm you, like a paper cut from a family tree
Its leaves changing; now everything's gonna change
Change is happening, just like the changing of leaves in autumn
Take my shrunken head from your shelf
The singer wants the witch doctor to remove his shrunken head from their shelf
Witch doctor with your potions and spells
The antagonist is mocking the witch doctor and their practice
You're just another evil girl I will have to forget
The antagonist will have to forget the witch doctor, whom they see as evil
It's such a fantasy with her, I don't have to pretend
The singer has found someone they genuinely connect with and can be themselves around
That this isn't happening to me again
The singer doesn't want to lose this genuine relationship like they have in the past
Don't look here when you lose all your friends
The artist doesn't want their relationship with the witch doctor to be publicized, especially if they have a falling out
Yeah, you can disrobe, take off all of your clothes
The artist is preoccupied with sex in their relationship with the witch doctor
Look at you now, you're the one who's exposed
The antagonist will be the one exposed and vulnerable if they show their true relationship with the witch doctor
Contributed by Camden S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.