Members Jesse Dryfhout and Christopher John (then Chris Moerman) were high-school classmates who played in a band called Molly with friends Mckenzie Dougall and Shaun Bennett. Molly released their demo-tape "Ghosts of Yesterday" in 1997 and sold all 500 copies. Dryfhout was originally the drummer until he came to the band with the first song that he had ever written: "Everybody". Soon after, he and John started to share song-writing and singing duties.
Molly played their last show at a barn in Maple Ridge only to walk back onto the stage as Stabilo Boss, sporting a new line-up with both Christopher and Jesse leading the band. The band's acoustic-rock sound featured Nathan Wylie, an accomplished drummer and friend of Dryfhout and John, and Karl Williaume on bass.
In 1999, the band recorded Kitchen Sessions, so named as it was an independent recording made in a kitchen. The EP was a completely home-made affair, the band and their university friends burning and distributing the discs themselves. Around this time, Stabilo Boss began to grow a solid local fan base based on the core support of their peers in school.
In the summer of 2000, the band recorded their self-titled debut, releasing it independently in early 2001. The album quickly sold out of its first pressing as Stabilo Boss began to become regulars in the local Vancouver music scene. The band's big break came roughly a year later when a DJ at the Vancouver's XFM decided to play "Everybody" on their music competition show, Chaos.
The band's solid songwriting and loyal fan base lead to the song beating out other offerings from more well established artists and dominating the station's Top 7@7 charts for nearly a month. With this exposure, the band sold 5000 copies of their album independently and began to be courted by major labels.
In the midst of all of the excitement over "Everybody", the band quietly released The Beautiful Madness EP which they sold only at their shows. The four song disc was recorded live off of the soundboard and prominently featured a grand piano on all tracks. It quickly sold out.
Rather than accept the first offers coming in from major labels, the band began to record their next album at Mushroom studios. According to John, the studio's owner John Wozniak (Marcy Playground) liked the band so much that he "basically just gave us free time there". By 2003, the band had completed their next album, produced by Wozniak and local musician/producer Jon Anderson (Radiogram/Jonathan Inc.).
At this point, the album was not released as Stabilo Boss was courting the record companies. After a search, they signed a deal with EMI Canada. With this transition to the big time, the band shortened their name to Stabilo. In an interview, Jesse stated that the band's name came from the Stabilo Boss brand highlighter they used to write down possible band names.
After touring Canada and then waiting a year, the new material recorded in 2002 was included in the album Cupid?, released on May 11, 2004. The radio-friendly release was somewhat of a let down to longtime fans who had been waiting for the release of a new albums worth of material for two years. Most of the new material recorded was shelved in favor of a seven song disc featuring only three previously unreleased tracks.
For the uninitiated, the album was well received across Canada with "Everybody" repeating much of its original success in many new locations. The re-release of "Everybody" was followed by the single "One More Pill", which was also culled from the self-titled disc.
Stabilo have just released their second album with EMI Canada on April 4, 2006 called "Happiness and Disaster", Their newest single "Flawed Design" is currently being played on radio stations across Canada. The video is also being aired on MuchMusic and MuchMoreMusic
In May of 2006, Stabilo was announced to the opening act for the Canadian arm of INXS's tour.
In July, 2006, Stabilo released their second single and video, "Kidding Ourselves".
In late 2006, the band released a third single from their CD "Happiness and Disaster", "Don't Look In Their Eyes".
Fantasy
Stabilo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are you the saviour that brings us our daily bread?
Some of us wine, others rice
See through a crack in the darkness
See dark in the day, day
See what we sacrifice for progress
See masks that we wear, wear
You said that it was tragic the way I turned you in
Into a fantasy
For a day
I am the window and you are the stone that was thrown at my head
You said you see through me better when I'm broken I just want to be erased
Create fantasies just to help you get through the day, day
You better escape or we'll scalp you
We fought the world
Come on, lets play
On the edge
You said that it was tragic
The way I turned you in
Into a fantasy
For a day
See through a crack in the darkness
See dark in the day, day
See what we sacrifice for progress
See masks that we wear, wear
Create fantasies just to help you get through the day day
You better escape or we'll scalp you
We fought the world
Now come, lets play
On the edge
You said that it was tragic
The way I turned you in
Into the fantasy
The song "Fantasy" by Stabilo explores themes of escapism, intoxication, and the sacrifice of authenticity for the sake of progress. The opening lines depict a state of intoxication where the singer is anticipating blurred visions of Christ. This can be interpreted as seeking a spiritual experience but in an unhealthy and distorted way. The questions that follow - "Are you the saviour that brings us our daily bread? / Some of us wine, others rice" - suggest that different people have different addictions and coping mechanisms to get through their days.
The chorus - "On the edge / You said that it was tragic the way I turned you in / Into a fantasy / For a day" - suggests that the singer may be using fantasy as a way to escape or cope. This fantasy could be romanticizing a person or situation as a way to temporarily forget reality. The line "I am the window and you are the stone that was thrown at my head" suggests that the singer is vulnerable and easily affected by others' criticisms. They may even feel that they can't escape their problems unless they create fantasies.
The repeated refrain - "See through a crack in the darkness / See dark in the day, day / See what we sacrifice for progress / See masks that we wear, wear" - suggests that everyone is hiding something, and the pursuit of progress comes at a cost. Perhaps the masks we wear hide our true selves, and we're willing to sacrifice authenticity for the sake of fitting in or achieving our goals. Overall, "Fantasy" is a song about how we cope with life's challenges and the ways in which we may lose sight of our true selves in the process.
Line by Line Meaning
Driving intoxicated anticipating blurrier visions of Christ
Under the influence of something, expecting to see unclear images of Jesus
Are you the saviour that brings us our daily bread?
Can you deliver what we need every day?
Some of us wine, others rice
Some of us prefer wine, while others prefer rice
See through a crack in the darkness
Observe something in a small opening in the dark
See dark in the day, day
See negativity even in the brightness of daylight
See what we sacrifice for progress
Recognize what we give up in order to advance
See masks that we wear, wear
Notice the false appearances we put on and maintain
On the edge
Close to falling apart, on the brink of something significant
You said that it was tragic the way I turned you in
You expressed sorrow about the way I exposed or revealed you
Into a fantasy
Into an imaginary scenario, something that isn't truly happening
For a day
For a short period of time
I am the window and you are the stone that was thrown at my head
I am the vulnerable element that allows access, and you are the object that can harm me greatly
You said you see through me better when I'm broken I just want to be erased
You claimed to understand me more clearly when I'm damaged, but I simply want to disappear completely
Create fantasies just to help you get through the day, day
Imagine false scenarios in order to cope with daily struggles
You better escape or we'll scalp you
You need to flee or risk being harmed significantly
We fought the world
We struggled against everyone or everything
Come on, lets play
Let's engage in an intense, competitive activity
Contributed by Noah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Alexandra Mihill
Still to this day my all time favourite song
GiantPurplePen15
These guys deserved so much more exposure. They had so much potential and talent.
Coctile Crocodile
Lyrics:
Driving intoxicated
Anticipating blurrier visions of Christ
Are you the saviour that brings me my daily bread?
Some of us wine, others rice
See through a crack in the darkness
See dark in the day, day
See what we sacrifice for progress
See masks that we wear, wear
On the edge
You said that it was tragic the way I turned you in
Into a fantasy
For a day
I am the window
And you are the stone that was thrown at my head
You said you see through me better
When I'm broken
I just want to be erased
Create fantasies just to help you get through the day, day
You better escape or we'll scalp you
We fought the world
Come on, let's play
On the edge
You said that it was tragic
The way I turned you in
Into a fantasy
For a day
See through a crack in the darkness
See dark in the day, day
See what we sacrifice for progress
See masks that we wear, wear
Create fantasies just to help you get through the day, day
You better escape or we'll scalp you
We fought the world
Now come on, let's play
On the edge
You said that it was tragic
The way I turned you in
Into the fantasy
(Fun fact, I used to think for the longest time that the line was actually:
Fuck the world
Come on, let’s play)
chad king
Underrated completely
Ana Morrawska
My meditation song.