The Apache Relay takes more long car rides than most bands. But only a portion of their car time is dedicated to their touring schedule — the rest is something like driving in the middle of the night from Nashville to Alabama and back, just to listen to a new record 12 consecutive times. Despite their wagon’s sketchy brakes, this happens a lot. It’s where the indie-roots band discovered a shared love for the timelessness of Motown records, the weight of Springsteen’s Nebraska, the textures of modern rock bands, as well as the intensity of really skilled acoustic players.
It’s also where they cemented their bond, spontaneously forming the band after just one gig at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Now, just over two years later, The Apache Relay is releasing their second album, American Nomad, a modern and young roots-rock collection produced by Nielson Hubbard. Their debut 1988, was released in 2009, produced by Doug Williams best known for his authentically raw approach with the Avett Brothers. The record cracked the door to reveal the band’s capabilities, and Paste Magazine named it an “Auspicious Debut” and highlighted the band as “Best of What’s Next.”
Since then, they’ve continued solid and non-stop touring, securing a fervent fanbase for their jumping-up-and-down energetic shows. “Power Hungry Animals” is one song culled from that energy and growth as musicians. “The lyrics are a bit harsh in that it’s a response to my first trials with music industry politics and coming to terms with the idea that control is just an illusion,” says Michael Ford Jr. “But there is an element of freedom and joy in that awareness and the music reflects that.”
Indeed, the song’s refrain “souls cannot be fooled,” is driven at first by separate layers, then swelling together into a flood of sound with Kellen Wenrich’s fiddle almost indistinguishable from Mike Harris’ (insert electric guitar name here) and Brett Moore’s keys. It’s the essence of Apache Relay’s own wall of sound — culled from different instruments, voices and approaches.
Ford Jr. found his bandmates by chance in a dorm in Nashville, where he was becoming known for his songwriting. His first introduction was to guitarist Mike Harris, who circumvented the music school’s practice hour rules pretty much any time he wanted. Harris would roll his amp into Ford Jr.’s room to jam on Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn tunes into the night. Later, when Ford Jr. started disliking performing his songs alone, he heard about Harris’ new band, The Apache Relay (named for the underdog race in Ben Stiller’s Heavyweights). And though Ford Jr. had never heard or met the trio with Moore and Wenrich — he hired them to back him at a show, and all four musicians knew they had started something special.
There was something about the talent and chemistry that everyone brought to the table that just worked right off the bat. Mixed in is a Bad Brains bumper sticker, a bit of Suzuki training, jazz lessons, a lot of Beatles listening, knowledge of traditional mountain music, a worship of Phil Spector and the love for the complex but accessible layers of bands like the Arcade Fire.
As a lyricist, Michael Ford Jr. has an unvarnished way of presenting the joy of infatuation or the sadness of loss. It’s youthful in a way, in that it grasps of deeper emotions before time starts making them more complex and overwrought. But the songs are transformed by his bandmates, as with the title track, a pop-influenced melding of the electric and acoustic into an infectious momentum. “The song was originally written as ballad, but when I played it for the guys and they gave it a new life by speeding up the tempo and it quickly became the backbone and a favorite at our shows.”
“Home Is Not Places” is another highlight and perhaps a companion song, brimming over with space-filling sounds, tempo changes and a robust chorus of 15 friends in the studio. “It’s a song that that battles the feelings of isolation and homesickness while touring. It’s the idea home can be found in a community not a physical place.”
The one song he didn’t pen for American Nomad is Springsteen’s “State Trooper,” a song that became a linchpin for the band. “We all were influenced by Nebraska, and we played the song out of necessity in the very beginning because we didn’t have enough material to fill the set,” says Ford Jr.
Growing Pains
The Apache Relay Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A hundred kin are dead
Worried signs way out of my skin
I feel the roses on my face
Bloody knees fell into the modern day
Don't tell me
I'm only
Feeling so strange
Growing pains
Dust bowl dreams
Haunted sleep
Waking up to promises I can't keep
Fill my lungs
With so much of hometown loss
Help me feel comfortable
Don't tell me
I'm only
Under the weather
Feeling so strange
Growing pains
It's just a feeling
It's all that it is
Those aren't your worries
You have no regrets
But my head keeps falling
Out of my hands
I'd love to feel good
Got lines in the sand
Don't tell me
I'm only
Under the weather
Feeling so strange
Growing pains
Don't tell me
I'm acting
A little dramatic
Feeling so strange
Growing pains...
The song "Growing Pains" by The Apache Relay is a melancholic and introspective ballad that explores the theme of growth and change. The lyrics depict the challenges and uncertainties that come with growing up and facing the harsh realities of life. The first verse starts with the line "Fifty-seven years, a hundred kin are dead," painting a vivid picture of loss and grief. The use of numbers gives a sense of magnitude to the tragedy, emphasizing the extent of the pain felt by the singer.
The second half of the verse introduces the idea of anxiety and restlessness, with the line "worried signs way out of my skin." The next line "I feel the roses on my face" is a metaphor for feeling the weight of the world on one's shoulders. The following line "bloody knees fell into the modern day" highlights the contrast between traditional values and the modern world, where people are forced to adapt and sometimes lose their footing along the way.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "don't tell me I'm only under the weather, feeling so strange, growing pains." This line suggests that the singer is feeling a range of emotions that cannot be dismissed as mere physical discomfort. The second verse touches on the theme of the American dream and the idea of chasing promises that are hard to keep. The song ends with the lines "don't tell me I'm acting a little dramatic, feeling so strange, growing pains," which serve as a reminder that we all go through difficult times and that it's okay to struggle.
Line by Line Meaning
Fifty-seven years
I have lived a long life of fifty-seven years
A hundred kin are dead
I have lost one hundred relatives
Worried signs way out of my skin
I am filled with anxiety, making me feel like my skin is crawling
I feel the roses on my face
I am hyper-aware of my surroundings and can feel the soft petals of roses on my cheek
Bloody knees fell into the modern day
I fell and scraped my knees, reminding me of how different things are now in the present age
Don't tell me
Don't dismiss my feelings or try to invalidate them
I'm only
My current state is not permanent or extreme
Under the weather
I don't feel well, both physically and emotionally
Feeling so strange
My emotions and thoughts are perplexing and unfamiliar
Growing pains
My inner turmoil is the result of personal growth and development
Dust bowl dreams
I dream of a time of hardship and despair, like the dust bowl era
Haunted sleep
I toss and turn at night, plagued by distressing thoughts and dreams
Waking up to promises I can't keep
I am reminded of my own shortcomings and unfulfilled commitments
Fill my lungs
I want to breathe deeply, to find a sense of calmness
With so much of hometown loss
My hometown no longer feels like the same comforting place it used to be
Help me feel comfortable
I am seeking some level of ease and familiarity in my life
It's just a feeling
Despite the intensity of my emotions, they are fleeting and not permanent
It's all that it is
My distress has no deeper meaning or explanation beyond being a natural part of the human experience
Those aren't your worries
Others cannot fully understand or comprehend the source of my anxiety
You have no regrets
There is nothing I can go back and change about my past to ease my current pain
But my head keeps falling
I am having trouble keeping my thoughts together
Out of my hands
I feel like I have no control over my thoughts and emotions
I'd love to feel good
I yearn for a sense of happiness and contentment
Got lines in the sand
I have created boundaries in my life and am unwilling or unable to cross them
Don't tell me I'm acting a little dramatic
Don't downplay the intensity of my feelings by suggesting that they are overblown or exaggerated
Feeling so strange
My emotions and thoughts are perplexing and unfamiliar
Growing pains
My inner turmoil is the result of personal growth and development
Contributed by Dylan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.