In an early L Word episode, Shane tells a hookup: “I like you. A lot. But I like a lot of people.” It’s a great line, and one that resonated for me both at the time, and for years later. I’d kicked around the idea of writing a song based on it for years. Midway through 2017, as part of the flood of writing I talked about in yesterday’s post, I started to put these together with a chord progression I’d been playing around with. This turned into “Is It Enough?”.

(Because one friend has already called me out on this: Yes, the song is called Is It Enough? even though, on the recording, at least, I never actually say those words. I say “Is that enough?” on two of the choruses, but I left the title as is for two reasons: 1) Sometimes I still say “is it enough?” at the end of the first chorus, even though the take on the recording doesn’t have that, and 2) I like to justify think of it in terms of the whole song: in each chorus I sing about a different aspect of the crush/fling I’m describing and ask, “Is that enough?”, but by the end of the song what I’m really asking is “Is all of it enough?”)

The newest song on the album is our second single, “Move a Crowd.” I finished this one just a month or so before we were set to start recording, and included it on a whim with the rehearsal recordings I sent to our producer, Ed V. He was enthusiastic about the tune, and it really came together in the studio (having the gorgeous Q Division grand piano to work with definitely helped.)

This song is a very emotional, visceral one for me, about the highs and lows of music-making and relationships, and of the extreme ups and downs that come when you’re combining the two (not that any of us have ever done that. Ever.)  I’ve always felt that to be a musician you need to be at least somewhat comfortable with the roller coaster of emotions that go along with it, and with the intensity of sharing that with other people. Relationships, like shows, start and end, and leave you wondering – were the highs worth the crash? They must be, if we get up the next day and do it all over again.

Long Fuse Burning will be available on August 16 for purchase and on all streaming platforms. Pre-save or pre-order today.