Singled Out: Alan Williams' Feel No Pain

Alan Williams just released his new solo album "Floating on the Dreamline" and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about the song "Feel No Pain." Here is the story:

Feel No Pain - The last song written for the new album, Floating on the Dreamline, born from the desire to have more things for Ben Wittman to play drums on. One of the many things I love about working with Ben is that he makes my oddball time signatures feel completely natural and fluid, and I had a feeling he would do the same with this one. I recommended he check out Dennis Davis' remarkable work on Bowie's "Look Back in Anger" for some inspiration (and I recommend anyone reading this to do the same).

Coming in so late in the game, my go-to bassists were not available to play, so I asked a former student, Stavros Birmbas to add some gnarly low end. I also brought in another former student, Julia James to support my vocal with a harmony note I kept hearing, but couldn't hit on my own with any power. During my several decades teaching at a university, I have often found that students are not only incredibly talented, but that their enthusiasm renews and refreshes my own creative efforts. This is particularly evident in the stunning guitar solo. With the album all but completed, I turned to another former student to bring the requisite fire. Chris Gardino, a member of the awesome hardcore band Pathogenic, was already a jaw-dropping talent when I had him as a student in a freshman survey class. And he continued to grow as a musician over the years. He very kindly and quickly came up with a mind-blowing solo that not only is a display of virtuosity in full bloom, but also a deeply musical expansion of the song's melodic raw material. Exactly what I hoped for. And then some...

The lyric theme comes from several encounters with folks living on the edge of oblivion. Lowell, Massachusetts can be a hard place to get by, and narcotics as comfort and escape are a common solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem. This was all brought home to me when a tenant I was subleasing my apartment to died of an overdose in my living room. He was clearly struggling, but just as clearly a kind soul, if a little lost. I hope that perhaps in his final moments, he gained a measure of peace. I was also reminded that we all live so close from slight alterations in circumstance that might lead us down very different pathways. There but for the grace of God...

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here

Singled Out: Alan Williams' Anniston

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