Sometimes, a songwriter just needs to write. As a way of staving off boredom and listlessness in the midst of the global Covid 19 pandemic, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bassist for the legendary British rock group The Moody Blues, John Lodge decided to use put his skills to good use.
The veteran musician songwriter, who composed hits such as Ride My Seesaw and I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock and Roll Band), Isn’t Life Strange and many others, put metaphorical creative pen to paper and wrote and recorded the song In These Crazy Times (Isolation Mix.) It was released on all digital download and streaming platforms on July 9.
“The song is basically about what I was feeling at the time and how I reacted to the pandemic and the isolation and wondering what I was going to do. The opening lyric talks about me sitting there in isolation but I am not just thinking about myself, because in the second line I am saying we’re all in this situation. So, let’s make something of it, let’s be creative, let’s all try and do something in our own little worlds. And you can share it with the world, or just do it for yourself: what you can share is something within yourself, you can make something special for yourself,” said Lodge from his temporary residence in Florida, where he has been locked down since March.
“That was what I started doing, to be honest. I thought, well I am going to explore my bass and my guitar even more than I was normally going to do. I thought I would just practice more and as I was doing that, I started to realize that I am a songwriter as well, I should try to write some songs and really get creative. That’s when I came up with In These Crazy Times. And, really, once I got started the song almost wrote itself. I think it only took about 10 minutes and it just seemed to happen and it all fell into place. I thought, ‘I’d better record this.’”
And so, he did. Fortunately, Lodge is pretty adept with computer-based recording processes and programs and was able to record himself, including vocals. While doing this, he also realized he wanted some contributions for other folks on the song.
“I have a computer here with me and some pretty good speakers and a keyboard too. I built myself a little sound booth for vocals, so I just recorded the song on my own, but then when I listened back to it, I thought it was interesting, and it actually sent a few little shivers up my back. And I also decided I wanted to add some backing vocals. Well, how do I do that in isolation when it’s just me and my wife [Inga]? So, I thought of my wife, who has never, ever sung before, but she’s got a great voice and likes to sing along a lot to music around the house, and she is also a great critic of my songwriting too. I normally play a new song for her first and she tells me if she likes it or not,” Lodge said.
“I told her I wanted to record her on the song. She said, ‘well, I’m not a singer.’ I said to try, and I taught her the melodies and the lyrics, and we recorded it in basically two takes. So, I’ve got backing vocals, but now I needed some more guitar. I rang my son Kristian up and he has never recorded with me. He plays guitar – he’s a big fan of Pink Floyd – but he plays it as a hobby. He doesn’t want to be a touring musician. I said, ‘come on, you’ve got to record some parts for this song for me.’ He recorded it in his home, and I went wow, his guitar part is fabulous.
“Before the lockdown, I had been touring with Yes last year and had become good friends with Jon Davison, their singer. We would chum around together on the road and I asked if he could do some vocals for me. So, I sent him the files on Dropbox, and he put the vocals in there and sent it back to me. I then forwarded all this to my front of house engineer Ray Nesbit and asked Ray to mix it for me, as if it were a concert. He mixed it in his studio, and we made a few little adjustments and suddenly I’ve got a record, which we also dubbed our Isolation Mix.”
And while Lodge is handling this unprecedented worldwide situation with wisdom and perspective, the social isolation and social distancing is still difficult, especially not being able to see his son and grandson, who live less than a mile away.
“I had just finished my USA tour on March 9 and came down here to be with my son and grandson and daughter-in-law and my wife is here as well, for a couple of weeks holiday. I was supposed to be back in the UK because I was doing some concerts there including the 50th anniversary of the Isle of Wight Festival, and then all hell breaks loose with the Corona virus. And here we are all locked up still almost four months later, I suppose it’s the same situation for lots of people,” he said.
“For the first few months I was not able to see anyone. I couldn’t see my grandson for more than six weeks and he’s only a mile away from where I am right now. I could see him and my son from like 100 yards away but that’s all. But, for the last couple of weeks it’s been a lot easier, although there’s still the two metres of social distancing, and there’s still masks. And the usual things you used to do; you can’t do. You have to do air hugs, and when it’s your grandson you don’t want to have to do that, you know. It’s a shame, not just for us, but for the really young people who can’t understand what’s going on. He’s 12 now, so he’s got a bit of an angle on it, but it’s still a shame he can’t hug his grandfather.
“The one thing we all know is that the smile on people’s faces is what makes you feel safe. Especially as a little kid you need to see smiles, and you’re not seeing any of that. You’re seeing sterile eyes looking out at the world above masks. And, also, everyone is very wary of everyone else. If you get in the same aisle in a store and there’s someone else, the immediate reaction is to back away and go into another aisle.”
Being able to record the song with the involvement of his wife, song and good friend, even in isolation, was a positive experience and one that very much represents the message of the song In These Crazy Times.
“It’s about what we can all do together, even in these difficult circumstances. That’s the message of the song. It’s about what we can all do together, and I don’t necessarily mean the whole population, but we as individuals and friends and family and the people around you. Look for your inner strength there. Even as bad as things are, you’ve just got to find a way of doing it, of being creative. It’s like if you are in the middle of the desert and your car breaks down, you can’t just sit there and start crying, you’ve got to do something about it,” said Lodge.
“I think that’s what I have been doing and what a lot of people have been doing, not just musicians but certainly other people, exploring what they do and investigating what they can do with their lives. Some of them are discovering new things. Maybe they didn’t know they were good at cooking, or gardening or maybe even painting. It doesn’t really matter. Times of trouble is when you can really find yourself, if you’re prepared to look.”
At 75, Lodge has lived through many tumultuous times, which gives him that perspective and sense of wisdom and optimism that infuses this new song.
“There is just so much information for one person to take in. We are bombarded with so much negative information about everything. You drink a cup of tea and someone will come along and say, ‘well you shouldn’t be drinking that cup of tea for such and such a reason.’ Everything is being questioned and everything’s got negativity attached to it,” he said.
“My generation, which came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, even though there was a lot of negative stuff happening, we all felt incredibly positive in what we were trying to do. I think it works because I am from England and Europe was so divided by things like the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, but music was an integral part of breaking that down. That was a positive message that music brought o all the younger people. The Moody Blues played in Prague when the Russians actually moved in [in 1968] and we were there meeting people from across Eastern Europe who were crying because they didn’t have the freedom that we had. But the music was giving them freedom. To me, that was always a really positive period in time, and eventually both the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain came down.
“We just passed the anniversary of Live Aid where you saw tens of thousands of people in these venues in the UK and the USA all coming together for one thing through music. It just goes to show you that creativity really can make a difference in hard times. Music is really a powerful tool for good.”
Lodge misses touring and playing live and said once the all clear is given he will be back out there with his solo band, playing songs from his own catalogue as well as a plethora of hits from the Moody Blues repertoire.
“Last year I probably did 60 concerts and I would have done at least the same this year, but that’s not to be. I just want to keep busy being a musician and trying to keep exploring my bass and my guitars and my songwriting. I want to explore as much as I can and keep the creative juices going. There is something really special that happens when you’ve written a song and recorded it. It’s really nice to get out there and perform it to an audience to see whether or not they’ve got the same affection for the song. Something special happens in those instances, and it’s what I have done since I was 14 and I have not seen any good reason to stop doing it, as long as there is an audience that’s out there that wants to listen to the music. I think if you’re a travelling musician, it’s in your blood. I remember when I was 16 I had a business card made up that said ‘Have Bass – Will Travel’, and that’s still how I think of myself,” he said, adding that there are no plans for the Moody Blues to do anything in the near future.
“I am a Moody Blue and always will be a Moody Blue. I just want to play the Moody Blues music on stage and if it’s not with the Moody Blues, I shall perform a lot of those songs myself anyways because they are an integral part of my life.”
For more information on lodge, visit www.johnlodge.com, www.facebook.com/johnlodgemusic, or www.twitter.com/johnlodgemusic. To stream or download In These Crazy Times (Isolation Mix), visit https://johnlodge.hearnow.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for nearly 30 years. Besides his journalistic endeavors, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
