I Don't Know

Back in 2007 I joined a rock and roll outfit called the Ex-Kings. We were only together about 8 or 9 months but we played what seemed like a thousand shows. Our best nights were seen only by bartenders and people who didn't even know we we there. Boo hoo. It was a great experience, though.

I brought in a riff I stumbled upon. Keith, our drummer, was really in to it so we fleshed it out. The next day at work I spent maybe 30 minutes writing lyrics about our annoying booking agent. Though it's registered in my name, Keith deserves TONS of credit for making this an actual song. Stripping the riff down to the bass for half the verses, the 808's in the opening bits, and his incredible drumming really make this song work. Trust me, the original was kind of a hot mess.

01 I Don't Know by Eric VanAusdal

Oh yeah... that's a single keyboard note in the beginning with a bit of a pitch shift. I sounded really cool in the studio, but ends up sounding like really boring feedback everywhere else.

We submitted this to a record company in the UK along with "Waiting on American Girls" (which I thought was the better of the two). Well, they liked "I Don't Know" and I think they used the words "don't care for" with regard to "Waiting on American Girls". What can you do? They wanted to hear more. They heard more. We never heard back from them. What band doesn't have this story?

Sal Nuzzo's Dad...

About a year ago Renee and I bought a house in Queen Creek. Great area, location, etc. After about a month I finally organized the music room after it had been in boxes for 6 months. I immediately set up the computer and tapped out a melody I had in my head for the past week. I just wanted to get it down quickly. The original idea was to have it be played on Harrison's toy piano rather than the synth, but I never got around to changing it.

The rest of the song just kind of happened. No real planning - which is why it's as disjointed as it is. Some of the singing is just a little flat but the point was to just put the idea down without fixing it.

The name of the song comes from a story my friend's dad told about meeting Babe Ruth in a hospital. Believe it or not, this friend's dad was probably the right age to meet an older, no longer playing Babe, but for some reason I never really jumped on board with the story. It's probably true and I'm just a jack ass.
Sal Nuzzo's Dad Says He Met Babe Ruth, But I Have My Doubts by Eric VanAusdal