Stream a sampler of the album here: Step Outside Sampler
1. Stephens Song >
2. New Reggae Blues
3. Something New
4. Alien Taxi Cab Driver
5. Free Clinic
6. Everyday
7. Apples and Indians
8. Question of Freedom
9. Living Out in the Wild
10. Step Outside
11. Who Knows
Personnel:
Eric Sarmiento – guitar, vocals, bass, percussion, synths, mixing
Chris Gomez – keyboards and vocals
Adam Sarmiento – drums, vocals, percussion, and organ synth
Dean Avants – bass, vocals, guitars and LPs
Mike Phenix – audio sage, mastering
with: Ryan Jones – synth on “Who Knows” and “Step Outside”
Basic tracks recorded live at the Blue Door in OKC, OK January of 2017. Additional recording and mixing done in San Marcos, TX, OKC and Norman, OK and New Orleans, LA.
Produced by The New Tribe
Initial tracks engineered by Phil Harris, PH Balanced Studios, Nashville, TN
Mastered by Mike Phenix, Phenix Production Group
Photos by Chris “C-Dub” Wright and Kris Kanaly “pyramid guy”
Song notes:
Stephen’s Song: By far the oldest track on the record, this one goes back to my senior year in high school, my final year in the suburbs of Houston. I spent a lot of time that year with my good friend Gerald Beal, reading the Beats, listening to early Dylan recordings, and going down many roads in terms of ideas, experimentation, and possibilities for different ways of living. One cold winter weekend, Gerald’s older brother and some of his friends held an event that they called, in a ‘60s vein, a “be-in.” Gerald and I, in our lofty self-important teenage way, felt that we were more out there and intellectually daring than those cats, so we set out to write poems and songs that we could bring to the event and blow everyone’s minds. Ultimately, we ended up realizing what a messed up and egotistical approach that was, and it was too cold anyway to go to the event, which I think was sort of a bust. I wrote Stephen’s Song about the experience. Then, like now, I was thinking a lot about perspective, language, and relativism. A year or so later, living in Norman, Adam and I added the jam section at the end. – Eric
New Reggae Blues: This one was written during the time when Mike Hosty was playing bass with the Tribe, maybe late in ‘93 or early in ‘94. Hosty came up with the idea of modulating to the C minor funk section on the choruses. We were playing a lot then and writing quite a bit of music, songs that sort of flowed from and back into the wild, energetic, dance-frenzied shows. The basic message of the song — to live fully amidst the chaos and swirling currents of life — reflects a theme that we dwelled on a lot in those days. – Eric
Something New: The Tribe has always had a folkie-rootsy element, and this song highlights that. We were also really into Pet Sounds around the time we wrote this one, and I think I was listening to a lot of Tim Buckley — hence the nod to his great song, ‘Strange Feeling.’ Lyrically, the song picks up the perspectival thread of Stephen’s Song and foregrounds the imperatives of resilience and curiosity for ye seekers. Also: the importance of not clinging to any certain period of life, any particular arrangement of people, things, forces. Which is hard when things shift from a particularly desirable time to a down time. On the other hand, newness for its own sake seems like a trap. – Eric
Alien Taxi Cab Driver: It was written about escape. Im always looking for a way out. I dont really understand why…but in my mind…it just beats the hell out of reality…a common thread in our current culture. People would rather believe the earth is flat, magic is real, and we never landed on the moon…than recognize the beauty in the ordinary. Im guilty by my own divergent reality. If we aren’t willing to be wrong…then we arent looking for the truth. Im ready to be wrong. – Chris
Free Clinic: Loosely inspired by a visit to the university health center, where I ran into our friends Dave and Rachel, this one for me has grown in emotional impact over the years. We played a house concert in Norman just before going into the studio last winter, and Gomez was playing a baby grand piano; the big chords that he plays on the choruses, along with Adam’s soaring harmonies, packed a huge punch for me. – Eric
Everyday: A funny little barroom sing-along, but the world needs funny now more than ever. Eric’s contribution was the double time mid-section that keeps things interesting. A mantra to ward off those forces which seek to oppress and depress us. As Gary Snyder said “The size of the place that one becomes a member of is limited only by the size of one’s heart.” – Adam
Apples and Indians: I’ve been told I have a dark side, and this song digs deep. Ironically, originally inspired by “Box of Rain”. It was first of two songs, I wrote during my time in the Tribe. – Dean
Question of Freedom: As a live song the verses were always somewhat improvised. I experimented here with updating and improving them. The final version is a blend of all the different approaches. The Mike Hosty written bassline (played here by Dean), Eric’s guitar playing and our ability here, to really get into the vocal breakdown, make the song for me. – Adam
Step Outside: A feral song about busting out. Exploring inner space is important, but there’s always the risk of becoming too self-indulgent. Getting out in the street, engaging with the world, for me, pulls the inside out, activates life forces, and breaks the spell of solipsism. I wrote this when darkness seemed to be held at bay but gathering its forces, as it does when it’s been dormant for awhile. – Eric
Who Knows: The only new song on this record, Adam and I wrote this in the fall of 2016, as the Tribe was being knitted back together. The link that Adam draws between suffering and narrative ties this song back to all the other, much older tunes on the record. Sometimes it’s okay to live with ambivalence, distance, and uncertainty. Sometimes it’s not. Uncertainty has the virtue of preserving openness towards the future; if we’re lucky, we can cultivate that stance of openness, making us better prepared when things don’t go like we think/hope/wish. That’s the vibe of this song, particularly during the short jam at the end. Which is why it’s a fitting end to the record, leaving things open. – Eric
