"A journey lies ahead with endless possibilities / I leave this world behind now on and up is all I see yeah"

Guitarist/lyricist Michael Sanders literally left a world behind when he moved to Los Angeles from Canada. "Esoterica," track 2 on Michael Sanders and One Tribe Nation's latest CD, "Servants of a Lesser God," casts a critical eye on the past in light of a much brighter present and future.


"I feel like I'm losing again / And I'm so afraid of the pain"

Sanders says the song "starts out in tension and despair; in this case, the despair of being addicted to drugs. 'Losing again' is relapsing. But at some point you realize you're capable of a lot more, of pulling yourself out of a really bad situation. It came true for me when I realized I didn't have to be addicted anymore."

"If I would think twice and just open my eyes / I could transcend this time and this place"


"I've never viewed myself as a victim: I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. And I also made the decision to change. The slide down is very fast – and the climb back up is very slow. You find out a lot about yourself. Back then I had forgotten that I'm a musician. Now I'm not even the same person anymore."

Michael Sanders"My spirit is shedding its tears / I clench to suppress all my fears / With trigger in hand I am making my stand / And proclaiming to all you must hear"

Years ago, Sanders was "involved in a drug deal gone bad, and we were going from crack house to crack house shaking people down. I'm not a violent guy, but the guys I was with were violent, and they made sure I had a gun. And we were all getting high in the meantime."

"All eyes are on me as the smoke begins to thin (transcend this time and this place)"


The eerie chorus of staccato voices "represents the pressure of everybody looking at you. People are getting high, that's what the smoke is from." With Byron's passionate, agonized vocals winding in and out of those voices, it's clear that, as Sanders says, "Nobody's thinking clearly. Everybody's in their own little world, territorial about their own little space. Everyone's hanging out... then there's a knock at the door, and everyone's silent. The atmosphere is so emotionally charged."

"I point the pistol, the door opens, it's not him (passion takes a hold of me)"


"I'm standing there," Sanders recalls, "trying to prove something. I'm first in line aiming the gun at the door, and there's a knock... and when the door opens it's not the guy we were looking for. People just went back to what they were doing. But what would have happened if it was him? That pivotal moment could have changed all of our lives - and for what? It's that breakthrough moment, the catharsis: 'WHAT am I doing?'"

"My eyes are open now and passion takes a hold of me / The truth is so clear now it's been there right in front of me / A journey lies ahead with endless possibilities / I leave this world behind now on and up is all I see yeah"

"Our reality is how we perceive things, and it's hard to shake, whether gang banger, drug addict, or corrupt businessperson. But life changes like the seasons. You can throw things overboard that are slowing you down." To get clean, Sanders says, "I really had to leave that whole culture – that entire world, everyone in that scene – behind. I literally started a new life."


As the lyrics explore the past, so too does the music. Those familiar with Sanders' thrash metal guitar from Dyoxen will find elements of it in "Esoterica's" jazz fusion sound. His edgy guitar work at the song's first note creates an intensity that builds with Dave Shultz's (Goo Goo Dolls, English Beat) keyboard solo, Joshua Egan's (Pink) ominous drums and sharp cymbals, and the stunning percussive combination of Luis Conte (Santana, Madonna, Mana) and Chuck Prada (Black Eyed Peas, Karl Denson, Ricky Martin). "It has everything," Sanders says: "timbales, congas, shakers…you name it." Although Sanders plays bass on this track, band bassist Dave Filice (Rembrants) plays it live.


Although the music and lyrics drop you into the midst of an action-packed thriller through a hole in ceiling, Jean-Michel Byron's emotional voice ratchets the song's intensity up even higher. Credited with "Esoterica's" vocals and vocal arrangement, his soaring and swooping words have a raw energy that can't be fabricated. "That was only about the 2nd time Byron heard the song. He came in like he'd heard every note and harmony in his head, and laid it down in 1 take. When he started overdubbing all the harmonies, I couldn't believe how beautifully it came out." As the escalating guitar solo spirals toward the song's end, Byron's voice swirls right along with it: "Es – o - ter, es - o - ter - i - ca." Sanders says, "He came up with that in the studio; it's like a traditional African chant."


The song's non-traditional structure of 3 verses and a bridge, with Sanders' main riff a sort of non-verbal chorus, "flowed out that way, uncensored. I'm trying to appeal to a lot of people, not just to jazz majors, but still keep it challenging and interesting."

What's in the band's future? "We're out supporting this album, but I'm always writing. The song came true for me – and it still gives me chills. I'm really happy now: I have a great wife; I'm surrounded by amazingly talented people, in my favorite city in the world. Music is flowing through me like water. I'm more into an Afro-funk kind of vibe, but still in the same vein as the early '70s fusion bands like Santana and Earth, Wind and Fire, mixing funk with world rhythms and beats, and some rock too."


Experience "Esoterica" at http://www.onetribenation.com under Audio & Video, and see where you can catch them performing live at MySpace.com/onetribenation.


Story by Calliope



.. InstanceEndEditable