One Two Three
This song has a lot of history. It was written before I met Steve by me and Bill Hitri. Bill was in a band called Pop Poppins in the late eighties/early nineties. We had a band called The Haunted Generation right before that and this is one of our songs from that band. Steve had listened to us do it and liked it enough to work it into the AIT playlist.

It's different in some very good ways from the Haunted Generation tune - there's a guitar break/solo - the old version never had that. Steve did borrow Bill's beat up Ovation accoustic/electric to record it, though. I nicknamed that old guitar "The Standing O". Bill still has it.

The title for the song is inspired by an old Jimmy Cagney movie. The lyrics are about modern life and how it drives you... it'll drive you crazy if you let it.

"The boss man and the pauper / the priest man and the fool / all seem to know my name / and they're crying to be paid" is probably one of my better opening lines.

- Michael

I always had great respect and admiration for the Haunted Generation songs created by Michael and Bill.  Their songs were mostly acoustic and very serious in text and tone.  One Two Three was my favorite HG song and I wanted to somehow record it in an AI kind of way.  We ended up speeding up the tempo quite a bit, as compared to the original HG version of the song.  I felt the song needed to retain it's acoustic nature though, so I used Bill's Ovation to record most of the guitar tracks.  I really enjoyed playing Bill's guitar and he often let me borrow it for days or even weeks at a time.  In return I'd record HG demos for Bill and Michael, utilizing a portable Tascam 4-track cassette recorder.  I'm really glad AI recorded this song...and it's become a favorite among our fans.

- Steve


My Prima Donna
This is a song that I wrote lyrics around the instrumental track I was given. The song had so much energy I decided to lighten things up a bit and wrote about a girl I was dating at the time.

It was a hard song to sing. There's hardly a break for taking a breath and the choruses take a lot of effort. I've never considered myself a great vocalist.

This song would get my vote to be made a video. It has a marching band vibe, I think.

It's a fun song.

- Michael
   
A lot of the early (pre-Michael) demo songs of AI were very influenced by electronics and machines.  Before Michael joined the band, the song that eventually became "My Prima Donna" was known as "Let's Simulate".  The lyrics were pretty silly and influenced by flight simulators used by the military to train fighter pilots.  Needless to say, that made for a very weird song.  The music was a bit slower and much more electronic in nature.  I never thought the song would go anywhere as "Let's Simulate", although the riffs were catchy and fun to play.  When Michael heard the music, he was able to come up with totally new lyrics and melody lines, and the song was reborn as "My Prima Donna."

At the beginning of the drum break in the middle of the song you'll hear a scream performed by Jeff's girlfriend Penny.  We were recording her screams in the living room of my apartment.  Penny was a LOUD screamer and we did several practice takes.  At one point there was a knock on my door.  I opened the door and there stood a policeman!  Someone heard a girl screaming in my apartment so the cops were called in to investigate.  We stood there innocently and assured him we were just recording tracks for songs.  He looked around suspiciously, but was finally convinced and left.  Being in a rock band often leads to run-ins with the law.  :-)

-Steve

Absolution
This song was a poem I had written long before we set to work on the finished product. Steve played me the rough instrumental track and I instantly realized how well the words would fit the music. That's the magic of music. That's what always sustained me through the long hours of practicing and dealing with the frustrations that come with making music.

It's still one of my favorite songs. The lyrics have a Gothic/Catholic thing going and I like the way they are carried by the sleek guitar. Like most of the stuff I had written back then, I'm trying to say something without saying too much or hitting the listener over the head with my point.

The bass riff is a blast - a sort of 007/Peter Gunn movie soundtrack thing going on.

Steve's solo on this song is just right, I've always thought. Restrained, economical - right to the point.

Like I said, it's one of my favorite songs by AIT or any other band for that matter.

- Michael

I think all musicians subconsciously (and sometimes consciously) absorb and incorporate lots of musical influences when creating their own unique sound. The Smiths are a big influence on the sound of Artificial Intelligence.  I came up with the guitar riff for Absolution as a result of that Smiths' influence.  Upon hearing the first demo music I made for Absolution, Jeff was ecstatic.  He was very pleased to hear that I incorporated a bit of Johnny Marr's style into my style of guitar playing.  Jeff's bass line on this song incorporates some influences from The Cure.  And Michael's great vocal lines recall the sound of Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan and The Doors' Jim Morrison.   The result of all these influences sounds like...us.

-Steve

January
More poetry made to music. It's about new beginnings - January is the first month of the year - and I'm more than a little oblique about what I'm saying. Lots of good gothic imagery and cryptic phrases. Perfect New Wave.

The tune is our straight ahead rocker. The lung bursting choruses go perfectly with the scorching guitars and sleek, deadly solos - Steve's at the top of his game. Our techno-dance bassist Jeff actually breaks out the Aqua Net and spandex and lays down a good, solid groove.

 It's one of my sister Judy's favorites. Full volume in the car with her boodle of kiddos and she sings along. Too cool.

One of our reviews on GarageBand labeled the song a missing piece from one of the Brat Pack movies.

I'll take it.

- Michael

This song is fun to play.   My Rush-influenced riffing and Billy Idol-ish drum beats combine with Michael's powerful vocals and thought provoking lyrics to create another AI tune that hopefully tends to make people both dance and headbang.  And, yeah, Jeff really lays down a rock-solid bass groove for this song.  It's always interesting how the three of us, with vastly different musical interests, collaborate on songs.

- Steve

Bittersweet
This song features Scott Schroedl's excellent drumming. Check out Scott's MySpace page:  http://www.myspace.com/scottschroedl 

-Steve

Time Remembers