Behind The Tracks: Ghosts Of Sunset - Afterthought (Single) (2023)

"Afterthought", our latest single, was the result of my partner Todd Long wanting to write an album opener with similar energy to the one on our previous album (the song "Tonight" off 'No Saints in the City'). Todd has such a depth of talent as a songwriter, he was able to create a riff that packed tons of punk rock energy and attitude, while still being musical and full of hooks. We worked on it just like we always do, creating a "skeleton" and adding and subtracting parts to create movement and of course, that energy I spoke of earlier. With a song like "Afterthought", we're going back to what we've learned from our heroes and predecessors like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Cheap Trick, and others, "don't bore us, get to the chorus". In order to have the energy Todd wanted for the music, we had to make sure every part was lean and without any excessiveness. The song is short in length on purpose. It's our tip of the hat to the Ramones and even New Wave songs of the early 80s that were the antithesis of the bloated arena rock of prog rock of the late 1970s (which we also loved and celebrate musically).

Lyrically the song tells the story of the forgotten lover of a person who sees relationships in the sense of what they can do to further his image and station within his social circle. His put-upon lover encounters another man who instantly feels the connection, depth, and value of having access to her heart and to the person she is. He simply asks her the age-old question, "run away with me" and then explains what that life could mean for her. What it would be like to be with someone who understands that the real value in loving someone isn't what they do to your image, but what they bring to your spirit. The idea of finding a person who puts you first and is aware of the "holes" you fill in in their heart. A person who does that for another human being can never be an "Afterthought".