Manic Monday Releases “Where I Belong”
Tell me about the process of making the single - what was the most exciting element to recording this project? What was the biggest challenge?
A: Because we’re a three piece, we weren’t able to play this song with the lead guitar parts I wrote for it so recording those leads and adding more guitar parts was very exciting.
M: A challenge for me was having never recorded before. Having your headphones tuning into just your own part and hearing it back it’s easy to pick a part every little thing you do.
K: It was exciting for me to learn the process of recording drums for the first time. The most challenging part for me was perfecting each part for the recording.
Is there a theme or concept behind this single that you can share?
A: I feel like the theme is similar to the classic pop punk theme of feeling stuck in your hometown and wanting to run away and have your dreams come true. I wrote this after playing with a band for the first time so having the taste of what I wanted for so long confirmed that this was a dream worth fighting for and it is where I belonged. Playing it now, so many years later, when I have left my hometown, I am living in the city I believe fits me best, and getting to perform this with my close friends from college is surreal. Now I feel like whether it’s on stage, or working as an engineer, or chilling at the beach, or just hanging out with friends, I am not stuck living a life I don’t want to and I’m finally where I belong.
How long have you been writing/recording this project?
A: I first wrote this song around 2013 after my first time performing with a band. I’ve been writing songs since 2010, but this was the first time I wrote a song on the electric guitar and with lead parts, before I only wrote songs on an acoustic guitar with just chords. In 2021, Melissa and I were messing around and playing songs and I came across this song again in the songwriting notebook that I’ve had since middle school. I sang it for her and she really liked it and suggested playing it as a band. So that day she started writing the bass part for the song. Kate was out of town around this time and we were hanging out with one of our drummer friends soon after deciding to play this song and he helped us write a drum part.
K: Since writing drum parts can be quite challenging for me, my friend Mike was a huge help as he wrote a big chunk of the drum part. Shout out to Marc as well because he was incredibly helpful when we were polishing the drum parts and getting it ready for the recording. His tips for prepping for the drum recording went a long way!
What is it like releasing music as an independent artist? What about the process of releasing music is exciting, what is challenging?
A: It’s really exciting to hear the song come to life, play it on Spotify along with my favorite songs, and share it with my friends and family. What’s challenging is trying to get the song out. We posted a TikTok and reel to promote and have more on the way to continue because this is something we’re really proud of.
What's the plan post-release - are you going to try and play more shows this summer? Record again soon? What's next :)
A: We are definitely trying to play more shows this summer and are planning to record more. We are planning to release our singles and our live performance from Amplified all together as an EP soon and have more songs to record. We’re also going to focus on writing songs together as a band instead of separately.
If you could push just one lyric (maybe everyone gives their own answers?) from the single where people had to hear the words and understand it, what would it be?
A: My favorite lyric is “I know if I get some help, we can make it through.” I’m still young and don’t know what the future holds, but I’m having fun and trying to live my best life which I wouldn’t be able to do without the help and support from my friends and family and I think it’s important for people to know that it’s okay to ask for help and they don’t have to work through things alone.
M: “If I scream louder will you hear, all the things I want to disappear.” When Akila showed me this song for the first time I think this is the line that stuck out to me the most. I have a tendency of masking my emotions, specifically negative one’s. I don’t like expressing myself when I’m bothered or upset for the sake of someone else’s feelings. To me this line urges you to not hold back, which I think could resonate with people.
K: My favorite part is “Will you remind me that what I can see will one day become our reality”. I can definitely relate to doubting myself at first but this line really encourages you to forget those doubts and go out there and achieve your biggest dreams.