The Scarlet Goodbye has an upcoming single (Speedway) and release show at Bald Man Brewing on Aug 17; it’s part of Bald Man Brewing’s outdoor birthday bash with The Suburbs! The song is a sneak peek at an upcoming album that I can’t wait to hear. Big thanks to band members Dan Murphy and Jeff Arundel for answering 5 Questions!
You guys started playing together during the pandemic. Did you think/hope/fear you’d still be playing four years later? A very compressed time period for sure, seems like that time went by quickly all things considered.
DAN: Jeff and I spent the last 12 months writing and recording 10 new songs for a new & soon to be released record on Virgin titled El Camino Adios.
JEFF: Well! During the start of the pandemic, which is when we started, who knew anything about what the heck would be going on in four months, let alone four years. That said, our chance to evolve the songwriting deeper into the weird tapestry that is our connection has been so rewarding. So, game on! Here’s to the next four.
Tell us about the inspiration for the new single, Speedway? Your last album pulled at the heartstrings by combining personal stories (Minor Things) with worldwide trauma (Fresh New Hell). Speedway seems to lean in the same direction.
DAN: Speedway was written after Dan attended a Sprint Car race just before July 4 in 2023 in Wisconsin. The lyrics were a quick and almost literal reaction to a novice going to a large racing event sponsored by The World Of Outlaws, with no preconceived notions or ideas of what that might look and sound like. It tells a tale of a small town potential romance or perhaps one sided infatuation – where a troubled race car driver hopes to win the race and in doing so – the heart of a young woman who.. “holds the darkness as if it’s a pearl…” and has seemed to master the dichotomy of “… a world falling apart at the seams and yet looking good in jeans…” Really just a light hearted attempt at storytelling told from an outsider’s perspective of taking it all in on a strangely smokey July evening where the Canadian fires were burning a blaze making the event almost seem apocalyptic.
JEFF: Dan came with this idea, and it set the tone for the whole record—a dirt track raceway on a small-town summer Saturday night, viewed through the eyes of souls that have been around awhile. The entire record ends up being a memoir about life in a fictional town (El Camino), with all that exists, culminating in the exit to different pastures.
Do you have any thoughts for a video? Your lyrics paint portraits and the video for The Ballad of Julie Ann was so moving it feels like every song should have a video! I love videos, especially one we do not have to be in!
DAN: Thanks for the kind words… We made a video for Speedway which was pretty fun to make. It was essentially a hipster Up North keg party with country line dancing and a performance of the track by the band, where people clad in flannel and winter hats enjoyed a campfire and music performance. It was directed by Jon Herchert with help from John Fields and will debut in mid August.
JEFF: Speedway has a great video that evokes a cool Minnesota party, with Hamms beer, line dancing, and some pretty interesting guests—it’s us!
Speedway is a single off an album expected in early 2025. Can you give us any more clues about the album?
DAN: There are 10 finished songs, the second single is a ripping rock track called To Feel The Sun. Jeff and I really lost ourselves in the process of writing and recording this one – it is weirdly ambitious but also fun and organic. I have little perspective after spending so much time on this but I am profoundly moved when I hear the finished tracks. Much of the writing seems to reflect on change, leaving, heartbreak, despair, solitude, death and being reborn – and finding inner strength through adversity and a place where one can feel the sun.
JEFF: The El Camino Adios sessions began with Speedway and culminated in the tracking of the title tune, which evokes some of the great Jimmy Webb tunes (Wichita Lineman, Galveston). Along the way, we have a funeral (Raylene), some reminiscing over a pint (Great Again), and even a wicked cover of one of the great pop tunes of the ’60’s, Temptation Eyes, with some smoldering Danny Murphy guitar playing. Melodic, haunting, emotional, layered, and really lyrical, and some classic TSG vocalizing. Both Dan and I have made a lot of records, but I think we both think this is right up there.
Please tell us about the upcoming single release.
DAN: We are releasing the first single Speedway on August 16th, 2024.
JEFF: We are celebrating the release of our first single Speedway on Saturday, August 17th! With THE SUBURBS who are Headline Bald Man Brewing’s 8th Birthday Bash! From 3:00 PM – 10:00 PM. The Scarlet Goodbye and Atomic Beat will be performing. Where: Bald Man Brewing 2020 Silver Bell Road, Eagan, MN. Music starts at 3 pm with Atomic Beat and The Scarlet Goodbye to follow and then The Suburbs close out the evening! It’s outside, come and celebrate with us!
(Photos by Dan Michener)
Mostly Minnesota 