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Dave
Krusen: Drums
Brad
Smith: Bass, backup vocal, organ, samples
Chris
Shinn: Guitar & lead vocal
Christopher
Thorn: Guitar
A different mix of this song appears as "Radio Version" on the California single.
Brad originally wrote this song for his solo record.
Brad: California is a song about “letting all the good times of your life really sink in and living in the moment. When I was writing the lyrics for that song, I kept thinking of all the crazy stuff I went through when I first moved to California. All the low wages and traffic and high rent did not matter--it was the only place for me at that time…The song is about standing on your own two feet and giving your dreams a fair shake no matter how impossible they may seem."
Brad:
Um, the song’s about, for anybody, moving out to California. For me,
when I was nineteen years old, I got in my car whenI was in Mississippi,
nineteen years old and drove out to California with a bunch of dreams and
a bunch of things I was running from or escaping from and I just wanted
something new for myself and it’s really, really tough when you move out
here by yourself. I think that song can speak to a lot of people,
because I think a lot of people have been through their own situation like
that, in
my
opinion.
Chris Shinn: "Brad put it in my lap and I hacked about half of his lyrics out and changed them around. We thought we could really crank it up and drive it a little harder. And now the songs relate to all of us because we all made that trip (by relocating) to California. It represents everyone's passions and dreams." "Brad has an amazing voice and he has his own solo record, which is amazing called Broken Down Jalopy. In fact, 'California' came from that record."
Lyrics:
Blue
skies have chased me away from a simple life
Now
I'm eating paper that's tasting funny
Out
here in complicated
California
California
Slow,
down, good, times
Slow,
down, good, times
A cigarette
and tea is all I had to eat
A
metal band at scream was all I heard for weeks
Man
this ain't easy, but I wish all my friends could be me..
In
California
California
Slow,
down, good, times
Slow,
down, good, times
Leaving
with a clear mind,
I
didn't wait on my graduation.
Good
friends, young times
Its
all part of the shot were taking
Slow,
down, good, times
Slow,
down, good, times
California
California