Every week, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 41-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
Even though it was about 30 years ago, I remember the essence of the guy I wrote “Trapped Against” about. As for the song’s dynamic, it seems to be my objective to ignore any cues given by the guitar until I’m good and ready. It seems we trounce on each other’s parts sufficiently enough, but then willingly arrive at mutual intensity when it counts. It reminds me of a brief conversation I recently had with Dave about how much I like the vocals on “Wasn’t Said,” a far more recent song. Appreciating every flick and fleck, associating them with decisions I make while painting. And, of course, Dave’s guitar composition is stellar. I remember this guy’s essence, too. The guy I wrote it about. He passed himself off as a more excellent person than the other guy, but behaved badly in a more calculated way. Now I’m not sure which is worse.
“Trapped Against” from Dovetail (K, 1992) (download):
