Track Three: Dream/Dog

The third track, entitled Dream, was originally a hit by the Everly Brothers sung in 1959. We based our arrangement of the tune off of a cover performed by Track One, an a cappella group based in Provo, UT, whose self-titled album premiered in 2000. We had four basic parts: Peter sang lead, Jacob Stewart was percussion, Eric was bass, and Jacob Broderick was the tenor. A fairly simple arrangement, for the most part Peter was the only one who actually sang the lyrics.

This track was also significant in that it was the first of many tracks where we had an introductory conversation before the song actually begins. One of the reasons for this was that we wanted our audience to get a feel of what went on behind the scenes--the banter, chatting, jokes, and all-around semantic nonsense that we loved to indulge in, whether or not we were performing. Second, it would help us remember the inside jokes that we had come to treasure during our freshman year. Third, we thought it was funny. And who can argue with that?

Some comments about the introductory pre-song conversation:

• The initial indecision on what to sing was a common thread throughout our performing career. We loved to sing; we loved to sing for people; but sometimes we just didn't know which song to pull out of our repertoire.
• The song suggested by Jacob Broderick, "My Shoe," will be discussed later. The fact that it was refuted because "the Bishop's coming" was in reference to the fact that altering the lyrics to Pioneer Children may have been a sacrilege not approved by our religious leader. For more on what lyrics were changed, and how our performance of Pioneer Children was not nearly as sacrilegious as what it originally was, see the comments on that song.
• Eventually, we decided to sing what we deemed "Dog." This name comes from the following story. There once was a joke told that went something like this: "Did you hear what happened to the dyslexic insomniac agnostic? He stayed up all night wondering if there really was a dog." And so, since that was remotely related to staying up all night, and at night what do people do? They dream! So we decided to title this song Dog, in honor of this sketchy-at-best connection.
• When we performed this song, as a little inside joke, we would always tell a joke about a dog to introduce this song. We would not perform the song without telling the joke first. It would always be the same joke. Thus, it became the "Obligatory Joke." Eric would always be the one to tell the joke. So, we decided to include the obligatory joke in with the tune. However, in the recording studio (aka Jacob Broderick's dorm room) we recorded the joke and the song at different times, and then spliced them together.

The actual song itself is pretty "straight". When we say straight, we mean without random goofiness, like there is in many of our tracks. In other words, we actually want this song to sound good, instead of trying to be funny. Since it's straight, there's not too much to say that hasn't been said already. We hope you enjoy the straightness and musicality of Dream!