OKC’s Recess hits the books with ‘Tennessee Williams’
Jerrod Beck had never flown in an airplane before. But earlier this summer, the 20-something killed time during his flight with a book. The Oklahoma City-based singer and songwriter found the introduction passage to Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” to be particularly inspiring.
“Williams had written about his career and how fame had changed his life,” Beck told The
Oklahoman. “It was this very existential and honest account of how he felt about his life and the people around him.”
After arriving home, Beck returned to a song he’d been working on and wrote the bridge to “Tennessee Williams.” It’s the very first release from the freshly formed rock quartet Recess, which also includes Okie musicians Billy Muschinske (drums), Blake Burgess (guitar) and Justin McCullough (bass).
Give the song a listen at NewsOK.com/blogs/ MiddleOfNowhere.
“I wanted to string these lines together that read like prose, and highlighted the mundane, everyday aspects of life. Like sitting next to a man reading the New Yorker on a plane ride,” Beck shared via email. “These seemingly meaningless moments can often spark the most meaningful thoughts for me. I start thinking about my place in the world, and how heavy things like passion and desire can weigh on a person. We’ve all got this desire to live and to accomplish, but it’s easy to find yourself thinking, ‘Am I capable? Do I know how to get to where I want to go? Do I even know where I want to go?’”
The band’s members already were friends before they decided to form Recess. That might help explain the relaxed vibes of “Tennessee Williams.” Beck’s heady lyrics languidly drift above his confident backing band, while he digs into a pillar of introspective thoughts. It feels like something out of a conversational Talking Heads song.
“Williams’ introspection inspired my own,” Beck said. “Everything else in the song is just about the conflict between how you are perceived by others, and how you perceive yourself. Often times, I can find myself being the person most people seem to admire, but in my head I’m ruminating on the negative and how I can let people down.”
Recess started forming in early spring and tracked a handful of songs over the course of the summer at Muschinske’s home studio.
“He had a home studio set up in a back bedroom, and we just totally DIY’d it,” Beck said. “It’s kinda cool because I used to live at that house and to track these songs there just seemed like the most comfortable thing to do. The environment helped add to the spirit of the project, which really is nonformal and leisurely.”
Muschinske also recorded, mixed and mastered the record.
“We’ve become closer friends because of the decision,” Beck said. “Basically, I just wanted to get some friends together to see what sort of life we could give the songs I’d written.”
Recess isn’t in a big hurry to perform or release new songs.
“We flirted with the idea of jumping on a show that got announced late summer, and just happened last week, but life got in the way,” Beck said. “That’s the thing with this project, it’s been so nonformal up to this point that we haven’t really set any expectations or goals.
“Naming the band Recess, for me anyway, symbolizes a break from the norm, getting into a new head space and just making some music to see what myself and others are capable of.”