ALTG is prime example of how I tend to use two guitars. This is also the first song that I experimented with writing more than two guitars parts. This song seems to be the most popular of the songs and will be included on my upcoming EP.
The music of Cold the Winter, both old and new
Cold the Winter was the moniker I used for the songs that I've written and rearranged over the years. In 2019, I recorded a six-song EP titled "Skylines and the Horizons" with the help of my friends JD and Matt. Skylines was the culmination of a journey that started in 2011, took strides forward in 2017, and was finalized over the course of 2018 and 2019.
As of 2024, Cold the Winter has taken a backseat to KCWM, a moniker I've released three albums, eight singles. It is likely that any future Cold the Winter songs will be released under the KCWM banner.
Story behind the song
Most people, at least at some point in their life, will reach a point where they decide where they stand on the issue of religious belief. Some people choose a devout faith, some people choose absolute atheism, and a good number fall somewhere in between. This decision is often the first or one of the first "big" decisions that we make in defining who we are.
During the first three years of high school, I was a churchaholic. I was there almost every day of the week doing something, went to church camp, went on mission trips, set up the church's marquee, participated in vacation bible school, wore the Jesus shirts to school, had a bible with my name on it. You name it...I did it. I was "on fire", as they used to say. I stopped listening to secular music, I tended to only associate with my church friends, and pretty much insulated myself with God from the outside world.
During my senior year, due to a number of reasons, I embraced a more cynical and sardonic approach to life. I started paying attention to people's action in an attempt to better understand them. Specifically, I started to see what people in the church, specifically some of the leaders, said and how they acted. That's when things stopped adding up. I withdrew, as it was the course of action that made the most sense to me at the time.
Eventually, I stopped going to the church on a regular basis. I still hung out with my best friend, who was the one who really got me into the whole thing in the first place, but my personal changes caused my relationship with the "friends" i had at church to erode away. We all became more or less acquaintances and I found myself on the receiving end of a cold shoulder.
One night, while spending the night at a friend's house, I woke up in the middle of the night. I simply couldn't get back to sleep. I was laying there, mulling the circumstances that led me to that particular point in my life. I came to the realization that I'd given up on God. Better said, I no longer believed in God, and if I had any doubt, it was better to serve myself.
As one could imagine, that was a burdening realization to come to. After all of the time I'd put in, friendships I'd made, and the lifestyle I'd led...it was confusing to think it'd been all for naught. So, I got up, went into the adjacent dining area and sat down with a piece of paper. I started writing a letter that started with the first two lines of the song.
I wrote the letter with the intention of providing myself a way of venting my frustrated confusion and never thought about it turning into a song. Over the next couple of weeks, the letter came together and I tucked it into the back sleeve of the binder I was using at the time.
The music started out as a wannabe punk song where I'd sing the lyrics, "You have PMS, I have PMS, we all have PMS and it sucks...You have PMS, I have PMS, we all have PMS, and we're f***ed". I sang it to a girl I was seeing at the time and she laughed. A couple of days later, she called to tell me that PMS song was stuck in her head.
I decided that I had a keeper...the song, not the girl. I knew that the PMS lyrics wouldn't work, partly because it was about PMS and partly because I made a decision to avoid using the coarse language in my lyrics. I was stuck on lyrics when I noticed the edge of that letter sticking out of the back of the binder. I applied the lyrics and made a few adjustments and the song quickly came together. I purposely avoided a chorus because I wanted to retain the feel of a letter.
The more I played the wannabe punk version, the more I realized that playing it that fast was only making the song weak. The tempo has changed a few times, with the final switch coming after my friend wrote drums for it.
The drums are programmed using a majority of drums my friend wrote, with a few changes here or there.
Guitars/Bass/Vocals/Drum Programming: Galan Aldaco
Drums: Joh
Lyrics
Dear God hey man what's going on are you there?
Should I take your silence as there's nothing here but air
Or am I just too stubborn and unwilling to hear
Too proud to give in to something that isn't always clear
I just don't know what to believe anymore
It's not really like I'm even keeping score
At times it seems you're there and at times it seems you're not
I'm sorry to do this but if you're there you're on the spot
I used have faith that would rival a child's
But we both know I'd grow up after a while
I guess it's my nature to second guess and wonder
But was my faith in you just a childhood blunder
I've had the frame of mind to embrace anything
But in the end what will have the greatest sting
If I knew this would be easy I would feel relieved
All I know is that I want something to believe
I guess that's all I really had to say
It's funny how many sides I've learned to play
It's not that I'm looking for a sign per se
Who knew believing in you would lead me to another crisis of faith
This is my letter to God...
