There are times when we can’t agree to disagree but few people today would disagree that there is discontent regardless of which side of the political spectrum you find yourself on. Few likely would disagree we could be doing better.
Times like these can be inspiring for a singer/songwriter. They lend themselves to calls of outrage and pleas for times to improve. Was that the genesis of Eric Bazilian’s single “Better Times”? As Eric tells it, “I had come to a point where I’d pretty much lost interest in recording, releasing any solo music. It just sort of felt like I’d come to the end of that road.”
And then, as it often does, inspiration struck when least expected. As Eric explained, “I was in the shower and I started hearing… This line, ‘Better times better come soon.’ ‘Better times better come soon.’ I thought, well, maybe this is… worth picking up again.”
With a refrain of “Better times had better come soon/Maybe not this morning, maybe not this afternoon”, the song calls to mind Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times Come Again No More.” Musically, the songs may be different. At the core, however, both songs urge us to move beyond where we are right now because where we are now is not so good.
“I think that (Hard Times) is a cousin; it’s a forebear of ‘Better Times,’” says Eric. “And, you know, these are really dangerous times. We have the technology to end it all. And, you know, social media has really, really muddied the playing field.”
The song is not one of despair despite its urgent plea. And it is not a song pitting “us against them.” In touring stateside with the Hooters two years ago, Eric observed that those who may have been on the opposite side of the political fence from him “were some of the kindest people I’ve ever met.”
“So my aim is to bring people together,” Eric told me. “You know, find common ground. I know it’s not easy because “they” can say things that just seem completely off the wall to me. And I guess “we” say and do things that seem completely off the wall to them.”
To achieve his goal of bringing people together, Eric’s protagonist in “Better Times” is an “everyone” character, someone who could be a farmer, an accountant, or even a singer-songwriter.”
To tell the story from one perspective “would be too limiting,” Eric said. “That would just be another one of those songs that exists in an echo chamber. And I wanted to make something that could reach across lines, you know, something that everybody could relate to really.”
Not an easy task. “I really had to go outside myself to find inspiration,” he said. He found himself mentally wearing many hats to capture various perspectives.
“That’s something that people like (Bruce) Springsteen excel at,” Eric declared. “He’s really a master at creating a character, someone that resonates with him. And this was the first time I really sat down and set out to successfully create someone that wasn’t me, but that I could relate to.”
The early feedback has been positive, at least from one respected source.
“I have one friend, a songwriter who I’ve never actually met, but we’ve talked a fair amount over the years,” Eric said. “And I’ve realized… that he’s way, way over on the other end of the spectrum from me. But he reached out to me and said that the song had really connected with him. And to me that was just the ultimate affirmation. Mission accomplished.”
“Better Times” made its debut as the first song in a series of songs for WXPN’s Philly Anthems series, a special music project featuring 12 commissioned original songs for America’s 250th anniversary. The songs explore themes of freedom, identity, and the modern meaning of independence.
Eric is excited about the newly released video for “Better Times.” It originated as a 30-second video clip requested by WXPN for the series. “I was in Sweden at the time,” he said. “I have a friend there who’s a brilliant video maker.” The friend is Max Telving of SVT television in Sweden.
“He’s done most of my solo videos. I asked him if we could just get, like, a 30-second clip, so he said, yeah, come on over, my sister-in-law’s having a party.”
Eric continued, “This is up in the country. So his wife got everybody there to learn the chorus of the song, and he set me up with a little pump organ at sunset. And I just ran through the song. We just started out just by doing the last chorus and having all the people gather around and sing along with me.”
After creating the 30-second clip Eric asked, “Hey, can we do one more take from the top? So we got lucky. It’s a single camera shot, continuous, beginning to end. And it just worked.”
“Better Times” is the first in a series of singles Eric plans to release this year. The next two are in various stages of completion. “It seems to be turning into an album,” he said. “It didn’t really occur to me when I did (Better Times), but when I played it for my son he heard the line ‘reasonable man’. And he said, that’s, that’s your next album title.”
Album or no album, we will be watching out for the new singles when they are released.
