“What ever happened to democracy? / What ever happened to the land of the free?”
There’s no question Ventura County-based trio The Feisty Piranhas is driven, and “What Happened,” the opening track on “Shocked,” kicks the mosh pit right into 90 mph.
“Welcome to a new kind of society. / Everyone is controlled by stupidity. / People learn to feed off inhumanity. / Everyone is led by a failing government.”
Lyricist, vocalist, and guitarist Peter Lust Jr. likes the song’s “aggressive edge. It’s the first time I’ve been able to say exactly what I feel in a song. The lyrics grew out of frustration with the state of the world; the current wars are part of why the song started. But generally governments don’t seem to listen to their people.”
“The government is bringing down our country. / Government has turned into a mockery. They’re poisoning all of the air that we breathe. / Time for us to find a brand new government.”
“Up until government officials are elected,” Peter Jr. continues, “they’re all about listening to the people. Once in positions of power, they seem to turn that part of their brains off an
d it’s all about them. And it hasn’t changed in years. We’re tired of it.” This sentiment is emphasized in the last line of all 3 verses as 10 simple words are sustained:
“And I know, time will show, we will rise again!”
“We each bring our own perspective, our own expertise, to the band,” explains drummer Peter Lust Sr. (who is also Peter Jr.’s dad). “It helps in the overall dynamics of our music, and is what makes our sound unique. For instance, I think it’s healthy to have the Democrats in power in Congress now. If everything stays the same, it becomes stagnant. Change carries our country forward.”
Peter Jr. adds, “I don’t know what life was like 30 or 100 years ago. But for the past few years that I’ve been conscious politically, it’s obvious many people don’t care enough what the government is doing, or don’t want to deal with it.” So perhaps the problem doesn’t lie solely with the government, as the chorus reveals:
“What ever happened to democracy? / What ever happened to the land of the free? / What ever happened to equality? / What ever happened to you and me?”
“For something to change,” Peter Jr. says, “it will take more than just changing the people in power. The little people – you and me, the moms and dads, the kids – everybody’s got to make a change. We need to be able to stand up and say, ‘I don’t like what’s going on.’ Some people are in their own little bubble, maybe with 20 friends, and see the outside world but don’t care.”
Peter Sr. notes, “It will take the new generation – Peter Jr.’s – to help bring our country and planet back to cohesiveness.” Peter Jr. elaborates, “The contract we wrote over 200 years ago was written for that time. The Constitution’s ideas are excellent, the checks and balances, but need to be adapted for today’s world.”
Although “What Happened” started with lyrics, the song’s music puts it a notch above the current plethora of anti-establishment songs. “We all write our own parts, but we all give input to each other,” Peter Sr. explains. “Jr. came up with the concept, lyrics and melody, then I worked on the drums and percussion. Then we tweaked this and that. It was the same for all the instruments. As a drummer, it’s one of my favorites on this CD. It has a lot of energy, feels good to play, and people enjoy listening to it.”
Jens Schnabel, the clarinetist who rounds out the trio and handles the songs’ and band’s visual aspects and artwork, plays his amplified reed through guitar pedals and plug-ins, and at first listen the clarinet can be mistaken for a guitar. In fact, his solo follows each repetition of the chorus in the spot normally claimed by a guitarist. “It was written that way,” Peter Jr. says. “I write lyrics and music with all the elements in mind that will eventually be in it – piano, drums, bass, clarinet, etc. Those spots were for Jens’ solos.”
“Shocked” was recorded at The Feisty Piranhas’ own studio with the assistance of John Perez (Stevie Wonder, Tower of Power, Prince, Axl Rose), the band’s engineer and co-producer, who also works on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Despite not being signed, The Feisty Piranhas have earned several awards, broke into the Top 40 on national airplay, and even received a 2007 “Best New Artist” Grammy nomination.
In September they released a live DVD for “Shocked,” and they’re already deep into production of their next album, targeted for release this spring. “We always have projects on the back burner,” says Peter Sr. “‘Shocked’ was….” “Teenage,” Peter Jr. interjects, and they both laugh. “Our next album is a concept album. It’s a step forward, an evolution for the band.” Just as with the government, change can be a good thing.
Listen to and watch a live video of “What Happened” at The Feisty Piranhas’ well-designed web site, www.TheFeistyPiranhas.com, and on MySpace.
