“I was watching a YouTube video of Todd Rundgren and Daryl Hall playing an old Delfonics song called Didn’t I. I love all the modulations and slash chords in Philadelphia soul music, so I decided to write my own song with that kind of feel. The lyrics are actually a bit misanthropic, but the music is sincere and soulful, and somehow that expresses my sense of humor and cynicism about human weakness and my optimism about human potential – along with my love of big gospel harmonies – all at once.

“The rhythm guitar and the solo in the intro were recorded live with the band. I used the Empress Compressor to give me sustain and a sensitive response, while still keeping a relatively clean tone. Also, I used a vintage Ibanez semi-hollowbody, and it responded really well to being near a loud amp. I got even more sustain that way.

“The solo the in the middle was my Ibanez Korina Fireman prototype. I overdubbed that solo because it’s in Bb major and has some tricky chord changes. I didn’t want to make the band endure all my mistakes while I tried to play the right notes, so practiced it on my own after the session and did it as an overdub. I’m glad I had some extra time to work on it. It turned out awesome.”