“Beneath The Surface is the last song we wrote for the album. We had tracked all of the drums on the other cuts, and I think we were working on keyboards. At this point, we realized that the record needed something. Everything else was very intense, so a cool-down felt right.

“With the exception of This Is The Life, I was writing about very heavy topics: political unrest in America, uprisings in the Middle East, ancient Persian armies, shamans. For the closing song, a lighter, more poignant lyrical message was in order, something that would reach deep into your soul in a very honest way.

“Actually, I wrote the lyrics without the music; it was before we even went into the studio. Once we started working on the song, I had a guitar part that seemed like it would work, but I ended up changing it around. There was a bit of a process with marrying the words to the music. I demoed the song and recorded it, and the guys were totally open to it.

“It’s mostly acoustic, and it could exist as an acoustic/vocal song. We did put an arrangement to it. I really like the keyboard solo in the middle. We searched for just the right Moog-esque sound, picturing the lighters, or I guess cell phones, coming out in the audience. It takes it away from being a folkish ballad and makes it more Genesis or ELP. I love it. I think it’s a great way to end the record.”