In 1994 I was living in Portland, OR. I was a member of a VERY loud rock band called the Violets. The Violets were co-led by a brilliant songwriting duo Lisa Enterline (now Hayes) and uber-guitarist Cisco DeLuna. We got the opportunity to travel to Austin, Texas in March for SXSW. We loaded up our gear into “El Puerco” (a 2 tone, 15 passenger airport Dodge van) and headed south.

I love van touring, because the Violets had a “no recorded music” policy, which helps me write a lot. During the long periods of no driving I had my little college composition notebooks and a pen. I wrote about seven songs on that trip, and Eyes of a Killer is the one that survived. Others from that batch made it onto my first album, “Pook’s Road”.

The Violets great drummer Jano Janosik (currently playing for Stewboss and Bardo) was a bird expert, and as we passed through the Sacramento delta area I kept seeing these beautiful black birds perched on fenceposts, the only thing breaking the monotony. When I asked him what they were, he said, “It’s the red-winged blackbird.” Right then one of them took off, revealing beautiful red plumage.

The first line came, and everything else came quickly. This is one of those songs that revealed its meaning to me long after it was created. Many of my writing friends relate the same process. It’s like taking dictation. The song is, as it turns out, less about violence or retribution and more about not living as a doormat.

Next post: Track by track: Recording Eyes of a Killer