Interview: The New Colors compile a lifetime on debut album ‘Many Moons’

The psych-pop and alt-country solo project from Worcester’s David Falcone released debut LP on November 5

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The New Colors talk about its origin story, the creative process behind ‘Many Moons’, and how this LP finally came together

LISTEN TO ‘MANY MOONS’ ON SPOTIFY 

As heard on Banks Radio Australia, ‘Christian’s Cosmic Corner’ on Mark Skin Radio, ‘Everything You Know Is Wrong’ on Salem State Radio, and elsewhere

LISTEN TO SPOTLIGHT SINGLES ‘IDIOCY’ AND ‘IN MY DREAMS’ ON BANDCAMP

WORCESTER, MASS. [NOVEMBER 5, 2021] -- There’s an old adage in music circles about how an artist has their whole life to write a first album, and then a year or two to write the second. For The New Colors, the solo project from Worcester native David Falcone, there’s no need to worry about that second part just yet -- he’s too busy getting out the album he’s spent his whole life creating.

That album, Many Moons, is out this Friday, November 5, fueled by its lead single, “Idiocy,” and spotlight track “In My Dreams.” For Falcone, the LP and its varied styles and sounds, glowing across a spectrum of psych-pop and alt-country, is a culmination of a life spent writing and creating music, collaborating with others (he is currently the drummer in Adi Sun’s band), and slowly finding his creative voice. And as the album swirls in themes of dealing with adversity, failed relationships, and life’s seemingly endless string of setbacks, what ended up bringing these songs to light after years of being stored away as rough demos on his iTunes was the fallout from one of Falcone’s darkest days.

publi*sist chatted with Falcone to get The New Colors’ origin story, the process behind Many Moons, and just how this album came together after a lifetime of songwriting.  

publi*sist: How did the music of The New Colors come together?

David Falcone: I’ve been playing drums since I was a little kid -- maybe five years old. Everyone in my family is musical and there were always instruments laying around the house so I was always exposed to a wide variety of musical instruments. I worked at a Worcester music store (Kurlan Music Center) in high school and college, so I was easily able to get new gear whenever I could afford it. In addition to my love for drums, I got turned on by old keyboards (especially the Hammond organ/Leslie speaker) and, later, vintage guitars. Side note: In college I had a dream about playing an old Fender Jazzmaster -- the next day I went to Guitar Center in Nashua and high up on the guitar wall was a 1964 Jazzmaster they were getting ready to ship to Los Angeles because it was “too cool” for Nashua. It was in my dreams so I had to buy it, right??? Now that’s my main electric guitar and they told me her name is Stella. In college, I started to write songs inspired by the stuff I was going through, like uncertainty in my present and future, failed relationships, mind alteration, etc. 

I bought a small digital four-track recorder and started making rough demos of the songs I was writing. The second demo I ever recorded was actually the song “Idiocy” from the album! I started using the moniker “The New Colors” for all the demos I was making. I’ve always liked band names in “The Band Name” format, and I remember having the random thought that we will never encounter a new color in our lifetime; so I put those together and it just stuck. The New Colors. So, I wrote songs here and there through my 20s and 30s and never really did anything with them; they were all living as rough demos on my iTunes library. 

Fast forward to May 2019. I’m on the road in Denver for work and my phone starts blowing up at 3:30 a.m. Uh-oh. It was my wife, and she told me that my mom had died in her sleep. I’ve experienced loss before -- grandparents, high school friends, a bandmate -- but no loss has ever sliced that deep. In the aftermath, I came to the realization that our time on earth is precious and so very limited. One of the things on my back burner was making actual recordings of my songs, but I never started that process because of jobs and relationships and blah, blah, blah. 

After my mom died I knew I needed to get my ass in gear and tackle this project. I decided to invest some money into a new computer, a DAW, and some basic mics and recording gear. I pressed “record” for the first time in January 2020 and the first song I tracked was “Idiocy.” Everyday I would spend HOURS on YouTube learning about music production and engineering. It got to the point where every single recommended video was about music production, microphones, or audio interfaces [laughs]. After a few months of tracking I realized that, if I was going to do this, I needed to do this right. I made the decision to craft a real deal album. One with a strong theme. One that ebbs and flows like the albums I love to listen to. It was a struggle to balance recording and producing an album with being a full time husband, dad, and airline pilot, but every spare second I had to devote to music, I would work on the album. I pressed record for the last time in June 2021 and here I am about to release the final product on November 5.

Was this always a solo project?

Yes. In other bands, I play drums and sing. I’m currently the drummer for Boston artist Adi Sun. But, The New Colors is my personal project and it’s always been that way. Ninety-nine percent of what you hear on the record is me. Though, I have some very special guest appearances, mostly on the instruments that I have no ability to play. My dad, Lou Falcone, is one of the best saxophone players I’ve ever heard, so of course I asked him to write and record a sax solo. Adi Sun plays a lead guitar solo at the end of “A Simple Gift.”

There’s also the late, great Nashville based pedal steel player Michael Douchette, who laid down some tasty lines for a couple tracks (“Idiocy” and “Don’t Count on Me”). Mike played for many famous artists and I just recently learned of his unexpected passing.

When did you realize you had enough for an album?

I started this project with the intention of creating a full album, but I didn’t know if it was going to clock in at 30 minutes or three hours. I just knew I wanted two sides and a comprehensive arc. As the project progressed, I realized that the combination of old tunes I wanted to re-record and new ideas that fit the theme would put the record over 45 minutes and less than an hour. That seemed like a perfect length, so I stopped trying to fine-tune the track listing and focused on tracking and producing all the songs that made the final cut.

How did you select the songs that would become Many Moons?

The album is called Many Moons because it blends the songs I wrote in my early-20s with the songs I’m currently writing. In a sense, it has taken many moons for all these songs to be presented together as a full album. It’s a combination of old, completely finished songs, some unfinished ideas, and brand new songs. The theme of the album is the difficulty in dealing with setbacks in life (lost love, death, etc.). Before tracking started I picked the existing songs that fit that theme and tried to figure out how to capture the original vibe of each demo (I ended up using four of them: “Idiocy,” “Sunny Stone Chamber,” “Halfway There, and “I Am Alone Here”). That was fun, but also maddening! I had to figure out what Hammond drawbar settings and synth patches I used, what strange guitar tunings I originally came up with, what internet clips I sampled to create bizarre sounding effects, etc. 

Next, I compiled old phone voice memos and four-track song ideas onto my computer so I could re-listen to everything I’ve ever thought was worthy of documenting to be used later. These could be as simple as a few guitar chords or as complex as a full section of a song (for example, the outro of “In My Dreams” was a fully-composed little nugget that I have been sitting on for 15 years). Songs like “No Means Yeah,” “In My Dreams,” “Secret Place,” and “How Many Ways” are all new compositions that include parts from an old voice memo. Lastly, there are a few songs that were written specifically for the album and are totally new concepts (“A Simple Gift,” “Bandolero Man,” “Don’t Count on Me,” and “Hurry”). 

What are some of the lyrical themes or topics that appear throughout the record?

The theme of the album is the difficulty in dealing with setbacks in life and the emotional sting that presents. “Idiocy,” “Secret Place,” “Halfway There,” “How Many Ways,” and “Bandolero Man” are all about the pain that comes with a failed romantic relationship, from realizing you messed things up big time (I’m an idiot!), to seeing a lost love repeatedly in your dreams, to imagining yourself as a ruthless and lonely bandit in the wild west after dealing with a breakup. 

Dreams are another important element on the record -- it’s the only place I can go where there are no rules, there’s no one to appease, and in the morning everything goes back to normal. “Secret Place” and “In My Dreams” both talk about the clarity obtained from and the importance of dreaming in my life. “A Simple Gift” implores people to cherish the small things in life (a glass of wine while listening to great music) and to reduce time spent on screens; it was directly influenced by my mom’s death. “Don’t Count on Me” is about the struggles of being an airline pilot by day and a husband and father by night. There are many times I must break promises and miss important dates due to schedule changes at work. That song tries to explain that even though I’ll always try my best, don’t count on me to be there. Very bittersweet. 

Lastly, I tried to end the record on a more optimistic note with “Hurry.” It is about experiencing something so beautiful (a work of art, a song, a stranger passing on the street) that it just captivates you and knocks you right off your feet. Hurry and pick me up because I’ve just been bowled over. By experiencing beautiful things that can heal our wounded souls, we can overcome the pain caused by loss.

How does Many Moons reflect the creativity of both you and The New Colors in 2021?

I started Many Moons right before the Covid pandemic in early-2020. Just like everyone else, I was forced to stop hanging out with friends, stop playing with my band, and just deal with isolation. I was able to devote 100 percent of my focus to writing and recording because of that. When you train to become a pilot there is such an abundance of information -- it’s commonly referred to as “drinking from a firehose.” In 2020 and 2021 I had a firehose of music recording and production pointed directly at my face and I tried my damndest not to drown!

What are the two spotlight tracks, “Idiocy” and “In My Dreams,” all about?

“Idiocy” is about being AN IDIOT! Plain and simple. I wrote that song while being on the backside of an on-again/off-again relationship in my 20s. I was dating someone that just wasn’t ready for a serious relationship, but I didn’t have the experience to recognize that. At the time, I thought I was trying my best and doing all the right things; but, like many things in life, it just wasn’t meant to be.

“In My Dreams” is meant to be interpreted by the listener. At face value, the song is about the freedom and wonder of experiencing a lucid dream. You can do whatever the fuck you want -- the only boundary is that you must stay within the dream! When you wake-up, everything goes back to normal. There is nothing else like that on Earth. Alternatively, the song is much deeper than that. It is about the aspiration to be something bigger than yourself -- to be a rockstar, a Hollywood movie star, whatever it is on earth you hope to be when you close your eyes and DREAM. When I listen to it, I like to get lost in the lyrics and imagine it’s a little bit of both.

What do you hope to get out of The New Colors project?

I see The New Colors as a studio project for now. I want as many people to hear these tunes as possible because I wrote and produced this record for such a broad audience. As my first release, I felt innate pressure to make something everyone might like -- my aunt and uncle, my friends from high school, the teachers at my daughter’s school, etc.

No matter how many people listen to Many Moons, I deem it a total success. That being said, I want to take The New Colors in different directions with each release. I want to flex different muscles of my musical brain. For example, my next release will be a four-track EP covering the mostly unknown ‘60s singer-songwriter Craig Smith/Maitreya Kali.

I imagine absolutely no one will recognize the songs I cover, but it’s more about presenting a totally unique offering to the world and trying to refine my sound as a studio artist. I hope to create more energetic, upbeat music going forward.

Talk to us about the production and other credits! 

I recorded the album in a soundproof 8’x7’ built out room in the basement of my dad’s triple decker in Worcester, MA. It is totally covered in foam panels to absorb sound waves and it sounds DEAD! As a novice, it was so difficult to get usable sounds from my drums, acoustic guitars, and amps. But, that's all I had to work with. In a sense, it’s so fitting because the theme of the album is dealing with adversity. 

I produced the album at my home in Auburn, MA and also in countless hotel rooms across the country. I did the final mixing back in an empty apartment in my dad’s triple decker in Worcester, MA. The only other musicians on the album are my dad, Lou Falcone (sax on “Idiocy”), Adi Sun (guitar solo on “A Simple Gift”), and Michael Douchette (pedal steel on “Idiocy” and “Don’t Count on Me”). 

For the mastering, I researched studios in areas that were significant to my life. I’ve lived all over the map -- Massachusetts, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Minnesota, and California. I auditioned studios in each of those areas and decided on Chris Bethea at Muscle Shoals Mastering in Florence, AL. I used to fly small turboprop airplanes into Muscle Shoals and would explore the area on layovers. I collaborated with Adi Sun to create the album art.

Contact Michael Marotta at michael@publisist.co or David Falcone at thenewcolors@gmail.com for more information. 

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‘Many Moons’ album artwork:

Art Credit: David Falcone and Adi Sun 

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The New Colors press photo:

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Media contact and all press/radio inquiries: Michael Marotta at michael@publisist.co or David Falcone at thenewcolors@gmail.com.  

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