What I'm Not

Album: Extremist (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • Vocalist Ryan Clark told Decibel magazine: "Lyrically, this song takes a similar approach as the song 'Not I,' from The Triptych, in that it focuses on the things that we choose not to buy into — or distance ourselves from — as defining characteristics… that sometimes feel just as important as the things that we choose to adhere to."
  • Clark told Decibel that he had difficulties figuring out the right melody for the chorus. "Sometimes when I write a chorus, I just write the melody in my head, then I write the music, and then realize that the key that I want the music to be in doesn't mesh well with the vocal melody I'd written," he explained. "Specifically, I usually find that it's not in 'the pocket' of my natural range… so I find myself either reaching for notes that are too high for me, or dropping an octave down from there, which can sound too low and drone-y."

    "(Producer) Aaron Sprinkle is great for these instances," he added, "as he's able to steer me in a direction that fits somewhere in the middle, but retains the intended vibe that I was going for."

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