Key Changer

Album: Joy Bomb (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • At 71, King's X frontman Dug Pinnick released his fifth solo album, Joy Bomb. "Key Changer" is the lead single. He calls it a "Let's just get up and have some fun" song.
  • In a Songfacts track by track, Pinnick explained: "The premise of the song - musically - was I pulled out my 8-string guitar and started making up this 'djent riff.' I was just going for some real low-tuned cool stuff that I could find that made me feel like this would be fun. When I got the riff going on my 8-string, I thought, Man! And I had this vibe in my heart, like, 'This sounds like you could dance to it.' I pulled up the drum program, found that beat, and started playing it.

    And then I realized, I'm in low-E on my guitar - where am I going to put my bass? I talked to Dick [Lövgren] from Meshuggah and said, 'Are you playing bass in unison with the guitars, or are you an octave lower?' And he said, 'No, I'm playing in unison.' I didn't know that, so I pulled out my bass and played it in regular tuning. So, the three tones are basically one bass and two guitars in the same frequency as a bass, and it gave it that fat riff going. I got excited about that.

    And then I said, 'Well, this is boring now.' So I pulled out my Les Paul and started playing the chord in the middle of it and thought, This is going to work. I put the music together and listened to it for probably about a month before the lyrics came to me: 'I want to hear music everywhere I go.' And I thought, This could be a song that everybody might get behind."

    At that point I thought, This is really worth working on. What am I going to sing about? Let the music do the talking - basically. It has all that stuff about, "Let's just get up and have some fun."
  • Pinnick made a video for this song with Jamie Brown of Smoking Gun Productions. Through the miracle of green screen, it finds him going on a journey where he dances with kids, robots, and various other creatures. It was made during the pandemic when IRL options were limited.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Danny Kortchmar

Danny KortchmarSongwriter Interviews

Danny played guitar on Sweet Baby James, Tapestry, and Running On Empty. He also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Dirty Laundry," "Sunset Grill" and "Tender Is The Night."

Billy Gould of Faith No More

Billy Gould of Faith No MoreSongwriter Interviews

Faith No More's bassist, Billy Gould, chats to us about his two new experimental projects, The Talking Book and House of Hayduk, and also shares some stories from the FNM days.

John Parr

John ParrSongwriter Interviews

John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.