‘Wake. Work. Eat. Sleep. Wake. Work. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.’’ The worker drones spend their days churning the wheels inside the factory. One drone tries to break free from the system.’’
Systematic is another tune performed live by ToM in the 1990s that had never been recorded in the studio. The track was relegated to floating around in a poor-quality, VHS tape of an early live performance.
When Tom played live, ”Systematic” was the grand finale in the set. The band builds the song to a frenetic climax with intense swirling keyboards, guitars that sound like wailing air raid sirens, pounding drums, and pulsing bass. During the live shows, this section provided the frontman a chance to leap from the stage and run through the audience with large pink balloons.
During the height of the pandemic in 2020, the guys (James, John & Derrick) got back together remotely to work on the Vagabond soundtrack. Along the way, they also worked to get some of these older tunes recorded as well. In 2021 Derrick & James were finally able to meet in the studio and complete the mix.
So step back in time, grab a big balloon, blast your silly string in the air and enjoy…