In a world fraught with heartache and fear, our mission is to break through the clutter and shift the paradigm with love, positivity, and hope. By sharing ourselves—with every written lyric, key, riff and note—we aspire to create a higher vibration, and through our actions demonstrate the change we desire in our world.
Our work over the past year, and since our Give Myself to the World album “campaign” started back in May 2019, has culminated now into a six-song extended play, or EP, that we find continually more inspiring with each and every listen and performance. We are dedicated at the core of the lyrics of these songs to be better, do better, and to freely give ourselves, and our music to the world. Thus, the theme for this new EP.
A CHANGING PARADIGM
Beginning in September, 2019, we faced a bold and daunting task—a mountain of uncertainty to fund our third full-length album. With the help of valued fans and supporters, it became achievable.
The path ahead—get it delivered! Everything, as promised?
Undeniably, as the world became undone by an uncontrollable force that effected each and every individual on this planet—for musicians—the closures of bars, venues, musical events and gatherings through most of 2020—and now continuing into 2021—all devastating blows to our livelihood and our future as artists.
We are challenged with dreaming new dreams. We adapt and we push on with our new blank canvas...
A full album? No—at least not yet. Instead, we give you a shortened version of the album, the “Give Myself to the World — EP”, a CD with the six songs that we were proudly able to finish. We hope these songs will bring you lots of love, light and joy as we manifest greater and healthier times for the new year.
THE COLLECTION
“Out Into the Sun,” the jazzy prelude track for the album, introduces the acoustic guitar as it fades into the crescendoing cymbal swells, and spacious Wurly sounds. We are welcomed with a warm and melodic bass melody played by the band's studio bassist, Jamie Moyer. The shifty, dynamic structure within the musical chord progressions set the tone for the rest of album as the notes ring out and dissipate into a tight tempo change into Track 2 of the EP—and then the album truly begins.
“I Run” begins with a catchy hook and uptempo beat layered with the same textured Wurlitzer and guitar tones that filled the introduction to the CD, with the addition of saxophonist, Troy Jennings.
“This is my proudest written song on this record,” says Patrick Croome, while leading on vocals and acoustic guitar. “It accurately represents where I am at with writing songs, musically.”
Lyrically, the song was conceptualized by Brayden Tario, who said the song is a reflection of their journey over the band's previous six years of growth and introspective reflection.
“It always made me think of our time touring California when I was 21. We’re always listening to music on the road and I was actually experiencing the catalogue of America, CSN and others for the first time in my life. I really felt these records—so the lyrics kind of became this salute to to these music pioneers, while recognizing our own journey,” Brayden continued.
Former member and lead guitarist, Brandon Haddow, wrote the catchy guitar that starts the song and is used after the choruses, which is layered with harmonies by the Saxophone and Keys.
Fallbrook guitarist, Anthony Cullins is credited to writing the closing hook for the song.
As we fade into the next track of the album, the notes from acoustic guitar ignite the band, like the strike of a match, setting up for what seems to an ominous slow-burning candle fire. This emotional six-minute rock anthem, led by Liam Croome on the vocals—who also wrote the lyrics—demonstrates that this is no candle-lit flame, but a raging firestorm from within and a reclaiming of inner power, called, “Love Myself Again.”
“This is a vulnerable song about a struggle to release myself from the weight of a heavy heartbreak, in order to grow and truly love again.”
It features Canadian electric guitar phenom, Aaron Young (from Ghostboy), who texturizes the song with layered guitar leads and harmonies. “To feed my soul, I gotta find my way back home, and remember who I am.”
“Metanoia”—Track 4, and perhaps the band's heaviest musical release to date, is delivered with an earnest sense of purpose and emotion. You can feel the angst in the opening riff on the acoustic guitar, as the lyrics, vocal melody and other instruments join in on the verses, while calling to question the origins of our thoughts, perception of the world, and the division of our human species. The joyous harmonies echo the need for love and unity in the anthemic choruses, further personifying the positive messages of the song.
“If the music moves you—and instills a feeling of unrest and tension—it’s because it was designed that way. The real change comes from within oneself; the essence of metanoia is personal and spiritual transformation,” says drummer, Brayden Tario, who wrote the lyrics for the song.
As we progress on to Track 5 for the record, we are introduced to a side of Daring Greatly that hasn’t been fully exposed. Though, It shouldn’t come as any surprise that they would experiment with the stylistic roots genres that defined them in their youthful days. "Killing Time," is Daring Greatly's first attempt to blend 70's Rock with the influences of Country roots. The result is a brilliantly-executed Country-Rock hybrid with mesmerizing, harmonized choruses, unified with incisive melody and a powerful underlying backbeat. Daring Greatly delivers "Killing Time" with well-honed musicianship to spare, accompanied by Denis Dufresne (from Ghostboy) on the fiddle.
As a big fan of Country music, Liam Croome took over the reigns, inspired to write the lyrics and melody to this little “ditty.“ “I thought it would be unique to write meaningful lyrics to a Country song, as I’ve found it quite rare in today’s formulaic Country music output,” says Liam Croome (Keys, Lead Vocals), “I wrote exactly what I was feeling and perceiving at the time. That the focus on money, products, politics, social hierarchies and social media is all a huge distraction from what is actually happening around the world at a global scale, and within each of us.”
"Give Myself to the World," labelled as the title track for the EP, and the sixth song for the listing, was conceptualized in the winter of 2018 high atop a mountain that a few of the band members climbed on a journey to self-discovery. Time on the open roads through 2018-2019, watching the beauty of heavenly skies, majestic mountains, and smiling faces, allowed for introspection, and deep awareness of individual growth, and that of Daring Greatly. "Give Myself to the World," Daring Greatly's first single from the album, is an anthemic original work showcasing not only their powerful harmonies and compelling instrumental synergies, but their own personal commitment to serve a purpose greater than themselves, and inspire audiences to reach their energetic highest.
Which bring us to “A New Kind of High.” The final track for the EP is like “a walk in the park” where you are met with new experiences and emotions that bring you this “high.” A high that is different from the rest—one that is everlasting with the right frame of mind. “Because who says you ever have to come down!”
“I wrote the lyrics sitting by the pool outside the studio in LA.” says Dail Croome. “It was another one of those songs where we played it for almost a year and it didn’t have any real words to it. It represents the energetic high from music and the europhoric moment I experienced that day we were recording it. A higher kind of LOVE, a higher kind of HEALTH, a higher kind of CONNECTION, a higher kind of TRUTH, a higher kind of PURPOSE, and a higher kind of FREEDOM. This is where we believe the magic of life is.”
The band welcomes the saxophone, electric guitar and B3 organ sound with the shimmery 12-string acoustic guitars, and “deck-the-halls” harmonies.
A THANKS TO OUR FANS
At every curve and corner you, our fans, have been there to embolden us to keep going. With every inch toward the top, we are invigorated to create and produce more original songs, our way. You've helped chart that course and inspired us to reach high.
Give Myself to the World - EP has been our passion, our "baby," these past two years. And through it all you've joined with us in supporting not only our fundraiser, but our gigs, house concerts, livestream events, and festivals.
With this, we give you--our friends, our DG Family, family back home, and dearest supporters -- the fruits of our labor of love, our gift of days and nights of long jams, brotherly collaboration, hundreds of sound checks, and kilometers of tour time, the recording sessions, the mixes, the festivals, and house concerts, and countless gigs--each one bringing us closer to our dream.
There are no thanks big enough!
Patch, Brayden, Liam, Dail