The Courtesans are giving their debut full-length CD away for FREE at their CD release show at the Black Cat on Wednesday (tonight!), January 20^th. Their music is best described as “upbeat music for the broken hearted.” Despite their often mournful lyrical content, the Courtesans number one priority is to have fun playing their songs. Their mission statement is simply: write songs we enjoy, record them, and play them for our friends.

And with that I give you The Courtesans.

I’ve Been Lost:
Tony: This is one angle on the end of my marriage. Most of the songs I wrote during this period deal with this subject matter. This time around, the narrative focuses the blame squarely on me. Admittedly, this is all very self serving. I know these songs are for me. These apologies and tales of regret; these are for me.

Greg: I always think of driving a big old car when I play this song:  A big old boat like a Cadillac.  I have no idea why.  But I think that explains the straight-ahead driving beat throughout.  I was always trying to add a bunch to this song.  When it came time to record it I decided not to bother with all that.  I thought, “Just drive along in my Cadillac and see what happens.”

Dave: I love playing this song, because it’s got a lot of poppiness to it, but it’s not all sugary like my songs.  I actually feel like I’m in a cool band playing this song.  Also, I believe this is a song where we realized that if you have a breakdown, you don’t need a bridge.

Something To You:

Dave: The song existed in some form before all others, but I could never get it how I wanted it.  Lyrically, it’s about a relationship I had where I knew, from day one, that it was a rebound and we would not end up together.  It was actually quite liberating; I didn’t have to compromise on anything or put up with one second of unpleasantness, because doing so would’ve gotten me nowhere.  Musically, the song is from the Poison school of arrangement: 4 chords, a guitar solo and a breakdown.

Tony: Of all our songs, this is the most fun to play. Plus, I think it turned out to be the best of the recordings. Dave’s vocals came out great. Two of the really fun things about this band is they encourage me to take guitar solos and they let me get away with thinking I’m funny by stealing, er…incorporating well known melody lines and inserting them in to solos. They pop up every so often.

Greg: A disco beat in a Poison song.  What’s not to love?

Bleed You Dry:

Tony: The character in this song is based on an exaggeration of both how I acted and how I was perceived to have acted in a past relationship. I also drew from the toxic relationships people who were close to me were going through. It’s a case of he loves me…he loves me not, in which many of us have been on one if not both sides of the conflict. The lyrical content is down right cruel, but music is catchy and there in lies the trickery.

Greg: What can I say?  I am just glad we hit ‘Record’ for the first take.  I have not been able to recreate that magic since.

Dave: We had the music of this song for a long time, completely arranged down to the fills and accents.  We’d play it just for fun, because it was so awesome.  Its real name is “Tony Super Awesome”.  Then we needed a demo so Fort Reno could reject us formally.  The practice beforehand, Tony sang the song and I was worried we’d have to change the name to Tony Super Not As Awesome.  Then we recorded it, so I could actually hear the vocals.  It should now be called Tony Super Fucking Awesome.

Tonight (I am Shawn Michaels):

Dave: There are so many parallels between the real world and the world of professional wrestling.  In a past job, I was saddled with a “tag team partner” who was not only worthless, but held me back and ultimately wasted a year of my professional life.  I decided then to uncouple my goals from anyone else’s and take fate into my own hands.  While I was not able to throw my soon-to-be-ex-partner through a plate-glass window (as Shawn Michaels did to his tag-team partner Marty Janetty) I still got out of the situation. Like Shawn Michaels, I’m better off for it.  Plus, it’s the only way I could find to work wrestling lingo into song lyrics.

Tony: OK, so they’re all really fun to play. And if there’s anything I love more than corny guitar solos, its professional wrestling. If I had another 70 lbs. on me I would be jobbing for some washed up 80’s mid-card wrassler in a bingo hall near you. But, I don’t. So I’ll gladly play songs about said subject matter. What I wouldn’t give to have the crowd at the Black Cat to chant “HBK! HBK!” in between songs at a Courtesans show.

Greg: A serious song about professional wresting.  Just ridiculous enough to actually work (which also explains the over-the-top drum fills).  One of my favorites on the record.

Want more (& a free album)? Go Here tonight: