Johnny O’Neil Take Me Down

This song was the first “O’Neil & Funk” songwriting collaboration of the three tunes John Funk and I co-wrote for ‘Brand New Day.’ John had a killer chord progression he had been keeping in his back pocket for years, and presented it to the band at a rehearsal. I was able to come up with a complimentary riff that fit with John’s descending chord progression, and the melody line and lyrics took shape in my head pretty quickly as we refined the arrangement of the song.

The subject matter is something that has touched just about everybody in some form or fashion, the epidemic of opioid addiction. When it came time to shoot the video our stellar videographers, Brianna and Kurt Jorgensen, had a very clear concept in mind, shooting the entire video in black and white. As such, there is a more cinematic ambience, and ironically it  seemed to soften the more disturbing scenes. I wanted to convey a glimpse into that terrible affliction through the view of a narrator looking in from the outside. It was a delicate line to tread; we didn’t want to be gratuitous in capturing the inherently dark nature of this crisis, while at the same time conveying that there is hope, and help for anyone who is suffering. It is obviously quite a departure from our first video for the title track, but it also serves to showcase the range of emotions and sonic landscapes that we traverse as a band on this album.

“TAKE ME DOWN”
Songwriters: Johnny O’Neil & John Funk
Musicians: Johnny O’Neil: Lead and Backing Vocals, Lead and Rhythm Guitar
 John Funk: Lead and Rhythm Guitar
 Joachim Baecker: Drums
 Benny Craig: Bass Guitar
 
 Executive Producer: Johnny O’Neil
 Produced by The Blood Brothers: Johnny O’Neil & Brian Bart
 Engineered and Recorded by: Brian Bart at Logic Recording, Winterland Studios, and Pachyderm Studios April-September 2022
Mixed And Mastered by: Brian Bart at Logic Recording Studio

Videographers: Brianna and Kurt Jorgensen
Video Editing: Brianna Jorgensen
Band Scenes Filmed on Location at Maharaja’s/Temple    
Courtesy of Mr. Jit Bhatia (“Stay Young! Have Fun!”)