Album notes: F Plus is the first collection of songs from Eureka Failure. We'll talk about that. We'll talk about who Eureka Failure is and what those songs are about. When in doubt, just start talking. I just made that up. We'll see if it's good advice. It doesn't sound like good advice, but we'll see. Eureka Failure has about 4 or 5 members. They are: Courtney King Chris Tsambis Marvin Reese Craig Meers and Ace Harney. Only the first 4 are required to make music, but the last one is required to get the full audio visual experience. He's the VJ, they're the rappers. Except they don't rap. Yet. But they did have a rap segment in one of their songs once, that one time they made a song for a video that screened before the closing night film of an academy-qualifying film festival. Which is almost like having a song in the same sentence as Oscar® Nominated. This isn’t going well, is it? Alright. Pushing forward. I just burned some cookies in the oven while writing this. ... ... . Alright, pushing forward again. Eureka Failure is the smell of slightly overcooked oatmeal cookies. A pleasant, appetizing aroma that in one whiff both makes and breaks the promise of sweet perfection. It's meeting your first true love at your bachelor party. It's hitting your stride after you lose your legs. Here's a breakdown of the songs on the album, and maybe a sentence or two about them. Perhaps in talking about the songs we might better understand the band. Redundant Bumper Sticker: This was the first song Eureka Failure wrote. It's life began at a time when Marvin and Chris were waiting to hear about the future of their previous band, Heavy Florist. They came up with the call/response structure and title and inserted some absurd lyrics, some of which remain in the song as it is today. Chris had been talking about collaborating with Courtney for some time, and with the hiatus of Heavy Florist, they recruited longtime friend Craig on bass and workshopped the song as a four piece. And that's how it all began. Inevitable: Remember when I said Chris had been talking about collaborating with Courtney? Well Inevitable was a song he was writing with that in mind months before the first time they got together. Again, the band workshopped and developed the idea to fruition. And yes, it is primarily about the gut wrenching experience of pursuing a forbidden romance, something which Inevitably brings up questions about how and when Courtney and Chris started dating. (See what I did there?) Raygun Man: Raygun Man is a song Courtney brought to the table late in the first year of the band. Like most of the songs, they were workshopped as a band and they took shape organically, with Marvin bringing a surf rock sensibility to it and Craig dropping the low end loop that carries it through it's moody verses. Although she hasn't confirmed it, Chris assumes he inspired Courtney's lyrics about being head-over-heels for an angst-ridden man with soul-piercing eyes. It's a role he attempts to fill with his romantic guitar interlude in the song's instrumental bridge. Bucketlist: The first of two reworked songs from Chris and Marvin's past, Bucketlist is a song that Chris has been working on for years. It represents a conscious effort to write and arrange a pop-rock anthem that feels big and polished. "I wanted to write a song that had big pop hooks, but also I wanted to really push the volume dynamics.” he wrote just now. In it's earlier incarnations, the first two verses played similar to the third--big and loud and rocking at 11. But with each new rehearsal they would strip those verses back more and more, until it was barely more than muted rhythms and vocals. Heartbeat: Another song Courtney brought to the table, which was workshopped every which way but loose-- and then also loose, Heartbeat begins as a 70's rock ballad, and Eureka Failure push for the big moments, flirting with their admiration and reverence for that era's prog-rock and later new wave. It also signals a change in tone for the remainder of the EP. It has been confirmed that this song is about Chris. Honeymoon Stage: One of those embarrassing, heart on your sleeve, airing-your-dirty-laundry songs about the crazy things you do in the heat of the moment, and realizing that happiness is fleeting, but hey, LIFE is fleeting, so why NOT live and love and try to be happy while you can? songs. On January 17, 2015, after performing the song on stage in front of a enthusiastic crowd, Chris asked Courtney to marry him. She said yes. Quasimodo: Legend has it this song existed before any of us. January, 2015