To coincide with the release of his brilliant new album Outside, we caught up with long-time songwriter and musician Todd Underwood, to find out more about the conceptual depths of the project, the creative process, and his plans for the future. Here’s how it went.
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Hi Todd – great to catch up with you, Happy New Year! To introduce things, how was 2024, and how long was this new project in the making?
Happy New Year to you too! I try to release an album every year but that doesn’t always mean the songs are from that year. In fact I’m usually a few years behind, so many of the songs are from 2021 or 2022. But, I also always try to hit a song from the old days as well; songs that I never released or finished. This sometimes explains why all of a sudden there’s a song that sounds like its from the 80s… it probably is!
“One day I’ll get through all the material I have had sitting around for all the years, but for now there’s still plenty left.”
What first inspired the title and concept of the new album Outside?
2024 was full of wars all over the world and all kinds of crazy things going on Outside. We like to stay in our homes where we feel safe, secure and comfortable, but outside there’s a storm raging. And for some people there is no safe “home”… its all outside, all the time. It just seemed like there were so many bad things happening this year… from storms to wars… so that’s what the concept is.
Welcome to the Stage is an explosive introduction – did you write this album in a particular order, or were the songs just written and then arranged as a means of compiling your latest collection?
I did not write them in any order. In fact Welcome to the Stage is an older song from about 5 years ago that I just finally got around to finishing. Most of the songs are newer but I always jump back to my catalog of unfinished songs, even as far back as the 80s, and try to finish at least one from a long time ago for each album.
What does the song Outside represent for you, and how does it connect the rest of the album?
That’s an epic song. It’s long and has many parts. In fact there’s at least 3 time signature changes and a few key changes, so it was a challenge to write which I like. I wanted to do something different and also wanted to do an ending that is something on the order of Jimmy Eat World’s Goodbye Sky Harbor where there’s a progression going that starts out minimalistic but then keeps adding and adding and adding parts all the way to the end. That kind of stuff, while not radio friendly, is super fun to do in the studio and lets me get really creative.
I also wanted to get Joe Morin involved. He was the drummer of the band Edison Glass, which I really like, so it was great to get him to play on this and on Welcome to the Stage. I think he added some really good creativity to the rhythms and things I would not have thought of which is great!
Some of the album’s biggest rock moments are accompanied by a darker lyrical contemplation. Was this your intention artistically, or were these just ideas that consumed you as you continued to make the music you love?
For lyrical content I tend to write about what I’m going through or the feelings I’m having at the time. A certain phrase or concept/idea will come to me and I write that down, and then when its time to write lyrics for a song I look at my list and see what fits. While it’s not always me that’s going through the dark emotions, I definitely draw from those around me.
There’s a verse in the Bible that talks about rejoicing with those who are rejoicing and mourning with those who mourn, so if I’m doing that, its coming out in my lyrics, even when it may not be my personal issue. Although some are for sure.
Why did you choose to include Shadow of the Battlefield, and what do you hope listeners take away from this?
That’s really about the war or now I should say wars in the middle east… so much going on and I don’t think for a minute that any of the children on any side want it. As adults we’re carrying on all this grief, torment and hatred of having to fight a war for whatever reasons, most of which our children think are frivolous, and they would rather us be bringing love and peace to the table, not bombs and bullets.
Tell Me Not to Worry is fantastic, a personal favourite. What was the writing process like for this, and why did you choose to end the project with it?
This is one that I think I wrote in such a way that it can apply to whatever is going on in the listeners lives when we are worrying about something and everyone is saying, “don’t worry about that, it will be fine”… but we still worry.
I’ll tell you what it was really about and then the individual lyrics will make perfect sense, but spoiler alert… it may ruin it for some.
I managed to make it all my life so far (and I’m old lol), without ever having to go to the hospital for anything… no operations, no surgeries, just the occasional visit to the family doctor… until now. I had to have surgery back in November and for me that was a very scary thing, from the anaesthesia to the recovery and everything in between. But of course everyone was telling me not to worry, it’s routine, no big deal – you’ll be fine. LOL.
Which song from this album would you recommend first to a brand-new listener, and why?
I would say It’s Not Broken because its the easiest listening, most poppy song. It’s really about people giving up to easy on relationships and a positive message of maybe don’t give up so quickly on something that has the potential to be so good… instead of making everything about yourself in a relationship, trying to put the other person first. When they are doing the same thing it can be wonderful.
Last time we spoke you mentioned that people have always told you that you’re too eclectic. Does that still occur to you when writing, or do you create with less of a care for style and more for the self-reflection and therapeutic joys of making music?
Yes that still happens but I don’t care. One day I woke up and realized my making music is exactly what you said, its for self-reflection and introspection, my own personal therapy and the joy of making music. You couldn’t have said it better!
So, as an example, on my last album I had a great horn player do a horn section on three songs… and why not! I really enjoyed it. I’m up for pretty much anything, which is also why I like to collaborate with other musicians and see what comes out. It’s like an artist with a blank canvas and bunch of colors of paint… we just start and see what comes out and I like it all.
What’s changed for you the most since we last spoke, and what do you have planned creatively or performatively for 2025?
I think one of the things is I have been doing a lot of work musically for other people as my schedule has begun freeing up more and more from the demands of work. I’ve been doing a lot of collaboration, and a lot of mixing and mastering work for various artists of different genres which is fun, but it also sparks creativity in me to do different things.
My next album, which is already half done, is going to be a lot more simple and a different vibe. It came from watching another artist use a completely different tuning on the guitar. I took that and modified it a little, and next thing you know I wrote around 14 songs in a two week period, just because the new sounds were so inspiring. It was almost like picking up the guitar for the first time again!
Is there anything else we need to know?
I do have a new band happening called The Jetglows. Here’s a little blurb from a P.R:
Timothy Ferguson, Travis McNabb, Gina Partin and Todd Underwood formed The Jetglows in late 2023. The four were acquainted through the Phoenix, AZ music scene decades ago, though never worked all together as a band. Now spread coast to coast across the US, the members reconnected one by one through the process of writing and recording long distance, until the four were creating complete recorded songs together.
The Jetglows began releasing catchy, power-pop and alternative tracks as each was completed, building a catalog of singles throughout 2024. ‘The Jetglows’ album is the culmination of these efforts.
“We’re having a great time spreading our musical wings as friends reconnected” said drummer Travis McNabb, a career musician with credits ranging from Kelly Clarkson to Todd Rundgren to Sugarland. Singer/Guitarist Gina Partin reflected on the reunion of friends, “I love what each member brings to the table, both creatively and personally”.
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Find Todd Underwood on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube.
