Halloween may be over, but everybody knows that all the REAL ghouls and goblins are still out there, lurking behind the curtains or under the bed or in the bread box. Darlingside knows this particularly well, as our house has actually been haunted ever since we moved in. We never know when it’s out looking for a kill, or just being spooky and sowing seeds of fear, but there we’ll be, maybe reading a book, maybe chewing some pumpkin seeds, maybe just taking a little trip to sandwichtown… and then BAM! WHAPOW! A band member walks in the room playing a song — a song you THOUGHT you knew; a song you’ve been writing for weeks — and it’s in a COMPLETELY different key! Oh, hey Dave. Oh, this? Oh we just moved the song up a FIFTH. Oh ‘tsup Auyon, my man! how’s it going? Oh, hmm, what’s that? You thought that song was in A! Oh hahaha no, nope, that song’s been in D for like twenty minutes!

And so it goes with almost every song as we explore the strengths and limitations of each option, sometimes ultimately returning to the original key, sometimes not. Due to the nature of classical string instruments, the changes are more often than not either by a fourth or a fifth, which for a singer is the difference between sounding like Matt Berninger, Steve Perry, or a normal person (pick any two). So fine, maybe YOU’RE safe, wherever you are, because you know what key YOU’RE in… but remember what it’s like to be a Darlingside song, never knowing when the boogeyman might show up and flip your unsuspecting ass upside down.