Song Premiere:Thorcraft Cobra “Killing Time”
Photo credit: Marina Chavez
On January 27, Billy Zimmer and Tammy Glover will release their new Thorcraft Cobra album. This time out, the pair enlisted Rob Schnapf (Beck, Foo Fighters) to produce the record, which they recorded in various LA studios. On The Distance Thorcraft Cobra enlisted Brett Farkas (Lord Huron, Aimee Mann), Russell Broom, Teddy “Zig-Zag” Andreadis (Carole King, Guns N’ Roses) and Schnapf to realize their layered, melodic sound. Thorcraft Cobra will support The Distance with shows at Hotel Café in Los Angeles on February 16 and New York’s Pianos on February 23.
Today we premiere “Killing Time“ from the forthcoming record. Zimmer tells Relix, “I was at SXSW a few years ago, and I was sharing a rental house with friends. On Mary St just off of South Congress. I wish I lived in that house. Anyway, a friend of mine was tour managing for Chelsea Crowell. Her band left their instruments in the house, and there was a guitar that used to be Rodney Crowell’s, and before that, freaking Johnny Cash’s. An old, old, Martin. I think a 000-28, which I recall had some words carved into the back, but I don’t remember what they were. I probably should have taken pictures. So, one night I was about to go out and see bands, but then I was like, ‘I can go out, or I can play this fucking amazing guitar.’ I chose to stay in, and I wrote ‘Killing Time.’ Like, all the changes and arrangement, the melody, and the lyrics of the pre-chorus. The whole “Is it a chemical reaction part”. Then, as tends to happen the rest of the lyrics took basically forever…
I knew right from the start that I wanted the lead guitar parts to be 12 string electric. Schnapf has a cool trick for electric 12’s – using flat wound strings. Makes it nice and chimey. Hopefully it’s ok if I give away one of his secrets. Also – Rob plays some killer slide and b-bender tele on the song. The slide parts were actually with an e-bow, so they’re doubly slinky. I love how together the slide and b-bender creates this criss crossing wash of melody. Thematically? The allure of bad habits. And entropy. “