"AFTER THE STORM" The year was 2017 and Donald Trump had just taken office when Namba Gear owner Woody Moran and his song writing partner Kelly Brightwell sat down for a writing session. As usual, they started their session with a little chat about what was going on and their thoughts on various subjects. These preliminary chats almost always open a doorway for a new song and this occasion was no exception.
The subject was Trump and what the world would be like in 2020 after four years of his "leadership". As terrible as we envisioned it, we never imagined the reality: Family separations, imprisonment, and the deaths of immigrant children; Dismantling the pandemic response team and muzzling the CDC; Massive tax cuts for the rich and large corporations to the detriment of middle and lower income families as well as small business; Disregard of climate change; Coverup and corruption leading to his impeachment; Attacks on the news media as well as social media; The lies... so many lies every day of his presidency.
In America right now, we are weathering the perfect storm: political unrest meets social inequality meets climate change meets pandemic. This song is a call for us to wake up to the changes that are happening in real time, and act where we can to protect what we collectively hold dear -- before it's too late. "Did you really think you'd get out unharmed?"