Wabi Sabi

“The Love Insane” by Wabi Sabi featuring Bernadette Seacrest - NOW STREAMING!
https://wabisabi.hearnow.com/the-love-insane-2
The first time I heard Bernadette perform, I was dropping off gig money for our shared bassist Kris Dale. She was on stage and in complete command of a packed house that hung on her every word. Smiling strangers were greeting me left and right as if they wanted me to join a cult, and the music that electrified the room was steeped in sexy retro jazz vibes with a slight futuristic edge. There was humor, pain, joy, mischievousness, and a bourbon aftertaste in her (their) songs, and it was both memorable and magical.
A few years later, we were supposed to go on tour in France together, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to cancel, but I always hoped we would do SOMETHING together in the future.
So, in 2019 I wrote a torch song called “The Love Insane”, and asked Bernadette to record it with us. I had purposely written it as a gender neutral song as it combined my own experiences with that of some of my female friends who told me horror stories involving their family, friend, and work relationships. Basically, it’s about all the strings that are attached to what some people falsely interpret as “love”. I was so excited to have Bernadette sing it, but the night before we went into the studio, we discovered that it wasn’t in the right key for her voice! This was problematic as everything else (drums, bass, pedal steel, vibraphone, string quartet, etc…) had already been recorded in the other key. I was crushed. But I didn’t want to cancel our studio time, so I recorded a simple piano track in the new key, and she came in and sang (beautifully) over it, and I figured one day when I had time (😆) I would add the other instruments.
Well that day took longer than expected, but here it is! This song was recorded in the opposite order of all of our other songs…usually we start with the music, and then add the vocals at the end. This was built voice up!
We changed a bunch of things in this version from the original - Kris Dale is playing an upright bass, Jason Patrick LaMarca is on a different "set" of drums, instead of Kris’s pedal steel, we have Aaron Thompson being all sorts of tasty on the guitars, I’m playing on my own real piano, and the horns (Wes Funderburk Vinnie Dagostino Justin Powell replace the string quartet with Vinnie taking a lush lounge solo in lieu of the original pedal steel.
I am so proud of both versions, but it’s absolutely incredible to hear this song interpreted by one of my favorite entertainers! Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen!
(Link to all the streaming services in the comment section below.)
Words and Music by Damian Cartier
Horns arranged by Wes Funderburk
Vocals and Horns recorded by John Driskell Hopkins at Brighter Shade Studios
Mixed and Produced by Damian Cartier
Mastered by Alex Lowe at Red Tuxedo

The Love Insane