Obviously, Bobby will have to answer this more comprehensively for himself, but I do know there are songs he composed (being the main – if not the sole – writer in just about all of his previous bands) that he is quite proud of.

As for me, I have a desk drawer full of things I’ve written over the years – on paper, on cassette, etc – that I’ve kept for whatever reason. I hate to throw things away, especially fleeting ideas and embryonic song ideas… but I’ve probably forgotten most of them. I would need to take about a week to properly leaf through and listen to all the stuff that’s in there. Indeed, I have lots of tapes of songs that probably could be used in Elm Treason in some way or another, but I’ve never had the need or desire to purposely revisit an idea for this band. Of course, there are songs we’ve done that were, once upon a time, ideas or primitive incarnations of songs that we turned into Elm Treason songs. Quite a few, actually. Some were almost complete ideas, others were segments or incomplete melodies, other yet were scotch-tape jobs, as well call them.

To specifically address your question… I can’t think of anything I have written that I am particularly proud of that NEVER became an Elm Treason track. There must be something somewhere I would happen upon and think, “Hey, that’s good. Why the hell didn’t I use that for something?” I’m sure Bobby would say the same thing.

Bobby has come across a few of my scraps and said, “Let’s work on this.” I probably never would have done it on my own – “Getting By” is one… “Choke on Me” is another. He loved that rhythm, so we banged out a song. I’ve done the same with some of his ideas.

It’s so much easier to have a partner you can trust with your ideas when you’ve hit a brick wall, rather than just finishing a song in haste because you want it done. We always make sure we BOTH feel the song is done and good enough. This is the beauty of Elm Treason. It’s almost like Elm Treason is another band – not us. It’s difficult to explain that sensation, but when we work, it’s not Andy and Bobby, it’s the band.

It’s a great question… and may have inspired me to go through some of these old ideas once we’re finished with “WITHOUT A TRIBE.”

Thanks, Bill!

You are VERY welcome!