David Steinhart

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Recently I was able to catch up with folk-pop artist, David Steinhart, to discuss everything that went into his new single called “Row.” The track comes from Steinhart’s newly announced LP, Released, that is out everywhere music is sold on January 10th. With a warm vocal approach, complemented by picturesque guitar playing, Steinhart shows how he maintains a loyal following over his impressive career.

Can you describe the songwriting process for “Row”?

Most of the time the music comes first with me but sometimes an idea for a lyric presents itself and I go from there which is the case with “Row.” The lyric is about how quickly we tend to adjust to our new circumstances after any kind of loss or tragedy. The lyric was inspired by a scene in a show about vampires called “Midnight Mass” from a few years ago. The scene takes place with a couple in a boat on a lake in the middle of the night. The man has been trying to explain, to no avail, to the woman that he’s been bitten by a vampire and is no longer safe to be around. She clearly doesn’t believe him. As the sun rises, she sits in shock as he starts to smoke and in short order burns and disintegrates. She sits horrified but about 30 seconds later realizes that she’s in the middle of the lake and someone is going to have to row back to shore. She quickly adjusts to her new reality and picks up the rows. “In a boat on a lake/with the sun rising slow / and when he bursts into flames / she takes a beat before she starts to row.” It’s about trying to find what’s good in what’s left.

Did you face any challenges making the song? How did you overcome them?

There was a version in 6/8 and a slower version of the song that we tried out during the recording process. When Edoardo Tancredi who plays drums on the album started playing the beat that we ended up using, I knew we were on the right track. Largely the song came together pretty quickly. My favorite section is the outro. I’m singing one note in a falsetto, William Grambling on piano is playing a nice descending riff, and Paul Nelson is wailing on the chords with a nice clean telecaster. It’s a nice ending.

What are you hoping fans take from the track? Are there any personal experiences or stories behind the song?

I hope that they find the lyrics to be interesting and get a little more out of them with each listen. And I hope that happens as they are enjoying the melody and the beat.

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