November 11, 2001

Stories Behind The Songs #1: "Lost Frontier"
The Holy Grail is reputedly buried beneath Rosslyn Chapel, just next door to a decaying but inhabitable castle. Few people know that this castle near Edinburgh, Scotland, as well as numerous other ancient castles and "follies" (strange dwellings designed by the idle rich of times long past), can be rented like a hotel for a reasonable price, from a British company called Landmark Trust.

We did just so back in 1996. Our party included myself, Cynthia, our very tall German assistant Thomas Felidae and his wife, Mark Francombe (of the group Cranes) and his companion, the Norweigan artist Christine Red. One of the members of this group had just had his penis pierced; for purposes of decorum I shall refrain from saying who it was!

The atmosphere was highly charged after our visit to the Chapel, where the Knights Templar are believed to have met their end, interned deep within the rock below the ancient building. The curators of the site are caught in a very delicate spot: they would love to excavate the filled-in catacombs under the Chapel, but peculiar physical circumstances of the dig site would guarantee that whatever is down there would be destroyed during the process.

Anyone who has read Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum" can understand my interest in the Knights Templar. (During the recording of Blueshift, all three members of Splashdown read the book, and were so taken with it that we excitedly agreed to make it into a concept album... maybe some other time!)

After the visit to the Chapel, I returned to the Castle and took out the guitar I had brought with me. The chords of "Lost Frontier" soon appeared.

Later, back in Boston, Melissa set to work adding vocal parts and lyrics, always such a great rush for me when I'd first hear them.

The first attempt at arranging the song was this demo. Somehow, this version just didn't seem to have the right "center of gravity."

Later, Kasson suggested slowing it down significantly, morphing the groove from a quick jig down into a stately stomp. Then he proposed changing the second chord of the verse from a major to a minor. He played a test version, and the song came alive, pouring like honey out of the speakers. I was now bursting to record it.

Those who don't have one of the many Blueshift bootlegs floating around can hear the finished version here.

The end result is one of my favorite Splashdown songs.