Impermanence of Light is the first ever solo project produced, written*, and recorded by guitarist/vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Corona. Previously affiliated mostly with the metal and rock genres and bands such as Floating Goat, Wild Eyes, Hazzard's Cure, and Molten, this eight track solo debut showcases a far more broad and diverse array of themes and musical styles.
The album starts with the moody and psychedelic acoustic/electric instrumental "Home" before venturing into two electric guitar driven tracks, "Out in the Rain" and a cover of the rare Jimi Hendrix song "Gypsy Boy" followed by explorations into poetic darkness with the more ambient and cinematic "Long Shadows" and "On the Shore", then providing some levity and veering off into a somewhat novelty country tune "Moving to Austin" all the while featuring different guest performers on six of the eight tracks. The penultimate "Two Rivers" begins as a reflective acoustic song then transforms into a psychedelic sonic seascape. The album finishes with a dreamy instrumental lamentation "Song for Ruth" that begins with the initial cell phone voice memo recording made at the time the song was first conceived and featuring a melodic bluesy guitar solo as it's lyrical centerpiece leaving the album to drifts off and fade with impermanence.
Impermanence of Light was recorded over the summer months of 2019 with the help of twelve essential and talented musicians. In order of appearance, they are: Dan Popko-Drums, Herman Bandala-Bass, Melanie Burkett-Vocals and Bass, Janiece Gonzales-Vocals, Jack Rogers-Drums, Susie Mc Mullan-Piano, Stephanie Stattel Goudreau-Violin, Lorraine Rath-Vocals, Ian Taylor Sutton-Pedal Steel, Heather Leveroni-Vocals, Laurie Shanaman-Vocals, and Phil Becker-Drums
All songs written by Chris Corona *(except "Gypsy Boy" by Jimi Hendrix)
This album is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Maria De Jesus Corona
October 27, 1942-February 6, 2019
A place, a memory, a person or people, an old pet, the familiar feeling
I wrote this song when I was 22 years old, living in Claremont, CA and feeling like I had no future. Inspired by Percy Shelley's 1818 poem ”Ozymandias”, “Out in the Rain” became a strange sort of celebration of life and youth. It’s been one of my favorite pieces from the past and I felt that it really needed a place on this album.
No solo album of mine would be complete without the inclusion of Jimi Hendrix. Gypsy Boy is a tune I’ve been drawn to from the moment I heard it. Around our home town of Claremont CA. in the late 80’s and early 90’s, Dan and I used to play an arrangement based on the somewhat reconstructed version that appears on Midnight Lightning so it made sense to use that version as a launching point for a new arrangement. It’s perfectly rounded off with Janiece and Melanie’s vocals on the choruses.
As a tribute, I feel pretty honored to actually get to sing this song to Jimi since he was the ultimate musical/magical gypsy boy.
I’d been carrying around the music for what became "Long Shadows" for maybe 15 years. It wasn’t until one night about a year before this release that the lyrics finally poured themselves out of a bottle of wine (or two) over a candle who’s flame nearly burned the entire page I had scribbled the lyrics down on. Portentously, the song came to define the zeitgeist of the life I was suddenly finding myself in.
The music had originated at a time when I was trying to come up with some material for Lorraine and myself to work on together but those plans never flourished. For me, this tune had always been tied to the idea of having Lorraine’s beautiful voice be a part of it and I’m so pleased and thankful that she actually made it happen.
On the Shore was inspired by the scenes in the Cormac McCarthy book The Road when the man and the boy reach the coast.
I spend a lot of time at Ocean Beach in San Francisco in the early mornings and often with no one else around so it’s easy to indulge in post apocalyptic fantasies about this scenario.
I had worked with Laurie Shanaman before on some Hazzard’s Cure material and we had talked about doing more in the future so I jumped at the chance to get here to sing the harmonies on the chorus with me because I had a feeling that this part would be perfect for her actual clean singing voice, and it was.
I consider "Moving to Austin" to be a somewhat novelty country song about the mass migration of San Francisco friends to Austin, TX. that happened throughout the 2000's. Things are a bit different today, mostly in that they're just not moving back anymore. Having Jack and Melanie play on this one was a no-brainer as was having Ian on the steel guitar, and having Heather Leveroni make it into a country vocal duet with me.
I’ve had the music for what became Two Rivers for years. I originally wanted it to be an acoustic track on a Wild Eyes album, but the idea outlived the band. While pulling together material for this album I had originally scrapped the idea of using this because I hadn’t been able to come up with lyrics for it. While listening to a demo of just the music one day the lyrics came to me out of the blue and seemed to literally write themselves like I was some kind of psychic medium.
I wanted the song to end in a chord progression outro that seemed to continue to ascend forever and create a sonic seascape.
I was lucky to get Phil to play drums for the outro as I had spent hours trying to do it myself before realizing that I’m just not that good at drums.
"Song for Ruth" begins with a recording from a cell phone voice memo made on October 30, 2017. I thought It was a really beautiful expression of how I felt about our relationship at the time. I re-discovered the recording in early February, 2019 and was really taken by how haunting the nearly minute long melodic chord progression was and the emotion it evoked. That relationship had recently ended, so now the whole thing had taken on a different more complex meaning.
I began adding guitars and soon a soulful and somber improvised guitar solo lamentation formed over the second repetition of the chord progression. It seemed proper.
The chordal melody repeats six times, once for every year we had spent together.
A place, a memory, a person or people, an old pet, the familiar feeling
