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Can't Kids (Single)

by Gold Light

supported by
Caleb Smith
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Liza Victoria
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about

“I met Joe Chang in 2006, at least that’s what Adam told me. Neither Joe nor I really remember meeting back then, but Adam always assured me that I met his Vest Brother at a coffee shop in 2006. His mind was a weird web of numbers and dates, and I trusted his memory more than my own. He always knew exactly how old every one of his friends was, and he remembered peoples half-birthdays.

Adam loved Joe. He would come back home after a visit to Asheville and say, “Every time I’m with Joe, I practice learning my quiet. He knows how to not fill up the air... but I can’t ever stop talking.”

Eventually Joe and I met again and remembered it this time. We all spent the next decade or so making different bands in different towns, touring around in quirky vans, getting tattoos, paying rent, Wolverine-ing beers, and growing up together. And Adam grew into his own kind of quiet.

The song “Can’t Kids” made me cry the first time I listened to it, and I hated Joe for it. Truth is I was jealous that I couldn’t write it. I’ve written plenty of songs, but I’ve never been able to just say what I’m feeling. Joe’s lyrics are straightforward and honest. I’ve always buried my truth under busy metaphors and puns, partly because it’s fun, but mostly because it’s terrifying to hold my heart out in my hands and just let another person really take a look at it. There’s more to learn from Joe than quiet.”

- JESS OLIVER (of Can't Kids)

lyrics

We were just two kids, doin’ what kids did
we didn’t have a clue
With guitars in our hands, we started up bands
we did what we had to do
Bought us a van, travelled ‘cross land
we were always on the move
From bar to bar, never got real far
but we always played it cool
Now tell me what am I supposed to do
now that I’m playing without you


In the house that was haunted, another band was started
and it was started right on cue
You and Jess made such a pretty mess
on your hands ya got a tattoo
And all your books were read, and you made up beds
for all the bands that were travellin’ through
You were just a kid, so why can’t kids live?
Why can’t we start over anew
Cus there’s some things you can’t undo
Now we’re just living without you


In South Carolina, there ain’t nothin’ finer
now i know this much is true
You gave it your best, better than the rest
I should be resting there with you
cus there ain’t no growin, in knowin’ where you’re goin'
and would ya look what we grew into
Now that you’re gone we still hear your songs
we know them all the way through
And we still don’t have a clue
cus we’re lost without you

credits

released October 22, 2021
Recorded in the Summer of 2021
at the Kristofferson Household in Old Fort, NC.

JOE CHANG: Piano, Vocals
Mixed and Mastered by NESEY GALLONS at Mouse Mountain, ME.

From the forthcoming album, BLOOD SUMMER.

The album art is a piece by ADAM CULLUM. Hand-scribed sheet music and coloring for the CAN'T KIDS song "Dimes".

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Gold Light Asheville, North Carolina

Tracking through cinematic tales of heartache, love and loss while bouncing between genres from 50’s rock and roll to post-punk to classic country, Gold Light becomes a catchall for Chang’s prismatic take on American music.

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