Blue Sky Theory

Thankless at Dawn | lyrics (GPNP Sessions)
Conceptually, "Thankless" was intended to be the opening song (a drastic change, considering Spirits of the Law!). It is a celebration of hubris, pride, and entitlement from the perspective of the Lionhead citizens: "we're patient and we're thorough, and we're due to reap the fruit, and we'll end this hard life coddled in the roots of heaven's grove." This version is from the GPNP sessions, and was not included for quality reasons.

Thankless at Dawn | lyrics (DVC Sessions)
When Caliban and Alex were students at Diablo Valley College, they took recording classes which allowed you to produce a single song in the DVC studio. This initial version of Thankless at Dawn, recorded in 2001, is the product of such a class. Of note is that Caliban played everything here; Alex forgot to show up, and the band was between bassists/drummers at the time.

32nd | lyrics (PYMWYF)
Although not part of the GPNP recording process, 32nd introduces the character of John, who aimlessly and listlessly wanders the wastes. This is before he meets the character Ingrid, who first appears in 33rd, Her Blue Sky Theory. This song was recorded in 1998 on the album People You Meet While You Fall.

34th: Ingrid in DisOrient | lyrics (DVC Sessions)
Another result of the DVC sessions, 34th follows the travels of John and Ingrid. Replete with lead violin and sparse production, this song began (structurally) the progressive rock inclinations that Blue Sky Theory would later develop. Thematically, the song is important in that it foreshadows things about Ingrid, as well as develops the relationship between her and John. We did not attempt to record it for GPNP due to time; the album was already at 72 minutes, and 34th is nine minutes long. Note our good friend Hannah as the voice of Ingrid!

Canary Balm | lyrics (demo)
An older, slower, and perhaps atmospherically superior version version of Canary Balm. This was recorded entirely by Caliban on an 8-track. Note the actual *blip* !

The Baker of the Bivouac | lyrics (demo)
Also recorded by Caliban on an 8-track, this track tells the post-apocalypse story of a Baker and the starving children around him who he feeds. The music was written by Alex and is very much a throwback to the PYWMYF and Soulmates days, albeit with some interesting chord changes at the end. In fact, the section at 3:19 is taken from a pre-PYMWYF song! Although we knew we would not record it on GPNP due to time constrains (it got cut when we shaved GPNP from a double to a single album), Caliban liked the way the vocal melody and music went together so much that he decided to record it himself anyway.

The Mandate (instrumental demo)
At DVC, Caliban took a MIDI composition class and produced this, an early version of the Mandate. It contains the verse and intro/outro themes known to the song today, but has a different, more airy midsection. Caliban knew that this midsection would likely be changed for the final version of the song, and in fact it was when Alex added a lengthy neoclassical group of riffs heard in the middle of the song today. Still, this version has a special charm to it, with the lavish and expansive keyboards. Stylistically and technically, The Mandate marked a turning point in the style of the band. We were transitioning from mid-80s Legendary Pink Dots-influenced quirky classicism to something even more overtly classical and "progressive" in form. Around this time, we began writing similar songs like "Blueprints" and "Spirits of the Law."

The Mandate | lyrics (demo)
This is a demo we passed out at shows in 2005. Before we started the GPNP sessions, Alex wanted to verify that the project would even be possible with his current level of recording equipment/expertise. To that end, the band recorded this preliminary demo of The Mandate as a test-run. Although it was poorly mixed, and features the same keyboard throughout, it convinced us that we could record the album on our budget (that is, nothing!). This version also features Caliban on vocals and not Justine, so it is worth hearing for that.

The Smash | lyrics (DVC Sessions)
This is interesting for three reasons: first, it was the first song we recorded specifically for GPNP back in 2001, when we believed we could do it all at DVC. It is also the only song to feature Sidd on keyboards. Sidd was our keyboardist for many years, but during most of those years, we were in a pupal state stylistically, morphing from goth rock-->j-rock-->prog rock. Sidd joined right after Soulmates was finished recording but quit around 2005, before GPNP recording began. The Smash probably bears his stamp the most, though he drafted keyboards for many of the earlier versions of songs like Blueprints, 33rd, and Restless. The version of the smash on GPNP was an attempt to approximate the keyboard patch he used here! Finally, it is also the only song to feature our old drummer Katsu. He had just begun learning drums, and was notoriously bad at missing fills! Somehow we managed to get through this song; in retrospect, the drumming is rather fitting and has a sparse charm to it different from Josh's busier style. Other subtle changes like the slower tempo and guitar solo at the end make this version uniquely memorable.

A Bride For the State (unrecorded)
A Bride For The State is about a ritualistic wedding taking place while the Lionhead Nation is still at the height of its power. There was music for most of it, heavily influenced by the gothic rock band Strange Boutique. The first riff was very reminiscent of the Strange Boutique cover of "Song from Under the Floorboards." Actually, it was all quite pretty but Katsu could never get it together, and the song eventually fell by the wayside. Alex has forgotten most of it now.

Little Lost Postcard (unrecorded)
Like A Bride for the State, Little Lost Postcard was a softer song in the vein of Strange Boutique and japanese band L'arc~en~ciel. We *almost* recorded it, but it lost out for time constraints. The music was rather C-grade anyway, and Josh personally didn't like it. Lyrically, the song tells about Isabella's attempt to send a postcard to the underground propagandist Jacques, who is by now already dead.

A Demonstration (unrecorded)
In "A Demonstration", the General invites his Cabinet to witness the Tortoise tank's monstrous potential in a controlled experiment involving mechanical drones and live prisoners. This song was worked on mainly during our visual kei / flutterstrum crazy period with Katsu. The song drew its aesthetics from Kuroyume, but still retained the harmonic signature of gothic rock like The Cure. Unfortunately we never really got it working, and our style changed so as to antiquate the song in our minds. Alex also felt that the song 33rd really did a better job of capturing that style, so the song was scrapped. However, interesting to note, one section of the song did appear on the newer composition Providence. Eventually we truncated it though, so all traces of "a demonstration" are pretty much gone!

Carman (unrecorded)
"Carman" introduces a mechanic who has a rather symbiotic relationship with his 'Beatrice', a military vehicle falling apart from age and damage. We never really finished the music for it, and it too got cut when we initially decided to make GPNP a single album.

Girl in the Well (unrecorded)
In "Girl in the Well", the same mechanic from Carman discovers Ingrid and delivers her from a deep, dried well where he thought she had been trapped. This song actually exists only conceptually; Caliban never wrote the lyrics for it. We all liked the concept and Alex has tried to write music for it, but it is still to be written. Maybe someday...!