• We’re happy to be speaking today with acclaimed rockers The Scarlet Goodbye; greetings and salutations, gang! Before we mosey on down the Q&A musical pathway, could the two of you say ’hi’ and introduce yourselves to our ever-inquisitive readers?

I am Daniel Murphy and I play guitar and sing and am one half of The Scarlet Goodbye.

Hello from Jeff Arundel! Thanks for interviewing us and for helping get the word out about this record.

• Congratulations on the upcoming March 24 release of your brand-spankin’ new album Hope’s Eternal! Daniel, what’s the story behind this simply amazing new LP? How did it all get rollin’?

We started working on it the January of the first pandemic year, I was previously at a Holiday Party at the home of Jeff Arundel and he took me up to his studio in his attic. It had such a good vibe and was such an easy place to get lost in the process of writing and making Music. The first song we co-wrote was Paris. Fresh New Hell and Rosary and Surprised followed shortly after. It very much felt to us both that we were onto something.

• Jeff, our socks were literally blown off by the tune Angel Dust off of the Hope’s Eternal LP! Can you give us the VH-1 Behind the Music secret origin story on this little gem?

I have an old log cabin on Lake Superior, the “big lake” in Northern Minnesota. Dan came up to visit and sat on his bed, working our the riff that is the center of the song. Over and over he would play it, shaping it as he went, while the waves of the Big Lake hit the shore and the stars rose in the twilight sky. That’s what I think went into the song—birthed on the shores of the Big Lake, with everything that meant. These lyrics are mostly Dan’s, I especially love the line “Angel Dust—across the Northern Skies”! Like many great songs, the lyrics could be interpreted in different ways. I like to think of the song as a love song, Angel Dust as a radiant beauty, intoxicating, and the singer is falling in love. Send it on a Moonbeam!

• Daniel, who was the producer on Hope’s Eternal and what did the collaboration between The Scarlet Goodbye and producer look like in the studio?

Jeff produced the recordings he also engineered the recordings with Ben Peterson on drums, Pat Nelson on bass and Pat Frederick on keyboards and violin on a couple of tracks. Jeff was great to work with especially with my singing very patient and intuitive. I really enjoyed the process on this record, it never felt like work!

• Speaking of utterly unforgettable, the music video for The Ballad of Julie Ann is a real masterpiece of visuals paired with a lush and gorgeous tune! Jeff, did you and Daniel have final creative control on this lovely video?

I worked with a film maker in Minneapolis named Pablo Jones. We shot the black and white footage at the young couple’s house in south Minneapolis and we rented a theater for an afternoon and shot the Burlesque footage on a sound stage. He really captured the mood and the tenor of the track I was so pleased with the final cut! Dan

This video is all Dan-he has an intense passion for the song, as do I, and from the start he had a vision for creating the video. Dan discovered the Director and worked on all aspects of the production. Dan is very visual, as a renowned collector and dealer of vintage art, so the final product was no surprise in its integrity and loveliness……………it has had a powerful impact on everybody. Jeff

• Daniel, what differentiates Hope’s Eternal from the Distinguished Competition on the 2023 music scene?

We worked for a long time on this recording it started off as a 6 song E.P. The harmony singing is really unique to my ears. And the mood while very determined is at the core uneasy as much of it was written during the pandemic and during the social unrest that rocked Minneapolis after the murder of George Floyd. Curfews and flying helicopters and police drones make for an unsettling backdrop for writing lyrics.

• Jeff, the port of call for Hope’s Eternal label-wise is InGrooves/Universal. What makes InGrooves/Universal the perfect home for The Scarlet Goodbye and their music?

Dan and I have been in the music business for a long time, and the landscape has changed dramatically—almost nothing is the way it was 20 years ago. We are lucky because our label, The Label Group, out of Nashville, has major label distribution with InGrooves/Universal, and that helps a lot when it comes to gaining access to playlists, which is the modern version of radio play. The Label Group has been great about getting singles released, and now finally the full record, and they are also excited about the new songs we are already working on, so it is an unbelievable fit for us. Thank You TLG and Dennis Sanders!

• Daniel, The Scarlet Goodbye has deep roots in the beautiful state of Minnesota. How does Minnesota inform the sound and/or the feel of the music which you and Jeff create?

When I started playing music seriously and got signed to Twin-Tone records way back in 1983 I assumed every town had the thriving music scene that Minneapolis had. A huge surprise when Soul Asylum started touring and we found out that was far from the case. We are very fortunate to live in Minneapolis and for us to be a part of such a thriving and vibrant and diverse music scene. I think about that every day in fact!

• Jeff, on the heels of the release of Hope’s Eternal, can fans look forward to seeing The Scarlet Goodbye on the performing/touring circuit?

We have a sweet touring band–Ben Peterson on drums, Pat Nelson on bass guitar, and Pat Frederick on keyboards, violin, and mandolin. We have been playing shows all over Minnesota, and we have a pretty great Summer lined up, so once the record is out this March we will be ready to come to your town! All you have to do is ask.

• A question for both of you – Who inspires you musically?

I like Tom Waits, The Rolling Stones (until the 1980s lol), I like The Jayhawks, The Lemonheads are a band we used to tour with that I enjoy still to this day. I have an ear for harmonies and harmony singing is my favorite aspect of recording music. I like brooding melodies and lyrics that are dense and thought provoking and not opaque or obvious.  Dan

One of the interesting things about Dan and me is that we come from different ends of the musical spectrum–I have mainly performed as a singer-songwriter, in the classic sense–James Taylor, Jackson Browne, etc—and I love Steely Dan. Currently I am listening to Marren Morris, Khraugebin, and of course I always wanted to be Bill Withers. Jeff

• Daniel, Hope’s Eternal weighs in at a healthy twelve track total. Did everything you fellows recorded make the cut, and if not will we perhaps hear some of the “extra” music on a future LP release?

We recorded I believe 2 or perhaps 3 other tracks that we did not finish? I hope to revisit those tracks and maybe put them out as folks grow familiar with the initial 12.

• Jeff, what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving Hope’s Eternal many-a spin on their respective hi-fi systems?

Ibelieve that the record is unusual in its emotional scope—and performing that scope is something we are getting good at. I think there are stunning moments of great musicality, great singing, and such a varied palate of authentic creation—the ballads are powerful, the rockers are powerful, and then there are songs like “Sandy”, that are serious in their “we don’t take it serious” approach. I don’t honestly know of another band that creates as complex a tapestry of original lyricism and melody. I know that sounds lofty, but I believe it, and that’s what I hope the listeners experience.