Hurtin’ Up My Heart was a watershed moment for me. With the backing of LA studio professionals on drums and bass, and a strong chorus that featured Christine joining me on backing vocals again I had, after years of learning and upping my game, produced a professional sounding rock song! Cranking this baby up in my car, when that break comes in the middle with the trade off between voice and guitar and the drums and bass pounding underneath slightly reminiscent of a Van Halen tune (to my ears at least) … wow, I just get a tear in my eye.
The song is sort of a middle-aged version of the “teen angst” songs that have been standard rock and roll fodder for decades. When having a family gets challenging and you just want to go hide in your basement and play a bluesy rock song, you can find yourself thinking, “This day is never gonna end … and when she stops, just gonna start up again!“. Which feels a bit similar to being a teenager trapped in your house with no where to go, being bored and frustrated and just wanting to do as you please. This in turn reminded me of various incidents from my youth, and it all kind melded together into the lyrics in the song.
Had a ton of fun making this video too, using a bunch of cool tech tools. The coolest part is where my son Ian makes me rise up out of the iPad, and then later I’m jamming on the moon (with the help of Adobe After Effects)!
Hurtin’ Up My Heart turned out to be the first song I completed that ultimately made the cut for Keeping The Dream Alive.