First the exciting news. This is the last song I needed before I could begin producing my second album. If all goes well, I hope to have 'The Lonely Masquerade' available for your listening enjoyment sometime late February. Now for the backstory behind ‘Usurper’.

While the subject matter may seem dark, my family often jokes about whether we chose the version of reality that is going to end poorly. (Thanks to the TV show ‘Community’ we like to refer to it as ‘The Darkest Timeline.”)

Imagine a very esoteric interpretation of life where you have the option of pre-determining the conditions you wish to be born into, from an infinite collection of probabilities. Sometimes you feel like trying out a Utopian easy mode; sometimes you want the Dystopian nightmare. All options offer their own lessons and hold their own values for personal and spiritual growth.

In every instance, you are born a tabula rasa (a blank slate). But you are also born into a pre-existing structure defined by those who came before you. After several years of playing, it may seem like your main goal is to succeed within the confines of your chosen script. But every life contains a hidden 'Easter Egg'... a secret goal to see if you can see past the computer program.

Seems simple enough, but now for the real challenge. Every great adventure also has an antagonist; and this one has the most surprising antagonist of all... You.

As your mind begins to fill with information and experience, a new presence begins to take over. For all purposes, it feels and seems like you... but it isn't. It's the Usurper, and it will be your greatest challenge during your chosen adventure.

The Usurper is the monster of the mind... the beast that resides within the wiring of our brain. It's a frankensteined fellow, formed from elements that barely hold together under the best of conditions. But it plays such a convincing role, you seldom have reason to question that it might not be the real you.

Here's the cool bit. Unaware, you're stuck in autopilot for the duration of the adventure. But if you look closely enough, the Usurper's flaws begin to show under scrutiny; the stitches and seams become visible. One loose thread is enough to begin the unraveling process. And soon you discover… it’s all just programming; code that can be overwritten. The Usurper is exposed and extracted little by little, with each thought or belief you challenge.

So in summary, what if the goal isn't about overcoming all the world's obstacles. What if the secret behind succeeding at this game is simply about overcoming what's inside of us. I hope you enjoy my latest creation, 'Usurper'. :)

Oh, and uh… yea. That would be me on spoken word. It’s been a while. I thought it was time to get weird in the basement with my recorder again. o.O

Lead Voice
After I get there then what have I done
How did I get to the thing I’ve become
Living like this, I remain on the run
Wanting a change, but I know I’m the one

Dark Voice
We’re the ones who dreamed this
We’re the ones who mean this
No, I’m not facetious
We have come to be this

Bright Voice
It’s the pill we have to take
Its the thing that feels so fake
It’s the reason that some break
It’s the lie that we must shake