The story behind the song

It was in the late 1990s when I wrote Life Fever. I had just started dating my first wife April, working my first post-gradschool job at my first software startup, listening to a lot of Grateful Dead, and of course also listening to the Beatles. Basically the whole 2nd half of the 90s and most of the 2000s was one long Beatles binge for me. I was also reading a lot of interesting novels by authors like Tom Robbins, who was fond of using unusual literary devices like the personification of inanimate objects. Lastly, I was what some might describe as “very optimistic about life” throughout all of my late teens, 20s and 30s. Today, that mindset is still my favorite kickstarter whenever I need one, and back then it worked its way into several of my songs. Life Fever was born out of all those influences. It’s an ode to my late 20s that I look back on very fondly.

Notes from the Studio

Mac Bartinelead vocals and rhythm guitar

I like the jammy, upbeat vibe of this song, especially when we play it live. All of us love the old greats of jam band rock like the Grateful Dead, and this song lets us play around with that vibe a little bit in live performances. It was fun to do in the studio as well, and forced us to nail down the instrumental part, which we always improvised until the recording. Getting that instrumental right was one of the hardest parts of the recording process, requiring multiple trips back to the studio, mostly for new guitar takes.

Lyrics

I was a boy and then I was a man
Some people can fly because they think they can
Some fall in-to life, they never leave the ground
Mute as their hearts rage on without a sound
Mute as their hearts, without a sound
They fall into life, never leave the ground

A mango a tango, a dose of life fever
Fandango, a tango and catch some life fever
A mango, a tango, a dose of life fever
Don’t want no cure nor the doctor neither

Trudging in line to live another day
Missing the meaning of the words we say
If I told you the story of a piece of string
Could you see all the beauty in that simple thing
The beauty of a simple thing
The story of a piece of string

A mango a tango, a dose of life fever
Fandango with Django and catch some life fever
A mango, a tango, a dose of life fever
Don’t want no cure nor the doctor neither

Create your own end, and swing like a king
And find you some friends who love to sing

A mango a tango, a dose of life fever
Fandango with Django and catch some life fever
A mango, a tango, a dose of life fever
Don’t want no cure nor the doctor neither

Who played what

Brian Wooten — pedal steel guitarHeath Nicholls — bass and harmony vocalsJ Miller — drumsJules Bryce — keysMac Bartine — lead vocals and rhythm guitar (1990s Fender Stratocaster and Fender Twin Reverb)Rich Adlin — lead guitar and harmony vocalsSeva — producer; recording, mixing and mastering engineer

What they’re saying about “Life Fever”

“Life Fever” leans into a bluesy groove with the twang of lead guitar, shuffle of drums and hop of organ combining to create an engaging jam that swells with infectious vocal leads and playful instrumental flutters.
Plastic Mag

“Life Fever” brings a funkier, slightly aloof energy.
Rock Era Magazine