Tell Me About That Song: Andrew Neufield, Vocalist of Hardcore Punk Band Comeback Kid

Comeback Kid

A lot went into writing your favorite song--but how much do you really know about it? This week Andrew Neufield, vocalist of Winnipeg hardcore punk five-piece Comeback Kid, delves into performing in Brazil, the difficulties of a "wordy" song, and the near fatal crash on the side of a mountain that inspired the lyrics.

Song: "G.M. Vincent & I"
Album: Symptoms + Cures
Release Date: Aug. 2010
When it was written: Between Dec. 2009 - March 2010
Where it was written: This song was a work in progress. It started off as an idea that I sang into the voice recorder of my phone, and evolved through jamming it out with the other guys in CBK, to finishing off the lyrics and "extras" in the studio.

Favorite line in the song: "Do you want to come down take a look tonight? Legs tangled under the viscous weight. It's harder to see. Ribs under the knees. The pain in the vision. I wait for someone to save you."

Which part was the hardest to come up with? I think the hardest part to come up with was the chorus and how to execute the layered vocals.

If you could go back and change anything, what would it be? This is one of the more challenging songs to play live because it is very "wordy." I love the final outcome of the song and I wouldn't want to change it necessarily, but it forces us to be on point live. If we couldn't nail it any given day, it would be pretty apparent.

Odd fact about song: "'G.M. Vincent' and I" means "Grave Maker, M. Vincent (Matthew Vincent) and Myself"

When was your favorite time performing it live? It's a toss-up between playing it for Matt live the first time in Toronto last year (Sept. 2010) or playing it in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in March 2010 and the reaction we received from it. There have been some special nights playing that song, but those two memories stick out in my mind.

What was your inspiration for writing the song? In Oct. 2008, Comeback Kid was on tour with a few bands. One of them was the Vancouver/Seattle band Grave Maker. My friend Matthew plays in my other band Sights & Sounds and we had just recorded an album in B.C. Straight after, we started a Comeback Kid tour heading east from Van. Matt was getting a ride back east with Grave Maker. One night for fun I decided to ride along with Grave Maker.

It was 4 or 5 a.m. and Matt was sitting shotgun. We were driving through a mountainous area in eastern B.C. The van lost control and we flipped down a hill on the side of the road about four times. Everyone has their own story of what happened. I ended up being generally better off than everyone else, but Matt was stuck underneath the van with his legs tangled inside the van while it was crushing his body. He couldn't get out and we had to wait for the ambulance and fire trucks to come. This is one of the most real and frightening moments of my life. Watching my best friend stuck beneath the van in so much pain, not knowing if he was going to be able to walk, let alone survive, after this accident. He is alive and recovering now, but this song talks about my memory of that night and how we continue to tour and somewhat risk our lives for the music that we play. We have passed the crash site a few times and it is a constant reminder. The song is about my memories of that night and also a celebration that we are still alive and kicking. It is paying homage to my friends who survived that night.

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Comeback Kid will be performing alongside Underoath, The Chariot, and This is Hell on Sept. 26 at Neumos.