Babylon Shakes frontman Chris Clark provides ‘Stories Behind The Songs’ for track “Stars In Your Eyes”
Babylon Shakes frontman Chris Clark provides ‘Stories Behind The Songs’ for track “Stars In Your Eyes”
Vintage sleaze rockers Babylon Shakes frontman Chris Clark continues his weekly segment of Stories Behind The Songs for the tracks from the debut full-length album Exile To The Velveteen Lounge, which was released via HighVolMusic in early February 2019. This time, Clark pays tribute to his current wife Margie Clark.
Photo by Christopher Carroll ROCK Photography
The following message was posted on Clark‘s Facebook page today (with slight edits):
“So I thought I would start doing a weekly segment called “Stories Behind The Songs”- just giving some background info and inspiration behind each of the tracks off our debut album.
If you guys enjoy it, comment and let me know.
This week – Stars In Your Eyes
Stars In Your Eyes – My life was forever changed on Thursday, April 30, 2015. So much so, that my entire existence leading up to that day, just felt like I had been asleep. Hibernating and then waking up to the most incredible life you could ever imagine. I walked into Sonoma’s in Columbia, MD for the M-Pre Party with other members of my band and we were frantically loading in for a quick soundcheck. I was nervous, excited and had no idea of what to expect. I fumbled around in my bag for my tuner and began uncoiling a nest of cables. I heard voices all around me – sound guys, techs, people coming in to the door and side-stepping all of our gear. I started tuning my Ibanez Iceman and saw someone coming towards the stage. She came right up to me, stuck out her hand and thanked me for playing. In a second she was gone. It was that Marjorie girl from M3 Rockers! I felt the most intense and overwhelming calm warmth I have ever known. Like a shockwave of a spiritual magnitude. God, she had a beautiful smile and gorgeous almond shaped eyes.
Then came the gust of crazy merriment that is the M Pre Party. Like one of those hyper-speed montage sequences from an 80’s movie. People wanted pictures with us, they bought us shots, they wanted autographs and where is the merch? Its like being a leaf in a gale. Crazy, hectic, uproarious fun but at the end of the night, we stood side by side together watching Station round out the night. A little drunk, a little tired but a lot of emotion. We kissed and that was it. We have been inseparable from that moment and have moved mountains to be with each other ever since. It’s not easy to put into words how meeting your soulmate truly affects you because its on par with a spiritual awakening. It’s that very rare moment in life when you have never been more sure of anything. Nothing will ever be the same. I had a melody and chord structure for a country tinged “Dead Flowers” type of song, but as I kept playing, it got a bit slower and I heard “Lady your my soul / you took my heart and made it whole”. We rehearsed it and during recording, Gary played a ukulele over the acoustic guitars to mimic the sound of a mandolin. Jeff came up with the “Waiting On A Friend” style “woo-hoo-hoo-hoo’s” and the “was it me” section at the outro. Christopher Carroll and Marcy Jordan do a spectacular job with their backing vocals. My solo tips a hat to “Sweet Child of Mine”. I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out. I still get chills when I hear it. She put the stars in MY eyes.”