This song was recorded on an impulse in the studio. I remember Ganesh and Subash in the drum room recording their Indian percussion parts for ‘Stay' and for another song that we still haven't finished yet. The idea for the music and the chorus of ‘Back To India” hit me while I was sitting in the studio listening to them.

I ran into the drum room where they were playing and told them that I had an idea for a new tune. I had Kurt run a line into the drum room for my bass so that I could sit next to them and play. We improvised the song as I gave silent cues so they would know where the different parts of the song would be. (I was making it up on the spot)

We figured out a few places to insert Tihais into the song. A Tihai is a way that India musicians will repeat a rhythmic pattern three times in a row making the last beat of the pattern end on beat one of the next measure. This usually happens pretty quickly but it creates a nice tension in the music that adds a nice release as it resolves. Try to listen for these in the song.

I then added a melody on my Sitar bass. This bass was literally given to me one day at the Birchemere in Va. It is a fretless bass where the fingerboard is made in a way that lets the strings lightly rub against it. This causes the strings to buzz just a little making it sound like a sitar. I think that there are banjo strings on this bass tuned to C.

Holly and I immediately sang the choruses while it was fresh in my mind. Speech came in later and did the rest, writing and singing the verses.