London, ON’s Charlie Weber and The Glorious Failures Strengthen Their Resolve In “I Will Be Better Than This” Single
If you’re trying to start over, it can be easier said than done. Sometimes, it feels like you’ve had to pick up the pieces and start again many times before things improve. London, ON’s Emo-Americana Charile Weber and The Glorious Failures capture this discouragement in their new single, “I Will Be Better Than This”. In May 2023, the band will release their newest album Gold Never Stays.
A light acoustic guitar opens the song before tranquil vocals from lead singer Charlie Weber comes in. From there, the song’s honest lyrics grip the listener using a sailing ship as a metaphor for going on a brand-new journey.
“Where it is that we’re going
Cos the seas I’ve weathered seem rather rough
But not as rough as those who anchor to the shores
Hoping that the tide wont pick them up”
Of course, it takes a lot of courage in order to make yourself start over. Weber states,
“The song came from a conversation I had with myself in the dark in the basement bathroom of a casual acquaintance’s parents’ house during a snowstorm on New Years Eve. It’s a song about the ego death that comes when you confront the parts of yourself that you hate the most but are too scared to talk about openly.”
By the song’s chorus, the vocals soar like the wind as Weber decides to keep trying to improve himself even when things are hard. Even though the chorus mentions a New Year’s resolution, the song is relatable to any kind of change that may occur in life.
All in all, the entire song shows that as tempting as it is to keep running from change, it is best to learn to face it. Weber confirms this as he explains, “I Will Be Better Than This hopes to explore how running from our fears can do more damage than actually confronting what scares us the most head on. Sometimes you have to take the path of most resistance to get to where you need to be.”
Listen to “I Will Be Better Than This” below and learn more about the band via our mini-interview.
Care to introduce yourself?
Hi, my name is Charlie, I’m a musician from London Ontario.
I’ve been a singer-songwriter since I was about 17, I’m lactose intolerant and I’ve got a new record Gold Never Stays out on May 25th, 2023 which is available for purchase on vinyl and digital through Charlieweber.bandcamp.com
Tell us about the process of writing “I Will Be Better Than This?”
With most songs that I write it usually comes from a place of trying to understand what’s going on in my own head. This particular song was developed after a particularly stressful New Year’s Eve party where I had a panic attack and spent the evening locked in the basement bathroom having a full-on conversation with my own ego. It was scary but when you have those moments of clarity you can either run from the truth or confront it. What I ended up confronting was my fear of change, which ultimately boiled down to a fear of failure or rejection. “What if I try this whole music thing out and I fail?” or “What if I succeed? will I still be the person that I know or will I be someone I don’t recognize.”
So when I was writing the song I was thinking about how you can spend your whole life hiding yourself away from anything that might hurt you, or you can venture out in the world and see what’s waiting in the unknown. It’s better to have seen the world than seen nothing at all, or however, that old adage goes.
So when I recorded the song we did it in one take live off the floor, just me, my guitar, and a microphone. I wanted to capture those feelings of vulnerability and solitude that I experienced that fateful Dec 31st and is a pretty good depiction of the inspiration of the song.
What’s it like being a musician in London?
I think there is a healthy dose of comradery when you live and create here. Being a smaller city it’s easy to walk down the street at any time of day and see someone you know. I think that breeds community, everybody knows everybody… or at least knows someone who knows someone else. Although we all have varying levels of success, we do our best to prop each other up. It’s not just musicians either, we have a bunch of local artisans: Designers, screen printers, resturauntures, breweries, and people from the arts council who are all deeply invested in the artistic community. London’s art scene is almost like a symbiotic entity, we all succeed because we all help each other.
Who was the first Canadian artist to blow you away?
Protest The Hero, I used to be obsessed with them. I think I saw them 4-5 times between the ages of 16-19, there’s even an old YouTube video floating around somewhere with my high school band lip-syncing to their song “Bloodmeat.” The first time I saw them live was at the London Music Hall, back when it wasn’t the spacious venue it is today, it was small, dark, up like 3 flights of stairs with a pillar in the middle of the most pit. It was great! There we were, a bunch of teenagers packed into this small room watching one of the most technically proficient bands Canada had to offer, as we all sang along with every lyric while trying to find the perfect moment to crowd surf. They weren’t just phenomenal songwriters or good at their instruments (which they were) but they were funny, personable, and able to keep the audience in the palms of their hands. They owned the room the minute they went on stage. It made me want to be a better musician and honestly, I think it informs how I carry myself on stage to this day.
You’ve been making music for a while now, what’s one piece of advice you can offer to those starting out?
Don’t try to be your heroes. Learn from them, steal what you need, and develop your own sound with what you’ve learned. Don’t get hung up on how your song doesn’t sound as good as your favourite song or enough like your favourite band, you’re never gonna be them so stop trying. As cool as the thought might be, we don’t need two Carly Rae Jepsen’s so just be yourself and don’t forget to have fun.
Connect with Charlie Weber and the Glorious Failures:
Bandcamp
Facebook