Title: Wild Is The Wind (Coming Together)
Released: November 4, 2012
Format: CD Single, Digital Download, Weekly Airplay
Recorded: Three Crow Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre: Alternative Rock, Americana
Length: 4:56
Label: Chaos Records, Studio60 Records
Writer: Brandon Caulfield
Producer: Brandon Caulfield, Hannah Beth, Hayden Merjos, Isabel Merjos

‘Wild Is The Wind (Coming Together)’ is a charity single from American singer-songwriter ‘Brandon Caulfield’ in aid of the Hurricane Sandy Relief Effort. It features vocal appearances from ‘Hannah Beth’, ‘Hayden Merjos’ and ‘Isabel Merjos’ and all profits from the single will be in aid of the relief effort for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. The song was written by ‘Brandon Caulfield’ at the end of October and was quickly recorded at a nearby recording studio in Los Angeles that is owned by Caulfield. He called upon his wife ‘Hannah Beth’ to provide vocals for the charity single and it will be the first time that the married couple will have worked together, the news also comes only after the recent confirmation from the couple that the two are expecting their very first child together. The track also features vocal appearances from ‘Hayden’ and ‘Isabel’ who happened to be around at the time and more than willing to record on the song.

The charity single was written and produced by Brandon Caulfield and is set to be released simultaneously through Chaos Records and Studio60 Records. The two labels that each of the performers on the track are currently signed to, this is in a bid to help sell more copies of the single and therefore result in more money for the aforementioned relief effort. The single will be released on November 4, 2012 both as a CD single and Digital Download, it will also be available for selection for Weekly Airplay which see’s Caulfield dip into his own pockets with the announcement that every 500 requests for the song on Airplay will result in Brandon adding $1,000 of his own money to the relief effort.

BACKGROUND, LYRICAL THEME AND SONG DESCRIPTION
Having seen the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in the east side of the United States, particularly in New York City which happens to be a place extremely close to the heart of Brandon Caulfield, having spent a two year period out in Manhattan during his early twenties he decided to act upon what he was seeing on TV and hearing about in a City synonymous for its music heritage and culture, “It’s always difficult to watch and hear about any kind of devastation but it tends to hit home a lot more when it’s a place dear to your heart that’s been affected. Watching the images on TV, I could see streets that I’ve walked down and buildings that I’ve been inside reduced to rubble. But even then, it’s the personal stories that affect you the most and it’s the element of loss and tragedy of those that have lost their lives and had major parts of their lives destroyed that made me question why people could just sit still and watch things unravel as they did.”
He went on to discuss his reasoning for penning the song and subsequently recording and releasing it “I’m just a musician, there isn’t an awful lot that I can do but what I can do then I will, I feel like musicians have a role to play in this sort of thing, to give some sort of relief. It’s not completely about the song though, it’s about the money that we hope to raise from the song, it’s a way of giving back to society and society could badly use as much money as possible and that’s the primary basis of this. For myself it feels odd stating that it’s not about the song and instead about the money, it’s usually the complete opposite, but in this case it’s paramount that people will pull together and hopefully work towards some form of normality. For those that have lost loved ones, sadly all that I can offer is my thoughts and prayers though.”

The lyrical theme of the song generally revolves around hope and the power of pulling together in the same direction. It’s a song lyrically designed to give hope to those that have all but lost it and it’s chorus in particular emphasizes that fact, encouraging everybody to come together for each other, the verses are interspersed with lyrics that directly sing of the destruction, the opening verse of the song sets the scene as well as the hope-filled tone that follows throughout, while the second verse emphasizes the sadness of those that have lost loved ones and with the third verse its emphasis changes once more to a thankful note to the service men and women that have had a difficult job to do and the following verses and choruses push the hopeful side of the song to the forefront as they sing of a better aftermath.

The song begins with a gentle and emotive piano introduction that sets the scene, it’s matched with a strong rock vocal delivery from Brandon Caulfield as he sings the dreary scene setting opening verse of the topical song, “The dark overcast sky casts a shadow over the east/The rain thrashed down on our citizens feet/The floods they rose up and stopped everything around/But this dark cloud will pass and we’ll up from the ground/We’ll hold a candle and we’ll say a prayer.” the keys of the piano can be heard as the second verse comes in and the sounds of an acoustic guitar provided by Hayden as Hannah sings out in a beautiful and emotional vocal delivery lyrics of sadness and loss, “To our fallen brothers and sisters who are no longer here/Prayers go out to you from far and from near/Believe in each other that we’re all in this together/We’ll be by your side whatever the weather/We’ll hold a candle and we’ll say a prayer/For the loss of the fallen that are no longer there.”

As the second verse ends, so too does the piano playing from Brandon and it’s replaced by the soft twang of his acoustic guitar in combination of that of Hayden’s acoustic guitar and his confident vocal delivery as he sings in thanks to those that have done their jobs very well in such a difficult circumstance, “To all of the officers and firemen/That have fought for normality/From the busy streets of lower Manhattan/To the shores of Jersey too/From every corner affected by Sandy/We’re sending our thanks and our prayers out to you.” and it’s quickly followed by the highly distinctive pop vocal from Isabel as she sings about the potential to move on from the tragedy as she sings, “Our cities will rise up again/We’ll grow stronger from the rain/The winds that swept hearts from the east/Who knew mother nature could be such a heartless beast.”

An acoustic instrumental break makes its way into the song as both Brandon and Hayden play the soft acoustic sounds together, creating a strong country sounding core to the songs middle part that lasts almost twenty seconds and is quickly followed by the four acts singing together in harmony the songs most hope-filled lyrics of the potential to move on from this, each of their distinctive voices can be heard as they come together as one as the lyrics imply “Here we are, we’re coming together/Standing strong, whatever the weather/We’ll place our hands in the hands of each other/Friend, lover, father, sister, mother/We’ll brave the elements, we’ll fight for this place/We’ll fight for each other, whatever your face.” and the follow up to the songs anthemic chorus is song by a different vocalist for each line, first as Brandon sings “Wild is the wind” which is then followed by Isabel’s beautifully feminine voice, “It littered our streets.” which leads way for Hayden’s soft rock vocal, “Debris falling onto our feet” and then Hannah’s more experience pop vocal, “Floods rising up from the ground.” and then all four combine their vocals once again, “What will be left out in the aftermath/What will be found?” and then once again followed by their singing together for the anthemic chorus once last time before the song gently fades out.

LYRICS
Brandon Caulfield – darkblue
Hannah Beth – darkred
Hayden – green
Isabel – purple
Together - black

“The dark overcast sky casts a shadow over the east
The rain thrashed down on our citizens feet
The floods they rose up and stopped everything around
But this dark cloud will pass and we’ll build up from the ground
We’ll hold a candle and we’ll say a prayer
For the loss of the fallen that are no longer there

To our fallen brothers and sisters who are no longer here
Prayers go out to you from far and from near
Believe in each other that we’re all in this together
We’ll be by your side whatever the weather
We’ll hold a candle and we’ll say a prayer
For the loss of the fallen that are no longer there

To all of the officers and the firemen
That have fought for normality
From the busy streets of lower Manhattan
To the shores of Jersey too
From every corner affected by Sandy
We’re sending our thanks and our prayers out to you

Our cities will rise up again
We’ll grow stronger from the rain
The winds that swept hearts from the east
Who knew mother nature could be such a heartless beast

Here we are, we’re coming together
Standing strong, whatever the weather
We’ll place our hands in the hands of each other
Friend, lover, father, sister, mother
We’ll brave the elements, we’ll fight for this place
We’ll fight for each other, whatever your face

Wild is the wind
It littered our streets
Debris falling onto our feet
Floods rising up from the ground
What will be left out in the aftermath
What will be found?

Here we are, we’re coming together
Standing strong, whatever the weather
We’ll place our hands in the hands of each other
Friend, lover, father, sister, mother
We’ll brave the elements, we’ll fight for this place
We’ll fight for each other, whatever your face

PERSONNEL
Brandon Caulfield – vocals, piano, guitar, drums, lyrics, production
Hannah Beth – vocals, production
Hayden – vocals, guitar, production
Isabel – vocals, production