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The Story
"Waiting" originated during a period in the late 1990s when Fred played frequently at open mic events. At these events, performers often "sat in" on one another's songs and provided accompaniment. Fred decided he wanted to write a song other players could sit in on, so -- knowing that most of the other performers merely pursued music as a hobby -- he set out to write something simple that almost anyone could play (hence the first verse chord progression of D major - G major - A7, all in open position). However, as the writing progressed and the tune moved away from strictly open-position chords, Fred realized "Waiting" was not the open-mic jam song he had hoped to create.

With his initial songwriting objective buried beneath minor seven flat five chords, Fred began to envision a new direction for "Waiting." He imagined the sonic richness and excitement that might result if the song were played by five or six people on stage with different acoustic guitars. Dubbing this fantasy ensemble the "Guitar Army," Fred resolved to approximate it on CD whenever the opportunity arose. So, once the Equiliberation recording sessions got under way, Fred dragged his lingering vision of "Waiting" into auditory existence.

Equiliberation had never played "Waiting" -- not even in rehearsal. In fact, when Ryan recorded the bass track, he had to compose it in the studio while Fred and engineer/co-producer Craig Sadler critiqued his performance and made "helpful" suggestions (in hindsight, Fred was glad Ryan was the one on the spot since he handled the situation with much greater poise than Fred could have managed). Elliott didn't have to face the kind of stress Ryan endured because the song didn't call for a typical drum part. Instead, Fred, Craig, and studio engineer Ben Gallaway created a percussion track with Ben playing congas, Craig adding shaker and tambourine, and Fred providing a low-end kick sound and tambourine accents.

Happily, thanks to the magic of multi-track recording and Noelle Collier (who loaned Fred three 6-string acoustics and a 12-string acoustic), Fred was able to create the wall of acoustic guitar sound he had envisioned. Thus, in the end, Fred successfully realized his second goal for the song.

Finally, "Waiting" was originally titled "Waiting (with Robert Frost)." Attentive listeners -- and, of course, those reading these comments -- will note that the lyrics quote the last three lines of Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening":

But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.