Some songs don’t arrive in one piece. They don’t follow a clear path. They resist structure, shatter expectations, and demand to be rediscovered. Living the Dream is one of those songs—a piece of music that had to fall apart before it could truly become whole.
It began, humbly, with an acoustic guitar and a single voice. A raw sketch, shaped in solitude over months, fueled by emotion and instinct. But the real transformation came when another creative force stepped in—John X Volaitis, a seasoned producer and engineer with a different vision.
John tore it down—literally. He chopped up the original demo, rearranged the guitar parts, and reframed the structure until Living the Dream sounded like an entirely different song. Most crucially, he placed the phrase “Living the Dream” at the heart of it all—as the chorus, the anchor, the message.
“At first, I didn’t recognize the song anymore,” the artist admits. “I had to re-learn how to play it, to feel it in my DNA again. But as I absorbed the changes, they began to make sense. Not just musically, but emotionally.”
That shift sparked a wave of growth. Lyrics were cut, transitions refined, and the guitar part was recorded again with a new heartbeat. A basic drum track gave it motion. Layers of electric guitar gave it teeth. The vocals—raw and instinctive—were laid down and stayed.
Then came the textures.
The track traveled across the Atlantic to Denmark, where longtime collaborator Joachim Michaelis, known for his experimental electronic work, added synths that shimmered with mystery. Suddenly, the song breathed differently. It had the vastness of a dream—almost Pink Floyd-esque—yet grounded in acoustic truth.
More sonic color came from two guitarists—Josh Lattanzi, discovered through Fiverr, and Philippe Willems, a seasoned L.A. session player now based in Arizona. They had never heard each other’s parts. They never met. Yet their guitar lines danced around each other in perfect contrast—fate, edited into harmony.
The backing vocals added soul. Two singers—one from the U.S., one from France—were hired separately, unaware of each other’s work. But when their voices were woven together in the final mix, they sounded like a gospel choir sharing one spirit, one room, one heartbeat.
And yet—no one was ever in the same room.
The entire production happened remotely. From Phoenix to Los Angeles, Denmark to France, every note and decision passed through Facetime calls, cloud folders, and creative trust. It was global. It was intimate. It was a miracle of modern collaboration.
The artist, born in Chicago and raised in Phoenix, grew up surrounded by music—from singing in the district honor choir to fronting a band in L.A. at just 18. That band included Danny Saber, who would go on to work with The Rolling Stones and INXS’s Michael Hutchence.
Now, years later, Living the Dream feels like a culmination. Not a return, not a debut—but a transformation. A song that had to be torn apart so it could finally speak the truth it was always meant to.
Because living the dream isn’t a destination.
It’s the courage to start over.
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