Page 27 - Poze Magazine Volume 82

Ross Flora

Q&A

Poze MagazineYour upcoming single, "Home
Bound," is deeply personal and inspired by your
bond with Sadie Mae. Can you tell us more
about how she influenced this song and what
she means to you?

Ross Flora The main influence and inspiration for writing
"Home Bound" came from my dachshund, Sadie Mae. Anyone
who has been around dachshunds knows they have huge
personalities and are fiery, passionate companions, so a bond
with them runs deep. Unfortunately, most of the time, I can’t
take Sadie with me when I go on tour. With this song, I try to
capture the overwhelming joy I feel when coming home to her,
being just miles away, knowing she’s waiting for me as well.

Poze Magazine You mentioned that "Home
Bound" was years in the making. What was the
creative process like, and what finally made
you feel ready to share this song with the
world?
Ross Flora "Home Bound" was a song I wasn’t sure would ever
be released, much less as a single. It started out years ago as
a sort of lyrical altruistic palette cleanse when writing songs
with heavier topics, and musically I’d use it to test out new
ideas and recording techniques. There are several pages of
lyrics with widely varying directions for it sitting on my desk,
and one day looking through them, this version fell into place.
After some work to shape a final draft, I felt it was time to be
completed and released. While the early versions of the song
were narrowly about Sadie and I, I wanted to take a wider
perspective so it would apply to any person or pet that brings
the listener home.

Poze Magazine Beyond Sadie Mae, were there
other personal experiences or influences that
shaped the meaning of this song?

Ross Flora There are so many people and experiences that
additionally influenced "Home Bound," from my dad going on
work trips a lot growing up—always letting my sister and I know
how excited he was to come home and be with us, to close
friends and bandmates who have kids that talk about the pain
of leaving and joy of returning to them. Visually, other than my
favorite picture of Sadie Mae as the album art, another photo
that stayed on my mind while writing this song was the photo
of Berry Oakley’s daughter on the back of the Brothers and
Sisters album by the Allman Brothers Band.