Welcome to the first edition of the new OurStage Blog feature “Liner Notes,” where we give the mic over to artists on OurStage to talk in depth about one of their tracks. Whether it be the inspiration, the meaning, the recording process, etc., “Liner Notes” is written for the fan who wants to know more about a song beyond what they hear. This week we reached out to Michigan rock band Good Luck Varsity to delve deeper into their heavy hearted track “Shipwrecked Safe & Sound”. Evan, the band’s vocalist, provides some insight on the song that was penned after two band members were involved in a serious car accident the day before a tour.

You don’t find out what you’re made of on a cruise ship. You’re there for a good time, to be pampered and taken care of. In fact, the slightest hint of discomfort – some choppy water or lower-than-average temperatures – might trigger complaints and questions about whether all the money you spent was worth it. The simple fact that you’re SURVIVING while floating around on the very water that has mercilessly taken billions of human lives since the beginning of time doesn’t even cross your mind, and you certainly don’t feel thankful and relieved when you get back to shore.

Let’s face it, life can be easy sometimes. Not necessarily fun, or free of obligations and demands on our time – but most of us don’t wake up each day asking ourselves “Will I survive to see tomorrow?” We’ve learned to coast through the stuff we don’t like doing, and we generate our hope and happiness through the things we look forward to, as evidenced by the age-old saying “Thank Goodness it’s Friday.”

But inevitably, the storm is coming. If you live long enough, some metaphorical hurricane from hell is going to sweep down the coast and come smashing through the front door of your life and your beliefs and everything that keeps you comfortable, and you’ll find yourself clinging to a piece of driftwood with no land in sight and a decision to make. Maybe it’s a death in the family, maybe the loss of a steady job… or maybe a careless drunk driver will run a red light and throw every perfect plan you had into a trash compactor with razor teeth. And then what?

Then you find out who you are. THEN you find out what you’re made of. That’s the “beauty in the breakdown” so-to-speak. And that’s what has always inspired me, and what inspired “Shipwrecked Safe & Sound.” I’ve had my share of choppy waters, maybe even a few tropical storms… but I’ve been blessed enough by God, my family and my brother’s quick reaction time behind the steering wheel to avoid the hurricane from hell. But when my storm comes, and my paddles crack, and my boat starts to capsize, I hope I’m up to the task. And that’s what this song means – at that catastrophic point, maybe I’ll find that my heart is strong, and that I can sing all the way to the ocean floor.

Until then, my heroes are those who weather their own storms, no matter how big or how small they might be – whether it’s my brother playing a show from a wheelchair 2 weeks after an accident that nearly took his life, or the soccer team I coach fighting and scraping to not get mercied when the score is already 7-0 and any hope of winning has completely dissolved. Because hearts that refuse to be broken may still end up shipwrecked, but they’ll find a way to keep their heads above water… and they’ll end up safe and sound.