I was living off campus near Yale in New Haven when my mother called to say she wouldn't be sending my tuition to the graduate school where I was studying writing. My father was already two years into a prison sentence and I’m guessing she wanted me to insure my future by preparing for more predictable work. I would have preferred a guiding hand. When I allowed anger at her to become the fuel I’d use to face all my new challenges, I wound up losing my relationship with my mother. I started writing Falling In Line sitting on my stoop in New Haven, my apartment boxed up behind me, waiting for a moving van to come. The guitar riff into the chorus was the inspiration of a young session player in L.A. named Nick Monahan. When I first started rehearsing my bass playing with a band, Nick played with me and Carl and gave me huge encouragement, as well as that memorable guitar riff.