THEA: There was a technical delay in the distribution of this song to YouTube, so I was checking Google to see whether it had appeared on our channel there yet. It was everywhere else (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.), and I received a surprising search result:

“AI Overview: ‘They All Know My Knock’ is a ragtime/old-time tune recorded and released by Fairbanks & Cole, tied to the historic 19th-century Boston banjo manufacturing partnership of A.C. Fairbanks and W.A. Cole.”

I don’t know, I’m just not hearing the ragtime here, and that banjo must really be buried in the mix.

[LAUGHS]

(Pretty sure there’s an important lesson about AI in there.)

This is probably a good time to talk about the fact that Fairbanks and Cole are our real names, but the connection to the banjo manufacturers ends there. We’re both stringed instrument enthusiasts, and have been aware of the company for many years. In fact, we actually own one of their instruments…because of course we just had to buy one.

As for “They All Know My Knock”: Chad is an avid reader and likes to write things in groupings of sequels and trilogies. We had just finished “Keys To The City” (about a cynical hotel concierge) and for his next volley, he wanted to write about the room service guy.

We got together to discuss the characters and I will confess here I’m the one who suggested the extramarital affair, the drug user, and the woman who tries to seduce the guy as characters in the song, as well as the people too cheap to tip. At first Chad wasn’t sure he could craft these people’s stories in a way that was subtle enough, but I think he did a masterful job of it. In real life, Chad is very direct…but he managed to say these things without directly saying them, and I love how it turned out. The hook—“they all know my knock”—was all Chad, also.

We got hung up on one line in the chorus and it sat for about 48 hours before I stared at the lyrics for about 20 seconds, and there it was. Nothing very clever, but it’s odd how the most obvious things sometimes just don’t come to you until you get away from it.

And as usual, Chad’s chosen production for this song was fantastic. We knew it couldn’t sound too much like “Keys” so he cooked up this recipe in Suno and settling on it just wasn’t a hard decision at all.

Chad, people may be curious at this point: Have you ever worked in a hotel?

CHAD: No, I’ve never worked in a hotel. I’ve stayed in quite a few, and I’ve mentioned previously that I had lived long term in some really nice ones when working overseas. You learn a lot watching people, and talking to people as well.

I will say that Thea made this song 100% better with her character ideas, along with the usual magic that she does. It turned out great, in no small part thanks to her.

I did want to do a trilogy, though. The concierge that sees everything, the room service person who sees just small pieces of the lives of the guests, and then I thought maybe the bartender from the hotel lounge - that person would know the most, if even half the conversations I’d overhear from travelers are true. I had originally considered using the same guests through each song, but luckily Thea talked me out of that.