The Love Story Behind the Whole Damn Mess

This post is sponsored by One2One Network. All opinions are my own.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and love is in the air! Did you know there is a love story behind Whole Damn Mess? Well, there is. The debut album, The Queen and the Outcast, is a love story told through rock and roll. It’s a story about the rich girl and the bad boy told through music.

But this is not a fictional love story, it’s a true love story. It’s the story of Don Miggs, signer and songwriter for Whole Damn Mess and his wife. His wife, Lisa DeBartolo, was the daughter of a pro-football player. She grew up well off and lived in a world foreign to Miggs. Miggs grew up the opposite. So when he fell for DeBartolo he quickly found himself in a world he was unfamiliar with.

Throughout the whole album, you will learn how Miggs and DeBartolo’s love story grew and flourished. Each song tells a story about their lives. Here’s a little breakdown of each song and how it relates to their love story, directly from Miggs himself –

The Queen And The Outcast: Song By Song

The songs on The Queen & The Outcast are about the connecting of my life- past and present- they’re about leaps of faith and tough decisions to risk it all on myself, or a girl, or love. About a year ago I set out to write an album about my biggest achievement- this 11-year love affair I’ve had with my wife Lisa: I got the girl, the kids and a life worth celebrating

1. And Then We Were

It all happened in a blink. I literally blinked and then we were. This is the blow by blow of our wedding day. Damien Rice sang at the wedding and Blowers Daughter is a song of his we reference. Most of my family never tried caviar and for some it didn’t go well with them …leaving caviar in the trash. One guess who the queen and the outcast are.

2. We Don’t Need A Reason

So Lisa and I fell in love fast. Really fast. It felt like we had this amazing secret and it raised a few eyebrows, including my own! I would sometimes worry that she was a spoiled little rich girl out to break my heart but soon realized this was it, forever love. My first clue was when she confessed she always wanted an Aries with brown hair, blue eyes, who sang in a letter to me. I knew a guy…We finally decided we didn’t owe anyone an explanation and we don’t need a reason.

3. Be Good To Yourself

So we get married and itǯs total bliss. So what do we do? We screw it up and get pregnant! Milo pops out and we eventually have a second son, Jasper. Now, Lisa never wanted to be married, much less become a mother and here I come along and sheǯs married with kids. It freaked her body and mind out for a minute and she had postpartum depression, lost in what seemed like a fog and then one day she was back to herself. I couldn’t find the words and wish I wrote this for her when she needed it most but better late than never.

4. Anywhere Without You

This one is a declaration of love and commitment to something greater than yourself. And that outro wrote itself.

5. That’s Just How It Goes

This is the realization that life is limited and weǯre all a little confused some days or surprised at where we wind up at a given time. We had the spirit of Tom Petty, obviously, in the intro and ruined that straight away! It’s a cry to go out into the world and connect with compassion and intent. I wasn’t hopeful for a better life than I had before I met Lisa and for a long time I waited for the other shoe to drop and one day I just let go. Why not? Why not me? So I don’t expect anything but I’m ready for everything and I’m OK with the uncertainty because when you think that you know, you’re not even close.

6. Maybe We Should Do It

This is the first song Lawrence, Todd and I wrote together. Todd started asking me questions about my life and we kept coming back to the stories of my love affair with my wife and he pushed to make this the center of the first song and then every one after that. This was an attempt to meld U2, Kings of Leon and The Gaslight Anthem all into one pie.

7. Helium

When Lisa and I began our love affair it was the greatest high I could imagine. I can only imagine though because I’ve never actually been high. I’m the worst rock star ever. I love my wife, I eat healthy and I’ve never been stoned. Damn loser. Well, we floated around in a daydream and most days still do! This song was my attempt to equate love to drugs, poorly, since I named the song Helium- not a drug. Oh well. By the way, when Lisa first saw me she said to her friend who is that creepy guy staring at me and I saw her mouthing it, which prompted me to go introduce myself and tell her I was, in fact, not a creepy guy, just a guy being creepy by staring at her so much.

8. Summer Under Cover

I thought the record was done. We wrote 10 songs, recorded all of them and then someone wondered aloud if we missed it with 3 of the songs and should we try and top those. Always up for a challenge I asked the guys back in and we delivered We Don’t Need A Reason, Stuck In My Head and this one, and I’m glad we decided to go for it. This song evokes the past more specifically than anything else on thealbum to me. I wanted some sweet snot like only those English bands of the 90’s could deliver. I was most excited to add the line about a hero of mine Joe Strummer and I really remember a day growing up on Long Island when a Caddy drove by blasting London Calling with smoke just fighting to get out of every opening in the car. I can still taste the cigarette I’ve never tried just thinking about it.

9. When She Says

My wife is a big music fan. On our first date we spent more time trading songs on an iPod than anything and it was amazing. She wanted to hear me sing and I wanted to remember that feeling here, where she was bringing me home for what would become a hot evening but it always started with a song. That was the way into my wife’s heart and maybe her pants.

10. Stuck In My Head

I reference Joe Strummer in Summer Under Cover but wanted to pay tribute with this song. This is about the day I saw a picture of Lisa at her sister’s house and fell in love with a girl I didn’t know. I looked at the photo a hundred times that first night, May 14, 2005, and she’s been stuck in my head ever since.

I really enjoyed hearing how Miggs recapped each song and shared a little more with us. It really makes you feel like a friend like you are listening to the love story of friends.