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The Rough Draft

by Bug Hunter

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BallPointButch
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BallPointButch like many others this was the album that introduced me to bug way back when, felt blesses to finally hear some of the songs in person recently

an incredible talent, your work means the world to me Favorite track: Deserve Me.
Morgana August
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Morgana August The best song storytelling I've found, recommended to anyone who doesn't care for the repetition of most other modern music Favorite track: Deserve Me.
wesstenn
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wesstenn such a great album, between the lyrics the message of the song and the instrumental. it's all amazing and I can not stop listening to it!!! Favorite track: Be Glad I Love You (Go to Bed).
Garrett
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Garrett A great album to really listen to, these songs resonate with me more every time I play them <3 Favorite track: Dear McCracken.
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1.
I just stepped on a plane, my bags on the shelf I find my seat in the middle and plan to keep to myself The pilot comes on, says: "there's been a delay" and I sigh, buckle up, and prepare for the wait There's a middle aged woman on my right by the window no ring on her finger, maybe divorced or widow? She's drafting an email and from where I am seated I can side-eye that shit, so of course I'm gon' read it. it said: Dear McCracken... this is already great dude's got a pen pal and a killer last name she opens with an inside joke and she's hoping to set a casual tone, her words carefully chosen she was sure that her week spent in Houston would drag but then a face from her past quickly changed all of that the trip was for business, she's used to the travel but this time she's not ready to head back to Seattle Dear McCracken, I'd rather be off this plane I can't admit the half of it that I want to say Do I pretend, do I push you away? I'm jet-laggin mcCracken and I'll give you, I'll give you your space I can tell by the abuse of the backspace key there's a heart balanced on how her words are perceived she's retyped that fourth paragraph four times swinging the tone back and forth until she's so satisfied that he knows that even though their paths have diverged there's an air of regret but not enough to reverse and I am stunned, there I sit, completely convinced that once you grow old you stop dealing with this the uncertain, the hurtin', the feelin like dirt when things don't work out by the fall of the curtain she hits send, powers off, and we're ready to go and I am sad for the passion that McCracken, he might never know Dear McCracken, I'd rather be off this plane I can't admit the half of it that I want to say Do I pretend, do I push you away? I'm jet-laggin mcCracken and I'll give you, I'll give you your space Dear McCracken, I'm keepin this on my chest I've said a lot of things but none of them what I meant Do I pretend, do I try to forget? I'm jet-laggin mcCracken and I wish you, I wish you the best and I thought, I thought by that age our broken hearts had seen their worst and I thought that kind of heartache was meant for the young but we're never too old to hurt and I thought, I thought by that age our broken hearts had seen their worst and I thought that kind of heartache was meant for the young but we're never too old to hurt I just stepped off a plane, I've got one regret I know I'll never get closure or ever see how it ends I won't know his answer, what happens between them why she kept her cards so close even she couldn't see them what gave her such pause when she so clearly wanted to tell you all the emotions she tried so hard to bottle and I'll never know why she kept the honest truth from you but Oh Dear McCracken... in the rough draft... in the rough draft... In the Rough Draft She Loved You.
2.
I put in all my hours I'm playing every night just to get a little better at guitar I'm taking singing lessons at 80 bucks a lesson (who the hell am I impressin?) Why do I work so hard? I've searched my soul, dug deep below, to find the answer the only reason for it is... I was an ugly kid with a handsome older brother yeah I was a catch... like a cold or an ugly fish I knew what to do: wear my talent like a mask and hope it magically distracts you but I'm back, I've practiced, my acts together, I got: better and a Point to Prove I didn't know her but in June I got her screen name as valuable as gold for antisocial kids in 10th grade I spent the rest of my vacation glued down to my chair, was afraid to miss a moment of our digital affair 'cause when summer ended I would finally be the guy that I tried to be in person, but could only be online the first day of the school year we get our seat assignments I ended up right next to her and we just sat in silence and I wouldn't wish that awkwardness on anybody I think the reason for it is... I was a chubby kid with an athletic old brother yeah I was a catch... as in I was easy to catch during tag ('cause I was fat!) I knew what to do: I will chase a newer passion 'cause I'm sick of nothing happenin' but I'm back, I've practiced, my acts together, I got: better and a Point to Prove I have hit the bottom, been lost, tossed, and gosh, I've been burned by gossip and I have gone full Hot Topic, 'was an ugly duckling crossed with a few Hot Pockets and I'll be damned if where I am's not what I worked for I think the reason for it is... I wasn't talented... when all I wanted was attention I was in no way, no way a catch in life or love I knew what to do: To do it 'cause I love it (and one-up my older brother) nah I'm just playin' 'cause I've stopped: dying from comparisons, hiding from embarrassment, I'm driven, I've got: Vision, Time, Ambition, and a Point to Prove
3.
Piano Teacher, here I am for class I didn't do a single thing you asked I'm still waiting for this shit to get fun Piano Teacher, don't you act so stressed 'cause when I leave my mom will cut your check we all get what we want (except my mom) If the story could fast-forward I would smash that button now I'm not the next all-star, I'm hardly an artist I bought this guitar and I'm trying my hardest when I'm by myself nothing can stop me but I can't perform if there's anyone watching When I hit play I'm still in the same place Piano Teacher, my old soccer coach, college professor, everyone I know I'm sorry I couldn't listen to you then It wasn't your fault I abandoned it I only learn when I am passionate but when I am I cannot be controlled If the story could fast-forward I would clamp that button down... I'm not the next all-star, I'm hardly an artist I bought this guitar and I'm trying my hardest when I'm by myself nothing can stop me but I can't perform if there's anyone watching When I hit play I'm still in the same place I'm hardly an artist two notes in my guitar riff and no signs of stopping. Look ma, watch me I'm hardly an artist two notes in my guitar riff and no signs of stopping. Look ma, watch me I'm not the next all-star, I'm hardly an artist I bought this guitar and I'm trying my hardest when I'm by myself nothing can stop me but I can't perform if there's anyone watching It's all fun and games 'till you find your profession then you look back on a lifetime of lessons I won't spend a penny on one more obsession I'll take my hobby before your investment But I've been skipping the best moments now I'm done and all I hope is when I hit play: I'm back in the same place
4.
In a room, in a room, it didn't look like this it had much more lower ceilings and it was delicately lit I couldn't shake an old girlfriend on my mind cause I was dancing to our old song with a new one And there's no room, no room for her inside my head we haven't spoke for 8 years; I still feel her fingerprints cause she: laid back, and I: a little wound… she'd spout her little maxims that she had to calm me down, she'd say: Go with the flow, with the flow, with the path you hope for the best, you take what you have but I have a paddle (and a bad idea up the wrong way) and I heard, I heard, I heard she's married now there's no word for the emotion that I felt when I found out it was fiery, but casual like words put in my mouth an indifference to some news that would have killed my former self but no, not now and I hate how that makes me feel cause it undercuts the present like my passions aren't as real cause time will revise both the perfect and the broken so I have to write a song to keep a snapshot of the moment Go with the flow, with the flow, with the path you hope for the best, you take what you have but I have a paddle (and a bad idea up the wrong way) Go with the flow, with the flow, with the path you hope for the best, you take what you have but I have a paddle (and a bad idea up the wrong way) And I chose, I chose self-medicating woes not separating causes from the subsequent results and I know, I know there's better antidotes than choking on the fits and tantrums I would always throw and I hope, I hope that I will always grow but I'm'a cut the tongue out of the next one who says "Go with the Flow" Go with the flow, with the flow, with the path you hope for the best, you take what you have but I have a paddle (and a bad idea up the wrong way) Go with the flow, with the flow, with the path you hope for the best, you take what you have but I have a paddle (and a bad idea up the wrong way) In a room, In a room it looked a lot like this I told a bunch of strangers stuff I really shouldn't admit…
5.
I’ve got skills but they don't know where to use me I'm like the best-dressed dude at the nude beach nice to meet you… I am more the quiet type, I tend to be a shyer guy as safe as knee and elbow pads in cul de sacs with traffic lights I spend most of my time alone, it's not all that bad, ya know? I lost some weight from anxious-pacin' talkin' on the telephone If I look cool I'm foolin’ you, at any point you can assume my mind's computin' every path that screws up what I wanna do Lock the door, seal it too: Dancing in the Panic Room I made a promise, now I feel nauseous as if I chugged a cup of stuff you clean your countertops with but no Lysol won't solve this, so I am out of options it's past my bedtime and I'm honestly exhausted And I just want’a be more than nostalgia received like a hotdog down at the dog park be your best friend… The things that I can't shoulder well I pass onto my older self and hope I learn to cope so I don't end up broke or overwhelmed cause vocally I'm not the best, I'm openly admitting that but if you cared I doubt you woulda made it past McCracken, yeah If I look brave, I'm secretly pretending I'm a different me the one on stage who plays and sings and claps and shouts and basically: Behind the door, just out of view: Dancing in the Panic Room I made a promise, now I feel nauseous as if I chugged a cup of stuff you clean your countertops with but no Lysol won't solve this, so I am out of options it's past my bedtime and I'm honestly exhausted But if you want it… HEYHEYHEY HEYHEYHEY HEYHEYHEY HEYHEYHEY Now wouldn't it be the best if all the answers to our questions came as sheepish realizations obvious in retrospective like the answer for anxiety that's crept into your head is as simple as your printer - you forgot to plug it in instead of playing twister with my lyrics 'cause I can and filling every syllable with lots of bull should I instead give you the simple sing-a-long you're all hoping will come next or do I load that motha up and doo-da-doo what I do best? So here's my promise: don't aim for flawless cause some of your best art is made with chalk on your sidewalk it’s gone when you wash it off it’s not made for fame or profits it's lookin’ back and giving all you got to top it but if you want it… HEYHEYHEY HEYHEYHEY HEYHEYHEY HEYHEYHEY HEYHEYHEY
6.
Baby Teeth 03:33
We’d wear our finest clothes and pack tight in tiny row and sing songs that someone wrote to guide us towards the truth when those words caught inside my mouth I’d bite my tongue and spit them out believing tasted great but was impossible to choose cause your God, he clangs on the latitude lines always at the worst times when you finally shut your eyes your God, he waits with the keys on his side and passes the time making up the strangest stories for your life and I don't know what happens when we die but that won't change the way I live my life Write down your fears and hopes and stick those in envelopes and send them out with no address; they never will be read cause prayers good when needing therapy focus, heal, and find priority don't pretend they have affect when buried in your head And I lost each belief like baby teeth one by one I pulled them gradually some would come out looking clean but all the rest would bleed I could listen to the lessons but my head won’t let me hear it and believe and I don't know what happens when we die but that won't change the way I live my life And I lost each belief like baby teeth one by one I pulled them gradually some would come out looking clean but all the rest would bleed I could listen to the lessons but my head won’t let me hear it and believe and I don't know what happens when we die but that won't change the way I live my life and all I want before my times is up is a life that made a difference to someone
7.
I have a theory dear, so let me put it past I have to check its valid though I know you didn't ask you don't like to kiss me, no you don’t like to kiss cause my beard is way too itchy and it scratches up your lips but I can't shave it off - I'm too self-conscious of the fact I have a scar above my lip that my beard and mustache mask and I have a scar above my lip 'cause I once smashed up on a curb flew over both my handlebars and straight into the dirt and I didn't have a helmet on 'cause that was way back when I was too damn cool for safety rules or simple common sense so if I now remember right by the transitive rule… darling,you don't like to kiss me 'cause I'm too damn cool With tired eyes she stared at me, "Its 3 am", she said "Bug, be glad I love you, you're a goober, go to bed" You love my quirks, my quirks, the dopey way I flirt you're even kind and warm when I am getting on your nerves you love my quirks, my quirks, I'm certain you deserve a handsome hunk, but now you're stuck with this annoying nerd You put up with more than most would mind the time it takes to rise and shine I'm hittin' snooze at 6:05, 6:15 and 6 more times you don't mind the way I weigh my food my morning routine which includes scrambling to find my keys 'cause I can't leave them out in view even though you bought that bowl put it right beside the door and all I have to do is set them there as soon as I get home instead I'm flippin' up the couch and - oh hey there they are, I found 'em have a great day and oh have you seen my wallet? You love my quirks, my quirks, the dopey way I flirt you're even kind and warm when I am getting on your nerves you love my quirks, my quirks, I'm certain you deserve a macho man, but all I am's a silly introvert She holds to my t-shirt when I take off my sweatshirt to make sure it stays down, now that's what I call teamwork I keep us on time, she makes all our friends and makes sure that my fly is zipped up on my pants if snapchat is to flirt, and tinder to find love we're back here snappin' polaroids just to shake things up You love my quirks, my quirks, the dopey way I flirt you're even kind and warm when I am getting on your nerves you love my quirks, my quirks, I'm certain you deserve a sexy stud instead of what you've chosen 'cause I'm sure that all the girls the girls, who hear this song and smirk and feel pity 'cause I sound like I'm more trouble than I'm worth are probably right
8.
I didn't listen to my mom when she taught me how to clean and my dishes, they are waiting in the sink I didn't listen to my mom telling me to go to sleep maybe that's why I'm up every night till 3 Just waiting for sleep and what it brings a break from wading through my insecurities I'm awake, unable to shake the little things I didn't listen to my mom when she told me I should share and I have trouble telling anyone my fears I'll never be the best at anything, no one will know my name it’s a silly thing but I am still afraid of living a life from start to end and then, I'm missing forgotten when I'm dead and now I'm wishing I had heard her when she said love you child, you're my own damn those standards, you're not those you're not judged on what you make the man you are's the boy I raised the man you are's the boy I raised I didn't listen to my mom as a I sunk below the ground I didn't listen to my mom as I was buried by my doubts I didn't listen to my mom when she tried to dig me out but I am listening now. I've heard the words they finally ring I'm sure my worth isn't balanced on one thing it is earned by learning from the songs my mother sings love you child, you're my own damn those standards, you're not those you're not judged on what you make the man you are's the boy I raised I didn't listen to my mom but that's the thing when you're a kid you don't know what you don't know when you begin if I've learned anything that I can sing, that I can pass along be good and listen to your mom
9.
Deserve Me 04:24
And it happens again A cross to my shoulder, a jab to my chest A kick to my ego, a lack of defense As though in slow motion, you wind up again When did this become so normal and do I deserve this? When I met you in high school, I felt overwhelmed at getting attention for the first time. It sounds like a pitiful cliché, a lame kiss-and-tell but the story takes twists and I can tell it myself I always adored you, the way you'd stand up for yourself and for me, but I couldn't handle the tempers and tantrums you' throw at random told myself it was my fault, 'cause I couldn't man up that was the last time, I said and I said and it happens again A cross to my shoulder, a jab to my chest A kick to my ego, a lack of defense As though in slow motion, you wind up again When did this become so normal and do I deserve this? We laid out in your backyard naming every star we saw back when both your hands were gentle and your speaking voice was soft you joked that romans made up constellations on the spot and I believe that even Grecians beat me at connecting dots cause for every side you showed me, I'd soften or I'd try to justify with reasons pleading for you in my mind I only see you sweetly when I see the stars at night leave it to the only person that could ruin half the sky I just want to tell her I miss my best friend And it happens again A cross to my shoulder, a jab to my chest A kick to my ego, a lack of defense As though in slow motion, you wind up again When did this become so normal…? A cross to my shoulder, a jab to my chest A kick to my ego, a lack of defense As though in slow motion, you wind up again What do I deserve…? I'm finally ready to admit this wasn't my fault to learn that love does not exist when I feel this small and I can count on one hand the times you made me feel worthy now I can count on one finger to say: You Don't Deserve Me I just want to tell her I miss my best friend.
10.
I've noticed, I've noticed a clash between our coast it's it's mostly bragadocious puffed up claims and sugar coated it's east coast, ivy league coast west coast / best coast but between those they don't see another option: one more coast that feels forgotten That might be how it goes the long shot layin' low but those who know me know I'm like the gulf coast I'm like the gulf coast, cut me some slack I don't have fancy marketing or radio ads I'm like the gulf coast: unsure and it shows no I don't boast, I'm like the gulf coast Real talk I bought into the drama the nonstop assault by all the west coast tech bros and east coast egos don't you have some thing else to say? the old catch phrase feelin' so cliché their merch can make you an ad display when you heart new york and you love LA It's overkill like praying for a preacher it's overkill like a sheep in a t-shirt it's overkill no need for it, see it's like an A+ still sleepin' with the teacher I'm like the gulf coast, cut me some slack I don't have fancy marketing or radio ads I'm like the gulf coast: unsure and it shows no I don't boast, I'm like the gulf coast I'm like the gulf coast, cut me some slack I'm a middle child too, with an ego to match I'm like the gulf coast: I'm shy and it shows no I don't boast, I'm like the gulf coast
11.
We all have that friend we don't know why we still invite so abrasive, kinda racist, always wants to fight mine's the worst you'll ever have to meet charming, clueless, asshole, call him Pete If normal Pete is jekyll then I guess his Mr. Hyde is a dope-ass dude who loves to dance that he tries to keep inside the sun goes down and we begin to drink and that's when he turns into Boogie Pete Get a Drink in Pete, he's a dance machine, he can go all night if he's not yet buzzed then you'll wish he was he's the kind of guy when he shows up the night has just begun... he's always talkin' shit, never sayin' sorry normal Pete's an asshole, Boogie Pete's a party When he's sober he's so selfish, never looking out but Boogie Pete's the wingman we write folk legends about he's got no time to waste on trying to score 'cause when the beat drops, Pete stops cold - and hits the floor Get a Drink in Pete, he's a dance machine, he can go all night if he's not yet buzzed then you'll wish he was he's the kind of guy when he shows up the night has just begun... he's always talkin' shit, never sayin' sorry normal Pete's an asshole, Boogie Pete's a party And normal Pete says: "Dude I hate babies" and normal Pete says: "Have you seen my vape?" and normal Pete says: "Dude I can kick your ass in FIFA" But Boogie Pete, when they see him: oh men wanna be him, and women wanna be him and babies wanna be him, and orphans wanna be him Koreans wanna be him, Europeans wanna be him and even people who don't wanna be him wanna be him... And we're all agreein'! Get a Drink in Pete, he's a dance machine, he can go all night if he's not yet buzzed then you'll wish he was he's the kind of guy when he shows up the night has just begun... he's always talkin' shit, never sayin' sorry normal Pete's an asshole, Boogie Pete's a party he's always talkin' shit, never sayin' sorry normal Pete's an asshole, Boogie Pete's a party

about

Fully funded on kickstarter. Thank you, everyone.

This is The Rough Draft.

credits

released November 20, 2018

Band Credits
Guitar - Mohamed Hussein
Drums - Marcus Alcantara
Bass - Jesse Gallaway
Lyrics/Vocals - Bug

Studio Credits
Harmonies - Elena Loper
Harmonies - Stephanie Mae
Cello - Serina Chang

All songs mastered by Dylan Fant at 1-shot Studio, Woodinville WA
Baby Teeth, Go with the Flow, Be Glad I Love You and Dear McCracken recorded and mixed at Bug Studio
Rest Recorded and Mixed at 1-shot studio

Produced by: Bug Hunter
"The Gulf Coast" produced by Home Studio Se7en

Special Thanks To:
Mom & Dad
Shyam Raghavan
Ryan Reers
David & Shawn Lyons
Braedon Timpe
Connie & Mary Worbington
Ashley Applesauce
Jenn Broder
Nate & Erin Fleming
Alison Lodge
Eric VanWyk
John C. Balsam JR (KEW)
Nicholas Kratzer
James Tokolics
Trent Wilson
My Best Friend Ethan

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Bug Hunter Seattle, Washington

Songwriter/Singer

Quick, clever consonance. Pop with a lot of thought.

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